Abuja — The oil reserves in the Niger Delta currently in the region of 30 billion barrels will dry and disappear by the year 2040.
Activities of militant groups in the region, ineptitude leadership and rapid depletion of ore, a major component for the exploration are contributory factors that may see the end of Nigeria's oil.
Regulatory and monitoring organs in the country including the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) are concerned about the development.
A source in one of the agencies confirms that some of the agencies especially NNPC and RMAFC have undertaken visitations and mounted various campaigns on need for the diversification of the economy to other sectors and on the necessity for passage of Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law.
The RMAFC had toured some states to verify existing and abandoned oil wells and other prospective areas for exploration. It also provided each state in the federation with lists of abundant mineral and natural resources in its location which could be tapped for more revenue to their Internally Generated Revenue and the Federation Accounts.
Minerals and hydrocarbon deposits have life-span and can be negatively affected if there are fewer activities to extend the life indices through intensive exploration to augment the resource base, Economic Confidential reports.
Members of the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), which comprises commissioners of finance, accountants general of states, NNPC, Customs and Federal Inland Revenue Service are being told on the need for new investment and diversifications of the economy because they would soon run out of oil for export and local consumption.
The campaigns have also gone to Governors and federal legislators on the need for early passage of PIB because the future of Nigeria's oil, according to the campaigners, depends largely on new oil bill that would promote continued investment in new oils and security of facilities in the Niger Delta region.
At another forum in Abuja recently, a General Manager, Planning, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) Victor Briggs stated that that Nigeria is not investing in new oil discoveries whereby all the revenues from oil goes to the Federation Account directly without reinvesting into oil fields.
The disbursement figures made in January 2010 from the Federation Account shows that while Bayelsa and Edo States received the sum of N4.29billion and N3.48billion respectively the non-oil states of Lagos and Kano States received N9.16billion and N6.49billion respectively.
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You don't have to let this happen! You can stop exporting your oil and gas to nations that need to cut their use. You can develop your renewable energy resources so that eventually you use oil for chemical feedstock only. Your reserves could dry up in 3040 rather than 2040. There is no hurry to run out of oil.
This is a national characteristic, mismanagement, lack of foresight, complacency, and an over-bloated bureaucracy.
Now that the oil, the only major source of revenue is going to dry up, those who have been profiteering illegally, are apparently making moves to alert the public. Meanwhile, you know they will hasten their undeclared activities of grabbing as much of the money as they can, before scampering abroad like thieves in the night.
The world bank and many other organisations have repeatedly since the 1980s, stated that diversification is a necessity. No one listened, the so called "governors" of the states (with the exception of perhaps 3), sat idly by and made next to no attempt at internal revenue generation.
So for the past 40 years nothing has been acheived. Meanwhile Malaysia, Brazil, Indonesia etc have all diversified and have left Nigeria in the starting blocks.
The answer doesn't lie in looking for the next non-renewable resource, rather look at renewable resources, and diversify away from simply unprocessed goods like cow hides, and cocoa. (Raw materials should be processed to an acceptable quality to gain foreign market share and generate more revenue). Develop a manufacturing sector, that is for the most part self-sufficient, a service sector (look at the case of India and software), make strides in medicine and science. It's time to wake up.
Each state should be allowed to keep more of it's own wealth. Those that are heavily dependent on government revenues will have to pull their socks up and stop wasting money on white elephants eg building more international airports, and schemes of dubious worth..