THE EYE OPENER

The other day I was watching the news on my plasma TV when I saw the happy face of the minister for energy holding in his hands a bottle containing a sample of oil. I could not verify but my belief is that it was the much coveted black gold. We all know how coveted this thing is.It brings about a lot of many transformations in the country. Every one knows at least how much we can reap from the much branded commodity.

A few years ago nobody would have believed that our country would ever get such a lucrative mineral, at least not me.I always used to hear about this black gold from my grandpa who is far much knowledgeable than a few guys my age combined. Only the likes of the Middle East countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, I wonder if it’s in the Middle East were known to be perennial power houses in the lucrative business. Our African counterparts such as Sudan, Nigeria and Libya are also known to be the major power houses when it comes to matters oil. One would surely term such a discovery as a great blessing. I think so too, but for how long will it continue to be a blessing?

One would call it a blessing in disguise. Yet another would call it a calamity in waiting. Come to think of it for a second where the Kenyan oil was discovered. For those who might still be in the dark, I hope there is no one though, it was in Turkana.Ngamia one to be exact. This should be an irony don’t you think. Well, for me it is.Turkana is a semi arid land in Kenya that has been neglected for so long.A place where water never exists. It is an area where you never here about electricity. There are so many poor people if you ask me.Their source of livelihood is their livestock. It’s a place where you will never find a good road. Not that they don’t need these things but is there anyone to do these things for them, will it be their members of parliament, maybe not. So I should think that the discovery of oil in their land is a blessing for them, at least it should be.Turkana

I heard that the people in Turkana received the news of the discovery with mixed reactions. Some said it was a good thing. Others thought otherwise. Of course this was expected in a land where illiteracy prevails. Some argued that the discovery was awesome but they argued that have they also discovered water? To them water is far much better than having the oil, I have to agree with them on this at least for now.

I believe that the discovery of the commodity would do a lot of good to these people and also for the whole country. Let’s hope it will open up the region with electricity, water and education. There will be a lot of investment in the region and the economy will grow. But will this really happen with the land where it was discovered already in controversy? I heard that the land was sold to the exploration company by certain influential individuals in the government and some businessmen.

In as much as the discovery is a good thing, we also have to look at the consequences when this valuable resource is not well managed. So much can be gained from it.The national GDP would swell and that would be used to finance other projects. Leaving this commodity to a group of scrupulous, hungry men would result to no benefits. There could even be war against ourselves. And when this happens nothing profitable would come out of it, at least not for our country. It would go into different pockets and this would be the curse I was talking about earlier.

I think we have many examples to draw our references from.Many countries with oil have been faced with so many strife’s as every one wants to control resulting to war. Take for instance Nigeria which has a lot of oil but due to mismanagement the country is ever in civil war with warlords wanting to control the mining. We all know what happened in Iraq and Sudan I don’t need to remind you. I can’t also forget Libya.

With all those references and examples I hope we will not be caught in such a situation. Let the resource be a blessing and not a curse. Let’s use it to benefit our country and grow our fragile economy which is in dire need of this mineral. Let our brothers and sisters in Turkana have something to smile about a few years from now rather than wish they had never been born in that region. This will be the greatest thing for all of us. Have a rational mind and maintain peace, wont you?