Prepare for future where oil has little value – Osinbajo

Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo has warned Nigerians of the challenges the country would face in the future if it continues to depend on oil for income.
The vice president, while speaking in Gbaramatu Kingdom, during a visit to Delta state yesterday, said that countries that buy oil from Nigeria were now devising alternative means of power such as solar and wind energy, therefore, “We must be smart and act intelligently and fast,” he said.
Osinbajo’s visit yesterday was part of his peace tour across oil producing communities in the Niger Delta.

The visits are part of the ongoing efforts of the Buhari administration to achieve a permanent resolution of the Niger Delta crisis which in 2016 reduced Nigeria’s oil output y half.
The vice president, who spoke to an enlarged crowd after a closed-door meeting with the Gbaramatu leaders at the palace of the Pere of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Oboro Gbaraun II, said fire incidents that arose from pipeline vandalisation have killed thousands of people.
“In 2013 alone, there are over 3700 incidents of pipeline vandalisation. From January to June 2016, there were over 1447 incidents of vandalisation.
“The Niger Delta of today is one where aside environmental degradation, between 1998 and 2015, over 20,000 persons have died from fire incidents arising from breaching of the pipelines.

“To prepare for a great future for the Gbaramatu kingdom, three things must happen: we must recognise the unique environmental challenges the Niger Delta is facing, we must also recognise that the Niger Delta is a special economic zone for this nation so we must treat it as a special development zone.
“This means the federal government, state government, National Assembly, NDDC, civil societies representing Niger Delta must sit together and develop a plan for rapid development.
“In another 20 to 30 years, our oil won’t be as precious as it is today and that is reality,” he said.
“America has stopped buying oil from us. All the countries of Asia that buy oil from us are building alternative means of power, China and Japan are developing electric cars. In fact, Japan has more charging stations than petrol stations. Solar power is getting cheaper.
“We must be smart we must act intelligently and fast,” Osinbajo said.