Very promising for a nation which needs more exports: “In a renewed bid to link Africa’s vast gas reserves to European markets, Nigeria, Algeria, and the Republic of Niger have signed key agreements to advance the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP). The agreements, signed in Algiers on February 11, 2025, represent a significant step toward actualizing a project that has been in discussions for decades.”
Yes, the gas pipeline which will connect the Nigerian gas to European markets is a great playbook. But as that happens, I want to challenge Nigerian leaders to also implement a gas pipeline that will take Nigerian gas to Nigerian markets!
Many years ago, I was a FUTO intern in NNPC’s Nigeria Gas Company. It was a very good experience: go to Owaza NNPC flow station (boundary between Abia and Rivers States) to learn from gas, instrumentation, etc engineers, and seasonally go to Aba to read the meters for billing. In other words, markets like Aba had gas supplies pipelined from the flow station, supporting Aba ceramics, glass and other industries. The gas supply made Aba products very competitive via cheaper energy components. Today, most of those infrastructures have disappeared.
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That brings to my request: can the federal government design and implement a gas pipeline that connects Nigerian markets instead of rushing to export gas to Europe for their companies? We have local companies in Nigeria which need gas and we are not doing much to make gas available to them. My model is a gas pipeline network that connects at least two cities per state, and if we do that, great things will happen. The European companies must not be prioritized over the local companies! Fair enough?
Remember: I am not saying that Nigeria should not sell to Europe, I am saying that it is unfortunate that this pipeline to Europe is passing Onitsha, and some of our core markets, with no provision for local companies to tap the gas. It does not make sense to me, but I agree, I am not good enough to understand Nigeria!
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It is a continuation of slavery and colonial mentality. You are celebrating sending gas to Europe, even when the local gas market is nowhere near saturation. There’s even no deliberation effort to develop the local market and increase purchasing power. What’s the population of the entire Europe? We sort of think our economic development is dependent on inflows from Europe and North America. Nigeria is too big to rely on export to improve living standards of Nigerians.
Develop and increase local consumption, that is how you reduce poverty. Sending resources abroad and earning few dollars will not cure large scale poverty. Somebody needs to use the brain to think, not just having brain for brain sake.