The Mele Kyari -led management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, NNPC in the past few years has shown enough savvy in the protection of Nigeria’s national wealth as it concerns the war against oil theft and its effects on national security.
Eshanakpe Israel a.k.a Akpodoro who is the Mayor of Urhoboland seeks to juxtapose the successes of the NNPCL, Tantita Security Services Nig Ltd and the entire national security as it concerns the dwindling fortunes of oil thieves in the creeks of the Niger Delta region.
The mayor’s analysis is to unravel the magic wand applied as an elixir by the management of NNPC to stem the tide of banditry in the Nigerian territorial waters vis avis the national security situation.
Before the Nigerian joint venture partner decided to cede the surveillance security contract of oil facilities in the Delta to Tantita security, to Akpodoro, the nation’s wealth plummeted hopelessly as every Tom, Dick and Harry veered into illicit oil bunkering, putting pressure on the national security architecture spiraling to other areas of national security.
For instance, it is believed that money from oil theft formed part of what was used to fund banditry in the North West, insurgency in the North East and the nefarious activities of the blood thirsty Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB and the Eastern Security Network, ESN, a development that has been tormenting the innocent citizens in those geopolitical zones.
Money from oil theft and vandalism of oil facilities is used long before last year when Kyari’s NNPCL awarded the surveillance security contract to Tantita Security services Ltd, an oil facility security firm owned by Chief Government Ekpemukpolo, a.k.a Tomopolo according to the Mayor of Urhoboland to build war chest for political supremacy by the political and business elites who dangerously engage in oil theft by proxies.
Of note, however, was the award of security contract to some security liabilities who turn to fleece the system by abandoning the contract and collecting huge sum in contract sum for doing nothing.
The threat to national security came to a crescendo when the illicit trade in oil theft boomed. Foreign collaborators were recruited massively while supposed security agencies bribed their ways into the Delta region, pay returns to the authorities that posted them, and ultimately undermined security of the nation.
A time was when industry experts raised the alarm of threats to security through our waterways due to the compromise of the national security by those who were paid to secure the wealth of the nation.
Until TSSNL came on board the Nigerian waterways, the entire bulwark of security in the country was nothing to write home about, particularly as it concerns security management. Not even the senior oil workers are exempted form the unfortunate mess that once characterised the oil industry as most of them sponsor protests, overtly and covertly engage in and, or aid oil theft and vandalism in exchange for money.
Not left out of this unpatriotic act is the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN whose members are alleged wheelers and dealers in stolen petroleum products and distributing same across their markets where they sell the stolen products and oftentimes smuggle same into other countries and this accounted for why citizens of other countries protested the removal of oil subsidy in Nigeria.
Additionally and most importantly is the attitude of recalcitrants who deliberately paint ethnic colourations in otherwise political confrontations and thereby issue threats of vandalising oil facilities in the creeks over conflict of interests which of course can be easily resolved through the intervention of the president and notable political leaders in the country.
All this pile pressure on national security and the earlier the president rises to the occasion in the Rivers state, the better for the nation. Taking side or keeping mute in the political imbroglio ongoing in that Niger Delta state would not help the nation. It should rather be proactively handled and not allowed to escalate so as to forestall unsavoury development. The president has the wherewithal to stop the conflict of interests pervading the state.
At a point, the negative impact of oil theft in Nigeria assumed international proportion as Nigeria became a hub for oil thieves across the globe until the Kyari-led NNPCL decided to recruit TSSNL for the rescue of the Nigeria’s oil wealth ostensibly redirecting national security.
Aptly and timeously, the NNPCL brought in the TSSNL to rescue the nation’s oil wealth from plundering, theft, criminalities, sea piracy, vandalism, sabotage, rentseeking, insecurity and racketeering.
Since TSSNL took over the security of pipelines, it has dwarfed its contemporaries to whom other axis of the contract were given, thereby making Tompolo’s security firm the best among the pack. It has achieved a whole lot of feats even in the face of sabotage, scandal, propaganda, jealousy and hatred-induced blackmail by disgruntled elements within the nation’s security apparatus who have been edged out of illicit trade in the oil industry.
The nation is currently enjoying a relative peace in her waterways as TSSNL has pushed away the petroleum products rustlers to whom the oil wealth is a cash-cow and bringing about hope in the future of Nigeria. The country’s quota among its peers in the Oil Producing Exporting Countries, OPEC has been steadily on the rise since last year when TSSNL chose to do the right thing, having been empowered to so do.
On the side of the TSSNL, productivity is high, the national security is near stable while the wealth of the nation rises. The office of the Nuhu Ribadu-led office of the National Security Adviser to the President, NSA,should maintain the current tempo for a much better future while the president expeditiously renews the surveillance contract awarded to Tantita Security Services Nig Ltd.
Mayor Akpodoro is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Agimor Group Ltd and renowned ex-agitators leader
