Use Nigerians! We have the Talents

After reading the MANAGING Director/CEO, Engineering Automation Technology Limited (EATECH), Mr. Emmanuel Okon speech about local content and the international oil and gas companies I have been nodding my head in agreement it is sad not just sad Infact a show of wickedness  that international oil and gas companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria are still stifling attempts by indigenous service firms to take full advantage of the Local Content Law in the country. After the 2010 signed bill. It is true and can't be denied,  I for one hold a Masters in oil and gas management and am still submitting CVs waiting for that oil company or servicing firm to look my way.

In 2010, the Nigeria government had signed into law the Nigerian Content Development Act (popularly called local content law). The law made it mandatory for the use of indigenous oil service firms and personnel in all projects exe­cuted in the country in a bid to halt capital flight, boost indigenous manpower and capabilities of local firms.

Okon, whose company is involved in engineering designs and fabrication proj­ects for international oil firms told Sunday Sun that the essence of the law has been sabotaged by some of the international oil firms in Nigeria. “When the government signed the Nigerian Content Bill into law, the talk all over the place was that the Nige­rian firms won’t have the capacity to take advantage of the law,” said Okon.

“But it didn’t take long for us (local firms) to prove that we had the capacity and the expertise. Now this is what is hap­pening these days: you now find a situation where the foreign firms are the ones that are afraid of the competencies of the local firms, I can confirm that to you. And they are working against local companies,” he added.

Okon also spoke on why he floated his company, the challenges posed by adulter­ated fuel and how government can boost the productivity of local firms in the oil and gas industry. Excerpts:

What is happening to the lo­cal content law?

I am an ardent supporter of the local content law in the oil and gas sector. In fact, I am one of those Nigerians that strongly advocated that more Nigerians should be empowered to tap effectively or partici­pate in greater numbers in the business of the oil and gas industry. That idea of an in­dustry that is dominated by foreign firms, foreign personnel, foreign banks, foreign underwriters, and foreign contractors had a lot of demerits. The capital flight alone that is associated with it does more harm to the economy than you could ever imag­ine. I am against an industry that is left in the hands of foreigners. So you can under­stand how excited I was when the Nigerian Content Bill became a law. I knew we had a good policy in place. I knew we would soon have that level of Nigerian human ex­pertise we never had before in the history of the industry because more local firms would now have access to more jobs. But when the whole implementation started, it soon became evident that in all sincerity, we needed to remember that some people (the foreign firms) originally owned this industry; they owned the technology, they owned the capital, and they also owned the bulk of the human expertise. In fact, you won’t in any way be incorrect if you say they owned everything in an industry we just woke up and said we want to localize.

Now, you ask yourself the question, if you were them (the foreigners) doing busi­ness in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry for over 50 years and enjoying a monopoly of almost everything and suddenly the coun­try wakes up and talks about local content law and that they want to be partakers, they want to be major stakeholders, and they want an increase in local personnel and technology, and of what goes in and comes out of the business, let us be hon­est with ourselves, it will not be so easy to just let go like that without some form of resistance. That is where we are right now. The greatest challenge that local firms like ours is now battling is the resistance from the founders or the original owners of the industry in the country. They are resisting the policy that seeks to make it mandatory for local Nigerian companies and man­power to have a more stakes in oil and gas contracts or projects done in the country. Nigerians are very smart, highly skilled, and committed whenever you give them the opportunity to work. And their fear (the foreign firms) is that we are doing excel­lently well in those projects that we have so far been allowed to do. You can ask other local firms bidding for projects in the in­dustry and they will also share their experi­ences with you.

Are you talking from experi­ence?

The history of Engineering Automation Technology Limited is one that revolves around a drive to boost Nigerian content in the oil and gas industry. In 2007, we had to set up this company as a 100 per cent Nige­rian company to bid for engineering, pro­curement, construction, installation, and maintenance services projects in the oil and gas industry. It was one way of also creat­ing jobs and developing human capital of locals in some of these technical aspects of the jobs in the industry. And we have been very remarkable in the realization of our initial vision of not just providing engi­neering service, but achieving it by way of giving out technical leadership and capac­ity building through what I call a continual improvement approach. I told you earlier how excited I was with the passage of the Nigerian content act into law. Indeed, we have doing well, representing the Nigerian content well in all the projects that we have done in the industry so far. You know the foreign multinationals are the ones that give out most of these projects to the local firms. But the tide is beginning to change. I told you earlier, they are beginning to be scared of some of us. Now, let me also tell you that I have a case that I have reported to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Nigerian Content Devel­opment and Monitoring Board where a particular foreign operator in this country woke up overnight and without any just care opr no cause at all excluded our com­pany from a list that is capable of talking pout us out of a business.

And we have asked this foreign com­pany, we have asked their middle man­agement staff, their top management staff, what have we done wrong? what is the cri­teria for getting us out of the list? We have asked this question for the past two months, but we have not gotten any answer. Rather, this particular foreign firm, they have gone ahead writing letters to their major con­tractors not to allow us render any further services in an ongoing contract which we have signed. It is subtle way of easing a local firm out of business. And this is the kind of thing you find happening now in the industry. This foreign operator knows that we are doing very well and that if they don’t do type of thing that they are doing they will not be able to bring us down at the rate at which we are going. What they did was to issue a list and exclude our name from it – simple. So that is the challenge that we are now facing. They wake up and they strike you out. The foreign operators are working against local companies. The Nigerian content law has come to stay and they cannot win the war they are waging against local firms because we have vowed to fight them within the confines of the law and of best practices.

Why do people adulterate products?

When people adulterate products, it is not as if it cannot be detected, but the problem is that some of the laid down procedures to check adulteration is simply not followed. The importers, the filling station owners, the other operators don’t pass through the right process. The proce­dure, if you go through DPR guidelines, is that you will discover that these products should be tested at the point of entry at which they are brought into the country; it should also be tested before they leave that point to be loaded into the trucks; should be tested after loading to ensure that it is still of the right specification and not adulter­ated. But what you don’t control is what happens when the trucks leave the depot. If the petrol station owner wants to adul­terate then the people at the depots cannot help. So I think it is at this point that the regulators have to do more work. But if all the procedures are followed I think that the issue of adulteration would be eliminated in the country. The facilities or technology that we are bringing in can detect adultera­tion by 100 per cent. I must also not fail to state this that as part of the Campaign introducing high-end products and cutting edge technologies, we have concluded ar­rangement to introduce superior alternative to “flash point” test for refined petroleum products. I am therefore appealing to the DPR to grant approval for us to demon­strate this technology in a private presenta­tion before unveiling to the general public. The benefits of this alternative method include but not limited to; Front-end elimi­nation of impurities and improved fuel quality. Engine Efficiency Improvement, Mitigation of health risks to human and environment.

Not that Nigerians or the industry know nothing about these equipments. But the associated problem is in the maintenance once they get spoilt. We have a lot of such issues where when equipment is spoilt, you find out that the owners will usually keep it in laboratories and make them look like objects in museum.

But that ought not to be so. Whatever the case, in the oil and gas industry where it cost a lot to invest in equipment, people should be able to have the guarantee of commissioning and of repairs as well as after sales support, maintenance and cali­bration. But what usually happens is that if people have a problem with an equip­ment, they will look for money to take it back abroad for maintenance. There is nowhere to do the after sale services in Nigeria. They have to send it back to Europe; doing that entails passing through the Customs, having it air freighted, and looking for the foreign exchange (forex) to get through with all these remains a huge challenge these days. In our own line, we have stepped in to fix all these in the country. We have trained our people to repair and maintain and you cannot take this knowl­edge away from them. We are dropping capital flight and helping to develop in-country capacity. No matter the level of technology, no matter the sophistication, they will still be manned by human being. It is important that the local firms in the industry continue to invest in manpower development because this is the key for a future vibrant oil and gas industry in Nigeria .

What efforts are being made to stem sales of adulterated fuel?

Recently, we have partnered with two United Kingdom based firms (Cygnus Instruments Limited and Stanhope-Seta Limited) to launch into the Nigerian market new technologies that will assist in detecting poor quality fuels and lubricants in Nigeria’s oil, gas, motoring and aviation sectors. We had to bring in this sophisticated technologies into Nigeria because we realize that at a time like this when the cost of fuel had gone up following the full deregulation of the downstream sector, it was important consumers paid for the right quality of fuel they purchased at retail outlets. Let us take the aviation sector where all of us know that there is no parking space in the air and that no matter the quality and the integrity of the aircraft engine, any impurity in the aircraft fuel is capable of bringing it down and killing the entire crew and passengers. It is in order to avert that type of risk, that we have decided to bring in the technology that can tell you, look this fuel is bad, it is not of the right quality, it has a high level of impurity, and it can destroy the aircraft. When people adulterate, it is not as if it cannot be detected, but we don’t pass through the right process, and we don’t have the right equipment.

The UK companies have the technology for the testing of the in­tegrity of aviation fuels, lubricating oils, crude and heavy fuel oils, and motor fuels to ensure that there is no compromise that can lead to human casualties. And the technologies can also mitigate and manage corrosion. We also sealed a deal with the UK firms that al­lowed for the training of many Nigerians in the repair, service, and maintenance of these equipment. If you bring in the equipment and they are not well serviced, calibrated and maintained, it will even give you wrong results. So we have also worked with the original equipment manufacturers to gain the same competence as they do. We have also gotten the authorization and approval as in-country authorized service centre for these products. And what that implies is that Nigerians don’t need to send the equipment back to the man­ufacturer the UK for services, maintenance, repairs and revalida­tion and calibration. Any of the upstream or downstream oil firm, or the airlines can call us and we validate or maintain any of the equipment whenever they get spoilt. We are also boosting human capacity by training these Nigerians. We are dropping capital flight and helping to develop in-country capacity. That means we are saving a lot of foreign exchange for the country and I believe you know the challenge of sourcing for forex these days in the country. The objective is to mitigate or completely eliminate compromise in terms of corrosion or the quality of fuel or lubricants used in the tank farms, depots, cars, trucks, and aircraft, in this sensitive industry. Our partnerships and collaborations have been carefully packaged to achieve more than 50 per cent market penetration in the next two years. But in order to jumpstart this laudable but ambitious pursuit, two service centres for the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are already operational in Port Harcourt.

Previously, companies that bought any of these products and brought them into the country usually had difficulties repairing them once they got spoilt. They usually kept the spoilt machine in their laboratories and make them look like objects in museum.

What we have done now is that those who buy the equipment now have the guarantee of commissioning and of repairs as well as after sales support, maintenance and calibration.

What is the future of the industry?

The destiny or the future of the oil and gas industry lies with Ni­gerians. We own the country, we know the inherent challenges, we feel the pains the most, and we alone can really say with all honesty, “this is how to solve these problems.” But we must work extra hard to get all these challenges behind us and build an industry that is befitting of our status. Now people always ask this question “when will we really start manufacturing some of the equipment that we are using in the industry.” Well, the best answer to that question of getting these equipment manufactured in Nigeria is that you have to start from somewhere. Great thanks to the local content law. I told you that some local firms are doing a lot in the industry. Now, in our own case we have taken the first step, and that is that we can assemble most of the equipment and also service them. You know in life, you don’t just come into existence and then start running as a child. As a new born child, you start first by learning how to crawl, then you start the process of standing up, and then the next stage is the courage to take the first step of learning how to walk. After learning and mastering how to walk, you can now talk about running. In Nigeria, the stage we are now is the crawling stage. All our personnel have been to the factories where these equipment are manufactured in the UK, and they have passed through all the trainings in the assembly stages at these foreign factories .

Can the North really put Claims to the oil in Niger Delta?

The Northerners should Come to Niger Delta. Reactions on A nonsensical claim over Niger Delta oil.

Annkio Briggs, a respected Niger Delta leader and environmental activists, says that the it’s nonsensical for the North to claim ownership of the oil and gas deposits in the Niger Delta region in southern Nigerian.

Some Northern leaders in Nigeria claim that the North owns the crude oil in the Niger Delta because of the 72% landmass assigned to the 3 Northern regions in the country.

Briggs, in the explosive interview withThe Sun Newspaper in Port Har­court, Rivers State stressed that the oil-rich Niger Delta remains the economic livewire of the country and she condemned the persecution of Ijaw people in the country and called for dialogue to end the Niger Delta crisis.

Below are excerpts of the interview.

How do you react to the claim by the North that mineral resources in Nigeria, including oil in the Niger Delta belongs to them because they have the largest landmass?

There is nothing much to say on that, unless if one wants to go into process of argument. It is an irrational claim to re­sources. How on earth does it make sense to anybody, that what is in the Niger Delta belongs to the North? It is so irrational. It is almost foolish for such a claim. There is nothing to input there. I won’t waste time to try to prove that they are wrong. All I can say is that, if truly they so believe, let them all come down to the Niger Delta and lay claim to the oil. Federal Government, for instance, is the one claiming ownership by the constitution. So, if they are now say­ing that the oil resources in the creeks and mangroves of the Niger Delta belong to them, they should come down to the creeks and swamps with their cows and herdsmen and plant their onions and tomatoes in the creeks and swamps. It is foolish and quite irrational for anybody, who is an educated person to make such a claim. I think it does not deserve a response.

On the abandoned Confab re­port…?

It is rather a pity. I think that, sometimes, naturally, when things are meant to go wrong or right , depending on which di­vides one belongs to, the will of God will definitely be done. The fact that the national conference took place is not a guarantee the report would be implemented. This is not the first conference, discussion that was held in Nigeria. There have been so many reports on the Niger Delta. There have been so many recommendations in reports about Nigeria the government has refused to implement. If today, President Muhammadu Buhari says he is not going to implement, or even look at the report of 2014 National Conference, it does not surprise me. What I need to say about that is that, the 2014 National Conference is not about President Buhari; it was not about President Goodluck Jonathan. It is about the people of Nigeria. That con­ference, we discussed everything about Nigeria, except the break-up of Nigeria. Some of the discussion led to the conclu­sion that if we cannot achieve it, let Nige­ria break. But, we did not go there. We did not discuss the break-up of Nigeria. Some of the issues we discussed were the issues of local government; that local govern­ment should be maintained from the state. I want to see how Kano State can main­tain 44 local governments. Kano is using the money that is looted from the Niger Delta region, local governments and the oil companies that are partners there. Bayelsa State that produces the largest quantity of the resource that Nigeria is using has eight local governments. While a state like Rivers, which produces huge amount of oil gets only 23 local govern­ments. On the national conference, we discussed the issue of grazing bill and it was completely knocked out. But, they are trying to bring it in through the back door. The money that is owed the Niger Delta Development Commission, we agreed that it should be paid to the com­mission. We also discussed the issue of self-determination and indigenous people to be able to determine whether to have self-determination. It was well discussed at the national conference. We also dis­cussed the issue of revenue allocation percentage. It was at this stage I deviated from my committee. I disagreed with them on the 13 percentage that should go to the Niger Delta. The fact that the presi­dent today said he never supported the national conference, it is not about him. It is about millions of Nigerian people well represented at the national conference. Some of the agitation in Nigeria today, and future agitation, would be failure of the government to implement core areas in the report of the 2014 National Confer­ence. I repeat, the National Conference report is not about one person; it is defi­nitely not about President Muhammadu Buhari. It is about the people that make the south, north, east and west, all the eth­nic groups that make up Nigeria. Failure to implement any core area of the report is going to be very dangerous for Nigeria in the future. It would lead to more agitation. It would be very dangerous for anybody who loves Nigeria to insist that, that will not be implemented.

How do you see the re-emer­gence of militancy, particularly Niger Delta Avengers?

I think that the re-emergence of armed agitation in Niger Delta should not come as a surprise to anybody. Why should it come as a surprise? The core issues of Ni­ger Delta people have not been addressed. This issue did not start today, or when Jonathan became president. It started way back in the days of King Jaja of Opobo, Nana of Itsekiri, that rose against the co­lonial government. Nigeria has always been governed for economic benefit. If you look back, you will see that the re-emergence of armed agitators started way back. There was this agitation before in­dependence was given. The Niger Delta region was given grade ‘A’ by the British government, which means that the region should be given priority attention for de­velopment because of its terrain. That was why the Niger Delta River Basin Devel­opment Commission was established. But, the North also went and clamoured and similar commission was established. It was not part of the initial arrangement. The North was a grade ‘B’ in terms of de­velopment because it requires less money to develop compared to the Niger Delta. Take note, for many years back, the mainstay of the economy of the country is oil and gas. Till today, Niger Delta is producing the mainstay of the economy of the country. Niger Delta is the eco­nomic life of Nigeria. Without the Niger Delta oil and gas, today, as we are talk­ing, Nigeria will collapse economically. So, when you look back, you remember, Adaka Boro came and had a 12 day war; Saro Wiwa came up and declared non-violent agitation for equity and justice for his Ogoni people, which was quite right and I support it. From that day till today, Ogoni oil is still remaining in Ogoni land. The oil has not left Ogoni soil. And I con­tinue to wonder, have Ogoni people been incarcerated? Have they been wiped out? So, why is it that there must be an attack when Ijaw people make their position known? I am not surprised that we have the issues of Niger Delta Avengers. Then, MEND was offered amnesty. Under the same circumstances, amnesty was of­fered, Gbaramatu was attacked. Tompolo was being looked for by the same Federal Government. Amnesty was offered by late President Umaru Yar’Adua because oil dropped. Today, we learnt that oil has dropped that low. If you balance the barrel Nigeria is selling at present, you would discover that the country has lost much. The situation in Nigeria is worse.

Look at the price of dollar, rising to N370 per dollar as at today. Nigeria is in trouble. So, I am not surprised one group is armed for agitation in Niger Delta, because neither the NDDC, OM­PADEC, Ministry of Niger Delta Af­fairs can solve the issues of Niger Delta clamour for equity and justice. They can­not be pacified by NDDC, OMPADEC, or Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. The region can only be pacified by true fis­cal federalism. I believe that the Niger Delta people are justified to demand for fiscal federalism. We must address the is­sue; we cannot run away from the truth. We must address that issue that unites us as people. Look, my brother, we have a country that has 36 states; a country that shifted its capital from Lagos to Abuja in 30 years. And what developed Abuja and will continue to develop Abuja is coming from Niger Delta. Continue to tell me that, that situation will still go on and I cannot account for 13 percent, is really blackmail and Niger Delta will no longer accept it. So, that question, if you are asking me to account for 13 per­cent of my property, I want to ask you, what will you say you have done with 87 percent of my own that you have been stealing from me? In fact, states that can­not pay salaries of their workers should collapse the same way they came. That is why we are calling for true fiscal fed­eralism. It is not proper that you use the resources of nine oil producing states to develop the rest states out of the 36 states in country. That is why there will still be re-emergence of armed agitators.

The difference between Niger Delta Avengers and what I am going about doing is, I am a non-violent agitator for equity for the South-South and South East people and for the Middle Belt. The difference between me and the Avengers is, they have chosen to carry arms. The Niger Delta Avengers could be from any­where. If Fulani herdsmen could come from other countries, who is sure that they (Avengers) are Ijaw people? I think it is victimization on the part of federal government. I think there is plan by the federal government to alienate the Ijaw people and take their land and resources from them. Why must Federal Govern­ment look for the Niger Delta Avengers in the Ijaw territory? Are we the only people in the Niger Delta? It is unfair and unacceptable and to create impression that Ijaw people are violent; and I am highly offended by it. In fact, Nigeria is governed on the tripod of corruption. Can it be said that corruption that cuts across the country, it is Ijaw people that are cul­pable? That is unacceptable.