In Nigerian today, there’s a particular individual eking out a living through appearances on national television.
Literally prancing and prattling from one TV station to another, branching the moniker, expert or public affairs analyst, ventilating on any issue ranging from the political to the economic. Professing knowledge in these areas, he pontificates magisterially on topical matters, expecting his opinions to be taken as the Holy Grail.
In reality, he is a gun for hire on the payroll of one individual here and an organisation there. As a hired gun, his claim to expertise is anchored on a one-sided juvenile recitation of oil and gas statistics and technical terms to bamboozle his audience and create a fizzling aura of authority in an often-infantile imitation of a subject matter expert.
Welcome to the world of Kelvin Emmanuel, who on his LinkedIn profile In Nigeria portrays himself as a forex broker and consultant for several brands, is the archetypal mercenary for hire.
Contrary to his stated profession, he is, in reality, a bird of passage, flitting from one organisation to another without any discernible contribution or impact on the organisation’s profiles. Just as difficult as it is for him to hold down a paid job, he has also failed as an entrepreneur, setting up companies, which fold up as quickly as they are registered.
In an interview with a news blog some time ago, he captured his frustrations thus: “My most challenging experience was when I had to change industry from the financial services, I have been used to for 10+ years to agriculture and agro-processing in 2019, shortly after I lost a lot of money and had displeased investors breathing down my neck. It was gruelling, tough, humiliating, lonely and uncertain. I navigated it, knowing fully well that as far as my internal compass was centred on the right motivations, I will always bounce back better and stronger.”
Realising his lack of administrative acumen and his deficiency in coordinating men and machines for profitable outcomes, he has finally found his niche in the art of duplicity and freely lends himself for use by individuals and organisations with sinister designs either on fellow individuals, organisations and even the government.
For the past few years, Emmanuel has become the poster boy of a manipulative and disingenuous set of characters who have invaded the public space with propaganda, sophistry, misinformation and disinformation.
His pet project in the two years has been the demonisation and demarketing of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency (NMPDRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
Hopping from one television station to another and wearing the toga of “Energy Expert”, he repeatedly lashes out at the NNPC Ltd. holding it responsible for practically every sin under heaven.
In an august 2024 appearance on Arise TV, he blurted: “It is time for Mr President to take the bull by the horns and realise that 50% of the macroeconomic problems this country faces stem from the NNPC.”
Not done with taking potshots at NNPC, he harped on his refusal to accept the reality of the new lease of life for the Port Harcourt Refinery: “I’m only going to believe the NNPC in Port Harcourt refinery or any other government-owned refinery when I see the actual derivatives in trucks going out of the Port Harcourt refinery gate, and when marketers confirm that they have actually started.”
Without providing evidence, he posited that “about 12 trillion naira has gone down the drain in turnaround maintenance with nothing to show for it.” He said the amount roughly equated the $20 billion used by Dangote to build his refinery.
The comparison to Dangote was no accident. It was part of his well-crafted project of running down NNPC and promoting Dangote, who many Nigerians know, is the unseen hand funding the anti-NNPC project. It would become apparent during the same interview when he said, “It’s important for the government to hands off refining. Sell the business and allow the private sector to run refinery operations in Nigeria.”
On the surface, it would appear that a concerned Nigerian was giving his government honest advice but viewed deeper, it is clear Emmanuel is seeking to have his paymaster entrench monopoly in the oil and gas sector as he has done for decades in other sectors.
His obsession with pulling the NNPC down also reflected in his response last year to comment by Engr. Farouk Ahmed, Authority Chief Executive (ACE) of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on the quality of petroleum products from Dangote refinery.
An angry Emmanuel retorted that Engr. Ahmed should also apply the same standard to NNPC. He said NNPC’s products should be tested at the lab to verify whether they meet the required standards, noting that the current sulphur level limit of 200ppm, prescribed by ECOWAS, expired on December 31, 2024.
On Monday, February 3, 2025, Emmanuel continued with his anti-NNPC and pro-Dangote sentiments when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television.
On a programme with popular TV presenter, Seun Okinbaloye, he declared that Port Harcourt and Warri refineries were not producing Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) despite NNPCL’s earlier provision of documentary evidence.
As has always been the case on television stations where he repeatedly castigated the Federal Government and NNPC’s efforts at stabilising petroleum products supply in the country without backing up his claims with evidence, he once again, carelessly bandied unsubstantiated figures in his bid to defame the Federal Government and the national oil company.
His antics this time drew the ire of Nigerians who took to Channels Television’s X handle in their numbers to express their displeasure with him. While many described him as a paid agent of the owner of Dangote, others wondered why he was embarrassing himself on national television by claiming no production was taking place in the two refineries when NNPCL had long provided video evidence.
The aggrieved Nigerians tackled Okinbaloye for not challenging his guest to substantiate his claims with evidence, particularly regarding the figures he threw around on the issue of quantity of petrol imported into the country.
One of the users, @MissRozapepper, said of Mr Emmanuel’s claims: “I know a paid propaganda when I see one. End Users are getting on a daily basis, but you want us to believe the refineries are not refining any product? Aliko is at work here, lol.”
Another user, @Hammedojo8, said:
“These people are full of negativity in their life. They see no good thing other than bad news.”
Lending his voice to the conversation,
@DSolabi noted: “This is why I hate some of the Nigeria public analysts. They will never investigate any issue of public concern. They just come up with theories and feed Nigerians. Has this man gone to those refineries himself?”
His position was supported by @Ushasaai14 who said: “The thing is, has he visited the place to see things for himself? All this rubbish energy expert thing. That’s why I liked the question Keyamo asked that no one is an Aviation expert. Same to this hungry people calling themselves expert, what solution or problems have they solved?”
A dyed-in-the wool “soldier of fortune”, Emmanuel is unlikely to be fazed by the righteous anger of Nigerians. For him, what matters as always, is not the national interest or public good but his personal economy, which propels his moral compass always in the direction his bread would be buttered.
Kunle Sharafadeen is a Lagos based humanist and public commentator
