Financial Energy Review
As the Federal government sets to commence the full implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), Prof. Wunmi Iledare has said that Monocracy, Prebendalism and Individualism may impair the effectivness of PIA as a result the negative impact of these factors most be checked
According to Prof Iledare, Human Capital Development and Deployment (HCDD) in the oil and gas sector, have been seriously impaired by these trilemma of monocracy (transactional leadership) prebendalism (elite capture), and individualism (survival mentality) in the more recent years, especially the last two decades than the first three decades in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria
In his opening remarks recently during a panel at the third SPE Benin Biennial Technical Symposium, Prof Iledare, a Professor of Petroleum Economic, former President of the International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE) and also Ghana National Petroleum Corporation Research Professor and Chair at the University of Cape Coast said that to the extent imaginable, Nigeria does not necessarily lack human resources per se but, perhaps, she has been undersupplied in resourcefulness because of the above trilemma dimensions.
“Resourcefulness of a competent workforce is key to the conducive business environment envisage in the PIA. Empirical evidence in the first three 3 decades in the life of oil and gas business in Nigeria speaks to that fact. I was a participant then and now. Just look around in the industry today and see the indigenous participants in the industry.
“Evaluate the manpower development and deployment scheme they experienced during their careers. That model, which worked then can work now but for HCDD trilemma, which must be disavowed in the PIA, if Nigeria oil and gas business is to be profitable and sustainable” Prof Iledare said.
Accordind to him the word trilemma as being used in this setting, simply means three disagreeable comportments each of which, if not censored, has unpleasant consequences on the profitability and sustainability of oil and gas business in the PIA Era in Nigeria.
“It would be imprudent, therefore, to not keep an eye on these dimensions of HCDD trilemma in the PIA era. More likely than not these trilemma dimensions, if unmanaged, could have significant impact on the efficacy of PIA to promote transparency, good governance and accountability in the management of petroleum resources in Nigeria, thereby limiting the potential for business sustainability and profitability’’ he said.
Prof Iledare described monocracy as a transactional leadership attitude, with no shared vision in the deployment and development of manpower is worrisome, if profitability is to be enhanced. Such leadership style is hierarchical in structure and mostly authoritarian rather than being authoritative.
He said that prebendalism represents the cornering of job opportunities, be it political power, resources, or wealth for the benefit of only a defined constituency. Prebendalism in manpower development and deployment is harmful to institutional effectiveness at adding or creating sustainable economic values.
He maintained that disavowing prebendalism enhances the capability to inspire shared vison to the extent that human capital development and deployment do not reward mediocrity because of elitism
He said that Individualism is the Survival Mentality Dimension of HCDD. According to him managing the oil and gas sector for posterity demands inclusion and only transformational leadership structure can deliver such demands. It is doable and must be done for posterity. To a large extent, the tendency to be individualistically oriented in man power development is poverty in the land.
‘’The oil and gas reform and restructuring in Nigeria took too long, perhaps, because of the HCDD trilemma. Hence, the PIA institutions legislated for efficient and effective industry governance must have leadership attitudes and frameworks based on intelligentsia knowledge of the business and not sentimentality.
“It must motivate individual to engage in critical thinking to discourage mediocrity or laissez-faire (do-as-you-please) attitude. Leadership that is willing to process diversity of ideas with institutional enrichment priced above self-interests would matter a lot to effectively manage the oil and gas future in Nigeria. The suitability of PIA to foster competitive business environment for petroleum investments and operations in the future will depend on efficient and effective manpower development and deployment in the oil and gas sector governance, administration and operation” he concluded.
