Gas prices are high enough without thieves stealing millions of barrels of oil each year. Surprisingly, oil companies operating in places like Africa build thievery into their business. Corruption and theft are a normal part of doing business. In the end, it is us, the consumers who suffer the higher prices.

However, the situation has gotten so out of control that even the Minister of the Economy and Finance is expressing concern over the spate of oil theft in the country, saying it would impact negatively on the nation's revenue profile. This according to allafrica.com.

The minister said that just last week a vessel loaded with about 1.2 million barrels of oil were seized from illegal bunkerers was a disturbing signal, and must be tackled headlong.

How bad is the problem? The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had reported that 17 per cent of theft was recorded, noting that the percentage represents about a fifth of the nation's revenue target.

The surge in illegal bunkering activities was capable of affecting government's revenue projection, depending on the magnitude of the theft.

That is totally egregious. Don’t you agree? We are talking about 20% of all the oil pumped out of the ground in Nigeria is being stolen. Cannot something be done about it?