Segun James
The former Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Timi Alaibe, has advised the federal government to immediately begin to look for a new means of generating revenue as the days of complete reliance on oil is over.
Alaibe gave this advice at a dinner organised for the Bayelsa State delegation to the national conference of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) held in Lagos.
According to him, the oil economy is dead as the world is moving from fossil to other alternative source to of power.
“France today has announced that by year 2020 to 2030, they will leave oil operated vehicles completely. What this means is that by the year 2020, the demand for and the volume of oil will reduce drastically. Where will we be? What alternative to oil are we looking forward to when this time comes? he queried.
Alaibe told the lawyers: “We have to start taking leadership now. We must think out of the box. We must do deep thinking or our children will suffer. I’m not painting a bleak future, but this is the reality, we must have alternative structures and alternative ideas on how to move the country forward.â€
He cried that “where Nigeria is standing today is not where we are supposed to be as a nation. If we don’t take anticipatory steps right now, this country may crumble. I repeat, for the avoidance of doubt, the oil economy is dead.â€
The former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) lamented that the situation would even be worse off for oil producing states which presently relies on derivation without bothering to diversify or plan alternative source of revenue when the bubble bursts.
Also speaking, Chief Fedude Zimughan, a Bayelsa State lawyer enjoined the lawyers from the state to start thinking on the way forward for the state when the oil revenue is no longer available.
He also urged them to advise the youth against acts that would adversely affect the well-being of the nation.
