• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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BusinessDay

‘Oil companies have failed to transfer skills to Nigerians’

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In spite of the fact that Nigeria has provided a good investment climate for oil firms, the players have deliberately failed to transfer technical skills to the country’s citizens and have consistently brought in technicians from various parts of the world, an expert has said.

“Oil companies have managed to produce at world-class conditions. But these companies are still using a large number of imported artisans. After about 60 years, I believe oil companies should transfer these skills to Nigerians”, said Bolaji Ogunseye, former staff of Shell and pioneer chief executive officer (CEO), Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA), in an exclusive interview.

“There is no justification for this. I do not see why we cannot have 80 plus of technicians trained by oil firms, which I had earlier agitated for”, added the sustainable development professional, who was a member of the Central Working Group of Vision 20:2020.

In addition to this, Ogunseye criticised the country’s educational system which tends to produce stars and office workers rather than people who would drive industrialisation.

“We must discriminate clearly in favour of subjects that help to drive ambition to science, technology and manufacturing,’’ he said.

“We should have subjects biased to science, innovation, technology, than those that dominate our educational system. Our educational system is still producing people who want to be dancers, stars, celebrities and who want to work in oil companies. Let us start from the primary school to secondary school, then to university, to use educational methodologies that will send message to young people that the priority of the country is to industrialise”, he said.

He unequivocally stated that no nation would come out of poverty when its manufacturing sector is in suspended state of animation, expressing support for the recently concluded privatisation of the power sector but pointing out what could set it back.

“That is if there is absence of the usual selfishness. There is a measure of corruption in any political system but it is so heavy as to cripple governance”, he added.

ODINAKA ANUDU