One-Eyed Nigeria

Since the discovery of oil in large quantities in 1956, it has become the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy, contributing about 92 percent of the nation’s revenue. Although, this tightly held revenue source was threatened by activities of militants prior to the 2009 amnesty deal, which relatively brought hostilities to a halt. However, pipeline vandalism has continued to decimate the country’s source of revenue. According to Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), oil and gas pipeline vandalism rose by 77 percent in June 2019, with about 106 pipeline points breached as against 60 points vandalized in May. In 2018, United Nations (UN) report states  that Nigeria lost $2.8 billion to oil and maritime crimes.

For how long will the nation continue to suffer avoidable losses due to pipeline vandalism? Some unpopular arguments are that, shocks to the oil industry will force government to shift focus to other sectors of the economy which will aid even development. It will amount to disaster if government does not find a lasting solution to pipeline vandalization that has continued to be a cause of leaking revenue. It is also important that the nation move away from a mono economy and invest in other viable sectors of the economy. If Nigeria is able to move away from a monolithic economy, it can afford to comfortably withstand shocks in the oil industry either by fluctuating world oil prices or pipeline vandalism.

To secure the nation’s major revenue base means to solve the issue of pipeline vandalism. Due to the continued increase in scale and frequency of vandalism, suggestions are that the current strategy of contracting private security personnel and use of the nation’s security agencies cannot be effective in bringing the desired results.  This calls for a community-based approach led by members of host communities. Such communities should be mobilized and contracted to mount surveillance on oil facilities located in the area. The idea is not to replace existing formal security structures and protocols, but to act as a parallel body that will augment the activities of security personnel in securing oil facilities.

However, government and oil companies should also take time to understand the root causes of vandalism – whether driven by greed or grievance towards neglect or reaction to environmental degradation. Understanding the root cause will help to know how to channel efforts and resources in bringing to an end the worrisome cases of pipeline vandalism. A one-eyed man is indebted to blindness. Government has to act now to rescue its revenue backbone from further damage.