NIGER DELTA: Is Nigeria’s Oil region undergoing a transformation?
By: Abai Francis
The Niger Delta region of Nigeria, the bastion of the country’s oil industry, has been known for making headlines in the media space bordering on “militancy”, “hostage taking”, “oil bunkering”, “oil pollution”, “conflicts” among other negative activities. But it appears the once “volatile region” is presently undergoing a transformation as the front page headlines in the media no longer carry such breaking news that made commercial of the life threatening issues bedevilling the region.
The complexities of the Niger Delta, as defined not only by its geography but by the multiplicity of the various ethnic groups harbouring the oil region, has made it seemed like it would be very difficult to achieve an enduring peace in the oil-rich region, a requisite factor that is needed to attract investments and to boost the development of the rich but poor region, infrastructure-wise.
In the yesteryears of conflicts, if it is not various armed groups issuing threats to the international oil companies (IOCs) or the blowing up of oil pipelines by those the federal government had branded as “militants”, then it is communal clashes bordering on land disputes or a supremacy battle among the various ethnic groups in the region, leading to its militarisation. But all of that is currently becoming history!
Still on conflicts, it should not be misconstrued that the people of the region have always been violent. Far from it. The Niger Delta people are one of the most peaceful inhabitants who believe in the concept of “One Nigeria” even before the era of the country gaining independence from colonialism. But all of that changed when the concept of “One Nigeria” was perceived by them to be tilted to favour the majority rulers against the country’s minority groups, fueled by corruption, nepotism and ethnocentrism, all leading to their marginalisation. And as expected, the people of the Niger Delta fought back, a battle that sadly became politicised.
As of the year 2023, the tensions in the region gradually began to wane, a development that marked the dawn of a new era. It however appears to some observers that this development springs from the notion that, it is either the parties involved in the conflicts seemed to have grown tired of stirring the calm waters of the region, or they have discovered that rather than incur losses on both sides, they can team up together in a pact where all would benefit.
Indeed, one of the major factors that has contributed to this new metamorphosis is in the pipeline surveillance contract awarded to a Niger Delta prominent and influential leader, High Chief Dr Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, a partnership where those once formally considered as villains to the government became its allies. The award of the contract to Tompolo’s security firm brought to the fore the important role that internal stakeholders in the region can play in the success of external stakeholders who are purely investors. The contract was also pivotal in decimating the economic challenge of youth unemployment and restiveness as it led to the engagement of youths from across the region thereby reducing crimes and other social vices caused by idle youths.
The partnership did not only end with the contract of pipeline surveillance. The federal government, through the appointment of High Chief Dr. Dennis Brutu Otuaro, another key stakeholder from the grassroots and a personality who understood the genuine problems bedevilling the Niger Delta, as the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), with the aim to tap into his vast experience and knowledge to further deepen the ongoing peace in the oil-rich region through youth engagement via empowerment.
So far, the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led government from all indications has embraced the concept of partnership for more output than wielding the firepower of force as demonstrated by his predecessor, former president Muhammadu Buhari. While the former’s strategy is paying off, that of the latter did not yield any positive outcome but further plunged the country into more economic woes as witnessed by a sharp drop in oil output for a nation whose foreign revenues are heavily oil-dependent.
Few years ago, security personnel of the government stationed in the region were seen as a threat to further exacerbate conflicts, with calls being made for them to be pulled out or for the demilitarisation of the region. But today, internal stakeholders now engage their services for personal and business-related ventures. Both, once perceived enemies, are now working together towards a common purpose of fostering peace and protecting the environment from harm caused by oil pollution.
This new transformation witnessed in the Niger Delta is a commendable one, and it shows the important place of peace and the need for synergy among all stakeholders. But it is also hoped that this new pact with the federal government should not only end with the pipeline surveillance contract award and the appointment of key stakeholders into strategic office. Instead, it should pave the way for the government to address key challenges, most particularly the riverine areas and oil producing communities where conflicts are known to originate from. In fact, government at all levels should come up with a special development blueprint to address infrastructural poverty in those areas, to further give solid root to a sustainable pact with the region which is key to unlocking Nigeria’s potentials for its overall economic development and growth.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abai Francis is the Brand Director of PENGlobal, A Business and Social Promotional Agency in Warri, Delta State.
