By Olasunkanmi Arowolo
Troubled with failure of the Nigerian state to provide basic public services and insecurity in the Niger Delta, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) Resource Centre, a Non-Governmental Organisation has held an interactive session with investigative journalists towards building campaign against oil theft, illegal refinery, likewise breakdown in social contract.
According to Mr. Tunde Akanni, a consultant to HEDA Resource Centre, “this initiative is to strengthen citizen’s awareness on corruption and enhancing transparency and accountability in the oil sector.”
In a document made available to our correspondent, titled: Communities, Not Criminals; “Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta States have some of the highest receipts of income per capita from the federal government under the current 13% derivation allocation of Federal Budget to oil producing states. Various special funds and agencies have also been set up over time to supplement substantial budgetary derivations. But at the ground level, government allocations of oil wealth are dictated by the political or personal agendas of those in power, rather than any developmental logic. Contracts are awarded by state government or institutions frequently serve as patronage or elite pay-offs.”
At the same time, a political culture of corruption, waste and low accountability has entrenched widespread poverty. So despite the tremendous revenues allocated to this region, the government’s record on service delivery remains poor, especially in health, education and infrastructure.”
According to the report, the Niger Delta public health is described as miserable stating that only half the population has access to safe drinking water. Life expectancy is only 47years; patients still travel an average of 52 miles to see a doctor. One out of five children die before their fifth birthday and students-teacher ratios can be over 100:1.
Unarguably, these injustices, mixed with conspicuous consumption by the elites, have fuelled grassroots unrest.
To tackle this societal menace, the lingering problem formed the basis of the interactive session with 23 investigative journalists from both print and electronic media with the sole objective of improving the level of transparency and accountability in the Nigerian oil industry.
During the session, participants agreed the impact of oil theft and illegal refining is beginning to have its toll on the social, economic and political life of Nigeria and decried the increasing wave of internal insurgency, terrorism, violent crimes and other organized financial and economic crimes traceable to the growing criminalities in the oil sector.
Mr. Tunde Akanni in his opening remark said: “living things– Niger Delta citizens within the environment are been negatively affected by certain variables. It is only natural that as reporters, who by minute by minute, second by second, reminded by our editors that we should ensure that we scan our environment.
Akanni went further to by saying that the (Niger Delta) environment became image of meeting and as citizens in the environment citizens, particularly those residents in that part of the country were oil are been produced were no longer at ease. So much disco-fusion and problems began to multiply to the extent that Niger delta today as probably enjoyed more attention and focus from socio scientist from environmental scholars and others than any other part of Nigeria.
Indeed the visitation we have in the Niger delta region of this country has been described as one constituting logical disaster and the problem of multiplying conflict again is another terrible challenge. But even as the ecological disaster that the Niger delta has since become is so copious that cannot be exhorted in just one stress it has given rise to some other problems conflict as multiply today when talking of inter-community or inter-ethnic conflict in the Niger delta. Now the major issue is how to address the problem of the militants, He said.
“The Nigeria state is not paying subsequent attention to basic responsibilities. Now we have problems into which some not so powerful lookers have been attracted. The same problem some very powerful multi-national characters have also plodded into it. This problem has given rise to several other challenges. Our current earnings are beginning to decline. Federal association to state are going down, now salaries are not as regular as they use to be.” He submitted.
Following exhaustive deliberations by participants and in furtherance of the need to take concrete steps in addressing the pertinent issues emanating from the interactive session, participants identified the issues of oil theft is perspectival “local refining or illegal refining”; the oil resource economy in Nigeria has generated more of controversies, conflicts and crises than national growth, development, progress and unity.
Also, that, “Journalists in Nigeria are confronted with the challenges of access to information in the oil industry; personal safety; low incentive to put adequate pressure to access information; tremendous influences of media proprietors on the reportage of oil theft; and the dilemma of profit motives of media institutions versus their social responsibilities to inform the public objectively; Oil theft seems unstoppable because Niger Deltans have lost most of their legal means of livelihood and they can only fall back on illegal oil businesses.
Oil theft and illegal refining also seem unstoppable because agencies of government including security agencies and “powerful” elites have been found to be deeply involved.
While illegal refining is smaller in scale and financial worth, oil theft is more lucrative and larger in scale. Oil theft serves international interests, illegal refining serves local interest. Niger delta suffers from chronic social and infrastructural underdevelopment despite the fact that it generates the major economic resources upon which the country depends.
The negative environmental impact of oil theft is felt across Nigeria: pipeline vandalism also occurs in all places where pipelines run through – Lagos, Ogun, etc. and that oil theft also bares such other negative socio-economic impacts as dwindling national revenues, unemployment, high cost of living, local criminalities and insecurity, deteriorating health standards and decreasing life expectancy amidst other negative effects.
To curtail these challenges, the participants, after thorough deliberations, recommended that the fight against oil theft requires not only local action but also international action and that “all agencies of government overseeing the oil sector should set up information desks to provide information to the public upon request in line with the FOI Act. Transparency should be instituted in all sub-sectors (extraction, exploration, refining, exportation, etc.) in the oil industry.
It was also submitted that, “Local citizens be encouraged to effectively and legally participate in the oil industry. Incentives are eliminated through a radical change in sectorial structure, citizen’s involvement and public accountability.”
“Media practitioners to forge partnership with CSOs to conduct advocacy, seek access to information and publish stories on oil theft. Journalists should collaborate with local oil producing communities and those hosting oil and petroleum pipelines to expose activities of illegal operators and reveal information on actual situations.”
“Promotion of attitudinal and behavioural change among all stakeholders: the citizens, the CSOs, the journalists, the private sector, politicians. The participants went farther to encourage strategic, effective and objective use of the social media and other internet resources for promotion of accountability and transparency.
No comments:
Post a Comment