Nigerian Petroleum: A theft without end..
Nigeria loses billions of dollars to oil theft every year. It is estimated that over $40 billion has been stolen from the country by oil thieves over the last 10 years. While most perceive oil thieves to be shadowy figures skiting across the snaking waters of the delta region, the reality is that the oil thieves can also be found in the hallowed bureaus of government and state institutions. To effectively tackle the clear and present danger of unending oil theft, the searchlight must be beamed on both sections of economic sabotage. Nosa James-Igbinadolor reports
A Sad Story
It can well be said, after all, that Nigeria’s oil industry is inevitably managed by two competing groups; the federal government that has inefficiently managed the industry for the Nigerian people, and thieves that continue to effectively shear billions of dollars’ worth of oil from pipelines across the delta. Indeed, Nigeria is the clearest evidence of the failure to establish accountable institutions, with its economy long being characterised by corruption and non-transparency, and its political economy offering a strong enabling environment for the large-scale theft of crude oil.
