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OSINBAJO: Zero oil days around the corner, Africa’s prosperity lies in human resources

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Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has said that the prosperity of Africa is in its human resources and not in extractive potentials as zero oil age is around the corner.

A statement released by Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, quoted him as saying this when he spoke at the Extra-Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja on Monday.

According to Osinbajo, government revenues and export bases are in dire need of diversification, away from the dangerous dependence on natural resources that we have seen in the past.

“This session holds at a very significant time for our continent and our countries. A time when we as a continent and indeed the rest of the world, are witnessing volatility in the petroleum market, and by implication, our local economies.

‘’The centrality of the hydrocarbon industry to the economies of our countries is self-evident. This is reflected in the revenue inflows that account for a significant percentage of our budgets and have become one of the, if not the primary sub-structures upon which economic planning is based, and from which economic development and growth are generated.

“Over the last three years or so, oil-producing countries across the world have experienced the full impact of the drop in oil prices, with significant negative impact on government revenues and budgets, and on the value of even national currencies.

“This volatility has triggered much soul-searching, and governments are being compelled to ask themselves difficult but necessary questions about the present and the future,” Osinbajo said.

Speaking further, Osinbajo told APPO members that the reality of a future where demand for and revenues from oil drop sharply, “is already upon us”.

He said that almost every major oil importing country today has embarked on an aggressive non-fossil fuel alternative programme.

Read also: In reverse fortunes, Nigeria to grow faster than S’Africa in 2018- IMF

Giving China, Japan, and some Scandinavian states as example, he said that those countries have already set dates “within the next 10 to 15 years to produce and use only electric vehicles. The zero oil days are clearly around the corner.

“Indeed there can be no better time than now, for the reform that APPO has embarked upon, a reform to restructure its operations, and its interaction with the world, while continuing to deliver service to its members. Let me state that the reform is in the right direction and it certainly follows global trends.

“Our government revenues and export bases are in dire need of diversification, away from the dangerous dependence on natural resources that we have seen in the past.

“We know, of course, that the prosperity of Africa ultimately lies in its human resources and talent, and not in anything we extract from the earth.”
By Ebere Ndukwu …

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0 Comments

  1. JOHNSON PETER

    July 25, 2017 at 7:06 pm

    Even if they keep preaching from now till tomorrow, crude oil will remain Nigeria mainstay. It’s we Biafra that will teach them what diversification of the economy is all about

    • seyi jelili

      July 25, 2017 at 7:22 pm

      You wish!

  2. yanju omotodun

    July 25, 2017 at 7:09 pm

    Make I hear say we plan using electrical vehicles in Nigeria where technology is not appreciated in any way.

    • seyi jelili

      July 25, 2017 at 7:21 pm

      It’s a matter of time, we shall get there. With God, nothing shall be impossible.

  3. Abeni Adebisi

    July 25, 2017 at 7:40 pm

    Only a lazy country like Nigeria will depend on oil. Since we’ve been depending on oil, where has he gotten us to? I hope Osinbajo will reeead himself and start changing Nigeria’s system from oil dependency

    • Anita Kingsley

      July 25, 2017 at 7:43 pm

      I may glad you know your country, Nigeria is lazy and I’ll appreciate you for that! Talk to your government and force them to do the right things if force must be applied! Biafra is ready to join the countries that will float electric cars in the next 10 years, where Will Nigeria be by then? Nowhere I’m sure!

  4. Animashaun Ayodeji

    July 25, 2017 at 7:44 pm

    Obviously, the Nigerian government knows the right things to do. Osinbajo, start doing them!

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