Regional Editor,Olawale Rasheed examines public anger against oil operators in the country, concluding that the passage of thePetroleum Industry Bill (PB)coupled, with a new campaign finance law, can weaken the link between politics and the energy sector.A common cause running through the Nigerian society now is a passionate advocacy for the investigation and trial of oil men suspected of having enriched themselves through subsidy scam. The depth of public anger over the issue is quite flaming and the justification for that anger ever sustainable.Stories of under-reporting and consequent smuggling of subsidised fuel drive the passion for the trial of oil men that is now feverishly gripping the nation. With several billions of dollars said to have gone down the drain, operators in the oil sector are already judged and condemned in the courts of public opinion, with many finding fabulous riches of the oil magnates incomprehensible in a society suffering from grinding poverty. Even legitimately made gains are now clouded with public suspicion of high-level deals, robbing the national treasury of several billions of dollars.In the Nigerian political setting, the oil men are not just ordinary business- men, they are entrenched pillars whose hold and reach transcend even their national territory. They are global players with continental connectivity and inter-relationship with levers of powers all over the world. Controlling several billions of dollars in assets, they are players in the now endangered world of capitalism.The Nigerian oilmen are even smarter than many people at home understand. Nigerian 'rig men' are operating in the oil world of Angola, Congo and even the North African setting. A Nigerian oilman was a leading player in the Romanian oil sector as far back as 1999. Just recently, a Nigerian was said to be making more money from Angola than even what he is making in Nigeria. Nobody should be surprised , by now Nigerians, with their American partners, are taking over the Ghanaian emerging oil sectorThe situation is now complicated with the established link between the oil sector andthe nation's political processes. Many are bitter that oil money from oil men drives the electioneering politics and, most of the time, determines who rules the nation. When few years ago, General Theophilus Danjuma announced, to the consternation of the nation, that he did not know how to spend money made from the sale of his oil bloc, the pauperised nation was jolted. Just recently, an oil block belonging to Chief Dan Etete was sold to Shell Oil for 1.3 billion dollars, and many were speechless. As the oil men are also frontline political players, public resentment is ever a growing threat.The complexity of connectivity between politics and oil probably accounts for the cabal syndrome now pervading national discourse. In a world of growing voodoo capitalism being practised in Africa, many could not understand why politics has become a hostage to oil and energy. The reasoning in many quarters is that a situation where a cabal of oil men, backed by retired ruling leaders, dictate national directions is incompatible with true practice of democracy. What is more, outright fraud whose proceeds finance political projects is considered immoral, unjust and an extreme of vulture capitalism.The preceding sentiment interestingly tallies with the feelings of the masses in almost all oil producing nations. The inability of the citizens to control the oil wealth is seen as a product of corrupted political system and a ruling elite feasting on an increasingly pauperised citizenry. That singular factor today accounts for the clarion call for a clampdown on the oil men.As the nation's security agencies investigate whether truly established fraud exists in the management of the subsidy fund, the trial of the oil men was only following the pattern of anti-rich sentiments now sweeping all over the world. In the United States of America,(USA) the Occupy movement is particularly bitter about the affluence and earnings of Wall Street executives. The depth of the bitterness runs deep in American society. In Continental Europe, the anti-rich feelings have reached fever pitch, especially as the various European countries introduced austerity measures in the face of the deepening globaleconomic crisis.Capitalism is being challenged on a daily basis, raising question about societal perception of enterprise and its gains for individuals. Is anti-rich campaign a product of criminal advantage conferred on the rich or mere 'resentment of success', to borrow from Mitt Romney, the American Republican presidential contender' Here, analysts believe the masses are not opposed to legitimate profits from legitimate businesses ,but are angry with and angered by what they see as bare-faced diversion of common fund under the guise of business. If this is right, how do we account for outbursts of anger in two business settings with one having a tough due process regime and the other with alleged corruption-ridden practices'The Occupy Movement operators in the United States believe the system is skewed against the over 90 per cent of the citizenry with the less than 10 cent controlling over 80 per cent of the national resources. Their grouse was against greedy, insensitive and corrupt Wall Street chiefs known to be living big when the majority of the society is experiencing continuous foreclosure, joblessness and high inflation. Nigerians, nonetheless, will echo the same line of grievances with even much more tell tales of treasury looting.The difference between the two systems however is that while one sternly punishes corrupt enrichment, the other appears to condone it. While one has a stiff penalty regime against companies involved in shady deals, the other contains wide loopholes for festerring corrupt practices and re-investment of such dubious resources in the political process. Even with those differences in the two systems, corruption still thrives and worst still, the political authorities in both settings are still intert-wined with these so badly criticised business class. At least, President Barrack Obama has raised more money from the widely hated Wall Street actors than any other presidential contenders.For the Nigerian setting, experts both at home and abroad agreed on the need for a regulated profit-making environment without further delay. Here, the enforcement of anti-corruption laws and subscription to business ethics regime among the oilmen are critical options that can no longer be postponed. Even more significant is the need for a new enforceable campaign finance law which can, to some extent, limit the perceived stranglehold of oilmen on the electoral system. The public bitterness makes it imperative for all stakeholders in the political and energy sectors to now ensure the immediate passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB)in its unadulterated form.Even as the system is being reformed, care needs to be taken however not to discourage enterprise in a capitalist setting. The riches of the rich may not all be product of shady deals. In fact, many in various sectors may have struck gold mines, following legitimate routes. In cases of illegitimate earnings, a new enforcement regime punishing offenders and providing deterrent is the most potent option for an administration just badly bruised by public discontent.
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