Niger Delta: Beyond environmental degradation

Oil theft and illegal artisanal refining of oil is now widespread that it stifles traditional community life. While the issue is like “blaming the victim” syndrome, OSA VICTOR OBAYAGBONA and FEMI ASU examine the economic and socio-cultural implications of the region.

It’s no longer news that Nigeria looses 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day through theft and illegal bunkering and refineries, amounting to $11 billion per annum. Neither is it news that government intervention, through the activities of the Joint Task Force (JTF), has been able to bring the menace under control.

From the Niger Delta to the South West/South East, the activities of vandals and the frequent spills from the different flow stations of the multi-national oil firms have not abated.

It is on record that these activities have taken away the livelihood of the residents – destruction of farmland, pollution of the creeks and rivers, and eventual killing of aquatic life of the area, therefore preventing fishing – a major source of livelihood for the inhabitants of the delta.

And above all, the environment has continued to suffer due to continuous spills and the JTF constant destruction of illegal refineries and products seized.

Not to forget so soon, through the combination of these activities, Ogoniland in Rivers State has been rendered unproductive. The report from the assessment of the area shows that it will take 30 years to clean up Ogoniland, only if we start now, and it will require more than $1 trillion to restore the environment. Nevertheless, the oil firms or the government is yet to start.

The above were the various summation from the recent conference on Oil Theft and Illegal Oil Bunkering in the Niger Delta, conveyed by Kingsley Kuku, special adviser to the president on Niger Delta, and chairman, Presidential Amnesty Programme, at Eko Hotel and Suite, Victoria Island, Lagos.

This year alone, about 170 cases of pipelines vandalism have been recorded, and the incident is still on the increase.

Stakeholders at the event also advocated for the immediate clean up of the mess done to the Niger Delta and facilitate the socio-economic development of the region, agreeing in a communiqué issued at the end of the event, that increased collaboration between the international community and the Federal Government was necessary in combating oil theft and illegal oil bunkering in the Niger Delta and the Gulf of Guinea.

They also enjoined the oil companies to stop the unsystematic destruction of illegal oil theft facilities, noting that it only compounds environmental damage. They instead recommended the establishment of joint mini-refineries to absorb illegal refineries and engage local communities.

They noted that facilitating socio-economic development of the Niger Delta was critical in curtailing criminality in the oil sector, and called on the Federal Government to immediately mandate and fund the clean-up of the Niger Delta.

Kuku described oil theft as a very ugly trend that adversely affects not just the economy but also the environment.

“Oil theft has become the biggest threat to the economy of our dear nation, and conscious of this fact, our President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, has been working round the clock to address this menace,” he said, adding that findings of a report commissioned by his office indicated that “oil theft and the illegal artisanal refining of oil is now so widespread that it stifles traditional community life.”

He said the cost of crude theft and illegal bunkering to the region would amount to over $1 trillion.

The socio-economic impact of the menace include environmental degradation, loss of economic activities for communities, loss of revenue to the government resulting in inadequate funding for development initiatives, increased criminality in the region, lack of security due to illegal activities and infiltration of international collaborators, and bad image for the country.

The stakeholders also recommended that headquarters of oil companies be moved to the Niger Delta, Nigeria’s oil producing region.

Participants at the event resolved that to curb oil theft and illegal bunkering, enhanced intelligence gathering system with advance electronic and community input were necessary.

According to one of the elders from the Niger Delta, the bush refineries are actually polluting the environment and the action of the JTF who destroy them cause greater damage to the environment.

Ziakede Patrick Akpobolokemi, director-general, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, said efforts should be geared towards apprehending the sponsors and masterminds of the sabotage.

“Have we made effort in going after the sponsors and masterminds? Everybody is trying to play safe in this country. Even when we apprehend small local culprits, we need to find out from them who their sponsors are.

“There is no way military approach alone can solve the problem. Community participation is critical. Let us put in place a robust surveillance scheme where communities will participate. While commending the efforts of the JTF, I think blowing up ‘Cotonou’ boats and illegal refineries will not give us the solution, it is compounding the environmental damage already done.

“Our legal processes are faulty. The culture of impunity abounds in this nation. No country can develop without a justice system. There could be a looming danger ahead of us. It is high time necessary measures be put in place to solve this problem. Huge environmental damage has been caused,” he said.

For Godini Darah, a professor and moderator of the conference, this is “blaming the victim” syndrome, as the technology behind vandalism and siphoning of crude products shows a sophisticated venture the ordinary youth caught on the act cannot afford.

Dele Ezeoba, a vice admiral and chief of the naval staff, said the time had come for all hands to be on deck to address the scourge of pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft, saying “the responsibility of securing the nation’s maritime space rests squarely on the shoulders of the Navy. For us, it is a constitutional duty. We also acknowledge that this fight against crude oil theft is a collective responsibility. No one agency can solve it.”

He added that there was need for enhanced collaboration among the security operatives, the three arms of government and all levels of government, noting “we have a collective responsibility. This country belongs to all of us, irrespective of whether the oil is at your backyard.”

He also stressed the need for the PIB to be passed into law, as “people should not play politics with the document. It brings hope. It brings solution to this problem.”

Ezeoba said surveillance, response initiative and enforcement were necessary in tackling the menace, adding that “we have serious problem in the area of enforcement. In the immediate future, we should be able to see people properly sanctioned to serve as deterrent to others.”

He added that the issue of capacity gap in the armed forces should be addressed, noting that oil majors must begin to rethink the protection of their pipelines, as the right of way of the pipelines should be clearly established. He also stressed the need for oil majors to anchor their corporate social responsibility on human capacity development to empower the people in the host communities, especially the youths.

The presentation of Bata Debiro, a major general/commander of the JTF, was most disturbing as he recounted they have destroyed many illegal refineries, tanker trucks, ‘Cotonou’ boats, among others, adding that their 6,102 personnel had been deployed to protect the nation’s refineries and pipelines.

Against the backdrop of rising oil theft in the Niger Delta, the seedbed of Nigeria’s oil, stakeholders all agreed to find lasting solutions to the menace of crude oil theft and oil bunkering, called for urgent and decisive action to arrest the situation. If the illegal business is allowed to fester, it would not only continue to undermine the economy, but also continue to impoverish the Niger Delta, they said.

Other social implications of crude theft and illegal refineries include the destruction of livelihood of the inhabitants – farmland and fishing activities, introduction of arms into the communities, the youths being lured away from legitimate ventures into criminal activities, increased level of school dropouts now engaging in the ‘profitable’ illegal business, and increased inflow of migrant workers related to crude theft all over the area.

It was noted that the activities of oil thieves and illegal refiners, coupled with the destruction occasioned by the operations of the JTF in the region, have caused huge damage to the environment, health, livelihood and the psychology of the people. Fishing, farming and other legitimate economic activities in those communities have been hampered by the damage.

The need for oil majors to deploy modern technology to protect their facilities, to make petroleum products readily available to the people in the region and improve their CSR activities to the communities, was stressed.