Search for oil in northern nigeria is an economic sabotage – Raph Enechi

By Raph McJulius Enechi

For the past thirty years, successive governments led by presidents of northern extraction have wasted so much resources of our common wealth trying to find oil in the North to no avail, yet despite the glaring evidence that this natural resources is not imbeded in commercial quantity in our northern hemisphere the Hausa Fulani oligarchy and cabal that have held Nigeria bound for ages have continued to embark on this futile chase of oil up North.

The latest effort to achieve this almost impossible ambition is Gen. Buhari’s marching order to NNPC to intestify the search for oil in the far north and and the most recent in Benue state. Benue State?

Yes, the posibility is there, but for North East, I doubt the posibility considering we have already put thirty years into that without much success. However, my most sincere advice to Buhari and his one legged and imbalanced government is that oil is not found by the intensity of the search but by the availability of the resource. If oil is not supernaturally deposited in the far North then no natural effort will lead to it’s discovery there.

All this aggression for oil in the far north is nothing but a digression of purpose and manifesto by the ruling party, I can’t remember coming across oil exploration in the far north as part of the manifesto APC promised the electorate prior to the last election.

The only reason for this mad rush for oil in the north, especially the far North even after more than three decades of futile search is strife, some people just feel the only way and thing to bring the north at par with the southern Nigeria is for oil to be found in the North.

To this school of tought except the far North becomes oil producing area nothing can pacify their lust for oil and envy towards the South. But one question I want to ask is, should we waste such amount of money, such as we have been wasting since thirty something years now searching for oil in the far north when it’s obvious we don’t have oil in commercial quantity there?

To me, it doesn’t make sense. Another question is, must the North produce oil? The answer again is no. Why must we spend eternity searching for oil in the North when there are many other natural resources that abound there, this to me does not make sense. If the successive regimes had invested even half of the billions wasted in oil exploration

in developing other numerous solid minerals that abound over there I believe by now the whole nation, and not just the North would by now be enjoying the gains of such monumental investment.

Another question bothering me is, why is it only in the Northern region that Buhari is giving NNPC the marching order to intestify effort for oil exploration? Or is this the continuation of the nepotism that has become the AKA or Alias of this regime?

For the much I know the oil exploration that led to the discovery of oil in commercial quantity in Anambra State was a 100% private effort, I stand to be corrected. Why then is it government that is doing exploration in the North and not multinationals?

The answer is obvious, the multinationals are not investing in oil exploration in the North because they know it’s not a viable or profitable venture. It is only the Hausa Fulani led federal government that doesn’t think so. Anyway, as much as I am not in a position to stop government from doing this, I want to use this medium to beg President Buhari to extend this Northern exploration drive to my town, NIMBO in Enugu North, yes, North is North and good a thing I am from Enugu North, once again, Mr. President, please remember my town, NIMBO.

I say this because oil was found at NIMBO since in the eighties but unfortunately neither government nor the multinationals have not deemed it fit to do something about it till date. This is the time for government of the day to give NNPC the marching order to come and start oil production in commercial quantity at my town, NIMBO, Uzo-Uwani L.G.A, of Enugu State.

Now is the time for those entrusted with leadership and governance in

Nigeria to rise above all the self inflicted vices that easily beset and pull us down. Nepotism, tribalism, favouritism, myopisim and the other agelong vices that have clogged the wheel of progress of this nation will never do us any good. Until we decide to wake up from our deep slumber of self indused coma Nigeria will remain comatose.

The monster of tribalism has always been our greatest undoing and I want to regretfully say that President Buhari, with all due respect is a captive of this dangerous beast. We don’t need to waste all these scarse resources exploring oil in the the far North when we can invest in other solid minerals that abound there. It’s never too late to get it right. No matter how far you have gone on wrong path when you realise it the best thing is to go back.