Oscarline Onwuemenyi
06 October 2017, Sweetcrude, Abuja – A former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, has said Nigeria will be forced to drink her crude oil very soon in the face of a dwindling market of buyers of the country’s crude.
She said the country risks losing its grip on crude oil as its economic mainstay if it fails to diversify the economy.
Ezekwesili said this while speaking at the 2017 civil engineering conference organised by the Abuja chapter of the Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers (NICE).
She said major oil producing countries are already putting in place measures to diversify from the oil sector but Nigeria remains “adamant” on its dependence on the commodity.
“Norway, one of the biggest oil producers has just stashed $1 trillion of her oil money in a sovereign wealth fund,” she said.
“I was in Norway recently, and 10 percent of vehicles used there run on electric. Nigeria should ask herself these critical questions because very soon, Nigeria will drink her crude oil.”
Although the federal government is making moves to diversify the economy, Nigeria remains heavily dependent on oil, a resource which is the country’s main source of revenue.
Of recent, some countries have expressed plans to ban petrol and diesel cars from their roads, which poses a risk for the future profitability of Nigeria’s oil.
The UK, Germany, France, Norway, and Netherlands, as well as Asian countries, India and China, are among the countries who may not rely on oil for their vehicles in future.
