Tam David-West, professor of Virology and former minister of petroleum resources under Muhammadu Buhari, former military head of state, and Ibrahim Babangida, former military president, has been consistent in his argument against total government’s plan to remove the subsidy on fuel
You have always maintained that there is nothing like (fuel) subsidy. How do you justify it? For instance, what is the landing cost per litre of petrol sold to us at filling stations across the country?
First of all, let us talk about subsidy. What is subsidy? All this talk about landing cost, demurrage is rubbish, fraud and corruption. I repeat, there is nothing like fuel subsidy in Nigeria; it is fraud. I challenge all those who insist that there is subsidy and that government should remove the so-called subsidy, including Emeka Anyaoku, former secretary-general of the Commonwealth. What Anyaoku is saying is immoral; he is the chairman of Orient Petroleum, which is building a refinery somewhere in the country in collaboration with a foreign partner. Anyaoku has no moral right to ask (President Goodluck) Jonathan to remove subsidy.
But do you have an idea how much it costs to import fuel at the moment?
Wait a minute! If they like let them import fuel with $1 billion, that does not interest Tam David-West and the common man. In an article I wrote in July 31, 1996, (en)titled: Refineries Breakdown: Sabotage Theory, I noted that the idea of all the four refineries not functioning is sabotage. The total installed capacity of the four refineries is 445,000 barrels per day, bpd. The total we need is about 300,000 bpd. They deliberately sabotaged the refineries, to create an atmosphere of artificial scarcity of petroleum products, so they can import fuel from outside the country. For instance, in 1995 alone petroleum products worth $800 million [was] imported into the country. That amount is sufficient to build three refineries in the country. Similarly, from January to June 1996, we imported fuel worth $451 million. By September of the same year the figure had risen to $600 million. I can go on and on. Since 1996 we have not been able to revive the existing four refineries; we have also not been able to build new ones. We have not been able to improve our refining capacity because a few highly placed persons are gaining from it. Abdulsalami Abubakar declined to comment on the refineries when he was head of state, saying that he would not want to open the Pandora’s box of scandals in the criminal neglect of Nigerian refineries. The House of Representatives in 2009 equally agreed that there is a cabal behind the breakdown of the refineries.
Who are those benefitting from the so-called subsidy, because government seems to be keeping it as a top secret?
The people behind fuel importation are big men in the system. They know them and I know them. Nigeria is a nation of cover-ups. One day these cover-ups will explode and consume all the big men behind them. The Okigbo panel report, which probed government’s role in mismanaging $12.4 billion Gulf War oil windfall, was submitted to government in September 1994, but was declared mysteriously missing from government records soon thereafter. If there is nothing fishy in these importation deals, I challenge the NNPC to publish the full list of these importers and their agents. If that list is published, some of them will run out of this country. But I will reveal the identity of those behind fuel importation in due course if Jonathan refuses to obey the voice of the people. Let us assume that it is necessary to import fuel for a particular time. But must we continue to import fuel forever?
How does the current price of petroleum products in Nigeria compare with that of other oil producing nations?
They have been telling us that our fuel costs less than that of other oil producing nations. But it is all lies. The current price in Iran is N58.40 per litre; Kuwait N30.16; Qatar N32.12; Saudi Arabia N17.50; UAE N54.02; Venezuela N5.84; Libya N15.95; Egypt N46.17; Malaysia N73; Bahrain N39.42; US N108.04; and Indonesia N81.14. With the exception of Malaysia, the other countries where fuel is more expensive than Nigeria’s are not oil-producing countries. Aret Adams, former GMD of the NNPC, in a paper he delivered at the NIIA on July 28, 1997, (entitled: Managing Nigeria’s Oil Resources), said ‘I believe that if quality petroleum products are imported into this country, without the need to pay outrageous commissions, the pump price would be under N20 per litre.’
Why in your view has the country not attracted investment in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry?
They have also told us a lot of lies in this regard. They keep saying we cannot attract investment because the price of petroleum products is too low. It’s a lie. We have not been able to attract investment simply because corruption is too much. No investor would come into your country to invest hundreds of millions of dollars when he cannot guarantee the safety of his investment. Some of our so-called leaders, before they even listen to you at all, they would give you account numbers abroad to pay in some tidy sum of money to facilitate your case. So, genuine investors are not interested because corruption is too much and the atmosphere is not conducive.
What can be done to get oil majors to build refineries in Nigeria as obtains in other countries?
Get leaders that would love Nigeria more than they love themselves. The accountability quotient of over 90 per cent of Nigerian people in government is on the negative. We must get statesmen, not politicians; statesmen think about the future while politicians think about today and the next election.
As a former minister of petroleum resources, did you at any time identify or cause the arrest of those behind the sabotage of Nigerian refineries and members of the cartel in the downstream sector?
In my time, there was no subsidy problem, so there was no cartel. You couldn’t afford to be a cartel under Buhari – he would smash you!
Do you think President Jonathan and his party, PDP, can really tame the nefarious activities of these powerful men in the oil sector, considering the fact that even ex-President Obasanjo, as powerful as he was, was unable to checkmate these suspected powerful criminals?
No, Jonathan and his party cannot do anything to checkmate corruption. You can only fight corruption if you’re not corrupt. The cliché that it takes a thief to catch a thief is rubbish.
What would you do if you were to be in the position of Mr. President today or a minister under him?
God forbid! I can’t be a minister under him. So, I’m going to answer your question hypothetically. If I were Jonathan or a minister under him – God forbid! – my advice would be first, do more homework. Sometimes, he talks before he thinks. He did not grow into this office; it was imposed on him, so he needs humility to succeed. If he doesn’t have biceps, he ought to have grey matter. If he doesn’t have both, then he is in trouble. He should not take his ministers’ advice as gospel truth; he should consult other people too. But at the end of the day, he should kneel down and pray to God to guide him.
Would you say there are foreign interests, including oil companies, colluding with their local counterparts to frustrate the country’s bid to make the refineries work, so as to remain dependent on foreign markets for sourcing refined oil products?
No, no! There is a Kalabari proverb that says that in a polygamous set-up when one of the wives cannot be pregnant, she would say that her mates made juju against her. She would not go and find out whether something is wrong with her systems. A Nigerian who colludes with a foreigner to dupe his country deserves to be crucified. Oil companies are not involved, but they have exploited the stupidity of Nigerians.
Your critics say that given your background as a virologist that you probably do not understand the entire scenario about the subsidy issue and that you are just being sentimental. What is your reaction to this?
Stupid! Saudi Arabia’s Sheikh Zaki Yamani, the greatest oil minister in OPEC, was a lawyer. How many people knew that? Diezani Alison-Madueke is an architect. Yes, I’m very proud to be a virologist. If you have got the talent and training, you can fit into any situation. When I became a minister, I told Buhari that I was coming in as a research student. During my first meeting with my staff, I told them I was coming in as a virologist, but I would learn from O level to A level. Ask my staff, some of them are still alive, I studied oil. Before I went for my first OPEC meeting, I travelled round the Gulf. The impact Buhari made in the oil management in this country, no other Nigerian leader can rival it. For the first time, OPEC increased the quota of a country by 1,500 barrels. Let’s assume I don’t understand the intricacies of subsidy, I have challenged so many of our leaders to face me on a public debate on this subsidy issue, what is wrong in coming to disgrace the ‘ignorant’ virologist? I am an ‘ignorant’ virologist, but Buhari, Abdulsalami Abubakar, the House of Representatives and Aret Adams, a petroleum engineer, have confirmed my position.
