Former Minister of Petroleum, Professor Tam David-West has warned that unless a total and unconditional amnesty is granted to the Niger Delta militants by President Umaru Musa Yar'adua, no meaningful achievement would be recorded on the war against corruption and bad governance in both the area and Nigeria generally .

He was speaking on the topic 'Fueling Corruption and Instability through Blood Oil ' at the 7 th National Seminar on Economic Crimes organized by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, at its Training and Research Institute in Karu, Abuja on Wednesday, September 17, 2008. At the session were EFCC Chairman, Mrs Farida Waziri, Secretary, Emmanuel Akomaye, Police Service Commission Chairman, Parry Osayande, among other top stakeholders.

The renown scholar agued that in Nigeria, oil does not fuel corruption as had been postulated over the years; rather, corruption had been a phenomenon that oil was only used in promoting.

 Professor David-West who applauded the creation of EFCC in fighting corruption noted that corruption   breeds instability which does not only manifest in arms struggle as in the case of the Niger Delta, but also in inconsistency of  offices, policies and national icons and symbols. "Between 1960 and now, we have had 41 heads of state, we have had 5 Constitutions and our states had increased from a few regions to 36 states and a federal capital. Between 1999 and now we have had 5 Inspector Generals of Police." He said that he was not opposed to changes but that changes must be valid and responsible and not at the whims and caprice of some leaders. "A country that toys with a fundamental document of the state like the constitution is not stable", he stated.

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Speaking further, the Professor of Virology wondered why no one seems to  be asking why the issue of militancy was never taken to its present level before 1999. He posited that the reason was that the militants are a creation of corrupt politicians who had hitherto used them as thugs in winning elections. He equally berated those condemning petty oil bunkerers saying that the crime had been taken to a ludicrous level by government officials. He advised leaders to live by examples by purging themselves from whatever ills they expect the masses to desist from, stating that they too benefit from the so called oil money. "I am not justifying that people take oil by arms or kill other people, but I am saying that some few people should not grow fat when others are dying and that we should understand that about 80% of even our salaries are from oil.How less bloody is this money?"

Professor Assisi Asobie, Chairman of NEITI, while discussing the paper agreed with  Prof. David- West that the Niger Delta issue was a national problem. He stated that there is indeed a connection between oil and the degree of corruption we experience and that it has become pervasive. "It is not only those who are fighting in the creeks or those involved in kidnapping that are involved in blood oil. All others who engage in other forms of corruption especially those engaged in official stealing are also involved."

While noting that one of the problems in fighting corruption emanates from our inability to identify what it truly was, Asobie said that what we actually call corruption is just a manifestation of the phenomenon. To him, the actual problem starts with our inability to put the nation before self which in itself is corruption. He observed that corruption thrives because the bulk of the country's revenue comes from oil saying that if it were from taxes, people would be compelled to ask how it was being utilized. He also added that corruption has continued to flourish because people's mandates during elections never mattered, and as such leaders do not feel close to the people to even care about  high level of poverty. As a solution to the problem, Asobie said that everybody should identify with the fight against corruption and take a responsibility in that regard. "Nigerians have to be more public spirited by taking national issues as their issue. Also, they need to be patriotic and less greedy",he said.

In his own reaction, Onno Ruhl, the World Bank Country Director in Nigeria said that Nigeria just like other countries that have been blessed with oil, must understand that the challenges of natural resources is to turn it into  blessing rather than allow it to become a curse." He gave an instance of the democratic republic of Congo whose resources had caused a war because her citizenry never knew how revenues accruable from it were utilized. "A gift is easily spent but an earning is judiciously used. Unfortunately, a country can be cursed by its resources." He advocated for a transparent usage of the revenue from oil especially in infrastructural and institutional development warning that if this is not done, instability and infighting are inevitable