Since the deregulation of the oil industry threatens unionism, of Dan D. Kunle

Nigeria finds itself once again to a family crossroads. The recent declaration of the Union Nigeria of Petroleum and Gas Natural Gas (Nupeng) against Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Alhaji Sayyu Dantata is not simply an attack on two businessmen. It is a dangerous assault on the idea itself that Nigeria can build, possess and support its energy future. Even more important, Nupeng may not realize it, but they are inadvertently making the devil offers by implying that the Nigerians should remain subjected to foreign interests regarding our energy needs.

This is the reason why this debate is important. Do not let anyone miss the fact that this topic affects the center of our national development. For decades, Nigeria was trapped in the vicious circle of the export of crude oil and the import of refined products at punishment costs. Each liter purchased at inflated prices is a monument to national failure. Dangote’s refinery, however, is not just a private company. It is a national ambition symbol. It is a clear pointer to what is possible when the Nigerians invest boldly in their land. Resisting is to resist the progress itself.

As his King Royal Majesty King, Bubaraye Dakolo, president of the Council of Traditional Sovereigns of Bayelsa, “The Delta del Niger and Nigeria for general benefit and benefits when the oil and gas of Nigeria are refined locally and marketed at a global level, reminds us. Anyone who cannot see the truth in this statement can be said that it is more a sabotheur that works against the national interest of Nigeria.

Yes, the unions have the right to organize. This right is sacred and sanctioned by law. At the same time, that right must never become a weapon to keep the nation hostage or to defend the inefficiency. What Nupeng seems to defend here is not the Nigerian worker but his monopoly and shares that feed his interruption capacity.

■ Competition is not sabotage

We try to be clear: a fleet of 10,000 modern methane trucks that enters the market is not sabotage. It is competition. It is capital at work. It is the essence of a free market in which only the efficient survives. The inefficient operators will complain; They will cry sabotage, but discomfort is the natural price of progress. This has been shown true since childhood when we all learned to walk, fall after the first steps, feel the pain and yet get up to try again.

If to tell the truth, there is no greater Nigerian pastime than to blame sabotage for every challenge that emerges. A neighbor buys a generator that works. Suddenly, your refuses to start and suspect a foul. In Nigeria, rainfall can also be blamed for sabotage if it refuses to arrive in time. Now, Nupeng sees the swing trucks arrive and call it sabotage. The Nigerians deserve better than this comic theater brand dressed as an economy.

Nupeng knows. Its alarm does not concern the exploitation of workers; It is the narrowing of its empire. A company that directly uses thousands of drivers dilutes the suspension of Nupeng and reduces its ability to close the country as desired. This is the real grievance.

And let’s not forget: the membership of the Union is voluntary. The Nigerian law protects the freedom of association, not the monopoly of a union. If drivers want to form a new body, the union chancellor is authorized to register it. The choice belongs to workers, not to the leadership of Nupeng.

■ Who really represents workers?

On this issue, the workers themselves spoke. The branch of the petrolizers of Parking publicly rejected Nupeng’s position as insensitive and unacceptable. Traditional sovereigns have also weighed. His King Royal Majesty King Bubaraye Dakolo, president of the Council of traditional sovereigns of Bayelsa, offered “the right hand of the company” to Dangote and solicited groups and individuals so as not to sabotage this high idea.

These are not minor voices. They are the communities and citizens who bear the weight of oil extraction and the scarcity of fuel. Their message is unmistakable: the vision of Dangote is aligned with the national interest. Nupeng’s reactionary posture is not.
And the facts make it out. In the last year, no other organization has done more to stabilize the fuel prices than to the refinery of crane. Driving efficiency and investing on a large scale, Dangote has already offered relief to millions of Nigerians. With a cheapest methane powered logistics network, costs will decrease further. This is a pro-Popular policy. It is the type of sincere management of scarce resources that Nigeria desperately needs. As King Dakolo said in no uncertain terms, “no person or society has been responsible for stabilizing petrol prices such as Alhaji Dangote and the refinery of Dangote in the last year”.

■ The real fear of Nupeng: loss of control, non -well -being of workers

To avoid doubt, under Nupeng’s bluster there is a clear truth: their threat of strike, scheduled for Monday 8 September 2025, does not mean protecting workers but clinging to their grip of power over power. Their true resentment is not exploitation, but the audacity of the swing truck drivers to choose freedom on the forced union. Asking that these drivers are forbidden to train their unions or completely renounce, Nupeng exhibits his monopolistic heart, a position echoed by the request of the Nigerian labor congress of “immediate union” and accusations of “corporate greed”. This reckless posture risks that immerses Nigeria in chaos, with the scarcity of fuel that looms while the oil drivers stop the distribution, leaving the dried filling stations and normal blocked Nigerians.

We all know this imminent national tragedy: long queues, stars prices and the economic paralysis are the predictable fruits of Nupeng’s selfish game. Therefore, we invite President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Government to deploy safety agencies urgently in ensuring that this strike is stopped on his tracks. The energy security of Nigeria and the well -being of its people must not be held hostage by a union more interested in the shares than to progress. The threat of the NLC of solidarity and mobilization action, as declared by President Joe Ajaero, underlines only the need for a decisive intervention to avoid this useless crisis.

■ Entrepreneurship as national activity

In all this, here’s what should not be lost in noise: Dangote is not just a businessman. It is an institution. While others complain about government policy and write infinite memo, roll up their sleeves and build. Cement factories, fertilizers and now the largest single -training refinery in the world. These are not slides or political documents; They are concrete monuments for Nigerian ambition.

Positioned in the global context, Dangote’s refinery is already among the ten largest refineries in the world, elaborating about 650,000 barrels per day, with plans to increase up to 700,000 BPDs by the end of 2025, potentially overtaking the Onsan refinery of South Korea. Even the largest European skill refineries exceeds.

Dangote has delivered what decades of Task and government committees could not. Countries such as India and Brazil have also exploited private entrepreneurship to overcome the bottlenecks of the Union and the structural inertia. While above all Jamnagar’s refinery of India, the Lekki structure of Dangote shows that Africa can also play worldwide.

This entrepreneurial spirit is what we should celebrate, not to defame. Each truck that comes out of the dance fleet is more than metal on wheels. It is a moving scoreboard of self -sufficiency. Every refined liter in Lekki instead of Rotterdam or Singapore or Malta recalls that Nigeria can meet their needs. This is the construction of the nation in its purest form.

As King Dakolo said with refreshing candor, “it is absurd for any organization or individual to accuse Alhaji Dangote or the refinery of dance of being a monopoly. Their industry is an open industry and anyone or a group of people can enter.”

■ The choice in front of us: progress or inefficiency

This is the reason why the government has to act decisively. The choice is simple. Either we bow to old monopolies who thrive on inefficiency or embrace bold investments that can transform our economy. Traditional leaders, workers and Nigerian normal have already chosen. They are with progress.

Nigeria cannot continue to unionize around the dependence on imports. We must unionize ambition. We must unionize innovation. We must unionize around local production and distribution. We must unionize the first policy of Nigeria.

The investment of dance and dangled is more than commercial. It is a declaration that Nigeria can trace its destiny, create jobs, build cleaner energy systems and safeguard its safety. Opping is to mortgage our future for the inefficiencies that have maintained us poor.

Time has passed through half measures. The Nigeria energy market needs clarity, courage and competition. He needs leaders who will not slam the eyelids in front of the threats. Above all, he needs a nation ready to stand and return his own. And so we say it without hesitation: for reasons of national prosperity and promise of self -sufficiency, we are with crawls. Doing otherwise would be to oppose Nigeria herself.

■ Dan D. Kunle is an analyst of the energy and market economy.

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