Reservations About the New Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals
It is very heartwarming that the new Dangote refineries have eventually come on stream.
It is one of the greatest if not the greatest legacy project built on Nigerian soil in modern day Nigeria.
Interestingly,the good news to ordinary Nigerians is that the refinery promised to bring abundant, if not excess PMS,the one we commonly call petrol and other petroleum products.It is described as a game changer in Nigeria’s economy.
The expectations is that it will create a lot of jobs and eliminate the cost and time spent on importing petroleum products.
It is expected also that if the petroleum sector is deregulated,the products will be cheaper.This,according to analysts,is because the cost of freight,carrying the crude and refining it and bringing it back as refined products will be addressed and that the value chain alone would be an advantage for the country.
All things being equal,it is expected that the the new refinery will erase once and for all,the issue of affordability and availability in Nigeria.
Be that as it may,Nigerians on the pessimistic divide are keeping their fingers crossed about this development.
Reservations of common Nigerians hinge on whether the new refinery will multiply their woes and unleash a new regime of sufferings on the people.
For instance,it is argued that cost of petroleum products from the refinery will compete with those sold in foreign countries like the US and UK at the Dollar price.This is because,the refinery is not basically meant to serve only Nigeria but other countries which will amount to selling it in Dollars to meet up international standards.
There is also the apprehension that money bags behind hoarding,profiteering and racketeering will devise means to shortchange the people by hoarding and dictating the pace of production.
We witnessed this scenario during the recent currency redesign excercise where powerful people and bankers withheld money from circulating.
In much of the fuel scarcity witnessed in the country,they were deliberate acts of sabotage,hoarding, racketeering and profiteering.There are oil dealers who have tank farms and the capacity to influence artificial petrol scarcity.
However,we welcome the new Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical venture.
Let it be a new dawn for the Nigerian people who expected a crash in the price of petroleum products.