I read that Yaradua is seeking global help for the treatment of stolen crude oil the same way stolen diamond is treated. Read:
I appeal to you and through you to all other G-8 leaders to support my new proposal which I will discuss with UN Secretary General, that stolen crude should be treated like stolen diamonds, because they both generate blood money. “Like what is now known as ‘blood diamond,’ stolen crude also aids corruption and violence and can provoke war.
He said this in Japan, at the G-8 meeting. What do you guys think? Think it is a good idea? Or a good start at least? You can read more here and here.
Hmmm.. He’s going through the motions, picking up some marginal idea and making it his “crusade” or something..
He’s overblowing a problem and should spend more time trying to resolve it through his day job.. you know being the president of Nigeria.
Hmmm.. He’s going through the motions, picking up some marginal idea and making it his “crusade” or something..
He’s overblowing a problem and should spend more time trying to resolve it through his day job.. you know being the president of Nigeria.
Random African,
Nice to know you are still around.
Hmm…. I think that he is tying to take another look at the problem. If you are familiar with the nuances of the Niger-Delta problem I am sure you would appreciate the mess that the whole issue is. I think this is an idea he hopes would not create too much of a political mess for him at home.
Random African,
Nice to know you are still around.
Hmm…. I think that he is tying to take another look at the problem. If you are familiar with the nuances of the Niger-Delta problem I am sure you would appreciate the mess that the whole issue is. I think this is an idea he hopes would not create too much of a political mess for him at home.
I dont understand
I dont understand
Yes, I know how much of a mess the Delta situation is.
But I still think there’s something illogical about the comparison between stolen oil and blood diamonds and the businessday editorial with sentences like “stolen oil finances criminal activities” didn’t make it better.
But let me try to explain myself.
In conflict diamonds, the model is simple: military outfit (rebel or gov) gets its hands on diamonds, sells them and buys weapons with the money and uses weapons to fight wars and to get more diamonds (by conquering diamond producing areas/mines).
The problem with oil is that Nigeria is an existing state, which has a president who is commander in chief of security services who control the national territory and oil, contrary to diamonds in Sierra Leone has to be drilled by multi-national corporations.
That means that it’s impossible for the militants to actually have control of actual rigs and exploit them like the rebels did in Angola or Liberia.
However what can happen is militants “tapping” into pipelines. But 10% is a HUGE AMOUNT of oil to tap out of pipelines and in any case, who is it sold to ? I know there’s a local black market but selling 10% OF NIGERIA’S CRUDE OIL requires some exports, massive exports. If anything one has to wonder how that can happen without the Nigerian customs noticing..
Now in the BusinessDay article there are references to involvement from the oil companies and the story gets complicated.
First of all, the main “criminal activity” the stolen oil alledgely finances is kidnapping of oil workers. Think about it, Niger Delta Militants buy weapons by selling oil stolen from the oil companies to oil companies and use them to kidnap oil workers and get ransom from oil companies. What exactly the oil companies get from this mess ?
But we’re also talking about oil companies drilling beyond the quotas, which is very possible… In that particular setting, what is the role of the militants ? Do they need guns to drill ? Do they need guns to under-report ? And if they fund militants to make the Nigerian government look somewhere else, why are those militants attacking them more often than the government ?
At the end of the day, the 10% statistic is probably not about actual physical oil. It’s the amount of oil drilled in Nigeria that doesn’t show in the Nigerian government books (and/or coffers). And the disapearance can happen at many levels, including within the Nigerian government.
Like I said, I don’t see what he’s trying to achieve by making that speech at the G8. A ban on oil imports from Nigeria ? Should people start sending him a fax everytime they think they have Nigerian oil just so he can make sure it’s not “stolen” ? Wouldn’t making a better effort at improving the situation in the Delta AND at curbing corruption in the government (federal, state and local) be..hmm.. more efficient ?
And being the president of Nigeria, he could do it if he wasn’t busy giving weird speeches in Tokyo.
Yes, I know how much of a mess the Delta situation is.
But I still think there’s something illogical about the comparison between stolen oil and blood diamonds and the businessday editorial with sentences like “stolen oil finances criminal activities” didn’t make it better.
But let me try to explain myself.
In conflict diamonds, the model is simple: military outfit (rebel or gov) gets its hands on diamonds, sells them and buys weapons with the money and uses weapons to fight wars and to get more diamonds (by conquering diamond producing areas/mines).
The problem with oil is that Nigeria is an existing state, which has a president who is commander in chief of security services who control the national territory and oil, contrary to diamonds in Sierra Leone has to be drilled by multi-national corporations.
That means that it’s impossible for the militants to actually have control of actual rigs and exploit them like the rebels did in Angola or Liberia.
However what can happen is militants “tapping” into pipelines. But 10% is a HUGE AMOUNT of oil to tap out of pipelines and in any case, who is it sold to ? I know there’s a local black market but selling 10% OF NIGERIA’S CRUDE OIL requires some exports, massive exports. If anything one has to wonder how that can happen without the Nigerian customs noticing..
Now in the BusinessDay article there are references to involvement from the oil companies and the story gets complicated.
First of all, the main “criminal activity” the stolen oil alledgely finances is kidnapping of oil workers. Think about it, Niger Delta Militants buy weapons by selling oil stolen from the oil companies to oil companies and use them to kidnap oil workers and get ransom from oil companies. What exactly the oil companies get from this mess ?
But we’re also talking about oil companies drilling beyond the quotas, which is very possible… In that particular setting, what is the role of the militants ? Do they need guns to drill ? Do they need guns to under-report ? And if they fund militants to make the Nigerian government look somewhere else, why are those militants attacking them more often than the government ?
At the end of the day, the 10% statistic is probably not about actual physical oil. It’s the amount of oil drilled in Nigeria that doesn’t show in the Nigerian government books (and/or coffers). And the disapearance can happen at many levels, including within the Nigerian government.
Like I said, I don’t see what he’s trying to achieve by making that speech at the G8. A ban on oil imports from Nigeria ? Should people start sending him a fax everytime they think they have Nigerian oil just so he can make sure it’s not “stolen” ? Wouldn’t making a better effort at improving the situation in the Delta AND at curbing corruption in the government (federal, state and local) be..hmm.. more efficient ?
And being the president of Nigeria, he could do it if he wasn’t busy giving weird speeches in Tokyo.
Random African,
One can only take the comparison between stolen diamonds and stolen crude oil so far. I agree with you that the disappearance is supposed to reflect the difference between oil drilled and the money reported to the Nigerian government. Believe me, a mess that is even more difficult to understand than the Niger-Delta mess is the structure of the oil industry in Nigeria. One does not know, easily, the actual amount of the oil pumped out of the country, who controls what and who gets what. So yea, I totally agree with you on that.
It is quite possible that militants finance themselves through stolen oil, and I cannot imagine that they could easily sell the oil on the international market like one could stolen diamond. That is where I think the deal with oil companies also come in.
Same with the deal with customs (I know a bit about the customs issue from my ethnographic study), so I think that not much can happen without the Nigerian customs – or at least some of the officials – knowing about it.
So the curious mix of all these makes for a pretty difficult thing to tackle. They absolutely need to work on the corruption issues in Nigeria, and very fast. My sympathy towards Mr Yaradua is simply from my acknowledgment of the difficulty of dealing with the issue. If what his G8 talk would do is to get some global leaders discussing the issue, and to get the oil companies to start talking about how clean their hands are concerning matters of stolen oil it has achieved something. Actually, it might end up showing that much of the responsibility lies with the Nigerian government, but at least let us start having a discussion about that, a discussion that would be difficult to start in Nigeria because of, yes, corruption and the ineptitude of the Nigerian press.
Random African,
One can only take the comparison between stolen diamonds and stolen crude oil so far. I agree with you that the disappearance is supposed to reflect the difference between oil drilled and the money reported to the Nigerian government. Believe me, a mess that is even more difficult to understand than the Niger-Delta mess is the structure of the oil industry in Nigeria. One does not know, easily, the actual amount of the oil pumped out of the country, who controls what and who gets what. So yea, I totally agree with you on that.
It is quite possible that militants finance themselves through stolen oil, and I cannot imagine that they could easily sell the oil on the international market like one could stolen diamond. That is where I think the deal with oil companies also come in.
Same with the deal with customs (I know a bit about the customs issue from my ethnographic study), so I think that not much can happen without the Nigerian customs – or at least some of the officials – knowing about it.
So the curious mix of all these makes for a pretty difficult thing to tackle. They absolutely need to work on the corruption issues in Nigeria, and very fast. My sympathy towards Mr Yaradua is simply from my acknowledgment of the difficulty of dealing with the issue. If what his G8 talk would do is to get some global leaders discussing the issue, and to get the oil companies to start talking about how clean their hands are concerning matters of stolen oil it has achieved something. Actually, it might end up showing that much of the responsibility lies with the Nigerian government, but at least let us start having a discussion about that, a discussion that would be difficult to start in Nigeria because of, yes, corruption and the ineptitude of the Nigerian press.
“It is quite possible that militants finance themselves through stolen oil, and I cannot imagine that they could easily sell the oil on the international market like one could stolen diamond. That is where I think the deal with oil companies also come in.”
I still don’t get how this could work. If militants sell stolen oil to the oil companies, who exactly are they stealing it from ? Are they drilling illegally ? Do they really manage to steal 10% of Nigeria’s oil by tapping on pipelines here and there ? How do they transport it ? Or if they’re highjacking barges, does it mean that they’re stealing from oil companies and selling to other oil companies ?
My issue is that before appealing for intervention one has to prove that the problem really exists. And I’ve yet to read a coherent explanation.
I understand that many are hungry for anything that would start a conversation on oil and hopefully reforms but this just doesn’t sound right. And I’m worried that it may be yet another big distraction. After all, it’s like much good is done with the 90% of Nigerian oil that is not stolen.
“It is quite possible that militants finance themselves through stolen oil, and I cannot imagine that they could easily sell the oil on the international market like one could stolen diamond. That is where I think the deal with oil companies also come in.”
I still don’t get how this could work. If militants sell stolen oil to the oil companies, who exactly are they stealing it from ? Are they drilling illegally ? Do they really manage to steal 10% of Nigeria’s oil by tapping on pipelines here and there ? How do they transport it ? Or if they’re highjacking barges, does it mean that they’re stealing from oil companies and selling to other oil companies ?
My issue is that before appealing for intervention one has to prove that the problem really exists. And I’ve yet to read a coherent explanation.
I understand that many are hungry for anything that would start a conversation on oil and hopefully reforms but this just doesn’t sound right. And I’m worried that it may be yet another big distraction. After all, it’s like much good is done with the 90% of Nigerian oil that is not stolen.
“It is quite possible that militants finance themselves through stolen oil, and I cannot imagine that they could easily sell the oil on the international market like one could stolen diamond. That is where I think the deal with oil companies also come in.”
I still don’t get how this could work. If militants sell stolen oil to the oil companies, who exactly are they stealing it from ? Are they drilling illegally ? Do they really manage to steal 10% of Nigeria’s oil by tapping on pipelines here and there ? How do they transport it ? Or if they’re highjacking barges, does it mean that they’re stealing from oil companies and selling to other oil companies ?
My issue is that before appealing for intervention one has to prove that the problem really exists. And I’ve yet to read a coherent explanation.
I understand that many are hungry for anything that would start a conversation on oil and hopefully reforms but this just doesn’t sound right. And I’m worried that it may be yet another big distraction. After all, it’s like much good is done with the 90% of Nigerian oil that is not stolen.
Hmm… those questions you raised certainly need answers, and I am afraid I don’t have them either. I talked to someone yesterday who assured me that there are many people in the Niger-Delta area who have underground tanks from where crude oil is lifted. I asked him how it works but he could not give me any straight answers. Yes, what we have are anecdotes, like the ones I just gave, but I have a strong feeling that there are more to the anecdotes, and that stops me from writing them away as mere conjectures. We can embark on thought experiments about how it works or how it could not work, but I am sure that there are people who have more information about this. And I seriously doubt that Yaradua would make that kind of statement without any knowledge about it.
Again, let Yaradua make some noise, if possible shake the cage a little, and let’s see what comes from there. And about the distraction? Believe me, no distraction is going to take attention away from the fact that Nigeria’s production of crude oil has fallen drastically this year, and that people continue to get kidnapped in the Niger-Delta.
You said that we this doesn’t sound right; what would sound right to you?
Hmm… those questions you raised certainly need answers, and I am afraid I don’t have them either. I talked to someone yesterday who assured me that there are many people in the Niger-Delta area who have underground tanks from where crude oil is lifted. I asked him how it works but he could not give me any straight answers. Yes, what we have are anecdotes, like the ones I just gave, but I have a strong feeling that there are more to the anecdotes, and that stops me from writing them away as mere conjectures. We can embark on thought experiments about how it works or how it could not work, but I am sure that there are people who have more information about this. And I seriously doubt that Yaradua would make that kind of statement without any knowledge about it.
Again, let Yaradua make some noise, if possible shake the cage a little, and let’s see what comes from there. And about the distraction? Believe me, no distraction is going to take attention away from the fact that Nigeria’s production of crude oil has fallen drastically this year, and that people continue to get kidnapped in the Niger-Delta.
You said that we this doesn’t sound right; what would sound right to you?
Hmm… those questions you raised certainly need answers, and I am afraid I don’t have them either. I talked to someone yesterday who assured me that there are many people in the Niger-Delta area who have underground tanks from where crude oil is lifted. I asked him how it works but he could not give me any straight answers. Yes, what we have are anecdotes, like the ones I just gave, but I have a strong feeling that there are more to the anecdotes, and that stops me from writing them away as mere conjectures. We can embark on thought experiments about how it works or how it could not work, but I am sure that there are people who have more information about this. And I seriously doubt that Yaradua would make that kind of statement without any knowledge about it.
Again, let Yaradua make some noise, if possible shake the cage a little, and let’s see what comes from there. And about the distraction? Believe me, no distraction is going to take attention away from the fact that Nigeria’s production of crude oil has fallen drastically this year, and that people continue to get kidnapped in the Niger-Delta.
You said that we this doesn’t sound right; what would sound right to you?
I’ve heard anectodes too and I’m far from denying there is theft. I have issues with the scales and the narratives.
And I don’t think the distraction is supposed to make everyone forget the mess in the Delta, after all it USES the mess in the Delta. The pink elephant that is being hidden here is what is done with the oil that is not stolen.
In short, it conviniently gives the impression that there’s that huge conspiracy that is making Nigeria poor.
What would sound right to me is a less vague line of accusation, some coherent explanation about how the stolen oil thing works.. So far Yar’Adua vague statement has just led to people making up their own conspiracy theories based on nationalist paranoia. It’s just not good enough.
I’ve heard anectodes too and I’m far from denying there is theft. I have issues with the scales and the narratives.
And I don’t think the distraction is supposed to make everyone forget the mess in the Delta, after all it USES the mess in the Delta. The pink elephant that is being hidden here is what is done with the oil that is not stolen.
In short, it conviniently gives the impression that there’s that huge conspiracy that is making Nigeria poor.
What would sound right to me is a less vague line of accusation, some coherent explanation about how the stolen oil thing works.. So far Yar’Adua vague statement has just led to people making up their own conspiracy theories based on nationalist paranoia. It’s just not good enough.
Ok, here’s a 2004 article that is much more straight-forward about how the stolen oil business works.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2004/nov/17/environment.environment2
Ok, here’s a 2004 article that is much more straight-forward about how the stolen oil business works.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2004/nov/17/environment.environment2
Ha…. Thanks for the link! Here is another one from today http://www.businessdayonline.com/national/12962.html
Ha…. Thanks for the link! Here is another one from today http://www.businessdayonline.com/national/12962.html
“Bunkering is different from vandalism. If the people engage in vandalism in protest against marginalisation, that one is a different thing. But bunkering means you use high technology to open the pipes and siphon crude oil. Those pipes are high-pressure pipes and it is only experienced people that have the technology to open it. The boys in the creeks do not have what it takes to open these pipes. Some security agents are involved”
Although I don’t think the security force-technology link is very logical, I like the fact that someone differentiated the two activities.
Repeating “it funds criminal acts” doesn’t make sense. Criminal acts fund themselves, terrorist militant acts need funding.
“Bunkering is different from vandalism. If the people engage in vandalism in protest against marginalisation, that one is a different thing. But bunkering means you use high technology to open the pipes and siphon crude oil. Those pipes are high-pressure pipes and it is only experienced people that have the technology to open it. The boys in the creeks do not have what it takes to open these pipes. Some security agents are involved”
Although I don’t think the security force-technology link is very logical, I like the fact that someone differentiated the two activities.
Repeating “it funds criminal acts” doesn’t make sense. Criminal acts fund themselves, terrorist militant acts need funding.
Ha… I like your last sentence. Well, what did you think an agent of the state, or someone who is sympathetic towards the states point of view, would call militants?
Ha… I like your last sentence. Well, what did you think an agent of the state, or someone who is sympathetic towards the states point of view, would call militants?
Terrorists, vandals, militants all work.
Of course, I understand that “criminal” works too even if it’s confusing. And I think they’re trying very hard to mantain the confusion. Like in this sentence:
“The other aspect of the Niger Delta challenge is the criminal aspect, those who use the cover of militancy to steal our crude oil and engage in all forms of violence. We know how arms are brought in to support this criminality but we will tackle the menace together with the challenge of development,”
But yeah, at the end of the day, there are two problems in the Niger Delta: a crime problem and an active armed rebellion. The two are probably interwined to an extend (but didn’t MEND arrest some militants accused of rackeeting fishermen) but both issues have their own set of solutions. Assimilating the whole mess to a criminal issue is denying that there are political solutions too.
Terrorists, vandals, militants all work.
Of course, I understand that “criminal” works too even if it’s confusing. And I think they’re trying very hard to mantain the confusion. Like in this sentence:
“The other aspect of the Niger Delta challenge is the criminal aspect, those who use the cover of militancy to steal our crude oil and engage in all forms of violence. We know how arms are brought in to support this criminality but we will tackle the menace together with the challenge of development,”
But yeah, at the end of the day, there are two problems in the Niger Delta: a crime problem and an active armed rebellion. The two are probably interwined to an extend (but didn’t MEND arrest some militants accused of rackeeting fishermen) but both issues have their own set of solutions. Assimilating the whole mess to a criminal issue is denying that there are political solutions too.
I agree with you on that. But then, there are more than two issues in the Niger-Delta… except one wants to see the mismanagement of the area – the original source of grief – as a criminal act by the state.
Ok, I understand that you have written only about one area of the problems…. Yea, they are intertwined in really nuanced ways…. I am actually looking forward to reading a detailed study on the Niger-Delta.
I agree with you on that. But then, there are more than two issues in the Niger-Delta… except one wants to see the mismanagement of the area – the original source of grief – as a criminal act by the state.
Ok, I understand that you have written only about one area of the problems…. Yea, they are intertwined in really nuanced ways…. I am actually looking forward to reading a detailed study on the Niger-Delta.
I also would like to have a better understanding about the role of godfatherism in the issue.
It seems like everyone agree that the “militants” are used by local politicians. What I would like to know is who pays who. I heard people argue that the politicians pay and arm militants to attack their enemies or blackmail oil companies but I also heard people argue that politicians use militants to raise money for their campaign through the criminal activities. And I heard that they do both.
It’s really weird and sad because for all the talk about criminality and how much Nigeria is hurt, it’s quite clear to me that the Nigerian state and to an extend all Nigerians did wrong the inhabitants of the Delta. But I see no sense of guilt or wrongness in most conversations. And now it’s blowing up.
I also would like to have a better understanding about the role of godfatherism in the issue.
It seems like everyone agree that the “militants” are used by local politicians. What I would like to know is who pays who. I heard people argue that the politicians pay and arm militants to attack their enemies or blackmail oil companies but I also heard people argue that politicians use militants to raise money for their campaign through the criminal activities. And I heard that they do both.
It’s really weird and sad because for all the talk about criminality and how much Nigeria is hurt, it’s quite clear to me that the Nigerian state and to an extend all Nigerians did wrong the inhabitants of the Delta. But I see no sense of guilt or wrongness in most conversations. And now it’s blowing up.
This is golden ( http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/caf34f7e-529c-11dd-9ba7-000077b07658.html ):
“Mr Brown has offered Britain’s help in cracking down on an insurrection in the oil-producing Niger Delta region, where theft and sabotage has shut in about a quarter of Africa’s leading oil producer’s output and contributed to soaring world energy prices.
“These are criminal acts… What we’re looking at is how we can help ensure there is law and order in what is a very dangerous area,” Mr Brown said, in comments ahead of the visit construed in parts of the British and Nigerian media as a precursor to British military assistance.
His offer has received a mixed response in Nigeria. One Nigerian official said that while support from Britain in patrolling international waters offshore could be helpful, any suggestion of British military assistance inside Nigeria would be counter-productive.
Powerful figures in the government and military who are involved in the oil theft could undermine any foreign-backed counter-insurgency strategy by painting it as a threat to Nigerian sovereignty.
Some Nigerian officials and politicians believe that Britain could be of most help if it threw its diplomatic weight behind efforts to curtail the international trade in stolen Nigerian oil.”
“Mr Yar’Adua echoed some of the Cole proposals at the G8 summit in Japan last week, when he called for a tracking system for crude oil similar to the Kimberley process set up to curb the trade in diamonds from African war zones.”
“Members of the Arewa consultative forum, a gathering of northern leaders, have called for tough action to crush the militants.”
————–
So Gordon Brown proposes to help clamping down on oil theft in a military way. Some Nigerian officials are more interested in making stolen oil harder to sell. And of course, Arewa demands killings.
We need to find something about who buys the stolen oil. I mean it’s not like that filipino ship was about to behave like old times trader caravans and show up in London saying “we have some crude oil to sell”. So either it’s sold through proxies again and again or like the old guardian article suggests it’s sold in less develloped and less secure places where a ship can show up and say “i have a 100 tons of crude oil to sell”.
This is fascinating.
This is golden ( http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/caf34f7e-529c-11dd-9ba7-000077b07658.html ):
“Mr Brown has offered Britain’s help in cracking down on an insurrection in the oil-producing Niger Delta region, where theft and sabotage has shut in about a quarter of Africa’s leading oil producer’s output and contributed to soaring world energy prices.
“These are criminal acts… What we’re looking at is how we can help ensure there is law and order in what is a very dangerous area,” Mr Brown said, in comments ahead of the visit construed in parts of the British and Nigerian media as a precursor to British military assistance.
His offer has received a mixed response in Nigeria. One Nigerian official said that while support from Britain in patrolling international waters offshore could be helpful, any suggestion of British military assistance inside Nigeria would be counter-productive.
Powerful figures in the government and military who are involved in the oil theft could undermine any foreign-backed counter-insurgency strategy by painting it as a threat to Nigerian sovereignty.
Some Nigerian officials and politicians believe that Britain could be of most help if it threw its diplomatic weight behind efforts to curtail the international trade in stolen Nigerian oil.”
“Mr Yar’Adua echoed some of the Cole proposals at the G8 summit in Japan last week, when he called for a tracking system for crude oil similar to the Kimberley process set up to curb the trade in diamonds from African war zones.”
“Members of the Arewa consultative forum, a gathering of northern leaders, have called for tough action to crush the militants.”
————–
So Gordon Brown proposes to help clamping down on oil theft in a military way. Some Nigerian officials are more interested in making stolen oil harder to sell. And of course, Arewa demands killings.
We need to find something about who buys the stolen oil. I mean it’s not like that filipino ship was about to behave like old times trader caravans and show up in London saying “we have some crude oil to sell”. So either it’s sold through proxies again and again or like the old guardian article suggests it’s sold in less develloped and less secure places where a ship can show up and say “i have a 100 tons of crude oil to sell”.
This is fascinating.
Is it me or many articles on Nigeria end with “Arewa has called for tough action” ?
Seriously.
Is it me or many articles on Nigeria end with “Arewa has called for tough action” ?
Seriously.