From Oloibiri to Bonny

Godswill S. Ihetu joined the Nigerian petroleum industry as a Shell-BP trainee technician at 18 (1959) and retired aged 59 (1999) as a Group Executive Director, Engineering and Technical Services with NNPC; he went from 'shop floor' level to top management. This makes him the most qualified to reveal, in this full-career biography, the early government missteps before the incorporation of NNPC and the truth behind the 'missing 2.8 billion' rumour of 1979. It offers his opinion on the DPR's delayed autonomy, how the overbearing government stifled NNPC's growth, 'borrowed' funds that delayed the NLNG project, and accepted up to $152 million in bribes from Halliburton and its affiliates, leading to the prosecution of its company executives in the US. From Oloibiri to Bonny tells all, in clear, easy-to-read narration.

In this book, Dr Ihetu shares his remarkable journey from entering the petroleum industry as a trainee technician to his rise to leadership as Managing Director of both the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) and the Nigeria Gas Company (NGC). The book narrates his early life of impressive academic success, pioneering roles in the different institutions that shaped the Nigerian petroleum industry and includes a historical account of its overall development, culminating in his life after retirement, different business ventures, social and community support, and role in the founding of the Petroleum Club, Lagos.