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Guyana’s future is Nigeria’s past and present
DEAR EDITOR,
Guyanese who are waiting on the great oil wealth to solve all their problems should study the last 5 decades of Nigeria’s promise of their great oil wealth, and if these Guyanese have any thinking ability, would soon realise they are on a doomsday train with tracks running out. In oil blocks, contracts and concessions give away, Guyana just like Nigeria have already lost close to US$ 5 billion without any oil production as yet. The exploiters of Nigeria’s oil wealth bribed politicians with a few millions of dollars, gave them and their families safe passage out of the country, to turn a blind eye to principles and laws of the sovereign protection of Nigeria, while the exploiters made off with the hog of the oil wealth (coming soon to Guyana, some have allegedly already begun). Only foreign companies and their subsidiary companies, not the locals, will get the affiliated opportunities from oil.
Many of these Foreign Companies have committed fraud and other crimes in other countries and cannot practice their business in countries with strict laws, so just like Nigeria, Guyana’s lax laws, unenforceable regulations and easily bribed politicians will provide the perfect money windfall for them. Nigeria was a lush rich natural green land, with abundance of marine life and an agricultural powerhouse, now oil pollution plus mining pollution, has resulted, in less and low quality fish, fruits and other agricultural produce (coming soon to Guyana, some have allegedly already begun). With the influx of foreigners and foreign products, the local Guyana is all, but gone, Guyana once called a breadbasket is now importing lime and fever grass among other things, the recent generation of Guyanese now complains, they now live in a foreign country and can’t even hear their own language anymore.
This migration happened to Nigeria in their so-called oil boom; it brought more problems than benefits. The local agro economy, which people produced for consumption and local markets, mostly disappeared with Nigeria’s oil production, in Guyana some people were able to subsidize their family income in local markets producing/selling local agro produce as a side business where they were able to subsidized their family income. With foreign supermarkets opening all over Guyana this income will be gone. With oil wealth only going to a few in Nigeria, the masses became poorer, hence the only way to survive was to be part of an armed gang taking from others, mostly from their own people (coming soon to Guyana, some have allegedly already begun). Nigeria with its so-called oil wealth, somehow, became one of the most corrupt and lawless country in the world, with senior military and police taking bribe, not to uphold the law, while politicians, signing agreements on behalf of Nigeria, took their pittance bribery money, sold the country out, then fled to nicer lands (coming soon to Guyana, some have allegedly already begun). The under the table, bypassing parliament way, business is done with state property in Guyana, easily predict what Guyana will become, while the masses wait for this so called oil wealth. Nigeria’s educated population couldn’t find jobs with their education and training, since the oil industry only hired a few people with specific skills, thus they became some of the world’s best scammers and con artists using the training from their post-secondary education(coming soon to Guyana, some have allegedly already begun). I choose Nigeria as a comparison to Guyana’s new future, for although they may be differences between the countries like demographics etc. is that they both are trading away their Blessed Green Gold for the Polluted Black Gold, without sensible management or balance. So is there anyone or group of people who can, and will change the future of Guyana, which I just described to something better?
R. David
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