Oil installations as strategic national interest

Reports that the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu has solicited the support of the Nigerian military high command for effective protection of our national oil installations is a welcome development. This is sequel to a proposal that the new GMD presented to President Muhammadu Buhari weeks earlier. This is coming at a time that the country has suffered unmitigated crude stealing, pipeline vandalism and apparent sabotage. This is as well as illegal oil bunkering, illegal crude refining and stealing of petrol and other products through the network of pipelines. These activities meant that even gas supply to turbines for generation of electricity was severely affected thus leading to gross poor electricity supply.

Another cost to the mindless stealing going on before now was that Nigeria’s quota as member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, was never met. At the last count, Nigeria officially lost 250, 000 barrels of crude oil per day. This is aside crude lost to outright stealing of our reserves not captured in our estimated daily output. At 250, 000 barrels per day, that is one fifth of our national quota; and that figure is slightly higher than what Gabon produces. In fact, our oil industry was an all-comers affair, provided you are covered by an all-powerful cartel. This cartel drew membership from top government functionaries, including military personnel, community elite, religious leaders and officials of oil companies led by NNPC itself. There was also the group led by all shades of erstwhile militants.

Unfortunately, in the recent past, former militants were engaged to protect most of these installations. Government bought into the narrative that these former perverts were the rightful persons to guarantee safety of these installations. Whereas these militants were (are) the foot soldiers of the madness in the oil sector. When you engage dogs to protect meat, you only have yourself to blame. But the more worrisome side to this madness was the deliberate whittling down of the powers and influence of arms of the Nigerian defense corps on national security issues. Military contracts were awarded to part-time thieves and ex-militants. The strategic role of protecting national assets and territorial waters were gifted to these same former outlaw. Our Navy for example was becoming a huge joke. The Air Force seemed deliberately organised to fail and the government carried on as if there was no other way of running the country.

Indeed, impunity was at the root of most of the problems we had until President Buhari came. It is also very instructive that he appointed a person that understands what can be done and who is willing to use our national resources to protect our strategic economic interests. The use of our military to secure our economic interest will not only return peace to the troubled sector but will return dignity to a military that suffered scum. Or how do you side step our Navy and hire an individual to protect your territorial waters? Strange! Now, the military will ply its trade without let or hindrance. What is the use of a military if your most priced national asset is being frittered away by a loose cartel of economic saboteurs? Therefore, when the plan is consummated, the military Corps of engineers will take over the protection of all our pipelines around the country. This means they will not only secure them, they will repair where the need arises. We are sure that this template is not just cheaper but it will help raise money for the military to carry out other internal development issues. To be sure, this is standard practice in other countries. The best people to secure national assets are always the group who has sworn to die if necessary for the cause of the country.

NNPC will also deploy other strategies, including technology, to monitor not just pipelines but also cargo ships for lifting of crude or bringing in of refined products. They will also monitor exploration activities and every other area that used to aide the mindless stealing of our national assets. At the end of it all, the country and its people will be the better for it. There will be more revenue to drive development. Order and basic corporate behaviour will abound in the oil sector; these will lead to more employment and more investment in the sector. Surely, the engagement of the military by NNPC is an all-round elixir for the betterment of our country, thus must not fail.

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