By Zik Gbemre

It was recently reported that Nigeria has lost over N200 billion in the last 11 months due to the force majeure declared by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) as a result of the vandalism of the 48-inch Forcados export line in 2016. But the truth of the matter is that this issue regarding the disruption of oil production can be tackled and addressed appropriately if the Federal Government and the relevant authorities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) are ‘genuinely interested’ in addressing it in the first place. Rather than ‘playing politics’ with such matters.

The NNPC put the monthly loss to the damaged pipeline, which was shut down February last year at N20 billion monthly. But like we said, the issues that have led to these oil production disruptions are obvious, however, the Federal Government and its Oil Corporation – NNPC, are busy beating around the bush, playing politics with these issues and dilly-dallying with the whole problem. The truth of the matter is that both the Federal Government and the Nigerian lawmakers, including the relevant authorities of the NNPC; know exactly what and what to do to put an end to all these disruptions of oil production in the Niger Delta region, as well as other issues adversely affecting the host communities’ stakeholders.

It is an established fact that the issues bothering the Niger Delta region are well known globally and by all, and as such, the solutions to these issues, which have been “long proffered” and how to resolve them for ‘sustainable growth’, is all that is required and expected of the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari to address/implement/execute with all sincerity of purpose. And not all these, for instance, so called fact-finding visits and dilly-dallying by the Presidency to score cheap political points and make it look like they are doing something to address the Niger Delta situation. What other ‘facts’ are they looking for with these visits? What exactly are they looking for when all the issues are there for all to see.

When we still have the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) hanging in the corridors of the National Assembly for close to a decade without being passed/signed into law, and even the reported, attempted removal of the strategic 10% Host Community Development Fund as enshrined in the PIB document; the Government and the lawmakers should not be surprised when these things are happening in the region. Besides, how would oil and gas host communities’ locals and stakeholders ‘trust’ and ‘believe’ regarding its ‘plans and intentions’ for the region’s development when such sensitive bills like the PIB are used to play politics?

The Nigerian Governments (both States and Federal), should realize that since they have failed, and still failing in its statutory roles to address all the issues daily adversely affecting the oil and gas host communities’ locals and stakeholders, the people have shifted their attention and have decided to hold the Oil and Gas companies responsible for what they see wrong in their communities, so as to attract the Governments’ attention.

The Oil and Gas companies on the other hand (which include both IOCs and Indigenous Oil and Gas companies), should wise up and overwhelmingly carry the community people along and make them ‘benefit more’ from the oil and gas exploration and production activities in the region. The Oil and Gas Companies, including the Federal Government should realize that no matter the ‘heavy presence’ of the military in the region, “they still need the cooperation and active participation of the host communities’ locals. They should bear this in mind and probably change some of their policies and operation-practices in favour of the host communities’ people. The Oil and Gas company policies that work in Europe and US may not work here in the Niger Delta region; hence they should adopt policies that are friendly and accommodating to the host community locals and elites. Since the Federal Government is not doing enough to ‘sustain peace’ in the Niger Delta region,then the Oil and Gas companies if they should remain in business, they should carry the interest of the people in all they do. They should not use force or coercion to try to drive their business because this will be counterproductive, as has been seen in the past.

The Federal Government, the lawmakers and the Oil and Gas Companies should realize that these oil and gas host communities’ people in the region have given their farmlands for oil and gas production. Most of them have even had their rivers (meant for fishing business) polluted and damaged for good due to oil and gas exploration and production activities. So, in order to ‘buy peace’ and keep it sustainable, they need to “change their policies, style of approach and manners of doing things”, to favour the ‘overall interests’ of the oil and gas host community locals. The Oil and Gas companies operating in the region should take and treat the host communities’ people as ‘real stakeholders’ that ought to be carried along in their operations and not just ‘stakeholders on paper’.

All our farmlands, rivers and creeks have been rendered ‘unprofitable’ and ‘environmentally hazardous’ due to the over five decades of oil and gas exploration and production in the Niger Delta region. So, the Federal Government and relevant authorities need to put themselves in our shoes to fully understand what we are saying here. For instance, by removing the said 10% Host Community Development Fund from the PIB, what then does the host communities locals in the region have to hold on to as benefits, to atone for their sufferings from the extractive industry all these years? These and many more are some of the issues that Government needs to start looking into.

Zik Gbemre, JP.

National Coordinator

Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)