Nigeria - Slowly, But Certainly Getting There!!

The developments that have taken place in oil and gas and power industries in the last 4 years, have been to say the least, potentially revolutionary. The government’s drive to increase Nigerian local content in the various areas of the oil and gas industry, coupled with its flares out and local gas utilisation policy, are in my view, efforts that can help Nigeria optimise the economic benefits accruing to her from this resource. Add to this the LNG plant planned for the Olokola area in the South West of the country and the downstream gas act, and you have a nation reaching for the handles of the door to economic greatness.

Hopefully, the reforms in the power sector could also work the same magic that many Nigerians have been benefiting from the telecommunications revolution, which moved Nigeria from a teledensity of 500,000 in June of 1999 to 11,000,000 today, and this figure is still growing! When you combine the planned privatisation of the monopolistic power behemoth with efforts being made by the government to integrate the country’s rich gas and coal resources into the power mix, and you have a pretty potent brew on your hands.

The benefits Nigeria can enjoy from the rejuvenated oil/gas and power sectors are immense. Companies would be able to reduce the cost of doing business, small and medium scale entrepreneurs would be able to create jobs and wealth, and life, would indeed, begin to look beautiful.

It’s been a hard journey getting this far, and we are at least 35 years behind schedule, but as the saying goes, better late than never!