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The prologue
Listening to the wailings from the Niger Delta zone arising from what many term the oil curse, one would conclude that the discovery of oil (and later, gas) in 1956 in Oloibiri area of today’s Bayelsa State, has been all harm and no good. The greatest harm and indeed the loudest wailing come from pollution which has ravaged most parts of the oil region. From the scourge of Ebubu in Eleme which left a fried landmass to the abandoned fish ponds of Numuu Terkuru in Bodo (Ogoni), Gokana Local Council Area of Rivers State, it is a story of sadness, lamentation and grief.
The sad narrative
Oil is blamed for the hanging of Africa’s renowned playwright and environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, the burning down of Odi (Beyalsa) and Umuechem in Rivers State, as well as uncountable inter-communal wars that have consumed numerous heads. From Ukwa West in Abia State through the Imo River route to Bonny, the waters and creek-lines have been polluted and poisoned to 900 times higher than the level of benzene permissible in human veins.
Rivers have been condemned and fishing has ceased in most places. Farming has taken the back seat in a region that now runs after the petro-dollar in the ‘swamps full of dollars’.
The craze for petro-dollar has also led to a social dislocation and the overthrow of the elders, chiefs and monarchs as well as the rise of violent youths who now impose new ways of thinking. Immorality has taken over the hearts of the youths; values have somersaulted, and hard work seems dead because one year work in the farm can be paid for by one week work in the rig. Compensation for oil land runs into hundreds of millions of naira for few owners and rewards have blown over the minds of most men. A rent-seeking governance system has emerged in the area where chiefs and others live a false life of affluence without merit, a style that can only be sustained by blood and avarice. Corruption becomes the simplest form of crime.
The result is resort to arms; to shoot down opposing claimants, to shoot down votes and climb to power (even if it is CDC chairmanship), and to shoot down daily bread if there are no oyibos to abduct. The end of it all is that a new political order has emerged where the man with the longest rifle wins power and sustains it with even longer rifles. The nation is now held to ransom.
The bright side:
Yet, many admit that the region witnessed an economic boom just as Nigeria grew as high as 7 percent gross domestic product (GDP) for years at a time whereas the highest it grew pre-oil was three percent. The oil region recorded an average per capita income of $3,300 far above national average. It produced the second largest economy (Rivers State; GDP $21billion) after Lagos, overthrowing Kano and Kaduna and even Abuja. This created super cities such as Warri, Asaba and Uyo to join the traditional cities of Benin, Port Harcourt and Calabar.
In terms of economic nerve centres, Port Harcourt overthrew Enugu and emerged as the new headquarters of the south-east instead of Enugu; it pushed coal to the back burners and elevated oil to the new product-king. Hubs such as Emene and Trans-Ekulu industrial layouts gave way to new kids on the block like Trans-Amadi and Onne. The fasted growing oil and gas free trade zone grew out of Onne near Port Harcourt where over 200 companies thrive. Bonny became a global name hosting the N12Bn gasification plant (NLNG) and the export terminal of the nation’s oil and gas, transforming the Amanyabo throne far above those in Sokoto, Kano, Ife, and Bornu to the level of Burkingham Palace.
Cashflow
Today, Port Harcourt is the home of Shell, NLNG, NDDC, two seaports, two airports, and over 2000 companies, not discounting all federal agencies and the most vibrant oil-service companies. It is billionaires’ playground.
Three states in the oil region alone plus the NDDC (Rivers, Delta and Akwa Ibom) run average annual budgets of N1.4 trillion. After corruption and wastes, the balance still helps to build numerous roads, schools, houses, buy beastly cars, and run high monthly wages.
Since the return of democracy that gave stronger voice to the oil region, the states have collected not less than N8.3 trillion as major statutory allocations; 13 percent estimated at N5 trillion, NDDC N3 trillion (N200bn x 15 years), and Amnesty N300billion. This is outside East West road alone that gulped N726billion and the allocations so far to the Ministry of Niger Delta and other parastatals dedicated to the oil region, and the many companies that give special attention to the place. This helped the Garden City, regarded as the capital of the oil region, to grow the spending capacity of over N500billion per year by oil workers alone, thus turning the city into a high spending enclave, the city for only the super rich.
The people of the region have witnessed the right to produce managing directors of multinational corporations such as Shell, plus the exclusive right to CEOs of NDDC, NIMASA, Local Content Board, Ministry of Petroleum, etc. Many say all the cash cows head to the oil region.
Sectoral gains
According to an industrialist, educationist, philanthropist and wife of an oil engineer fully occupied with human capital grooming especially in an oil community (Egi for Total E&P), Emilia Ekama Akpan, CEO of Showers International Schools and National Vice President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the oil region has gained huge experience in oil technology.
Human capital gains
Akpan said the indigenes have been given quotas over the years to work at the highest level in the oil industry, leading to the harvest of top managers in many oil and gas companies. The oil region produced the first managing director and country chair of Shell Nigeria (Basil Omiyi) and apart from Omiyi’s successor (Mutiu), the next is also a son of the oil region. The latest CEO of the Local Content Board (Wobote) is from Warri. Indigenes have also developed the capacity to manage large global organisations such as Onne oil and gas free zone.
Entrepreneurship skills
The MAN deputy boss who served as chairman of MAN Rivers/Bayelsa for two terms said many sons and daughters of the oil region have developed the competence and the confidence to create and run their own enterprises. “Many own businesses that are directly and indirectly involved in oil and gas. Oil has provided leverage for youths to support the oil industry. It has given them more innovation which is creating peripheral jobs. Some are doing well to stick to self-employment. Others have learnt the hard lesson that spending best of one’s lifetime in oil industry would not allow him to do well after retirement. They now look for sustainable alternatives,” she said.
Oil has created a class of strong entrepreneurs in the region that go round the world to compete with the best in any area of entrepreneurship.
Oil gurus
Oil robs off on anything it touches. For years, the connected indigenes preferred to sell their oil blocs and pocket the rent and go live exuberant and expensive lives anywhere in the world. One man, now a high chief, O.B.Lulu-Briggs, defied that trend and set up his oil mining firm called Moni Pulo Petroleum Development Company (after Shell). Today, the firm is blazing the trail and has led to the boom on indigenous ownership and management of what Nigerians call marginal fields. When the IOCs decided to begin gradual divestment, it is the group that is buying over the assets and oil wells.
Education
Both Akpan and a seasoned accountant and investment expert, Isaac Okemini, argued that oil has given huge impact on education, especially scholarships. So far, almost 8,000 indigenes of the oil region have enjoyed Shell scholarship in various categories including the cradle-to-career (C2C) scheme which targets brainy poor from direct oil communities. Isaiah Inaibo, the lad whose highest wish was to gain admission into a community secondary school in a village in Warri, is the flag-bearer of the C2C scheme with nine Distinctions (6 A1 and 3Bs) in the last WAEC as well as 5A* plus 3As and one B in the Cambridge GCE 2016. His rival, Nene Osaroeba, a female, scored 6A* plus 3As in the same Cambridge GCE. These are part of the first set in the experiment to see how children of the poor would compete with children of the super rich in topmost secondary schools in Nigeria. Shell sends 10 post-graduate scholars from the region to the best universities in London every year to battle with the best engineers in the world. They return to Nigeria to add to a pool of specalised human capital that can take Nigeria to the moon, one day. If this number is added to the ones from other oil companies such as Agip, Total, Chevron, NLNG, the story can only be imagined.
On Education, Okemini particularly said: “More people are educated because of funding from oil and gas (different from direct scholarships)”.
Lift above poverty
Many indigenes have admitted that the prosperity level in the oil region has grown higher than the national average. Most competitions in Nigeria are scooped by contestants from the oil region because of good preparation, good equipment, etc. Besides, massive educational input has led to increase in capacity to work in the oil industry and to create innovative ideas.
Apart from numerous programmes by oil companies and oil service companies as well as massive jobs of over 50,000 persons directly and indirectly in the oil industry, access to education and skills has enhanced the earning capacity of indigenes of the oil states.
Shell and Total run special schemes to train youths and equip them to run their businesses. Shell’s LiveWIRE has attained international acclaim with over 7000 so far trained and equipped to start businesses. Some have become multiple employers. The case a female optician is celebrated today while Mercy Ikeji of Zionite is a case in point.
Expansion of infrastructure
Okemini said the region has witnessed massive expansion of infrastructure such as roads, schools, etc. It is true. A maze of flyovers (aerial interchange) welcomes visitors to Port Harcourt from both Aba and Warri axes of the state. Warri town is also a huge bang to first time visitors, all due to massive roads and roundabouts. There have been magnificent houses, schools, water projects, etc. Rivers State made waves under Governor Peter Odili for building the first 500 KVA gas turbines to provide uninterrupted power supply to the state capital at least. Many other states have followed suit. Chibuike Amaechi followed with attempt to build 500 world class primary schools, two 180kva power stations, a megacity, and a monorail that is however mired in controversy today. Akwa Ibom followed under Godswill Akpabio with a seaport, an airport, and massive roads. Today, Uyo too has a flyover. Delta built an airport and a state secretariat, and Cross River built Tinapa. Bayelsa attempted an airport, a tower, and a central business district, though each is crying for completion.
National relevance
Okemini also mentioned the rise of the region in national political relevance. This too is true. Before now, the south east used to be first to be considered for vice president (Nnamdi Azikiwe for ceremonial presidency, Alex Ekwueme, Ebiyu Ukiwe) and later senate presidency or speaker. Now, these things go to the south-south, up to the Ijaw producing a president for six years (Goodluck Jonathan).
Conclusion
Oil may have been a curse but its boom has also boosted the economy and socio-political fortunes of the oil region. The cry over oil damage is rife and real, but the milk and honey too can be tasted and confirmed. It seems that the money they shoot, the more they shoot down concessions.
Ignatius Chukwu
