THERE was only one option left, the Minister of oil resources thought to himself as he swirled in the arm chair in the palatial air-conditioned office. It has been a few years since he was appointed to one of the juicy and influential offices in the country, but in the long road of his career he had never had it so bad. He had tried other available options to no avail.

There and then he made up his mind. If he failed to take the bull by the horn, not only his job, but his hard-earned reputation would be gone like an evaporating steam from a boiling kettle. He reached for the phone and placed a call. And after a few minutes of interaction, the meeting had been arranged. He will be having a private audience with Mr. President.

The thought of what to expect at the meeting spurred the Minister to pull out his diary and set to work immediately. He started marshalling down some points. He had to be precise, brief, and convincing, he thought to himself, knowing that Mr. President does not have all day to spare.

The week moved fast. But finally, the Minister was seated before Mr. President.

"They tell me you're rooting to give one of our foes a very sensitive job," Mr. President said to the Minister, who had debriefed him on the plan to rescue the country from a dreaded plaque of oil theft that had defied all solutions like an infested wound that has refused to heal. "Are you not aware the election year is fast approaching and that we cannot risk strengthening anything that is perceived to stand against the party's victory ahead of the election?" Mr. President asked.

"Mr. President, if we do not act now, I doubt if we will have the finance to fund the forthcoming election," the Minister responded. "Moreover, who knows, the insecurity situation could worsen as perpetrators could be using the illicit funds from oil theft to sponsor dissention and unrest in various parts of the country. These perpetrators we don't even know. So, to me, that kind of put us in a very dangerous position Mr. President," the Minister added.

"Very true," Mr. President replied, nodding his head slowly. "But how sure are you that this beneficiary of this rescue plan of yours is not an accomplice in the madness of oil theft going on? After all, that environment is one of his strongholds."

"I can assure you Mr. President that I have done my underground check. If in six months time you don't see any improvements in this rescue plan, I will hand over my resignation letter to you, personally," the Minister vowed.

"You want to put your job on the line for a stranger you barely know, besides your intelligence report on him?" Mr. President responded with an affirmative look at the Minister as he rose up from the sofa in the center of the large sitting room of his private residence he normally used to discuss sensitive issues, away from prying eyes.

He pace around the spacious room for a few seconds, speculating in thoughts. He suddenly stopped, turned to the Minister and said: "I was given the assurance that you're a square peg in a square hole. I might have fired you if things have continued to get messy in your jurisdiction, but now that you have a rescue plan you're sure is the right one, let's run with it. But, six months is too long a time. I need to see improvements as quickly as possible. Half that time wouldn't be a bad idea," Mr. President added.

With that statement, Mr. President signed up on the rescue plan with the Minister who got to work immediately. And few days later, he made the announcement of contracting the security of the nation's pipeline assets to a private security firm in the Niger Delta owned by a renowned activist who goes by the alias 'Tompolo'.

What followed in the next few days were protests by opposing forces, and then followed in the next few months by threats to the lives of the Minister and the beneficiary of the contract, after the discovery of more than 295 illegal connections to the nation's oil carrier, the NNPC pipelines, by the private security contractor, many of which have been in sabotage operations for years.

Not long after, the Minister was having another audience with Mr. President, who this time had initiated the meeting. With smiles plastered all over his face, Mr. President offered the Minister a seat as the latter stepped into his office. Mr. President then pulled out a newspaper, The Independent, and leafing through to an editorial section, he read out its content:

"We observe a marked increase in oil production in October in contrast to what obtained in August and September, as shown from the reports of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission: oil production averaged 1,014,485 barrels per day in October, representing 8.18 per cent increase in comparison with September’s production of 937,766 million barrels a day. The fight against oil theft must be kept on the front burner of public discourse. This is why the gains by this security outfit which has confronted this menace headlong should be sustained. The service chiefs and security commanders must ensure that their men work effectively with the contracting security companies to sustain this campaign in the interest of Nigeria and her citizens."

Mr. President looked up at the Minister who was trying hard to avoid a smile, and said: "Your rescue plan turned out to be precise and I guess I won't be needing your resignation letter after all," he chuckled.

"Thank you Mr. President for giving me the benefit of the doubt and the opportunity to serve this great country of ours," the Minister replied.

"No, I have you to thank," replied Mr. President. "We might have started on a very wrong footing with that gentleman. Come to think of it, we would have gained much from him if not for the ill-advise received earlier," he added. "Do me a favour when you meet him. Tell him I said 'Thank You'."

The Minister rose, bowed and left Mr. President's office. On his way to his office he buried his hand into his pocket, brought out his phone and dialled a number. As the line came alive, he said: "Mr. President says 'Thank You' for a job well done. It won't be for too long before Mr. President will request a formal meeting before he bows out of office. Meanwhile, sustain the tempo. And from me, I say 'Thank You' for saving my job."

AFTERWORD: The pipeline surveillance contract awarded to Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL), a company the Niger Delta leader Tompolo, has stack in, has been winning the war against oil theft in the Niger Delta region, after years of oil theft and pipeline vandalism that almost crippled the oil and gas sector. The mind-boggling successes achieved by TSSNL call for more of such public-private partnership initiative if the country is to occupy and retain its top-spot in the African continent as well as globally.

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