Inside The Cabals That Hold Sway In Oil Bearing Communities 

…Splits The Money Into Three  And Give Me My Share

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Chief amongst this factors is the wickedness of a few that constitutes themselves into a cabal that hijack whatever good that is meant to come to the oil communities.

They  pose either as community leaders or under the guise of social justice activism to negotiate for contracts from the oil prospecting company (IOC) which sum ends up in their private pockets or executed haphazardly to make unwholesome profits. It does not matter whether the project is unexecuted, abandoned mid way or poorly done, the goal is the same: ‘Make money’ at the expense of the people who suffer the direct effects of oil exploration activities of the OIC.

In other words, these people make fortune from the people’s misfortune. These cabals I am referring to are almost in every oil producing community. Often times, the money belonging to the community is shared amongst cabal in places far away from the community. Looking at them, they swim in affluence while the inhabitants of the community groan under the suffocating gas flairs,  heat, chemical emission and acidic rain water with their attendant adverse effect on human health and environment.

It is therefore saddening  when projects that are meant to ameliorate the sufferings of the poor inhabitants of such communities are sabotaged through subterfuge, manipulation or outright diversion of the funds to private pockets.

On Tuesday, October 17, 2023, I was in one of the oil bearing  communities in Delta State to visit a friend on invitation. We discussed among others, issues ranging from politics to religion; from community development to the plight of oil producing communities in the State. As we tried to di-sect the challenges  faced by oil bearing communities and identify the immediate and remote causes of the poor state of affairs in these communities, he was quick to point out: “We are the problem, Father.

Some community leaders are either conniving with the IOC to shortchange the Communities or are outrightly sharing project funds amongst themselves. He substantiated his point with an experience he had some years ago.

It struck me so deeply that I chose it as the tittle of this article. Anyone piqued by the current state of  underdevelopment in many of our oil bearing communities and wish to find solution to it, must read this piece to know what the problem is and proffer the right solution.

Now, this is a story a friend narrated to me of how he won two contracts from a prospecting oil company in a community. First,  he was the supply and installation of a giant transformer at one end of the town and, secondly, installation of an existing transformer at the other end.  After meeting with the community and giving them briefs on the contract, the Regent requested for a private meeting with the contractor friend at a later date. My friend went to his house, and then he told him straightaway to forget about executing the second contract and share the money.

In straight terms, he told him: “split the money into three. Bring one part to me. Take one part and use the third part to the awarding agency.” Struck by shock, he sought to know the reasons for the warped proposal and the community regent retorted; “I need the money, not transformer” After some back and forth, my friend rose and left, but not before he had reminded the Regent that as a contractor from the community who has been executing contracts for NAOC (Agip), he has a reputation to protect, let alone when this project is for his own community where he also resides.

My friend went on and completed the two projects as specified on the contract papers. On  the day of commissioning, only for the Regent to step forward and objected to the commencement of the exercise, alleging that the second project was not executed according to specification. And he called for the  ceremony to be  put off. After several altercations, all invited guests, including the LGA chairman and the king of the kingdom rose and left. The representatives of Agip also returned to Asaba. On this day, only the Engineer was present as my friend (the contractor) was on another emergency duty in a distant land.

Of course, he was told the story and he knew the Regent was only trying to frustrate the commissioning because he didn’t do his bidding. When he returned to town, he put his mini recorder in his pocket and went to see the Regent to inquire why the  commissioning was put off, and he sprang to his feet  saying: “I told you to split the money into three and give me one part, but you refused. Haven’t I succeeded in frustrating you now?”

And he blurted “I want to see money, not projects” My friend tactically led him into emptying the duplicitous content of his mind  before leaving his presence. Armed with recorded evidence, he proceeded to the king and reported to him the encounter by playing the voice record to substantiate his claims. Shocked to his marrow, the king exclaimed, ‘So, this is the kind of evil person this man (Regent) is?

So, he can plan to do this to his own community?”  Enraged, the king sent for the Regent and suspended him. He told him of the voice record evidence against him and  warned that his baseless allegation was capable of setting the community against the contractor which could result in violent reaction. He also  hinted him of what could become of him if the matter is taken to Asaba. He then advised him,”For your own good, fix a date for the commissioning and invite  the guests that are supposed to be there”

That was what happened and the project was commissioned. The transformer is still serving the community till date.

In almost all oil bearing communities, there are those who have constituted themselves into a cabal, a power block to hijack whatever good that is coming to the community. They feed fat on the people’s wealth. They live in opulence while the inhabitants of the land wallow in squalor. They dine and wine sumptuously  in royal banquets while the rest of their people are left to scramble for  crumbs. They do all these, but forget that a day of reckoning is coming.

Incidentally, such people never ends well. The ageless Latin aphorism says it all: “male parta, male dilabuntur”( ill gotten wealth never thrives or ill gotten, ill spent)

Again the Scripture posits that; “Dishonest money dwindles away” (Prov.13:11). Remember too that  karma is at the other end, waiting to take its turn. The boomerang effect is capable of  crippling the future of one’s offsprings and expose them to all manner of vulnerabilities and attacks.

You can not waste the life of people, impoverish or shortchanged  them  and expect to save yours and those of your lineage. The  man whose shameful act I narrated above is no more. The circumstances of his exit from this  mortal plain is as pitiful as bewildering. May God help us that we may gain wisdom of heart.

Going forward, If you are from an oil bearing community and your father or mother is involved in stealing or diverting community money, denounce the act and expose evil for what it is. Failure to do so, makes you an accomplice in the crime. In all places I have worked, there is a group of people I am always very careful in relating with; Community leaders, especially those of oil bearing communities.

One may not succeed in totally avoiding them, due to the nature of one’s work, but I am always guided by the fact that proximity to Caesar comes with consequences.

When I worked at Uzere, in Isoko South LGA, I preached so fiercely about social justice and in the progress raised the consciousness of the locals to demand for certain basic amenities from the oil company operating in the area. Some of the leaders didn’t like my advocacy, but I continued my social justice crusade. I told them that whenever I drive through the town and  see  their tattered roofs, dilapidated buildings, degraded environment and I behold their hunger- stricken faces in Church on Sundays, I raged.

In any case, life shouldn’t be that bad in that community that is perpetually under the heat arising from gas flares. We succeeded to some extent in exacting some pressure on the prospecting oil company to do the needful. But I  have also seen  that some of those whom we thought to be champions of social justice only joined the masses to fight the oil company and the cabal because they  were shut out from the banquet. As soon as they were invited to the table, they abandoned their activism and are currently observing table manners.

Chief Ekpre Otobo, former deputy premier of Midwest region complained unceasingly till death over the plight of his people despite the oil deposit. He once replayed to me an encounter he had with a guest. He said as he took him round town in the morning hours, he sought to know why there was heavy traffic of persons on a particular bush path leading to the community stream  in the morning hours. He said he wistfully shook his head and replied “they are going to the stream to do major” His friend was ceased by rude shock.

Chief Otobo painfully reported to me that that was the same stream from where some members of the community fetched water for household use at the time.

Till date, several riverine communities in the oil rich Niger Delta faces similar ordeal. Until you identify and dismantle the cabal, their lot may not change any time soon.

Every year, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) organises a prayer session at a particular community. Last year’s (2022) was unique. The guest preacher was so blunt in his message as he accused some leaders of financial embezzlement of the community’s oil money.

During the prayer session, he prayed down the  “Holy Ghost fire” upon anyone involved in diverting the community oil money to private pockets. And some of those present became restless! This year, I was waiting for an invitation to the same program when I learnt that the community leaders took over the planning and execution and asked CAN to “relax” Hahaaa!!! (Extracted from his Facebook page)

To be continued