Yuceelanda.com

America organises clandestine global boycott of Nigerian Crude

by David Kuranga
Following Nigeria’s refusal to devalue its
currency (the naira), in-line with IMF
recommendations, crude oil traders worldwide
have begun to shun Nigerian crude oil over the


last several months.
Nigeria remains one of the primary sources of
“sweet crude” oil grades that is relatively pure
crude oil with low levels of sulfuric content. In
order to refine heavy oil grades with higher
levels of sulfur and other impurities, refineries
throughout the world mix sweet crude with other
grades of oil to produce its various classes of
refined products.
Officials in the Nigerian National Petroleum
Company (NNPC) and other blocks in the
petroleum industry in Nigeria are scratching their
heads trying to figure out why so many of their
former buyers have not picked-up their usual
volume of purchase orders of Nigerian crude.
Only India and purchasers and traders outside of
Western influence have continued to increase
their purchase orders given the demand glut.
The development has caused Nigeria’s already
dwindling revenues to decline even further
dangerously flirting with insolvency.
Unbeknown to Nigerian officials, behind the
inexplicable drop in sales is a top secret
operation orchestrated by high-ranking officials
within the US government itself. The IMF and the
US Government are different heads of the same
creature. The repeated and firm
recommendations of the IMF for Nigeria to
devalue its currency and weaken its economy is
also the firm position of the United States.
Because the CBN and Nigerian officials have
vehemently refused, they have responded by
organizing a clandestine global boycott of
Nigerian oil to starve the nation of foreign
exchange earnings and force a currency
devaluation.
The government has managed to save and
increase foreign reserves despite low oil prices,
through prudent management of the CBN has
shown that it can limp along and ride out the
slum in oil prices.
Many Nigerian policy-makers in the executive
and legislature fail to realize the truth that the
United States under the current administration is
not a friend of Nigeria. In the height of war they
refused to sell weapons and liaised with South
African intelligence to circumvent weapons
procurement through other means.
Further even after the election of President
Buhari, has continued their hostile policy to
undermine Nigerian security and instead
strengthen Nigeria’s immediate neighbours.
Economically, the US through the IMF has
recommended damaging policies of currency
devaluation, and is now actively organizing a
global boycott of Nigerian crude oil to further
starve the CBN of foreign exchange. The
question is, why has the United States adopted a
overtly hostile stance toward Nigeria? The
answer is very simple.
Nigerian policy makers are keen to the hostile
rivalry between Nigeria and South Africa for
influence and policy direction on the African
continent. They can easily see that South Africa
is an adversary. What they fail to realize is that
in the rivalry between the two powerhouses of
Africa, the United States has chosen sides, and
South Africa is their favourite partner.
Undermining Nigerian security and economic
growth diminishes the nation’s growing influence
in Africa, and aids South Africa’s declining
presence. South Africa is the only African
country on the G20 and for decades has been
the only African country that matters to the
world and to Western policy makers. They have a
longstanding healthy relationship with South
Africa that has made it easy for them to operate
on the continent and expand their influence.
The rise of Nigeria above South Africa is a
terrifying development and one that the United
States is willing to obstruct and undermine both
economically, politically, and militarily. Instead of
smiling and embracing the Judas kisses given by
U.S. officials Nigerian policy makers need to
adopt the same caution with the United States
as they have already with South Africa because
the two are working together to check and
contain Nigeria’s rise in Africa.