‘Nigeria Must Move away From Dependence on Fossil Fuel to Progress’ 

Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa

A political scientist, Dr Patterson Ogon has said  the nation must put in place plans and policies to diversify its economy and move away from dependence on fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.

 He made the call in Yenagoa at the  2024  Annual Lecture of the Federated Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Bayelsa State Council which had the theme “The Niger Delta Region and Nigeria’s Economic Diversification: Challenges and Prospects.”

According to Dr.  Ogon, the nation’s dependency on a mono economy driven by the petroleum industry has become a source of pain to many, unable to provide economic safety net anymore despite the sudden wealth for few distant benefit captors. Dr. Ogon, who is the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), noted that the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities in the country worsened the productive capacity of the nation’s economy, relegating critical sectors as agriculture, mining and industry.

 He posited that as the global demand for oil continue to decline as more countries opt for the use of renewable energy sources amidst concerns about climate change, just as multinational companies were divesting from onshore to offshore, it was time the nation started looking at alternatives in agriculture and manufacturing sectors, arguing that relief will come to the Niger Delta if there is a moratorium on oil exploitation as over dependence on the commodity remains at the center of volatility in the region.

With the theme: “Niger Delta Region and Nigeria’s Economic Diversification: Challenges and Prospects” the guest lecturer stated that because of crude oil, all have left agriculture adding that “Agriculture accounted for 72 per cent of Nigeria’s total national output in 1950.”

  urged  the country to begin the process of moving away from  crude oil and focus on other sectors like agriculture and manufacturing in order to have a sustainable economy, and ensure safer ecosystem.

He said: “Nigeria’s economic diversification faces challenges such as a history of fiscal dependence on oil, mismanagement of oil proceeds, and volatile global oil prices. The Niger Delta region, which is home to a large population and abundant natural resources, has potential to contribute to Nigeria’s economic diversification.”

“The discovery of oil and the wealth it creates in those societies has its own pains. It’s a classic case of the rich also cry. The above quotes may not have been made for the fun of it. Nigeria’s complex socio-economic and political crisis, deepened by the exploitation and exploration of oil, may only have added to the global disconnect that oil has created.”

“It is common knowledge that Nigeria’s economy was primarily driven by agriculture before the discovery of oil. Agriculture accounted for 72 per cent of Nigeria’s total national output in 1950.”

“Economic diversification has been a thing of interest to Government. In pre-petroleum Nigerian economy, the basis of sustenance was essentially agriculture. However, the discovery of oil worsened the productive capacity of our economy as we really did not have to labour to eat. Oil proceeds threw away the historic feats of the palm oil economy, groundnut pyramids, cocoa and the place of agriculture in our lives As a matter of fact.”

“Nigeria’s mono-economy, crude oil, is a source of problem to its survival. Neither agriculture nor manufacturing has been given the necessary environmental condition and attention to boost productivity.”

Technical Assistant to the Bayelsa State Governor on the Environment, Chief Alagoa Morris, who chaired the event commended the Federated Correspondents for sustaining the annual lecture and to the media for its watchdog role, decrying the indiscriminate pollution of the environment and depletion of forest resources, thereby endangering the economy of the Niger Delta.

 In his remarks, Chairman of the Federated Correspondents Chapel of the NUJ, Bayelsa State Council, Mr. Tife Owolabi, said journalists had the responsibility of shaping the narrative on the nation’s economic future and illuminate pathways to sustainable development, hence the convocation of the lecture series to set the agenda for public office holders and policy makers.