As Soldiers Embark on Operation Crush Pipeline Vandals in Nigeria

  By Emmanuel Udom

President Muhammadu Buhari is a good man. He may be called a go-slow president; he may have appointed mostly northerners into his core kitchen cabinet.

But, nevertheless, Buhari is slowly and steadily marching on, like a gallant retired Major-General that he is. Thumb-up to him.

The present reality is that in most homes and offices across the country,   power is becoming relatively constant. The Sai Buhari change mantra is working.

But, some newsstand activists and free newspaper readers in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and other states in the country are arguing.

Some insist that in 100 days, the Buhari-led regime has fixed the almighty power. Others will swear by God, Allah or whatever they believe in that stakeholders in the power sector, afraid of the next moves of Buhari, may have stabilized power supply networks nationwide, in order to please their pay master. They may be right or wrong.

Away from these flattering words. Soldiers have kicked militants and ethnic groups out of pipeline security contracts in Nigeria.

Good copy for Buhari and his dream to change the country for good and bad copy for the militants, groups and warlords, who have made fortunes in local and foreign currencies, while the show lasted.

The statistics are frightening, with the country losing 250,000 barrels of crude oil daily to vandals. This translates to Nigeria, the self-acclaimed giant of Africa, being short-changed by $10.9 billion everyday between 2008 and 2011.

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr Emmanuel Kachikwu, has met with the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin in Abuja, to seal the deals for pipeline security and other related crimes in the maritime sector.

Yes, the military has the capacity to crush vandals. But, with the on-going Boko Haram war, my take is that the military is overstretched and should either be given a break or adequately empowered beyond newspaper promises for the added job.

Fighting pipeline breakers and oil vandals are no tea party. From media reports, the folks involved in breaking NNPC pipelines and stealing our crude oils are powerful, well –organized and  well-connected.

These unpatriotic folks from reports have the capacity to face security agents, who are out to stop them on their tracks, bumper-to-bumper, anywhere in Nigeria.

Therefore, with the impending marching order by military authorities for soldiers to return to the Greeks so to say and rescue our pipelines from the jaws of breakers, holistic empowerment for the military should be the catching word for Buhari.

Past military and civilian leaders in the country have attempted without appreciable success to tackle vandals and oil thieves.

Therefore, some Nigerians, this writer inclusive are being cautiously optimistic in this new marching order. The police can do the job, if well empowered and motivated while the soldiers face terrorists. I may be wrong.