The Government of Ghana has been implored to avoid the pitfalls associated with the oil and gas industry.
Speaking today at the Koffi International Peacekeeping Training Center, Accra, Ghana, at the opening ceremony of the Peace and Environment Conference, coordinator of Center for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), Comrade Sheriff B. Mulade, said discovery of large oil and gas deposits in most non-oil producing countries along the coast of West Africa has the potential of making the region a hub of economic activities thereby improving its fortune.
Speaking further at the conference put together by CEPEJ and tagged, “Ghana 2014” with the theme; “Challenges Confronting Oil and Gas Prospecting/Producing Countries in Africa – Nigeria as a case study,” Comrade Mulade said the significant of petroleum in global energy consumption and the possibility of hydrocarbon rich future bring great expectation of economic resurgence for emerging oil and gas producing nations.
According to him; “Existing environmental and growing security challenges in some parts of West Africa may have hampered the dream of exploiting and exploring the vast opportunities linked with this new found resource in these countries.”
“The need to translate oil and gas wealth into sustainable and human-centered development has been critical and major challenge for an experienced oil producing giant such as Nigeria. Nevertheless, the numerous challenges and successes recorded by the Nigerian oil industry will provide good learning points for emerging oil and gas producing nations such as Ghana in its quest to harness her new found resources, whilst avoiding pitfalls associated with the oil industry,” he said.
Comrade Mulade explained that CEPEJ in pursuance of its objective to promote sustainable peace, effective security, sound environmental practices and environmental rights through advocacy for justice, decided to plan the stakeholders conference to examine oil spill, illegal mining, oil bunkering and pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft and illegal refinery, sea piracy and maritime in security with a view to making implementable recommendations that would assist in addressing issues in the oil and gas industry.
The conference, he said, was significant in two ways – to seek and re-affirm the commitment of the operators of the oil and gas industry in partnering with the stakeholders to find ways to curb the environment challenges confronting the oil and gas industry and confirms that stakeholders and nations interest to find better ways to re-position the oil and gas industry of their countries particularly the West African region.
The Conference Chairman, Prof. Eric Arubayi, Vice Chancellor, Delta State University, Abraka represented by Prof. Benjamin Okaba, Dean Faculty of Social Science, DELSU, said the choice of Ghana as the venue of the conference was a timely one as it would afford Ghana the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of Nigeria.
While saying that oil exploration can transform a country when properly managed, Prof. Arubayi blamed the problem of the Niger Delta on the inability of government to implement its laws.
He added that what led to the Niger Delta crisis in Nigeria was the refusal of government to listen to the voice of its people when they complained, regretting that government was only interested in protecting the interest of the oil companies rather than its people.
Prof. Arubayi, who emphasized that bunkering was not for the poor, said the Federal Government and the multi-national oil companies often use the military to supervise bunkering in the Niger Delta region people.
In his words; “If you must know, no poor man can go into oil bunkering, multi-national oil companies are being aided by the military in oil bunkering in the Niger Delta region. And it should be noted too that wherever there is oil in the world, there is always problems. Oil has become a curse to many countries that have it rather than a blessing. Oil has created class among the people. Government must be ready to protect its citizens rather than taking side with oil companies against the people. We have good policies, but we lack the capacity to implement them. Government in Nigeria has not been able to stop gas flare. There is a major disconnect between the Government in Nigeria and the citizens. History is on the side of Ghana and this is why Ghana must start thinking now beyond oil.”
Presenting his paper, titled Multinational Oil Companies in Peace Building, the IOC Concept in Nigeria,” Mr. Michael Gonzalez, Peace Building Technical Advisor, Fund For Peace (P4P), said that without adequate security, there will be no peace and development in the Niger Delta region.
He said that in order to achieve peace and development, multinational oil companies have to focus more on human security such as, food, health and environment securities.
Mr. Gonzalez noted that until government at various levels began to focus on the people of the community and know their pains, the needed peace will continue to elude them.
Dr. Ayesha S. Hakeem, Managing Director, African Connections, posited that Ghana must not be allowed to make same mistake like Nigeria, saying that; “Ghana should be very careful in managing its oil wealth. It is very dangerous for Nigeria to rely on oil alone.”
