A French manager shouts at Nigerian staff. Nothing happens. Why is no one surprised?

The expatriate scaled the company fence. Not because he was escaping danger. Because he wanted to. Security protocols mean nothing to some people when they come from countries with stronger passports. The expatriate worked without mandatory biometric registration. The law requires it. He did not care. The expatriate held a job that a qualified Nigerian could have done. The law discourages it. He kept the job. And when Nigerian workers complained, the expatriate shouted them down. Then PENGASSAN stepped in. Then the union declared certain TotalEnergies expatriates persona non grata. And then a think tank petitioned the Senate. And all of Nigeria collectively sighed and said, finally.

Here is what most people get wrong about the TotalEnergies scandal. The problem is not a few bad apples. The truth is that a colonial mindset has been allowed to fester in Nigeria for 60 years. And here is why that matters right now: because if a French oil company can treat Nigerian professionals as second-class citizens in their own country, the rot is not in TotalEnergies. The rot is in the laws we refuse to enforce and the spines we refuse to grow.

What the official report won’t tell you

The Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Development Act, or NOGID Act, is clear. Expatriates must register biometrically. Companies must justify why a foreigner is doing a job a Nigerian can do. Contracts should favour local firms where capability exists. The law is beautiful. The law is also a suggestion. Because nothing happens when companies break it.

A law without enforcement is not a law. It is a suggestion printed on expensive paper.

PENGASSAN listed the allegations with surgical precision. Expatriates working without biometric registration. Expatriates occupying roles meant for qualified Nigerians. Contracts awarded to foreign firms while capable Nigerian companies were overlooked. An expatriate scaling a security fence with no sanctions. And the union asked the question that should terrify every Nigerian professional. If the concerned personnel were a Nigerian, would this not have led to severe sanctions? The answer is obvious. And that is the problem.

To be fair…

Let me give TotalEnergies its due. The company has been in Nigeria for six decades. It employs thousands of Nigerians. It has contributed to the economy. It has scholarship programs. It has community development projects. And not every expatriate is a bully. Some are professionals who follow the rules and respect their colleagues.

But here is where that defence turns to dust. One bad expatriate is a personnel issue. A pattern of bad behaviour across multiple expatriates is a culture issue. And when the union has to declare certain expats persona non grata, you are past the point of isolated incidents. You are talking about a system that enables impunity. The company’s silence on the specific allegations is louder than any denial they could issue.

If you employ bullies and do not fire them, you are not a victim of bad hires. You are a protector of bad behaviour.

The numbers don’t lie

Nigeria loses an estimated hundreds of billions of naira annually to expatriate quota abuses. Foreigners doing jobs Nigerians can do. Foreign companies winning contracts they should not win. Wages sent out of the country instead of circulating in the local economy. The NOGID Act was supposed to stop this. It has not. Because the agencies meant to enforce it are underfunded, overstretched, or complicit.

Movement of Intellectuals for National Development, MIND, petitioned the Senate. Their petition is not just about TotalEnergies. It is about every multinational that treats Nigeria as a extraction site rather than a partner. Take the oil. Hire your people. Ignore the laws. Leave. The pattern is so old it has grandchildren.

What happens now

The Senate must investigate. Not a closed-door session where everyone smiles and nothing changes. A public hearing with witnesses, documents, and consequences. PENGASSAN must be protected from retaliation. Whistleblowers must be given immunity. And the NOGID Act must be amended to include real penalties. Not fines that are cheaper than compliance. Jail time for executives who knowingly violate the law. Deportation for expatriates who bully Nigerians. Blacklisting for companies that create cultures of impunity.

Here is where we land. A French manager shouts at Nigerian staff. Nothing happens. Why is no one surprised? Because Nigerians have been trained to expect nothing. Trained to accept disrespect. Trained to believe that multinationals are too powerful to challenge. But that training is a lie. The law exists. The union is fighting. The Senate has the petition. Now we find out if anyone in power has the spine to use the tools they already have. If not, the next expatriate who scales a fence will be laughing. And Nigeria will be crying. Again.

Pst. John Peterson

Abia State

[email protected]