RESEARCH: How to Harness Nigeria's Natural Resourses

By Fred Doc Nwaozor

        

It has ostensibly become compelling for Nigeria as a country to look inwards towards discovering her entire natural resources with a view to harnessing them for a greater nationhood.

        

Some of the common natural resources on earth are land, water, sunlight, atmosphere, wind, coupled with animal life and vegetation. A natural resource may exist as a separate entity like fresh water and air as well as a living organism such as fish, or it might exist in an alternate form, which must be processed to obtain the required resource to include petroleum, metal, ores, and most forms of energy.

         

It’s noteworthy that some, including air and sunlight, can be found everywhere, and are known as ‘ubiquitous resources’. Whilst, most resources only occur in restricted areas, and are referred to as ‘localized resources’.

        

There are very few resources that are considered inexhaustible – these are solar radiation, geothermal energy, and air, though access to pure air may not be possible. The vast majority of resources are theoretically exhaustible, which means they have a finite quantity and can be depleted if improperly managed; a good example of this is petroleum. Such finite resources required a sound policy and regulation, to be implemented by the concerned government, towards their preservation.

         

It’s pertinent to acknowledge that every manmade product consists of one or two natural resources. Suffice it to say that everything required or used by mankind constitute of, at least, a natural resource. In most cases, some of these resources such as air and water, are directly utilized or consumed by man without processing them.

          

The above outlined phenomenon proves beyond doubts that humankind cannot survive or strive successfully, as the case may be, without natural resources. This assertion is not unconnected with the reason every rational government makes frantic effort toward adequate use and preservation of the natural resources found within its country.

         

In Nigeria, hundreds of natural resources abound, in which each state including Abuja is a beneficiary. Some of these resources are petroleum, tantalite, lead, zinc, glass-sand, copper, gemstone, crystal, oil/gas, bitumen, phosphate, gold, coal, clay, salt, gypsum, iron-ore, uranium, and limestone, in addition to sunlight, wind, land, water, vegetation and air that are ubiquitous in nature.

          

Some of the aforementioned substances can enable any country to massively embark on agriculture, and attain to any desired height. Nigeria does not possess just land, but a well fertile land that can produce crops in any quantity and quality. Its vegetation and atmosphere is equally invariably good enough to raise every kind of animal life, including wildlife.

          

Though crop and livestock farming used to be the talk of the day in the Nigerian society, it’s sad to note that currently such lucrative occupation is being relegated to the background owing to over-reliance on mono-resource, petroleum. It’s really high time we as a people desisted from this irritating high level of dependency that has eaten deep into our socio-economic bone marrow.

         

Proper utilization of clay alone can take the country’s tourism industry, that’s presently moribund, to enviable heights. Same is applicable to the use of other similar compounds or metals that are in abundance across the federation, to include uranium, limestone, and gold. In the same vein, it is disheartening that an essential mineral resource like coal has, over the decades, been swept under the carpet; coal can be used to produce energy, both in the form of heat and electricity.

          

It’s mind-boggling to hear that a country like Nigeria that can boast of abundant sunlight, wind and what have you, is still battling on how to generate steady and reliable electricity, whilst countries like U.S.A blessed with just limited amount of the resources, are experiencing uninterruptible power supply. Away from energy; it could be observed that our forest reserves that could produce enough timber for importation, are currently wearing a pathetic physiognomy as a result of docile policies.

          

Indeed, Nigeria is densely endowed with various lucrative natural resources, but it’s very sad that the governments at all levels are not doing enough as regards the adequate use and conservation of the resources; hence, this calls for drastic turnaround via deployment of genuine political will. Now that the sale of oil and gas is no longer booming, it’s high time we retraced our steps toward ensuring that each of the available resources is thoroughly harnessed for the needed economic emancipation.

          

Crude oil ought to also be regularly renewed. We can clean used oil by using pretty conventional refinery technologies. The first step is vacuum distillation, which dewaters the oil. Then, we do wiped-film evaporation; this essentially separates out all the contaminants and additives inherent in it.

         

Finally, it would go through a hydro-treating process, which infuses hydrogen back into the hydrogen molecules and makes it very high quality re-refined oil. This routine can be sustained via a sound policy, hence the need for the government to concentrate on the needful.

          

The government really needs to ensure adequate conservation and sustenance of these natural resources, through implementation of strict and viable policies cum laws, and their proper enforcement. Most of these policies such as Land Use and Forests Reserve Acts, which were duly upheld in the past, are presently abused or overlooked in various quarters.

         

We need to urgently revive them, make apt amends where necessary, as well as introduce new ones toward attaining a greater nationhood. Think about it!

Comrade Nwaozor, researcher and activist, could be

reached via frednwaozor@gmail.com

Twitter: @mediambassador