Jerome-Mario Utomi                                                                                            

The Eko Convention Centre, Lagos, venue of the meeting was lavishly decorated to impress, and it did impress. The participants were corporately kitted; men and women alike. All seated in such a manner that could be mistaken for, fresh law graduates being called to the Nigerian Bar or shareholders at an Annual General Meeting (AGM). They listened to the various speakers with disciplined attention and said little; with exchange of banters/pleasantries coming at intervals.

Certainly, it  was neither a meeting  of  lawyers nor  shareholders but a collection of chief executives and representatives of different oil firms from the nation’s up, mid and downstream sectors united by a  2–day West African International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (WAIPEC), hosted recently by the Petroleum Technology Association of  Nigeria (PETAN).

 As expected, the meeting featured well-crafted topics for discussion, all geared towards moving the industry forward as well as increasing the market shares of the participating organizations. But then again, like every other oil and gas related gathering in the past, the speakers were unanimous in silence about their operational base: the Niger Delta.

This development further supports the long established belief by  the Niger Deltans and civil society organizations (CSO) that Niger Delta in the estimation of these multinationals is an endangered specie strategically marked for extinction, using neglect and abandonment as a formidable tool. To the oil Majors, so far the eggs are secured, the condition of the goose that lay the eggs becomes secondary. A recent visit to the region supports this assertion.

What is more, while the exchange of banters/pleasantries was on in Lagos, poverty, disease and illiteracy walked the creeks, rivers and estuaries of the Niger Delta. While the oil giants were looking into the future with high hopes, the people of the region bemoaned their fate in their sorrows and their hardship.  And while the oil chiefs were in Lagos singing the ‘songs of Solomon’, the Niger Deltans were back in the creeks studying the ‘book of lamentation’.

Equally regrettable is a shocking discovery that most of the multinationals find it more convivial getting entangled in legal battles with the host communities as against imbibing good corporate citizen attributes. In the words of the creek dwellers, these operators go to the extent of inciting troubles between the elders and the youths using financial inducement.

The trip also presented a majority of  these organisations as neither interested in the practice of  ‘equal sorrow’ nor ready to abide by the tenets of corporate social responsibility (CSR)  as they eloquently preached everything about good corporate citizenship, but are inept in its practice. Vivid examples to support this position  abound.

First, as you read this piece, the Ogonis are  waiting patiently like a dove for the promised cleanup of their environment devastated by the activities of the Dutch Oil giant, which has lasted for decades despite the African Commission’s decision in the case of SERAC vs. Nigeria (Ogoni case) handed down almost two decades ago. And the UNEP Report recommending a total clean –up of Ogoni land.

 In the same vein, the people of Bielema/Offoin-Ama, Akuku-Toru Local Government Area also in Rivers State have joined in chanting this chorus of highhandedness and neglect orchestrated by the oil giant. They accused the company of operating with neither a human face nor best practice in dealing with the host communities, particularly in the provision of basic social amenities.

Correspondingly, the people of Odimodu/Forcados communities are still fighting to overcome the trauma suffered in the hands of another oil company in an oil spillage case that spanned for 17 years before justice was given in the communities’ favour.

But their environment, eco-system, remain destroyed while the economic activities have since been disrupted.

Tragically unique is the deplorable situation of the Erovie community in Ozoro, Isoko North Local Government of Delta state, after its ordeal in the hands of another company in a case between Hon. OdegholorAbikelegba vs, Federal Ministry of Environment and others that was on endlessly. These communities have since resigned to fate and handed their situation to God almighty. 

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Bemoaning the fate that has befallen the people of the region, critical stakeholders believe that the Federal Government and the oil companies are responsible for the woes  of the Niger Deltans as they listen without being attentive to the excruciating situation in the region. This state of affairs, they explained, is responsible for the youth’s restiveness, eco-system destruction and high unemployment rate.

Buttressing the above point further, some pointed to the non-implementation of the Akure-accord as a pragmatic example of a government that is lacking in political will to enforce the development of the region. Others seem to nurse the opinion that the Federal Government has not opened the 16 points development agenda as drafted by the Pan Niger Delta Development Forum (PANDEF) and handed over to it. The Federal Government and its agencies were roundly accused of incoherence and lacking in coordination.

Indeed, the situation in the region has further served as a proof that ‘poverty of our leaders certainly does not mean material poverty, but lack of commitment to duty, lack of vision and greed characterised by corruption’.

It has  consequently   brought poverty, illiteracy and diseases as its resultant effects  to the people of the region;   forcing  many children out of school not because of their unwillingness  to learn , but occasioned by non-availability/provision  of schools in the region by the government.  In the light of the above, it has become pertinent that government draws a modern regulatory/monitoring lesson from a well-documented account of the youthful Paddy Adenuga’s strong move to buy Chevron Netherlands, A story I view as a must-read for all. Part of the account which is relevant to this discourse read in parts;

 ‘Essentially, the Dutch government required all operators to restore their areas of operation back to how nature intended – which meant all infrastructure had to be removed at the end of production. The cost of this is what is termed “abandonment liability” or “abandex’.  I doubt if such framework exists in our space.  Surprisingly also, if the above is coming from the Dutch government, the homeland of Shell Petroleum Development Company, why is Shell finding it difficult to comply with a similar demand in Nigeria?

Sadly, if we are unable to develop a monitoring framework as demonstrated above, which I  consider a challenge we currently face, chances are that the much celebrated Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), despite the superlative result it is crafted to achieve, may go the same way as other policies formulated in the past. 

In reality, there is no single answer to the multi-faceted plight of Niger Deltans, but the place to start is to address government’s insensitivity and failures. 

 To effectively confront this scourge, the federal government needs to take responsibility and come up with steps for a strong, aggressive   leadership by addressing the issues of weak regulation on the parts of its ministries and agencies, tackle the oil companies lackadaisical handling of the environment, and  ensure compliance by the oil firms with the implementation of the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMOU) entered into with host communities.

Another key point raised by the stakeholders that may guarantee a fast-tracked development in the region is the call for  immediate relocation of the headquarters of  (both private and government-owned) oil companies to the region . It is my view that such step will add up to a new relationship while soaking up the existing tension.  Again, a government agency such as the National Oil Spill Detections and Response Agency (NOSDRA), in my opinion, has no business being in Abuja since the chunk of its responsibility is in the Niger Delta region. In the same manner, implementing the 16 points agenda as submitted to the government will be a right step in the right direction.

A compelling point we must also not forget is the call by stakeholders on all other oil companies to emulate the Chevron Nigeria Limited template in community engagement. A template  that deals directly with the host community. An approach the communities claimed has worked perfectly in the area of infrastructural development but still requested that Chevron gets well funded,

   Though faced with interminable socio-economic and environmental challenges, one thing is sure. Niger Deltans are troubled but not despondent. This is a situation that makes it easy for them to be  managed and contained if only the Federal Government could come up with a plan and the will to tackle the challenges as currently faced by the people of the region.   

Jerome-Mario, Editorial Adviser, SpringNG.com writes via; [email protected]