WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2010-04-11 Time: 01:00:02 Posted By: News Poster
By Sina Fadare
Lagos – Almost 50 years after independence, and a century after a German Scientist discovered bitumen deposits in present day Ondo state, the dream of tapping its full socio-economic and industrial benefits has remained a mirage.
With endless politics, the sorry state of the facilities, and the shut down of the office of the Bitumen Implementation Committee in Akure, the Ondo State capital, it was evident that the multi-billion dollar project has hit the rocks.
In search of a clue to why this monumental project which Nigeria is the second largest producer after Venezuela with Ondo, as the hub, but spans Edo, Ogun, Ondo, Lagos States is wasting away, it was all a tale of frustration, deceit, endless promises, and as in drama, the story is a suspense.
Traversing the entire communities that make up the treasure land, this reporter for a week, combed the entire Odigbo and Okitipupa local government areas of Ondo state where this gold- mine resides. From Agbabu village, passing through Ilubinrin down to Oloda, Ode-Irele, Idogun, Sogbon, Eri- osin, Akinfosile in Igbotako community, back to Iju-Oke, Epo-dudu, Ajegunle, Odomode and the host of others, sadness was written on the faces of the people. It was lamentation on how politics was and still being played on the fortune in their backyard.
Investigation revealed that Nigeria’s bitumen belt is said to sit atop 42 billion barrels of crude oil equivalent, the exploitation of which can free the country from the negative national and international vagaries of oil-based mono-cultural export economy.
A recent survey from the office of the Bitumen Project Implementation Committee (BPIC), a body set up by the Federal Government, revealed that as far back as 2001, the deposit could earn the country N1.5 billion daily, or N545 billion annually from petroleum derivables of the mineral alone.That was at a time, the country was said to have been losing a large chunk of foreign exchange to importation of Asphalt, the most common derivative of bitumen.
Laying more emphases on what the country will benefit if the deposit is exploited, the former Secretary of BPIC, Alhaji Goni Sheikh said that apart from raw materials for local industry, bitumen exploration would open a flood gate for employment opportunity.
Derivatives of bitumen include, Methane and Ethane (natural gas) Propane and Butane (liquefied petroleum) and Asphalt (for road construction).Buttressing the assertion that the nation is losing billions of naira annually for failure to exploit the God-given treasure, the former Chairman of Nigeria Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) Chief Kola Daisi, in a paper presented at the first national bitumen summit in Akure, Ondo state on November,14, 2000, pointed out that about N18.25 billion was being lost yearly due to the delay in the exploitation of ‘this deposit. Whereas in his own submission, Prof.Julius Ihonvbere, the first Chairman of BPIC, put the cumulative loss at N133 billion or five per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Attempt was made in the past to see that the exploitation of the minerals deposit became a reality, but along the line, inconsistent government policy dashed the hope. However, at the dawn of civil rule in 1999, there was hope that the moribund project would after all, see the light of the day. This was hinged on the promise of the then Minister of Solid Minerals, Kanu Agabi, that the project was topmost on the Federal Government’s list, and that Nigeria could not afford not to exploit the huge deposit to augment her dwindling oil fortunes.
According to him, full exploitation will take off by May 29; 2001.To further reinforced this assertion, the president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, set up a nine- member BPIC to replace the inherited Committee. The new committees was named; Committee on the Implementation of the Bitumen Project (CIBP). In addition, the committee which had been operating in Lagos, moved down to Akure and established Bitumen base field at Ore in Odigbo local government of the state to facilitate all its field operations.
To Agabi,”this is the best time to have the best out of our bitumen deposit since we now have responsible people in government who will not siphon money accruing to the country abroad as we had under the military.”
In his maiden inspection of bitumen sites in Ondo state, Obasanjo said the realisation of the dream would be ‘the ultimate dividend of democracy to Nigerians as a new frontier of economic growth is about to be explored to the benefit of our people.”However, the stipulated time was not met due to a lot of administrative bottlenecks, government policy and slow pace of drilling of expected wells.
This forced Obasanjo to reiterate his promise on March 17, 2003 when he did the official commissioning of the project at Oloda village along Ode-Irele road where the deposit oozes out of the ground. He said his government was fully committed to promoting the exploration of the solid mineral deposits in Nigeria. According to him, this also tallies with the principal objective of New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) which is to forge sustainable economic development and to eradicate poverty throughout African continent.
The former president said that with the commercialisation, the nation’s economy would reap many benefits such as creating thousands of jobs, boosting foreign exchange earnings, as well as promoting infrastructural rehabilitation, development and expansion “Hence forth, the economy of this area and that of Nigeria as a whole will grow in leaps and bounds because bitumen would play a significant role in the diversification of the nation’s economy,” Obasanjo had said.
Raising the hope of the people and the economic potentials that the exploitation would attract to the community, Obasanjo described bitumen as “truly-qualified as a dividend of democracy” assuring that a refinery as well as a sea-port that would facilitate the export of the commodity, would be built at Igbokoda, the headquarters of the nearby riverine Ilaje local council.
Obasanjo’s promise this time around. was followed by a flurry of activities that included carrying out geophysical investigations such as seismic and other related surveys costing millions of dollars as well as preparation of an elaborate Environmental Baseline Studies (EBS) detailing pre-operation ecological data of water and air quality, flora, fauna, and other social and environmental factors to prepare for post operation ecological restoration.
Buttressing this fact, Sheikh, who is now a permanent secretary in the ministry of solid minerals, Abuja told this reporter then at his BPIC office Alagbaka, Akure that all hands were on deck to see the actualisation of the project.
Sheikh who was the former secretary of BICP said resources had been committed by government to the studies on the quality, quantity, type, size, chemical composition, air and topography of the mineral deposit environment, and that the studies also included weather, climate, density, demography, water and the general environment of the area.
He noted that the people in the community may not see physical development, but a lot had been done to make sure that all the studies carried out are of international standards so that any investor and bank that may want to grant loans, would have accurate and realistic data to work with. “We have sunk 30 wells. And collected about 150 samples. The result which has been taken to the Kaduna refinery will guide for further drilling.A lot of benefits and other related mineral resources would be found when the exploration finally comes to stay. Therefore, government did not make any empty promises but wants to avoid the past mistakes.
“Apart from raw materials for local industries, bitumen exploration will open a flood gate of employment opportunities. Fall out of bitumen includes Methane and Ethane (Natural gas) Propane and Butane (liquefied petroleum) and Asphalt (road construction)”,he said.
At the initial take off, blocks were allocated to interested investors with Bitumen Exploration and Exploitation Company of Nigeria Limited (BEECON) and NISSANDS, a Canadian exploration firm, taking the lead. To seal the agreement, each firm paid signature fee of $1 million and also purchase form for the BPIC comprehensive data at $100,000.
The agreement further indicated that they should begin full operation”within the next six months of the agreement”. Both companies went to the field with anticipation to commence operation as sheduled, but along the line, they met a brick wall.
According to government’s policy, they should source for external loan from the international bank while the Federal Government will stand in as guarantor, but at the last minute, government backed out of the deal. Against this backdrop, NISSAND lost the opportunity of getting the needed loan as the technical partners were reluctant due to the crisis in the Niger Delta area.
Investigation revealed that some of the foreign partners eventually returned to their home countries due to the crises in the Niger Delta. They were afraid that if their resources were committed and the communities revolted against them as in the Niger Delta, they would have lost everything.
That informed why the Chairman of the Community Relations of BEECON, Chief Alex Akinyele cried out that the acts of violence in the Niger Delta did not encourage investors to mobilise to site to explore bitumen in the state, despite the distance between it and the restive Niger Delta area. The former Minister lamented ” It is not easy to get technical partners because the event in the Niger Delta area are limitations to those who want to advance to us their money and their equipment. The last straw that eventually broke the carmel’s back was the new policy of the Federal Government on Public Private Partnership (PPP) which negates the earlier promise of providing a back up as joint venture. This wind of change eventually brought to an end the lofty dream and hope of exploitation and exploration of the monumental deposit which the community had ignorantly nicknamed the “excreta of malevolent gods”
Today, nine years after Obasanjo’s promise the reality is that nothing much has happened.
From the sorry state of facilities especially at the bitumen project field base at Ore in Odigbo local government area of the state, the stark reality that confronted this reporter was that the place which used to be a beehive of activities, is like a grave yard with the entrance gate padlocked.
Quarter 52, at Alagbaka Estate known as Feyide Building in Akure, which was named after the first Chairman of Bitumen Committee, late Chief Otokiti Feyide, which was the Secretariat, was desolate. The gate of the facility located in a highbrow area of the state capital was securely locked with nobody in sight but the sign of an abandoned property were visible in the cracked walls and over grown weeds that had taken over the compound.
In the same vein, the Test laboratory also in Alagbaka area of the town which was well equipped to provide necessary scientific evaluation of materials taken from the sites, and which was commissioned with funfair by the Minister of Solid Minerals in 2001, was in a sorry state..
Speaking to this reporter on why the project could not see the light of the day, Dr Demola Omojola of the Geography Department, University of Lagos, said government has no political will to exploit the resources.According to him, if the political will is there, all other things will follow, adding that what the government has done so far on the project was a mere peripheral aspect without actually getting deep into the politics, economic and social impact of the project on the people hosting it.
“From experience of oil in the Niger Delta and the attendant environmental consequences, where people’s ways of lives were disrupted without providing for an alternative, where the communities were taken over by foreigners without adequate provision for how they will continue their livelihood, all these have cumulated to the crises of unrest we are experiencing in the areas till today,” he said.
The university don stated that before any meaningful exploitation could be carried out in the areas government should as a matter of urgency, embark on detailed Environmental Assessment Analysis. Asides this, it should do detailed investment inventory so that the country will not experience what is going on in the Niger Delta area.
“The government is making noise through political statement without taking the necessary steps that will assist the exploitation and exploration of the massive deposit. As l am talking to you, there is no vegetation mapping at a detailed level, combined with inconsisted government policies.All these should be put in place before the resources could be exploited,” he noted.
Dr Omojola. who agreed that the deposit is very massive and that Nigeria has one of the largest in the world, said though if finally exploited, it will bring a total change to the economy, and the people of the area will never remain the same. He cautioned that people should not be carried away with the economic advantage, but rather think about the environmental consequences of the exploitation.
He said that there should be a comprehensive enlightenment campaign and media sensitization of the people of the communities with bitumen are deposit, so that they will be involved from the beginning and incorporated in any activity going on in their backyard.
Similarly former Chairman of Odigbo local government, where the deposits are located, Prince Olu Falolu said that the communities were tired of endless promises. According to him, when he was the Chairman of the local government in 2004, there were promises from the Federal Government as if the exploitation would be done immediately, but up till today nothing has been done.
“As a matter of fact, the state government at some fora had invited dignitaries, businessmen and stakeholders who are interested to join hands with the Federal Government to hasten its exploration. They even gave a blanket ticket that companies can merge together to make sure that something tangible is done to assist the Federal Government in the Herculean task. Unfortunately, nothing came out of it,” he said.
Speaking in the same vein, the traditional ruler of Agbabu in Odigbo kingdom, HRH, Oba Partick Ebunade Akinmulero, who recalled with nostalgia the visit of the former President Obasanjo, said the communities have been holding on to the promise of the former President, but nothing happened since his last visit.
According to him, everyday members of the communities are hoping that the deposit will not be another abandoned project. ‘My son, if you know how many people in government that have visited this place, you will think that the next day, the project would commence, but see us today, nothing is on ground to suggest that the Federal Government is ready to exploit the deposit. Some of the members of the Bitumen Implementation Committee who usually visit us are no longer coming. We learnt they have sacked most of their workers and the few ones left have returned to Abuja,” he said.
He lamented that the dry season which is supposed to be time of bountiful fish harvest, usually witnesses the death of these fish due to the oozing of bitumen on the water, and as a result most of the fish are not healthy for consumption.
“We are anxious and pleading to the Federal Government not to abandon the project so that the community will be bailed out of its ecological problems and to save us from endless waiting and apprehension from the villagers who are daily praying to see that the exploitation of the monument happened in their life time,” the monarch further said.
However, Ondo state has once again raised the hope of exploiting the deposit. The commissioner of information in the state, Mr. Ranti Akerele, in a recent media briefing said the state Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, had just returned from a trip to Trinidad and Tobago where the state government would partner a firm to exploit the deposit. Apart from this, he disclosed that Mimiko embarked on the trip to understand the buoyant oil and gas industry of the tiny Caribbean country of 1.3 million people.
According to the commissioner, the state government decided to embark on the trip because of the success story of the Caribbean country in these two sectors acknowledged worldwide as a model worthy of emulation.”Trinidad and Tobago have a lot of things in common with Ondo state. We have almost the same type of weather and like us, they have oil and gas and they are very rich in bitumen; they have been able to exploit the two sectors for the benefit of their people “he said.
He said that as the fifth largest producer of oil in Nigeria and as an entity that sits atop the second largest bitumen deposit in the world, Ondo state under the new dispensation of a forward-looking and progressive administration, “cannot afford to fold our arms and allow development to elude us.”
Akerele’s expression tallied with that of the ex-Minster of Mines and Steel Development, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke, who recently said the Federal Government could not afford not to exploit the bitumen due to the enormous economic benefits that the nation would derive from it.
The Minister said when developed, Nigeria’s bitumen could be upgraded into synthetic crude oil.” We will also be able to reduce importation of bitumen and cut down costs of developing our road infrastructure network,” she said, expressing the belief that exploitation of bitumen has the potential to attract local and foreign investments and contribute significantly to the nation’s socio economic development
She said an expression of interest exercise has commenced with two blocks (A and C) put out initially for bidding and the third block (B) to be put at a later date and promised that the bidding process would be transparent, fair and subjected to due process in order to attract responsible and financially-capable investors who will expedite development of the bitumen blocks
She said Nigeria has a large reserve of bitumen, which she put at about 27 billion barrels of oil equivalent occurring as synthetic crude oil. Most commonly known as asphalt or tar, bitumen has historically been mixed with other materials for use as a sealant, adhesive, building mortar, incense and a whole variety of purposes.
Perhaps with the latest renewal of interest in the project, the hope of exploiting it for the betterment of Nigerians in no distant future Iand the suspense to reality.
Original Source: 
Original date published: 28 March 2010
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201003290824.html?viewall=1