SKC Ogbonnia

Dr. SKC Ogbonnia

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, shocked industry insiders at the just concluded SERAPweek in Houston, TX, USA, when he claimed that the United States will no longer buy Nigeria’s crude oil because of the shale boom in the American country. One thing is clear in the honourable minister’s claim: It is either he is displaying abject naivety in the dynamics of US foreign policy or he is plainly being economical with the truth.

The full truth is that the seemingly US boycott of Nigeria’s crude oil is profoundly political. The directive was initiated under President Barrack Obama during the time Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was President of Nigeria. Obama never hid his dislike for corruption in Africa, particularly Nigeria, where most of the crude proceeds had ended up in individual bank accounts.

Enter Buhari.

It was believed that the election of Muhammadu Buhari, as president, could witness dramatic and consequential changes. Though President Buhari has recorded a measurable success in the war against corruption, his accomplishment falls short of the international standard. To that end, the current US president, Donald Trump, has not seen reasons to relax the directive. Hon. Ibe Kachikwu ought to know this fact. Granted that recent shale oil boom has prompted a scale back in US crude imports, yet the country still imports and will continue to import crude oil for strategic reasons.

Help is on the way.

As president, I will restore America’s confidence and genuine investment in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector. I am set to exhibit common sense leadership. It is not a new story that the Western world is growing tired of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Apart from the dizzying corruption within the state oil company, the US, in particular, is very frustrated with the advanced-fee fraud letters that originate from Nigeria, most of which are linked to the NNPC. Not only has this scam devastated many American lives, it has also contributed to Nigeria’s bad image in the United States and elsewhere.

As Nigeria’s next president, I will make NNPC truly transparent and accountable to the admiration of Nigerians and the international community. For example, besides the much-needed overhaul of the oil giant, one of the many executive orders I will sign on Day 1 of my presidency is the establishment of an NNPC office in the United States. An NNPC office in the US will offer prospective foreign investors the opportunity to conduct business inquiries or the necessary due diligence on various bogus offers with Nigerian addresses. It is mind-boggling that Nigeria is the only major oil-producing nation that does not boast of an office dedicated to its oil and gas interests in the United States, especially in Houston, Texas, the Oil and Gas capital of the world.

Moreover, the United States of America is very familiar with my background.

POWER TO THE MASSES: SKC Ogbonnia for President

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