Happy 53rd Independence Anniversary: Poems for Nigeria

Consistent with its mandate to nurture a generation of Nigerian youth who are patriotic, and develop their capacity to become involved in social and economic development, Spaces for Change(S4C)  issued out a call to young Nigerians to submit short poems and articles in commemoration of Nigeria’s 53^rd Independence Day anniversary. The call generated substantial feedback and contributions.  Out of the 18 short poems and 10 articles received, we are happy to reproduce some of them here to the reading pleasure of our esteemed fans and followers. 

We wish all Nigerians and our great nation a happy celebration.

I Will Stay!!! Campaign Flags Off

Spaces for Change is proud to launch its I WILL STAY (IWS) campaign!!! IWS targets young people who are at-risk of engaging in delinquent and negative behavior, with wrap-around supportive services, experience-sharing and strategic mentoring provided freely by S4C Youth Advocates.  Using a combination of direct experience-sharing, counseling, public advocacy, video-viewing, blogging, web-based conferencing and coaching on emotional intelligence, IWS will work to reach young people in time to prevent their involvement in harmful social behaviours that lead to frustration, crime, delinquency and illegal migration. 

Dangote's Private Refinery: The Hopes and Fears

Billionaire business man, Aliko Dangote is proposing to build a $9 billion refinery at the Olokola Free Trade Zone, OK FTZ. If the project succeeds, that would be the first privately-owned refinery in Nigeria, with the potential to create jobs, eliminate subsidies and even spur other businesses in and around where the refinery is sited. 

For over 7 days, members of Spaces for Change-S4C's discussion forum on Facebook social networking site engaged in a very intense debate centered on the viability of the project, elucidating other social and economic concerns surrounding the initiative. Discussants comprised mainly of young Nigerian oil and gas professionals, business analysts, policy advocates, environmentalists, students, journalists and public commentators working in global and national energy-focused institutions and corporations. Concerns ranged from the massive drift towards privatization of public utilities, deregulation of the downstream sector, oil industry monopoly, ineffective regulation of private enterprises, poor maintenance of the existing four refineries, public sector inefficiency, including dearth of legal protection of the rights of the poor to access basic goods and services.  

Spaces for Youth Development and Social Change, (Spaces for Change) works to increase the participation of Nigerian youth, women and other marginalized constituencies in social and economic development and public decision-making. 

Here are excerpts from the conversation:  

PIB: Getting Everyone Involved!

Famed for its expertise in leveraging technology and using crowd-sourcing and web-based communication tools to promote public awareness and citizen engagement in policy and legislative processes of the Nigerian oil and gas sectors, Spaces for Change (S4C) took good work to scale by launching a vibrant media campaign to improve citizens’ access to information about the ongoing oil sector reforms. Through our media advocacy work, we popularized the Petroleum Industry Bill on the social media and generated extensively publicly available data on a wide range of policy issues affecting the Nigerian oil and gas industry. 

Traditional and new media tools and platforms were utilized to share information and raise public awareness about the Bill, including other economic policies and programs affecting the oil sector. S4C staff featured on several TV programs, radio talk shows and online portals where they presented e-conference outcomes and research findings on specific provisions of the Bill, highlighting areas in urgent need of legislative scrutiny.

The (Uncontrolled) Scramble for Africa’s Resources

By Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri

Over the last decade, the resource curse in Africa has disappointingly showed minimal signs of reversal, no thanks to the store of unmet expectations of developmental progress associated with natural resource finds.  No week passes without the announcement and ensuing celebration of mineral resource discoveries across Africa. These finds have rarely translated to better infrastructure; increased access to education and basic healthcare and other social and economic benefits despite the monstrous profits and the huge revenues generated from hydrocarbon, gas, gold, diamonds and many other mineral resources.

Mobilizing Community Participation in Oil Policy Development

Traditional rulers, community representatives, youth and women leaders play important roles as spokespersons and advocates of environmental justice and sustainable development in the Niger Delta region generally, especially in oil producing communities. Helping them to understand how Nigeria‟s latest oil sector reform bill, the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), responds to their environmental concerns and socio-economic priorities is a necessary step towards empowering communities and mobilizing the participation of local voices and actors in policy processes that bear direct impact on their wellbeing and livelihood. For this reason, Spaces for Change (S4C) and the PIB Advocacy Working Group (WG) embarked on an advocacy tour of the Niger Delta region, consulting extensively with local leaders and sensitizing communities across 5 major states in the Niger Delta: Edo, Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa and Cross River states. 

We are proud to present a synthesis report of the field missions to oil producing communities in the Niger-Delta undertaken by Spaces for Change and the PIB Advocacy Working Group (the advocacy team) during the period of February – July 2013. 

PIB: NORTHERN GOVERNORS OPPOSE HOST COMMUNITY FUND

At the public hearing on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) held last Thursday, July 17, 2013, the Governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, represented by the Attorney General of Niger State and his Kaduna State counterpart also represented by the state’s Commissioner for Justice urged the National Assembly to expunge the Host Community Fund from the current draft of the bill before the National Assembly. Topping the Niger State’s list of concerns are the powers of the minister, the Host Community Fund and the governance structure of the three commercial entities – the National Oil Company, the National Gas Company and the National Petroleum Asset Management Company - proposed to replace the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

PIB FISCAL TERMS ARE THE HARSHEST IN THE WORLD – IOCs

Senate Joint Committee Public Hearing on the PIB

By Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri

“The fiscal terms in the current draft of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) are not only the "harshest", but the "most uncompetitive in the world”, oil and gas operators in Nigeria have said. At the senate joint committee-led public hearing on the PIB held last Thursday in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), representatives of the oil majors, including indigenous oil companies advanced an array of reasons for their mounting opposition to the Bill.

Under the platform of the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) which represents about 18 international and indigenous oil companies in Nigeria, both foreign and local operators are ostensibly united in their sharp criticism of the proposed oil regime.  The OPTS representative told the Nigerian parliament that the body (OPTS) supports the Bill’s objectives to create a conducive business environment for petroleum operations; and to enhance exploration and exploitation of petroleum resources in Nigeria. However, the Bill as currently drafted will not deliver these objectives. As more and more countries are opening their boundaries for exploration and production, what Nigeria needs is an investment friendly and business conducive environment. Given the scale and magnitude of reforms, Nigeria cannot afford to get things wrong.

PIB: MINISTER'S POWERS NOT TOO MUCH - DIEZANI ALLISON MADUEKE

“The powers vested on the Petroleum Minister under the Petroleum Industry Bill  (PIB) are not excessive”, says  Nigeria’s Petroleum Minister, Diezani Allisson Madueke. She made this statement at the Senate Joint Committee public hearing on the PIB held last Thursday at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, Nigeria. Consistent with its mandate to promote oil sector transparency in Nigeria, Spaces for Change attended the public hearing where it submitted two separate memoranda on the bill, and addressed the Nigerian parliament, flagging and proffering a set of recommendations for strengthening specific provisions in the Bill requiring further legislative scrutiny and amendment.