Coming of oil and GSM phones, blessing or curse? (1)

Among the committee of nations, Nigeria is one if not the most blessed in terms of human and natural resources. The nation can boast of the best heads in all facet of human endeavour, from the South to the North, East to West, there are abundant mineral resources many yet untapped.
The discovery of crude oil in 1956 at Oloibiri, Niger Delta by Shell D’Arcy now Shell-BP at the time the sole concessionaire after half a century of exploration ranked Nigeria among oil producers in 1958 when its first oil field came on stream producing 5,100 bpd. In 1965 the EA field was discovered by Shell in shallow water southeast of Warri.
Nigeria at the end of the Biafran war enjoyed a rise in the world oil price reaping instant riches from its oil production.
This was followed by various discovery and production with Safrap later known as Elf discovering Obagi field and Ubata field 1963 which was Gulf's first production, Agip found its first oil at Ebocha in 1965, Phillips 1967 drilled its first well (Dry) at Osari –I and first oil discovery at Gilli-Gilli –I, Pan Ocean Corporation drilled its first discovery well at Ogharefe –I in 1973, Ashland's first oil discovery at Ossu –I in 1974, and so on.
The country had since then enjoyed lots of goodwill making her a toast and bride among the committee of nations, making oil her major source of income. Just like oil brought wealth and fame to the country, the coming of the global system of mobile communication was like a discovery when it eventually took of in the early life of the Obasanjo administration.
Before now, the Nigerian telecommunications sector was grossly underdeveloped before the sector was deregulated under the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida in 1992 with the establishment of a regulatory body, the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC). On assumption of office on May 29, 1999 the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration swung to gear to make a reality the complete deregulation of the telecom sector, most especially the much touted granting of licenses to GSM service providers and setting in motion the privatisation of NITEL.
The return of democracy in 1999 paved the way for the granting of GSM license to 3 service providers: MTN, Nigeria, ECONET Wireless, Nigeria and NITEL Plc in 2001. This proactive approach by the government to the telecom sector has made it possible for over 2.5 million Nigerians to clutch GSM phones today.
The coming of GSM service providers have completely changed the tempo of the Nigerian business terrain by creating countless opportunities for small and medium businesses in franchises, dealerships, retailer-ships and value added services within the GSM market. It has caused employment explosion both directly and indirectly. Over 2.5 million Nigerians now have a convenient way of communication; this development has greatly affected positively our business environment, increasing the income accrued to the nation’s purse.
The above scenarios are the joy associated with the coming of oil and the GSM phones, but alas, recent events had made nonsense of the pomp and pageantry that heralded the discovery of the nation’s wealth.
Scarcity of petroleum products had done nothing but add to the hardship of the citizenry, and in some instances led to the demise of some likewise the mobile phones which serves as a means of communication. So we ask ourselves, is it a blessing or curse that we enjoy these amenities.

By Adewumi Olumide