A week and half ago the Special Adviser to the President on Petroleum Dr. Emmanuel Egbogah announced on behalf of the President an earthquake of an initiative that may clearly be a game changer on the matter of the Niger Delta. The Federal Government, he said will be relinquishing ten percent of its shareholding in the oil and gas resources and surrendering same to the communities of the Niger Delta. The announcement was received around the world via the wires with applause, guarded optimism, caution and curiosity.
Clearly it is a new dawn and coming in the wake of amnesty some are wondering how this new initiative will be brought to fruition.
This evolving policy dialogue on the Niger Delta deserve the attention it is getting being the first major step to community control of resources. For me I believe that the suggested 10% is a good step in the right direction towards satisfactory resource control by the communities and people of the Niger Delta for the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians. When it comes to resource control, the primacy of local interest must take precedence. The challenge before us is to put in place effective strategies that will harness the expected gains and channel same for the good of the people until economic, social and environmental justice is done. Never again must we return to blood, violence, anguish and pain on the matter of our collective survival.
In putting forward this policy, I understand that the commitment of President Umaru Yar Adua is to channel resources directly to the communities so as to enable communities of the Niger Delta develop vital infrastructure, human capital and protect the environment. This is how it should be. The broken wall of communal governance as we have insisted time and again need to be urgently rebuilt and there is no better way of doing this than allowing the communities to do it themselves. This is one vital step to communal harmony and justice in our region and our beloved Country! For those who worry that surrendering to communities what is theirs in the first place will impoverish others, I say no. Every community in Nigeria has what it takes to survive and export. Government must continue to encourage all communities to stand and with positive policies such as this, our rise to greatness is only a matter of time!
This brings me to the idea of the Community. When it comes to this new initiative however, we must be on the lookout so that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past. We must for example avoid parroting the idea of the corporate imposition often referred to as "Host Community". The host community concept is divisive, dangerous, corrupting and has never worked. There is no “host community” that has become developed in the last fifty years since the discovery of oil. We must resist the “host” concept and we must encourage our government to reject it as well. As new policies emerge to address our historic grievances, all red flags of combustible characteristics must be identified and neutralised. The community to me is the Clan or the Nationality. Thus, Ogbia, Nembe, Gbaramatu, Kolokuma, Okrika, Kalabari, Ilaje, Mein, Okpe, Ogba, Egbema, Itsekiri, Urhobo, Ibibio, Ogoni, Ikwerre, Etche, Ijaw, Oron, Isoko etc are the communities.
In our very first step towards the control of our resources, we must be clear, deliberate and inclusive. We must not give in to internal division. Where oil and gas is produced or where it is not must not be allowed to divide us. When gas is flared or when pollution occurs the devastating effect is not located in the particular village or town where the primary oil infrastructure such as the well-head or Christmas tree or the flow station is located. Oil and gas pipelines crisscross thousands of communities and we all feel the heat. In the heat of the Kaiama Declaration in 1999 we defined oil producing communities in the Ijaw area as covering the "entire Ijaw Land". So far I have not seen any reason to question this understanding and interpretation. The Ogoni struggle was not a village affair. It was a nationality commitment by all the people of Ogoni for survival and justice. The people of Egi in Ogba also rose as a clan. When Umuechem was attacked in November 1990, the entire Etche mourned. Where clans are large we can do "east" and "west" Like Nembe West (Bassambiri) and Nembe East (Ogbolomabiri) or Okirka north or south etc. The emerging momentum for positive change in the present must not be frittered.
So far the ten percent as announced is coming from the federal government. As communities emerge from the dark shadows of hopelessness, there must be confident building measures from the oil and gas companies as well. This will signal a departure from the past where the companies were seen largely as exploiters and resource hunters. To me one wise thing for the oil companies to do is to also follow the example of the federal government and surrender something to the communities by way of “shareholding”, jobs, and management positions including membership of the board of the operating companies. Such a policy option if adopted will contribute in no small way in preventing our communities from becoming bedrocks of instability and avoidable turbulence and violence. Oil and gas corporations are business entities not charities or development agencies. When they become involved in the fraud called “six classroom blocks” for example, they insult our people’s capacities to build these things themselves. The local primary school in my village was built in the fifties by our people without any help from outside. When we control our resources and build capacities, we can do it ourselves. Government can set the policy, maintain law and order and tax all owners of resources and businesses for the good of all Nigerians.
Communities have ways of sharing communal goods to the satisfaction of all. There are several suggestions flowing to the table as to how the ten percent from the federal government will be managed. One idea is to Set up Community Trust Funds where all resources due a given community is channeled. It is argued that such resources can only be accessed by the community for community infrastructure, education, Health and Skill development. Signatures to the account will be the Community Development Committees and THE ENTIRE COUNCIL OF CHIEFS SITTING IN PARLIAMENT and observed by the people. In places like Akassa that has well developed Foundations, in addition to OTHER DESIGNATED representatives of all the “HOUSES” or “SECTIONS” will become involved in the management. There is also the idea of setting up Community Accounts where all entitlements are paid but have provision for several communally elected signatories to the account in addition to appropriate security and accountability agencies and the shareholding companies. The idea here is that for monies to be withdrawn for community development, it must be ascertained that it is going to go for that purpose.
The Akassa Initiative as well as the phenomenon in Venezuela with regard to the Village Councils needs to be studied. As the policy evolves we must very urgently build the capacity of community members to take on these welcoming challenges. The vital steps to reclaim our human dignity, develop our communities and protect our environment are set to begin. The communities and people of the Niger Delta are asking for support. Can you join us for the sake of a greater Nigeria?
Oronto Douglas an environmentalist wrote this from San Francisco, California.
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