Urhobo Historical Society
Towards
Peace and Security in the
The Urhobo
National Association of North America�s Position
The recent
events in the Niger Delta of Nigeria have again focused national and
international attention on this region which produces
more than 2.5 million barrels a day
of
crude oil daily. It is now widely acknowledged that peace, security and
rapid
economic development of this neglected region are critical to stability
of the
world energy prices and overall development of
As stakeholders
in the Niger Delta region, we believe it is possible to bring peace,
security
and development to this troubled region if appropriate policies are
implemented. We offer in this paper some suggestions that can assist in
this
endeavor.
The
At the root of the
current
problems of the Niger Delta region is the issue of �(oil) resource
control� by
the oil producing communities. Since the exploration and production of
crude
oil and gas commenced in the region over 50 years ago, the
federal government has always claimed to have �owned� and �controlled�
the
resource while production is carried out by multinational companies
under joint
venture arrangement with the Federal government.
The oil producing
states and
communities have been left out in this arrangement (between the Federal
Government and the multi-national oil conglomerates). Worse still, less
than 3%
of the total oil revenue that the federal government has realized from
its
�control� of the oil industry has been used in the development of oil
producing
communities. The result is that abject poverty is still pervasive in
oil
producing communities unlike many parts of the country and oil
producing
communities in other parts of the world. Thus the oil producing
communities have
been struggling to wrestle back �ownership� and �control� of the oil
industry
from the federal government and/or compel the federal government and
the oil
companies to devote more resources to tackle the developmental and
environmental problems of the oil producing communities. Most of the
other
problems of the region � high unemployment, lack of or poor
socio-economic
infrastructure, poverty, communal conflicts, insecurity, etc- are
linked to the
neglect of the region by successive federal administrations and the oil
companies and the struggle by the people to correct the economic
injustice.
Historical
Perspective of the
The Niger Delta
region has a
population of about 21 million people (1991) and covers an area of
about 70,000
sq. km. The people live in a few large cities and over 3,000 small and
often
remote communities/villages in the mangrove, swamp and lowland rain
forests.
Farming and fishing are the main economic activities in the communities
while
commerce and oil-industry related activities dominate the urban areas.
The
terrain is extremely difficult and a substantial portion of the region
falls
under the �world�s fragile ecosystem�. Many communities live along
creeks and
are accessible only by boats. The riverine
communities
are particularly vulnerable to climatic changes and man-made disasters
(floods,
sea encroachment, oil pollution, piracy, hostage taking, communal
conflicts,
etc). Oil exploration started in the Niger Delta region in the late
1930s and
oil was found in commercial quantity in 1956 at the
The Niger Delta
region is
faced with a lot of developmental and environmental challenges
including high
level of poverty, decline in agricultural production, low level of
industrial
activities, environmental degradation and social conflicts. The unique
characteristics of the Niger Delta region have made occasional and
uncoordinated development efforts difficult, expensive, and
unsustainable. This
is especially true when the implementers of the developmental effort
have no
long-term interest in developing the area. This is why the Sir Henry Willink�s Commission (1958) recommended that the
Niger
Delta region deserves special developmental attention by the Federal
Government
of Nigeria. Consequently, the Federal Government established the Niger
Delta
Development Board (NDDB) in 1960 to handle the developmental needs and
challenges of the region. In its seven years of existence, the NDDB
achieved little
if anything before it faded away following the military coups in 1966 and the outbreak of civil war in
1967.
At independence in
1960, the
founding fathers of
In line with the
centralization of fiscal powers, the military regime abolished the 50%
derivation in 1969. After the civil war, crude oil became the major
source of
government revenue after the sharp increase in crude oil prices in
1973/74 and
the rapid increase
Meanwhile
discontent and
restiveness continued to grow in the oil producing areas of the Niger
Delta.
For instance, on August 26, 1990, the leaders of the Ogoni
ethnic group in
iv)
That in over 30 years of oil mining, the Ogoni
nationality have provided the Nigerian nation with a total revenue
estimated at
over 40 billion Naira (N40 billion) or
30 billion dollars.
v)
That in return for the above contribution, the Ogoni
people have received NOTHING.
vi) That today, the Ogoni
people have: No representation whatsoever in ALL institutions of the
Federal
Government of Nigeria, No pipe-borne
water, No electricity, No job
opportunities for the citizens in Federal, State, public sector or
private
sector companies, vii) No social or economic project of the Federal
Government.
vii) That the search for oil has caused
severe land and food shortages in Ogoni
viii) That neglectful environmental
pollution laws and sub-standard inspection techniques of the Federal
authorities have led to the complete degradation of the Ogoni
environment, turning our homeland into an ecological disaster
ix) That it is intolerable that one of
the richest areas of
x) That successive Federal administrators
have trampled on every minority right enshrined in the Nigerian
constitution�.
and have by administrative structuring
and other noxious acts transferred Ogoni
wealth
exclusively to other parts of the Republic
xi) That the Ogoni
people wish to manage their own affairs.
xv) We make the above demand in the
belief that, as Obafemi Awolowo
has written:
"In a true
Federation, each ethnic
group no matter how small is entitled to the same treatment as any
other ethnic
group, no matter how large."
The Ogoni
Bill of Rights brought some of the Ogoni
leaders into
direct confrontation with the federal military government leading to
�military
occupation� of Ogoni territory and to the
execution
of nine activists of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni
People (MOSOP) including its leader, Mr. Ken Saro-Wiwa,
on November 10, 1995.
In an attempt to
address the
growing restiveness, the military regime of Gen. Babangida
established the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Commission (OMPADEC) in
1992
allocating 3% of federally-collected oil revenue to it to address the
developmental needs of the Niger Delta. Although OMPADEC initially
raised the
spirit of the people, it became clear that the 3% allocation could not
address
the problems of the area adequately. Worse still, OMPADEC became
inefficient
and corrupt and ended up as a great disappointment. Between 1992 and
1999 when
it was scrapped, OMPADEC completed several projects but bequeathed very
many
abandoned/unfinished projects and huge a debt, most of which were
dubious. OMPADEC
failed to abate discontent and restiveness in the region. In fact, the
degree
of restiveness increased leading to the proclamation of the "Kaiama Declaration" by the Ijaw
Youth Council (IYC) on December 11, 1998 which can be regard as the
beginning on
the current wave of �resource control� struggle in the region. Sections
of the Kaiama Declaration read as follows:
�all land and natural resources within the Ijaw territory as belonging to the Ijaw
communities� because they are the basis of our survival� peoples and
communities right to ownership and control of our lives and
resources".
Some other ethnic
nationalities in the Niger Delta followed the example of the Kaiama Declaration by declaring their own "bills
of rights", "charters of demands", "Resolutions"
and "Declarations", etc, all demanding greater control or ownership
of mineral resources within their territories.
In order to address
this
growing discontent, the federal military government inserted a �minimum
13%
derivation� clause in the 1999 constitution, which it bequeathed to the
civilian administration in May 1999. According to section 162 (2) of
that the
constitution:
�The President, upon the receipt of advice
from the Revenue Mobilization allocation and Fiscal Commission, shall
table
before the National Assembly proposals for revenue allocation from the
Federation Account, and in determining the formula, the National
Assembly shall
take into account, the allocation principles especially those of
population,
equality of States, internal revenue generation, land mass, terrain as
well as
population density provided that the principle of derivation shall be
constantly reflected in any approved formula as being not less than 13%
of the
revenue accruing to the Federation Account directly from any natural
resources."
One of the first
immediate
actions taken by President Obasanjo
following his
inauguration in May 1999 was to send a Bill to the National Assembly
for the
establishment of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), to
replace OMPADEC.
After some delays, the NDDC was officially inaugurated on December 21,
2000
with a vision
�to offer a lasting solution to the
socio-economic difficulties of the
Despite its
promise, the NDDC
has not lived up to expectations. The Niger Delta is still ravaged by
�poverty
in the midst of plenty�. Hence, the
clarion call for resource control has grown stronger since 1999.
In what appeared to
be a
counter action, President Obasanjo
re-introduced the
offshore/onshore oil dichotomy when he took office by applying the 13%
derivation
to onshore oil production only which was roughly 60% of total oil
production. To settle the ensuing
controversy, the Federal Government took the littoral states (mainly
oil-producing states of the Niger Delta) to the Supreme Court in 2001.
On April
5, 2002, the Supreme Court delivered its judgment upholding the
offshore/onshore dichotomy but declared as illegal the spurious �first
line�
charges and the non-inclusion of the revenue from natural gas in the
derivation
formula mentioned above.
The debate during and after the Supreme Court
case further intensified the �resource control� issue and further
galvanized
the governors of the Niger Delta states (South � South geopolitical
zone). It
was during the heat of the offshore/onshore court case, that the South
- South
governors met in
"The practice of true
federalism and natural law in which the federating units express their
rights
to primarily control the natural resources within their borders and
make agreed
contribution towards maintenance of common services of sovereign nation
state
to which they belong. In the case of
In
2004, the
Federal Government decided to abolish the dichotomy thus paving the way
for the
allocation of the 13% of oil revenue to the oil-producing states in
2005 in
accordance with the 1999 constitution. But the resource control issue
had
become more radicalized and a key issue in the clamor for a sovereign
national
conference (SNC). In early 2005, Obasanjo
staged the
National Political Reform Conference (NPRC) in place of the SNC.
At
the NPRC,
Niger Delta (ND) delegates demanded for 60% derivation but eventually
settled
for �25% now and 50% within 5 years�, i.e. a return to the 1963
position within
five years. However, the majority non-ND delegates, especially those
from the
North, insisted on 17%, which was eventually adopted by the NPRC. The
recommendation of the NPRC fell
short of
the expectations of the ND delegates and proponents of �resource
control�. To
demonstrate their total and complete dissatisfaction and opposition to
the
recommendation, the delegates walked out of the conference. They
refused to be complicit
in the ratification of the exploitation of their people.
Thus
some of the greatly agreived
citizens of the region decided to wage an �armed struggle� to achieve
their
objectives. The arrest of one of their leaders, Dokubo Asari and the impeachment/arrest of the governor
of Bayelsa State, DSP Alamieyeseigha
was perceived by many in the region as attempts by the federal
government to
frustrate the �resource control� struggle, and some have reacted by
taking
western oil workers as hostages and vowed to damage oil production
facilities
in the area and reduce oil production.
Issues and Proposed Solutions
Some of
the
contentious issues that need immediate resolution and the attention of
the
federal government and our recommended solutions are presented in the
following
sections.
First Issue: Resources Control
We
recognize that it will require a constitutional amendment and it is
highly improbable for the federal government to cede 100 percent
�ownership� and
�control� of the oil industry to the oil producing states/local
governments
and/or communities in the short or medium term. However, it is
essential to
acknowledge the rights of the Niger Delta people and to �transfer� some
degree
of ownership and control to the state and local governments by ensuring
that
they acquire shares in the joint venture JV) companies. This way they
will feel
vested in the oil industry. Given that the average federal government
share
holding in the JVs is about 60%, we recommend that 15% of the shares
should be
transferred (sold) to the state governments and 15% to the local
governments
while the federal government should retain the balance 30%. The
re-distribution
of the shares among the state and local governments should be based on
oil and
gas production (current and historical) and value/importance of oil/gas
assets
in their territories. A target date should be established to accomplish
this
transfer, e.g. December 2007.
Second
Issue: Participation in the Oil and Gas
Economy
We
acknowledge the
fact that the Federal Government has awarded some marginal field rights
to
companies owned by indigenes of the Niger Delta. To
further strengthen such initiative, UNANA
recommends that the
federal government should reserve 20% of
all marginal fields and new oil and gas blocks and licenses to companies owned and controlled by Niger Delta indigenes
. A similar policy should also apply to all other aspects of the oil
and gas
industry, including: transportation, distribution, and all other oil
downstream
businesses.
Third
Issue:
Revenue Allocation � Oil Derivation Formula
Clearly,
the 13% derivation is low. It is essential to increase the
derivation percentage gradually to 50% over a period of several years.
We
recommend that the derivation percentage should be raised to 25% with
immediate
effect and subsequently increased by 3% per annum until it reaches 50%.
Thus,
percentage derivation will be 25% in 2006, 28% in 2007, and 31% in
2008, and so
on.
Furthermore, the derivation fund should be distributed as follows based on oil and gas production (current and historical) and value/importance of oil/gas assets in their territories:
45% to state govts
30% to local govts
9% to NDDC to implement interstate infrastructure
projects, e.g. roads, bridges, electricity and large water projects
15% as direct cash payments (as in the state of Alaska in
the United States of America) to
residents of
host/impacted communities through registered trustees of community
clusters
(ND: a cluster will be made up of at least 50,000 people). The
communities can
elect to use the funds to implement specific projects.
1% to
the Oil
T&A Commission.
Fourth
Issue: Transparency and Accountability
(T&A) of
Oil Revenue Utilization
An Oil T&A Commission
should be set up as a gate keeper or watch dogs
over all oil revenue received under this plan:
to ensure that every
penny of the
oil revenue is accounted for and utilized
judiciously for whatever it is meant
to impose
necessary sanctions where
necessary.
Under
this arrangement, all audited accounts must be published and posted
online not later than 6 months into a new financial year. Furthermore,
the
Commission will hold public forums/press conferences in all states and LGs to address issues of concern and responsible
officers
made to respond to audit queries.
Fifth
Issue: Infrastructure
Roads - A team of transport planners and engineers
must
be set up to develop a modern transportation plan that will guarantee
easy
movement of people and goods in and out of the Niger Delta swamps and
open the
coastal area to tourism development. Our recommended transportation
plan must
include:
at
least two east-west federal super-highways and at least five
north-south federal super-highways to form a grid network of road
interconnectivity within the Niger Delta
the
provision of inland waterway mass transit systems with modern jetties
and waiting facilities in at least 500 riverine
communities in the next two years
the
development of inland waterways and at least 20 secondary ports in
the larger riverine cities
Water � A massive program for
the extension of
pipe-borne
water to all settlements in the Niger Delta is a must. We recommend a
joint
action team consisting of the three tiers of governments should be
inaugurated
before the end of 2006 to ensure that every citizen of the Niger Delta
has
equal access to potable water by the year 2010.
Electricity � It should be a federal policy that all
communities within 70 kilometers of all the power plants scattered
across the
Niger Delta must first be serviced with electricity before the plant is
connected to the national power grid. In addition, a community or
cluster of
communities with a population of 100,000 people should be licensed to
own and
operate an electric and water company to be built by the federal
government in
partnership with the oil companies operating
in such community.
Health
Facilities � The federal
government must see it as its
responsibility to monitor any new diseases its citizenry is exposed to
due to
the petroleum industry. We recommend a house-to-house health survey in
the
Niger Delta to identify any emerging health problems in the area. Also,
health
clinics should be established in every community with more than 1000
persons
and at least 100 teams of foot-doctors set up to service the clinics on
a
regular basis. Each team will consist of five medical doctors with an
appropriate mix of specializations and a pharmacist to service a
pre-determined
number of clinics and villages. Each
team should be fully equipped and provided with at least two vehicles,
one of
which should be well-equipped ambulance.
Sixth
Issue:
Poverty Eradication
Each of
the state and local governments as
well as the NDDC and oil company
must produce a 10-year results-orientated poverty reduction strategic
plan. The
Oil T&A Commission will monitor and evaluate the performance of the
plans
and provide technical assistance to ensure effective implementation.
On the
other hand, the federal government should establish industrial parks
in Warri and three other places in the Niger Delta equipped with
cutting-edge
infrastructure and technological backbone facilities ready for
immediate
plug-in by specialized companies in the oil and computer industries to
be
attracted to the area through specially packaged incentives. In this
plan,
twenty percent of each industrial park
must be reserved for enterprising
Niger Delta indigenes whose business proposals have been accepted by
the
Industrial Park New Business Incubation Committee for funding and
mentoring.
Seventh
Issue: Unemployment
The NDDC
and State Governments should implement massive youth employment
schemes based on large infrastructure projects, road maintenance,
low-cost
housing construction, agricultural settlements, and support for SMEs, etc. On the
part of the oil companies, they should pursue an employment
�affirmative�
action targeting host/impacted communities for at least 20% of senior
staff and
50% of junior/middle level employment (within 100 kilometers radius).
Eighth
Issue: Security
The
federal government should establish and fund �community policing�
throughout the Niger Delta. Personnel
should be drawn from no more than a 50 mile radius of
the
communities where they will be deployed.
Also, it
should increase the number of Nigerian Police, establish more
police posts, and equip police with good vehicles, motorcycles,
speedboats and
telecommunication facilities. The ultimate goal is to establish a rapid
response police and rescue system in the region as well as public
emergency
phone system (�911�) that will enable citizens to call for help and
report
criminal activities.
Conclusion
We commend all
those who have
sacrificed their lives, energy and time in getting the issue of the
Niger Delta
to the discussion table. Through these
efforts, the socioeconomic and environmental injustice meted on the
people of
the
| Signed: |
|
| Engr. Oghenovo Omene President |
James
Obaebor Secretary |