TheCable

The National Security Adviser (NSA) has accused two major Nigeria-based companies of sabotaging the government’s fight against terrorism and militancy. Babagana Monguno accused Notore and Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals of being the conduit through which some terrorists get their fertilizer-based explosives. 

Presently, only Notre and Indorama import Urea Nitrates, which are used in making fertilizers. And the NSA says that the Improvised Explosives Devices used by terrorists in Nigeria are made from these Urea Nitrates.

In issuing the riot act to these companies, the visibly angry NSA made other allegations: apart from aiding terrorists, Monguno accused these companies of sabotaging the economy by exporting fertilizers that ought to be used in the country. In fact, he implied that they had vested interests.

The NSA accused these companies of exporting most of their products, thereby creating scarcity in-country. The restriction of the raw materials used in making urea-based fertilizers obviously created a monopoly. And these companies apparently cashed in on it.
These threats were unnecessary and should not have been allowed to get to the public domain. Instead, the NSA should have gone back to his drawing board and figured out how best to regulate these companies. It is obvious that the present regulations have failed.

First, as researcher [my PhD thesis was on strengthening materials to resist blast and explosions], I know the problem is actually with Carbon-Hydrogen- Oxygen-Nitrogen compounds. And these compounds are used in many chemical companies. These compounds are referred to as ‘’precursor chemicals’’ – industrial reagents that could be used in making explosives. The question is: do we close down all major chemical companies in Nigeria because the proliferation of explosives in Nigeria is actually alarming.

For instance, Nitroglycerin is explosive but could be used in making medicines for people with heart conditions and chest pains. Even a very explosive compound called Nitrocellulose is used in making tennis balls and nail polishes. And off course, the very explosive Ammonium Nitrate is used in making fertilizers, while Nitroguanidine can be used in making pesticides. Another compound, Potassium Nitrate, which could be used in making gun powder, can also be used in making preservatives.

Some explosives such as Dinitrotoluene, which is mainly used in waterproofing explosives and making gun powder, can be banned out rightly. But, some others actually have multiple uses and could be abused by miscreants. And this is where we need to put on our thinking caps on how to regulate these chemicals.

Though most countries are trying to find alternatives to very explosive compounds like Tetryl and TNT, many mining companies need them in Nigeria. And Nigeria is presently looking up to mining in order to shore up its revenues.

From the economic point of view, you cannot give a business some kind of arbitrage and expect it to ethical. Even though most businesses mouth citizen welfare, their main objectives are to maximize profit for their investors and shareholders. And this is why you have governments to check their excesses.
So, what could be done? In the US, there is an Act which stipulates the requirements that should be met by organizations handling these chemicals. And this is where we should start from. We need to make our laws on the handling these chemicals and explosives up to date.

We could adopt California’s law on the control of explosives. The State requires that companies obtain a permit to manufacture, distribute, receive or possess, transport, use, operate a terminal for storing and handling, or park and leave any vehicles carrying these chemicals.

We could go further by investing on the computerization and tracking of these chemicals. These investments could be partly funded by companies handling these chemicals. These would further check the activities of some companies the government has recently accused of diverting explosives.
This is possible. After all, the UAE has a very sophisticated system which it uses to track every drop of oil produced in the kingdom – from the ground to the refineries and to the gas stations.

For now, threatening two major companies with a combined investment of over $4 billion is not the way to go in a recession.

I agree with the NSA that security comes first, but the dangers of sending wrong signals that could be given a political undertone still exist.