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A Professor in the Department of History and International Studies, University of Ilorin, Samuel Ovuete Aghalino, has canvassed the redefinition of property rights and resource ownership in Nigeria, saying that the quest for resource control has been a recurring decimal in the oil-bearing region of the country.
Prof. Aghalino, who made this call while delivering the 263rd Inaugural Lecture, entitled‘‘Crude But Sweet Anatomy of the Devil’s Excreta’’at the University Auditorium, pointed out that people need to know more about the history, practice and essence of resource control.
The renowned historian also explained that the impunity and unsustainable environmental practices of the oil multinationals and local oil firms must be checked, adding that regulatory authorities must insist on adherence to the best in oil field practices.
Prof. Aghalino, who is a former President of the Historical Society of Nigeria (HSN), also stressed the need to strengthen regulatory agencies such as the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to make them proactive in the enforcement of standards and regulations needed to protect the delicate environment of the Niger Delta.
The Inaugural Lecturer said that it was high time the government stopped criminalising the activities of the operators of indigenous refineries and steadily work towards liberalising their operations so that the operators can be quarantined, regulated and their nascent technology harnessed for national interest.
He equally called for reconsideration of the mode of payment of compensation by the oil companies and other concerned stakeholders so as to ensure that such is in line with global best practices.
Prof. Aghalino, who has taught at the University for three decades and produced no fewer than 13 doctorate degree holders, suggested that the various intervention agencies in the region should be harmonised in order to have a coordinated approach to the development of the region and to reduce the pilfering of the little resources available.
In order to ensure efficient economic growth and stability, Prof. Aghalino said that Nigeria must begin to look beyond oil as a major source of revenue.
He added that it has become important that the nation’s economy should be diversified while a balance should be struck between developing the oil industry and domestic industries as practised in Norway and Saudi Arabia.
The renowned scholar, who is a specialist in Economic History, said that there is a compelling need for the introduction of Resource Extraction and Environmental History into the school curriculum. He explained that the suggestion is imperative so that students would be conversant with the implications of environmental despoliation.
The lecture, which was the third to be delivered from the Department of History and International Studies, was presided over by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. WahabOlasupo Egbewole, SAN.
It was also attended by colleagues, relations, friends and students of Prof. Aghalino from far and near.
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