THE POLITICS OF OIL
By Ladi Akeju
The Nigerian government has decided to reform the NNPC. I think the term is “unbundling” whatever that means. Not everyone is happy; the big multinational oil companies in Nigeria are kicking up a fuss. They like things just the way they are and are gearing up to resist these reforms with everything they’ve got. If you are the type of person that likes a wager, you would be right to put money on them (oil multinationals) getting their way.
Inspite of over $450 billion in oil exports, 7 out of every 10 Nigerians lives in abject conditions. The country is in fact endowed with more natural gas than oil. LNG exports are occurring piece meal with government forking out billions of dollars in MOUs with these same big oil companies. Corruption and backroom dealing is the order of the day. Nigeria has spawned billionaires, with no entrepreneurial skills, people who employ no one and who pay li...
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