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I remember a story I read once about a mountain climber who fell from a mountain in the night; he descended through various height before finally clinging to a piece of cold rock. It was snowing and dark that he could not make out any visible outline. He knew through experience that the longer he hung to the piece of rock, the lower his chances of survival. He was so grateful to be alive that he decided to praise and pray to God; he said “I really do thank you Lord because you are omnipotent and omniscient; you know everything and your words are always true. God please save me from this position; anything you say I should do, I will do.”

 

 

 

He finished the prayer and praise session and hung on the piece of rock depending on it with all his life. In the quiet of the night, he heard a clear distinct voice; “leave the rock!” He was shocked; he knew there was no one in sight and the word he heard was contrary to logic. How can he leave what had saved him from death? How can he knowingly commit suicide by leaving the piece of rock that he had come to depend on? This piece of rock was his platform of survival even if he dies in about six hours’ time, he will have the luxury of those precious hours.

 

 

 

The weather started getting the better of him; the snow was excruciating and he started losing the feel of his leg and hand. He shouted to God for help and almost immediately the voice came back; “leave the rock!” The more he heard the voice, the more he clung to the piece of rock. He died slowly and painfully. He was discovered by the locales in the morning hanging on a piece of rock three feet to the ground.        

 

 

 

Each time I read this story, Nigeria comes to mind and her strong hold on oil. Oil can be compared to the piece of rock that salvaged the mountain climber from falling off; oil is what appears to keep us economical buoyant in an impoverished continent but It is probably going to cause Nigeria’s demise if it is not checked. I am sure most readers will be wondering the possibility of my last statement but come to think of it; I want you to cast your mind to the sixties before Nigeria discovered oil and it’s potential. Well, I was not born at the time but I remember the stories my parents told me; the incorrupt nature of our leaders; the strong work ethic of the ordinary citizens; student’s desire to go through the school’s process; strong GDP; exportation of other resources like cash crops, gold, etc;

 

 

 

Then the oil came and our story changed; we had more money and our greatest problem was how to spend the money. Our values began to deteriorate because we saw an easier way to make money and this ‘Band-Aid’ attitude was communicated to the entire nation. Imagine earning a one year’s income in one single day; imagine saving money for years to buy a car and your son just bought a superior car after 2 months of work; imagine the farmers watching their lazy neighbors live a superior lifestyle while they toil all day to eat. Keep imagining and you will realize that our mindset changed from a “process” mentality to an “end” mentality.

 

 

 

Everybody decides to get rich quick; the oil showed us an easier route to acquire wealth and we clung to it with all our hearts. Let’s take sometime to examine this oil and the value it projects. Oil just like money, has no intrinsic value; its value is based on the demand of people at a particular season. This demand is caused by the perceived need of the people. The History of crude oil shows that oil has always been relevant to man since 347CE for lightning and medicinal purpose but oil became worldly-relevant after the invention of the internal combustion engine and this invention has sustained the industry till date. This simply means the only reason oil exists as an important commodity is because of an invention.

 

 

 

This is the issue with commodity depending on an invention; when the invention becomes obsolete due to a superior invention, the commodity becomes worthless. The commodity is thus not really what Nigerians should rely on. With so much talk on about green environment, high fuel prices and the discovery of hybrid engines, it will not be long before a new model of engine will be discovered that will impoverish some nations that depend on oil. The future is definitely not oil; United States has reduced its dependency on oil for generating electric power to 2%; most oil derivative products are denounced in Sweden and the list goes on. Then what is the future?

 

 

 

I like to use UAE as an example of a nation that sees the future; a nation if it depended on only oil will be more justified than Nigeria. UAE is among the Arab 5 (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Iraq and Qatar) that are known to be the largest producers of crude oil and with their very low population, the money derived from oil could sustain them for years to come. UAE discovered and commercialized oil in 1962 which was about the same time for Nigeria but there was a huge difference between these two countries before their oil discovery; The Emirates lived in raffia tents in the hot desert while Nigerians lived in cement houses.

 

 

 

The Emirates learnt the power of discipline while living in these tents; they knew how to appropriate resources or they will die. They hardly get the basic things of life like water; the sun and the sand was their best companion but this was different for Nigerians, they depended heavily on their colonial masters to guide them on how to appropriate their resources which were enormous – cocoa, groundnut, palms, metals, etc. When the oil boomed for both countries, it was easier for the Emirates to appropriate funds derived from oil appropriately; they built one of the leading airlines in the world; they have the most reputable retail gold jewelry industry though they do not produce gold; their free trade zone is widely popular; their tourism is second to none.

 

 

 

What can Nigeria boast of from the oil funds; massive emigrants to developed nations; kidnapping of foreign investors; highly corrupt governance; deteriorating standards of living and the list goes on. The arguments I get from those I discuss this with is that Nigeria is more populated. Then I tell them my experience on Tianhe Lu Bridge in Guangzhou, China; I looked down and I saw a replica of Oshodi Market; human beings were in a colony like Ants but the population was far bigger than the Oshodi Market population and the environment was very clean and highly modernized. The argument always stops after telling them this experience because it really has nothing to do with the population.

 

 

 

The issue lies with the capacity of the minds of the people and their dependence on limiting resources. One of my favorite documentaries on Africa Magic Plus is “Eye on Africa with Daniel”; it focuses on the socio-economic development of different African Nations. Rwanda was the focus for Daniel; the Rwandan war has left the country in a deplorable state. All the Rwandan citizens that were interviewed agreed instinctively that the best way to develop the country was to develop the people; when people are developed, the country or organization ultimately gets developed.

 

 

 

Coming down to a personal level, it is amazing on how many people depend on resources or the external factors to elevate their self esteem. One of the funniest statements I hear from Actors and Musicians who have come to the lime light is; “I am who I am because of my fans.” This statement is totally false because what these so called celebrities are saying is that the people make them who they are; if people make you who you are, people can definitely bring you down. It may sound humble and even the right cliché to emphasize but it is the wrong words to emphasize.

 

 

 

People become your fans because they appreciate your talents (which you spent time developing). Immediately you cannot add value to this same people anymore, you are no longer their hero. It’s that simple. This people did not make you; they bought your CDs or films because you are adding a certain value to them. It is ultimately important to understand that when capacity is developed, opportunities are abound. This is what the Rwandans instinctively knew; the Japanese are a living example of what human capital development can do to a nation.

 

 

The oil has become more of a problem than the good that it was initially meant to do just like the man that was saved by the piece rock; it is the dependency on the same piece of rock that caused his demise. Because you got a job and the job made you more economically buoyant does not mean you should depend on the job. The job just like any resource in the world can be wiped out as long as it is developed by human hands. More emphasis should be placed on developing your talent and increasing your personal profile than on relying on any physical resource.

 

 

 

To end this article, I was reading through one of Nigerian’s popular forum and I awed by one particular thread and the attention given to it. The initiator of the thread wrote:

 

 

 

“Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Senator Smart Adeyemi, has advocated an immediate ban on use of generators at home to ensure the success of the expected state of emergency on the power sector.

Senator Adeyemi, who stated this in an interview, said that all hands should be on deck for the success of the state of emergency in the power sector.

He said the government should immediately set a target date of two years to place a ban on use of generators at home.

“We can allow generators at business centers, but after two to three years, when the effects would have been seen, we can then place a total ban on use of generators in every sector. That is when everybody will pray for the success of the emergency,” Senator Adeyemi said.

He said by banning the importation of generators, the government could successfully tackle the cartel that ruined all initiatives in the power sector in the past.

Adeyemi said: “the president must summon the political will. We should take a cue from the way nations have solved their pressing problems. There is no way except leaders take the radical steps. Energy problems have been on for over two decades now and unless we effect change through reasonable radicalism, we may be a long way to success.””

http://www.tribune.com.ng/14072008/news/news7.html

 

   

 

When I scanned through the thread, I realized that the commentators were all missing the point just like the senator above. I am not really into politics and stuffs but I keep close tabs to what will affect the socio-economic landslide of a nation or person. The issue was not with the generator importers but with the oil producers and marketers so I wrote:

 

 

“I believe there are some points not aired on this forum:

1. Generators are powered by Oil products and its derivatives.

2. Most government big boys deal with Oil whether owning oil wells or marketing various oil products.

3. The influx of generators will increase the demand for oil products and hence increase the wealth profile of the Government Big Boys.

4. Most exclusive deals on generators importation in Nigeria is by Ibo merchants who are not politically inclined (at least in the national level); I doubt if they have such influence to affect power supply in Nigeria.

5. The government of the day comprises men and women of intellect and wisdom; they are not handicapped in any form.

What do all these points signify?

The debate about whether generator should be banned is a waste of your precious time.

Generators can never be banned!”