Nigeria, Feb. 1 -- The first time I met Dr Babs Omotowa, the former CEO of Nigeria LNG, I was struck by how calm he seemed. It was surprising because, if you've read his book, From Storeroom to Boardroom, then you would know that the man has weathered storms that would make most CEOs crumble.

He wrote about a company that was battling market forces, while fighting for its soul against the very government that set it up. He described a resilience that I frankly found hard to believe until a close examination of the recently decided case of NLNG v. NIMASA, which, in part, prompted this article.

The "Sacred Vow"

To get why this case matters, you have to go back to the beginning - 1989.

When the Nigerian government wanted to build the NLN...