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Youths in the Niger Delta Region and Oil/Gas Company By Samuel Uwhejevwe-Togbolo
The tussle between youths and oil/gas companies in the region of the Niger Delta is caused by lack of understanding between the parties involve. The companies on their own have always failed to keep to the term of understanding and agreement reached by their host communities. It is barbaric that these things always happen, despite the fact that a lot has been said, the government in several times called the companies to order to be responsive to their responsibilities. The oil and gas companies should try and embrace peace than raising the tension in the area and thereby branding the youths as been restive. Curbing youth restiveness is an enormous task that must embrace all stakeholders in the region; without the oil companies meeting with their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) the fundamentals of meeting the demand of curbing youth restiveness in the region will be difficult. The oil and gas company should see the host community as partner in progress, their rights should not be infringed upon by the company. It is imperative to know that within a family, when the parents are not meeting to the demand of the children there is bound to be an outcry…. But if all is well, everything will move on smoothly.
Protest by Host Communities
The community always sees protest as a major way of attracting the attention of the oil and gas company, Government and the public to come to their aid. In recent time; this is the focal point of addressing their grievances. The companies most times claim ignorance of their responsibilities; could it be that the community has no right to their claim of developmental projects? Why are the companies not responding to the plight of people? It is imperative to know that the oil companies are the chief actors of youth restiveness in the Niger Delta region.
Repression to Organized Protests When environmental and economic conditions deteriorate to unbearable level, the oil-bearing communities naturally react. Shell, Mobil, Chevron or any of the international oil corporations respond by securing the assistance of the Nigerian Police or military to terrorize and brutalize Protestants. Most of the complaints relate to unemployment, environmental degradation, destruction of means of livelihood and health. The attitude of security agents towards protesters has been responsible for the maiming, outright killing and other cases of human rights abuses in the affected oil communities.
Although Shell and other oil corporations have consistently denied complicity in these acts of repression, particularly that witnessed in Ogoniland, which led to the killing of Ken Saro Wiwa and his fellow Ogoni Patriots; such official denials have not cleared S.P.D.C. and the other companies in the court of public opinion. For a proper understanding of the link between repression and ethnic conflicts in Delta State, I will like to capture the horrendous and dehumanising experience of protesters in Ugborodo community versus Chevron Company. In this protest, the youths where agitating for employment and provision of basic amenities for the community in reaction to this clamour, the oil and gas companies as usual employed the services of security officials; this caused a lot of lynching and lives were lost in the process. Only recently the state government waded into the problem after the deed had been done. The question is, will the company meet its own part of the agreement?. The poverty level of the people from that region is alarming; they are most times out of frustration, neglect involved in all act that are detrimental to our corporate existence.
The youths and communities in the region were requesting for a particular thing from the oil and gas companies; either Employment or Provision of basic amenities.
Only recently, SHELL Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) shut down its flow station controlling Uzere East and West oil fields in anticipation of forceful invasion by the youths of Uzere in Isoko South local government area of Delta State following a breakdown of peace talks between them and the community. When properly considered; it was as a result of the company inability to meet with the community demands; Ordinarily, these are cheap demands that cost the community little or nothing to do, compare to the oil exploration and exploitation in the area. In a report by Vanguard dated Tuesday 5th 2005
Spokesman of the community, Mr. Jimmy Egoro, in a statement said “things got to the level because after several meetings, SPDC failed to come up with a realistic programme on the demands of the Uzere community, which include the speedy completion of the cottage hospital which was started in 2002, energizing the community water scheme, completion of the tapioca drying facility, drawing up an MOU and other promises made but not being fulfilled.”
He stated that “the community is at a loss while SPDC is currently spending over N100 million in the fencing of its facility in Uzere flow stations and has not deemed it necessary to plough anything back into her host communiiesy from where it has been drilling oil for the past 47 years.”
Other issues raised by the community as their grievances include alleged unemployment of the indigenes in SPDC, building of a civic centre and relocation of the flow station from its present site due to its high hazard to the community as well as general remediation of the Uzere environment.
It will be recalled that a month ago Uzere women staged a peaceful protest complaining that the community has nothing to show for its 39 oil wells that have been producing an average of 56,000 barrels of oil per day.
Lack of Commitment on the Part of the Federal Government The lack of commitment by the Federal Government towards the enforcement of standards in the oil companies has encouraged the oil companies to operate without hindrances. Notwithstanding, Nigeria is a signatory to a number of International conventions on standards maintainable in the Oil and Gas Companies. These Conventions/Treaties have been honoured in the breach than in their observance. Federal Government Bodies, such as DPR and the Federal Ministry of Environment have exhibited such inexplicable nonchalance that has left the host communities with no hope of a better tomorrow. They have abandoned their statutory role of policing the oil and gas Companies; leaving one to wonder and doubt their patriotism and regard for the oil producing communities.
The Federal Government is making matters worst by incessant increase in petroleum product (PMS) almost every quota. The poor people in the society mostly live on Kerosene for domestic uses. Kerosene product is even more expensive that fuel… where are we going from here?. The incessant increase is impoverishing the poor more and more; the bulk of youth restive nature in the society is caused by the children of the poor people, most of whom cannot be taking care of by their parents. The inflation rate is on the increase; the government should not kill the timid citizens in the name of deregulation. In as much as deregulation is good; it should be done with policies put in place to cushion the effect in relation to eliminating the sufferings of the masses.
Ghost Workers Syndrome The term ghost workers associate with sitting at home yet, payment is liable to the person who called himself a ghost worker. This ugly trend is not helping in the struggle of cushioning the effect of youth restiveness. If the youths are busy with their work there will be no time to plan a protest or evil intention. The companies initially introduced the monster called “ghost worker syndrome” in order to pave their way. Gone are those days when everybody wants to be involved in this scourge. In most cases this so called “ghost workers” work in more than two companies at the expense of their fellow youths, this set of people according to report are the back bone of the oil companies. The oil companies should put this mischief making to rest and the youth involved should desist from the dreaded antics. If the company are interested in ghost workers, they (Oil/Gas Companies) should enter names of every body in the community in their payroll in order to forestall the anticipated problems.
As youth violence, acrimony, and confrontation is not the way forward to solve problems of this magnitude; youth should be all embracing and sort for legal means in order to articulate their intention. No doubt, if neglected for too long one would want to exhibit some level of stubbornness. Be that as it may, we should try as mush as possible to follow due process in the pursuit of our fundamental rights.
Movement for Youth Actualization International (MYAI) a Non governmental organisation in Delta state, Nigeria. |