‘Why Nigeria must build indigenous capacity on refineries construction’

A seasoned structural engineer and energy expert, Olatunji Ariyomo, has urged the Federal Government to take urgent steps that would ensure the development of indigenous capacity for the construction of oil refineries, noting that it would help the country to attain energy sufficiency and boost its economic potential.

He made the call during the 2023 annual event of Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), held in Akure, recently, where he was the guest speaker.

Ariyomo, who diagnosed the causes of energy insufficiency in the country, said Nigeria needed to acquire and own the technicality of refinery engineering and not merely build refineries with foreign expertise.

He said: “Nigeria must stop seeing imports or the race to build the biggest refinery procured with technologies controlled by its rivals as the compelling theme of its observations. Also, we must stop seeing crude oil itself as the issue here. We must only see it as a means to an end.

“Nigerians can only fix crude oil refining by acquiring the technical know-how and organic capability to locally fabricate, locally assemble, and locally install all components of refineries leveraging indigenous capability.

“Indeed, once Nigeria and Nigerians own and control the required knowledge, possession of crude oil as a natural gift within its geographical boundary will no longer be an obligatory requirement in the nation’s quest to fix its energy needs and export the surplus.

“Knowledge of the sciences behind the processes, competitive and practical application of that knowledge, and the strategic wherewithal to offer the services required to produce the goods and materials needed to drive our economies should be our focus. We must deliberately pivot away from a ‘cash and carry’ mindset that has plunged us into a country that is rudderless and unthinking in its approach to solving critical problems. Well-intended workaround solutions such as subsidies, etc have not worked because our neighbours in collusion with some among us simply undermined them.”

Ariyomo noted that the world is an open market where every nation seeks for her benefits, which fosters competition.

“Every nation on earth is a rival to us. We must get this clear. No nation is or should be expected to be our friend without benefits. We are competitors. No country on earth wishes you as a nation to succeed except if it serves that other country’s strategic goals. If a country is building a refinery for you, you are its market, especially if you are also doing it with its loan. If a country is building a road for you, you are its market, especially if you are also doing it with its loan. If a country is building a power transmission infrastructure for you, you are its market, especially if you are also doing it with its loan. You simply provide needed revenue assurance for its future, with interest! That country would never wish you to learn how to build good refineries, good roads, good power lines, good railways, etc. That country would never want you to become self-reliant and begin to build your own refinery, power lines, roads, railways, etc.

“In fact, the country building your road, your refinery, your railway line or your power infrastructure is actually your strategic enemy. Write that down somewhere. Never forget,” he added.

Ariyomo, who acknowledged that as a country, “you must still get loans from other countries” noted that “what would make the difference is your ability to know when and how to never lose sight of your primary objective in that relationship – to secure a superior advantage for your country.”

The annual event was attended by prominent engineers such as the National President of the NSE, Tasiu Sa’ad Gidari-Wudil; past president of the Society, Ali Rabiu; former Registrar of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Kamila Walik; His Royal Majesty Oba Victor Adetona, the Owa of Ogbagi Akoko, among others.