I am deeply honored by this invitation to be a candidate for the AAPG office of vice president-Regions. Personally, this invitation cannot be more significant coming on the 20th anniversary of the affiliation of my home association, the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists, with AAPG.

AAPG is the foremost professional association in the world that thrives mostly on volunteered services by its members. I was caught in the volunteer fervor at the Calgary annual conference of 1992 when I joined a handful of African volunteers inspired by Nahum Schneidermann to start a Nigeria service team. This was before the AAPG global structure got in place as we know it today.

On the creation of the Africa Region, I became the second elected president in 2001. Since then I have participated actively in the Region, Divisions and the House of Delegates.

I first knew about AAPG as an undergraduate in the early 1970s. I found the AAPG Bulletins extremely useful resources for whatever my topics of interest were. I knew then that I had to join this Association as soon as I qualified to be member.

I thereafter joined AAPG in 1980, and my personal copy of the Bulletin on my desk was the symbol of my new status.

I accepted the invitation to be a candidate for an AAPG office because volunteering for services to AAPG is the right thing to do. It has been the driver of my proud membership of the Association. I consider this invitation to be a great opportunity to offer my services to our Association at the highest level of governance.

I see volunteering for AAPG as a gradational, step-wise experience from the local associations to the Divisions, Regions and the Executive Committee. I have been privileged in my AAPG experience to have gone through these steps and sincerely believe I also can contribute meaningfully at the Executive Committee level.

I believe I can further stimulate interest and excitement among geologists in various parts of the world in AAPG activities and programs. I know from my experience and interaction over the years that there are several talents and potential assets to AAPG all over the world that are anxious to have the full AAPG experience that I have been through.

I want to join the discussion and possibly the decision of how we can build a more inclusive global organization going into the next century of AAPG’s existence.

I also have observed, with dismay, the dwindling investment in exploration and the relegation of exploration geoscientists in the petroleum industry value chain. We all have roles to play to reverse this trend by demonstrating and engaging industry management and chieftains that there are more plays, more conventional and unconventional prospects in all basins around the world to keep us in business longer. We are value drivers and will continue to be.

I am indeed happy to accept this invitation.