The decision by the National Assembly to amend the Deep Offshore (and inland basin production sharing contract) Act is a huge victory for Nigeria. The articles and clauses of complex legislation may not appear to be the stuff to set pulses racing. But there should be no doubt: this is a watershed moment for our economy, our
As a result of this amendment, Nigeria could earn an extra billion dollars a year from our oil. These are funds that will help restore our schools and hospitals, repair our roads and infrastructure and give our armed forces the support they need to keep us safe. That is a big win. But it is about more than just the money.
There is no doubt that the Deep Offshore Act had to change. The original law that provided for the operation of oil licences in deep water was introduced by the military regime back in 1993. New techniques in drilling and computer modelling were then beginning to emerge, allowing for the exploitation of oil in water depths that had previously been impossible. Fiscal terms were based on the industry’s long-term outlook for oil prices of around USD18-20/ barrel, above which profits were hardly taxed at all.
Crucially, the 1993 contract provided only for a review of terms. Oil passed USD20 barrel in 2003 but companies could, and did, refuse to accept any changes. The ‘business as usual’ lobby made sure that every attempt until now to amend the law ended in failure. But more than 25 years on, advances in technology have substantially reduced costs to industry and oil has consistently traded way above that anticipated range. For international oil companies, this has been a regulatory bonanza. A better balance between reasonable profits and a fair tax regime would years ago have delivered the billions we need to invest in Nigeria’s future.
The amendment calls time on this contractual anachronism. But it should not be seen in isolation, or as a ‘one off’. President Muhammadu Buhari pushed for the amendment as part of an ambitious programme to overhaul a corruption-saddled and under-performing oil and gas sector.
This is the key to the delivery of a more diverse and productive economy that will provide the jobs and sustainable growth we need in the coming decades to end poverty and raise living standards. Headline increases in our GDP will be matched by policies that ensure growth is inclusive and evenly shared, and provide protection and opportunity for the most vulnerable.
The President has worked with the 9th National Assembly, its leadership and members, to deliver this amendment. This is the kind of partnership that we have seen all too rarely since the restoration of democracy in 1999. We have shown how national institutions, the executive and legislature, can come together to work for the common good and the National Interest.
A sense of patriotism and the drive to deliver reform is replacing the sterile self-interest that has for too long dominated public administration. The passage of the amendment shows that the 9th National Assembly has the ambition and commitment to help make the real changes Nigeria needs if we are to move forward. The Senate and House of Representatives have shown that we can replace exploitation of the system by the few for the benefit of the few with a new spirit of co-operation – to build a fairer, more efficient system for the benefit of rich and poor alike.
Our vision is for an oil and gas industry that is attractive to investors and competitive in a crowded international market. Operations should be driven by commercial principles, transparent and free from political interference. We will deliver a new deal for host communities and proper guarantees for environmental standards.
The Collins English dictionary defines a free-for-all as “a situation in which several people or groups are trying to get something for themselves and there are no controls on how they do it.” We need an oil industry that is fair for all its stakeholders, to move towards a new partnership that ends the adversarial dysfunction and searching for loopholes that has become the norm.
The amendment is important for three reasons: it brings our laws and taxes into the 21st century; it shows that our institutions are effective and resolute in support of the National Interest; and that President Buhari means business. As Britain’s wartime prime minister Winston Churchill once said, ‘This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end.’ We have a lot of work to do. But this amendment shows where we are going – and that now, within our grasp, is a Nigeria that works for us all.

• Kyari is the Chief of Staff to the President

About three years ago, President Muhammadu Buhari visited the Kingdom of Morocco. He asked King Mohammed VI to give Nigeria from their rich phosphate mineral so that fertilizer can be produced here at home for the teeming farming population. Agreement reached, President Buhari set up a Presidential Fertiliser Initiative in his office.

Three years down the road, 24 moribund blending plans are now working, providing 100,000 direct and indirect new jobs to Nigerians. The cost of fertilizer is down by more than 50 percent. Nigeria makes a saving of USD 200 million used for its annual import and a further N60 billion in budgeted annual subsidy.

Nigeria wanted to build a power plant at Mambilla in the Northeast. The plant design had been made in 1959, a year before independence. We have dreams of modernizing our railway system because, without power and railroad, National development will continue to be a pipe dream.

In planning for his trip to Beijing for a meeting with President Xi Jinping, President Buhari rightfully chose to prioritize his requests, put Lagos-Kano railway and Mambilla power plant on top: President Xi’s word is the silver bullet. Today, China is giving these projects together with the finance and many more.

On the recent trip to Russia, President Buhari had a wish list that included railways, power projects and military procurements. He had a wish to get the Russians who own the Aluminum smelter plant, built at a whopping USD 4 billion to operationalize it; Ajaokuta Steel plant built at a similar cost, with 20,000 engineers trained to operate it, many of whom are now dead from hunger and lack of engagement is another 40 year – old problem. To these and others, President Putin held the keys to the solutions. President Buhari asked, and he was given. It will take volumes of books to document the achievements of these trips.

When I go through the media, including today’s edition of the Daily Trust, the social media blogs and those jokes, through funny cartoons, there is a mistaken sense that active diplomacy is the cause of some kind of governance deficit, assuming there is any. Channels Television, last night confronted me with a litany of countries the President visited this year and the number of days he spent abroad. The mistaken opinion among many is that the President spends too much time abroad and this is affecting his domestic responsibilities.

The reality is very different. The success of the visits to Morocco, China and Russia reported here represent just a fraction of the achievements recorded. Many countries and major corporations have listened to our leaders and agreed to come here and put their money in the economy in win-win deals.

In the last few years, global giants like Siemens, Toyota, Hyundai, General Electric (GE), among others are talking to Nigeria about their commitment to investing billions of dollars through manufacturing and other forms of Foreign Direct Investment. Add these to the many Chinese companies that are involved with us in the construction of railways, roads, airports and power plants. These Chinese engagements are coming, complete with succession plans in which thousands of Nigerians are being trained over there, to ultimately manage the new projects.

Other global giants are talking to the government at the centre and the States, with declared interests in projects like highways, metro rail networks, roads, railways and investment in the clusters of manufacturing hubs, the Special Economic Zones, in each of the geopolitical zones. In the coming years, the Qatari and Saudi sovereign wealth funds, the Russians and the Americans amongst the world’s richest are working with Nigeria towards investments in oil and gas and other infrastructure.

President Buhari’s strategy of selling Nigeria’s infrastructure priorities to countries with economic clout is paying off handsomely is in reality, doing Nigeria proud by tackling the gaps in infrastructure deficit.

The records of some of his predecessors in office bespeak a greedy trail, when they go abroad they first ask: what is in it for me? What is there for my family? President Buhari is different. Understood correctly, he is an opportunity manager who knows the worth of person to person contact in a working relationship.

Given the possibilities of economic development and jobs creation, no sensible critic will ever say that there is anything wrong with this government’s efforts at attracting foreign investment

The problem many of the critics have is that they are more interested in scoring cheap headlines and generating a gossip on social media. Many in the opposition are a frustrated lot. We understand that when they express their frustrations, they become happy.

For one thing, President Buhari’s travels have not been excessive by the standards of this country’s past leaders and those of his counterparts in other countries. Given advances in modern travel and technology, a leader can maintain communication and govern from the air, on the road or at the sea. Given the advances made with satellite feeds, a leader needs not to be tied to his desk to make important decisions. The days of frequent travel by leaders is the new norm, it is not something that will go away no matter the volume of crocodile tears shed by a critical opposition.

In today’s interconnected world, international engagements of nations are calendared in specified times of the year. No nation will fail to take advantage of the important international gatherings to make their views known and express their concerns. Not many leaders will ignore invitations to the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, the Commonwealth, the African Union or that of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The attendance at these meetings is not mandatory. But it is an established norm, the absence from which, by an important country like Nigeria, will obviously be an issue of its own.

Finally, to all those who say these visits must bring quick, tangible returns. Yes, quick returns are possible as we have with fertilizer. The breaking of the age long fertilizer jinx by the Buhari administration has brought good fortune to the farmers who now produce about all that is needed to feed the nation. The achievement by the Buhari administration on food self-sufficiency is the real independence after flag independence. So too for the President, who handsomely won the February 23 election with a margin of four million votes, most of it cast in his favour by farmers in full appreciation of his policies. This is clear evidence that facts and results, not social media following convince voters when it comes to making choices.

But it is equally important that Nigerians accept the fact that, although active diplomacy as pursued by President Buhari fetches instant results, there are many instances where results take months, sometimes years to manifest.

• Garba Shehu is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity.