Issues
Shell: Towards Bridging The Manpower Gap
The Niger Delta communities have over the years agitated for integrated strategy to secure the sustainable development of the region. From the colonial era to date, indicators of agitation for concerted and inclusive development have always coalesced and converged in ways that sometimes, paint the colour of non-violence and occasionally, violent militancy.
The most potent testimonies of the non-violent approach are the various pre-independence minority conferences, culminating in the Henry Willinks Commission Report of 1958, and the Ken Saro-Wiwa-led Ogoni agitation for environmental rights as well as the advocacy for community rights to ownership and control of resources therefrom, which reawakened, in the 1980s and 1990s, the consciousness to the crude rape of natural resources of the region by the Federal Government.
On the violent flank are the various vestiges of mutiny, militancy, and sometimes, crass acts of economic sabotage characteristic of Major Isaac Adaka Boro, the Egbesu conundrum and the Kaiama Declaration nurtured by the Ijaw Youth Council, and the birth of splinter militant groups across communities, ethnic groups and states in the region, resulting in the 2009 Presidential Amnesty Programme, the Brig-Gen Alex Ogomudia Report, the Ledum Mitee Technical Report, and the renewed effort to renegotiate a workable development agenda for the region under President Muhammadu Buhari. However, in response to the various forms of agitation, successive governments have configured development programmes and institutions to actualise the aspirations of the people.
Take a holistic look at the original concepts and mandates of the Niger Delta River Basin Development Authority (NDRBDA), and Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC), which later transformed to Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), as well as Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs in the last four decades or so, and what you see is a desire, at least, on paper, to satisfy the expectations of the people of the region.
In addition, the many major oil and gas companies in the region have wittingly or unwittingly shown commitment to the implementation of people-focused development programmes driven by time-tested Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies. And oftentimes, the state governments and host communities, particularly in Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta and Akwa Ibom, have partnered with the companies to deliver desired development projects and programmes to the people. Some of these have even become Gold Standards for most international players in the oil and gas industry.
Just x-ray the CSR footprints of Shell Companies in Nigeria (SCiN), including Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG) and Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited. Fuse their impacts with those of Total Exploration and Production Company Nigeria Limited; Chevron Nigeria Limited; Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC); Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited; Adax Petroleum Development Company (APDC), and other international oil companies (IOCs) as well as the avalanche of indigenous oil/gas producing and servicing companies, and what you get is a huge bridge not only in the infrastructure deficit but also the manpower gap in the region.
Take SPDC for example. With the largest and widest operational impact, the company has a litany of human capacity development programmes, designed in partnership with key stakeholders; especially host communities and state governments geared towards bridging the huge manpower gap in the region. For over half a century, SPDC has been funding various education scholarship schemes. These include the secondary schools, Cradle-to-Career (C2C), the university undergraduate and overseas postgraduate schemes and just added the e-Library Projects in three states to mark Nigeria’s Centenary Anniversary.
Virtually all have deep state government and host community roles in bringing about their realisation. These proactive initiatives have, and continue to impact positively on the lives of many in these communities, particularly those host communities that bear the brunt of decades of oil and gas exploration and exploitation in the region.
For instance, the fully-funded Cradle-To-Career Scholarship Programme, designed to identify brilliant, but indigent pupils in public primary schools in hard-to-reach communities in Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states, in synergy with each state’s Ministry of Education, and bring them to some of the best Ivy League secondary schools in Nigeria, has transparently scooped education-savvy pupils to four schools in Rivers State. Since its inception in 2010, Jephthah Comprehensive College, Brookstone Secondary School, Bloombreed High School, and Archdeacon Brown Education Centre, all in Port Harcourt, have played host to 470 amazing students, with most in the first batch breaking records in some of the external examinations, including SSCE, London GCE and UTME. Testimonials of the students, their parents and host school authorities, respective pilot state ministries of education, mentoring non-governmental organisations and SPDC staff and management paint a clear picture of enthusiasm, hope and success.
As a stand-alone, the secondary school scholarship scheme has provided annual financial support to over 1,000 students in SPDC operational areas in the Niger Delta since 1953. In 2015 alone, $10.1million was expended on scholarships. Over the last six years, 10,401 secondary school and 4,709 university students were given grants in Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Abia and Imo states to support their educational careers. With initial $.7m annual funding budget since 2010, 70 Niger Deltans who have great flairs in engineering and geosciences from Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states have benefited from SPDC Post-Graduate Overseas Scholarship Scheme at top United Kingdom universities.
If you add the impact of the Shell Discovery Channel Global Education Programme and other ICT infrastructure development initiatives, the Summer School, Sabbatical Attachments for University Lecturers, Research Internship for Postgraduate Students, Centres of Excellence for Training and Research, Research and Development (R&D) Study Projects, Shell Eco-Marathon, research Data Support, and annual National Science Fair and Quiz Competition for secondary schools, among others, to those of the various scholarship schemes, the manpower gap there have and continue to bridge in the region is better imagined. These initiatives have, no doubt, positively impacted millions of lives in the region directly or indirectly, creating of renowned professors, PhDs, masters and first degree holders; team leaders, managing directors and managers in the oil and gas industry, as well as hundreds of thousands in other sectors, critical to boosting the economy.
Shell General Manager, External Relations, Igo Weli captured the mood at a recent C2C award event in Port Harcourt when he said; “The C2C approach marks a significant improvement in our portfolio of scholarship schemes. It is designed to bridge educational gaps resulting from geographic and socio-economic differences as well as help enhance high quality literacy levels in the Niger Delta and Nigeria, while meeting UNESCO ‘Education for All’ goal… In spite of the low oil price in the global market and the economic challenges in the country, we have kept faith with our commitment to support Nigerian youths, especially the less-privileged, by offering them scholarship, not just to be educated, but also to attend some of the best schools in Nigeria.”
Advising the students to be good ambassadors of their communities and states, Weli said, “You must shun vices in all its forms and embrace hard work, honesty, integrity and respect for people, which are core values that we hold so dearly in Shell. You must seek to make yourselves and society proud and better. You must pursue excellence in your studies.”
These scholarship schemes have often received commendations from government officials in the catchment states, especially that of Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers. For example, as commissioner for education in Rivers State, Prof Kaniye Ebeku, repeatedly commended SPDC for keying into one of the visions of Governor Nyesom Wike’s administration to revive and inspire excellence in education.
The same sentiment is also shared by officials of the Bayelsa State Ministry of Education, who year-in year-out have had reasons to express the government’s appreciation to SPDC for always stepping in to support the state’s education programmes. In fact, at most of such occasions, they had challenged the beneficiary scholars to work hard by utilising every available resources to turn around their lives, so they could well contribute to the development of their communities, states and the nation in general.
Indeed, Delta State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Chiedu Ebie, has never restrained himself from lauding SPDC for sharing the burden of educating thousands of youth of the region, even as he has solicited for greater intervention by corporate bodies in critical sectors to assist the government fast-track the development process, especially at this austere period of economic crisis.
The British Council is not left out. Chinedum Adeboye is one of the key officials in Port Harcourt. At a recent scholarship award event, Adeboye praised SPDC’s choice of four solid schools for implementation of the C2C scholarship programme in view of their affiliation with some of the best educational institutions abroad, and challenged beneficiaries to use the opportunity to reshape and make their future brighter, while cascading their rise to stardom.
Even the proprietors of the schools are impressed with the policy directive and objective principle of the SPDC education initiatives. Proprietor, Archdeacon Brown Education Centre, Dr Christie Toby; Administrator, Jephthah Comprehensive Secondary School, Pastor Ifeoma Edith Chukwuogo; Registrar, Brookstone Secondary School, Mrs Bie Oputu; and Principal, Bloombreed High School, Mrs Bola Fajemisin, are among the many that have expressed excitement at the concept and record-breaking performances of scholars in the schools. Because of their conviction, they have pledged their determination to give all-round quality education to SPDC scholars, irrespective of their backgrounds as part of efforts to sustain the achievements of the scheme.
The 2010 beneficiaries of C2C scheme, Isaiah Inaibo and Agunwa Glory Oluomachi; university undergraduate scholarship scheme, Ala Atedoghu, and post-graduate overseas scholarship scheme, Edafe Perekowei Edivri, have at different moments, paid glowing tributes to the respective SPDC scholarship schemes. Hundreds of thousands of others have also praised the various interventions having transformed the lives of millions of Niger Delta students and families, who today are contributing significantly to the development of their communities, states and the country.
These successes are what seemingly spurred SPDC to look into another direction in efforts to improve the knowledge base. In 2016, it embarked on e-library project in three states to support good reading culture and encourage knowledge development in the region. One of the e-libraries is already up and running in Port Harcourt. The Book Centre comprises of four structures: an e-Library completed by SPDC, a writers’ hostel, an event centre/exhibition hall, and a theatre, donated by the Rivers State Government. With an investment of $5million to complement the Port Harcourt Library Society’s $1.5million counterpart funding, and another spend by the Rivers State Government, SPDC has again, shown that it has good intentions and could partner others for the betterment of Nigeria and Nigerians, especially those in the Niger Delta region.
It is this excitement that inspired the Managing Director of SPDC and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria (SCiN), Osagie Okunbor, to justify the investment in the e-library project. Okunbor said, “This project is one of our boldest social investments, and one of the three N2billion each projects we are sponsoring to mark Nigeria’s centenary anniversary in the Niger Delta region… Our choice of these centenary projects, and this one in particular, is a demonstration of our continued belief in the future of this country, and our commitment to its socio-economic development, especially in the Niger Delta region.”
Chairman, Board of Trustees, Port Harcourt Literary Society, Dr Chidi Amuta, also eulogised the library initiative as a recognition of Port Harcourt as UNESCO 2014 World Book Capital, and explained: “We live in uncertain times, and as such, the attention of youth is torn violently between the forces of new information, new modes of violence and the pull of new money. We believe that exposure to noble ideas through the medium of books and the printed word can point our youth in a different direction, away from ignorance and bestiality they see around them. In addition, it will also provide visiting writers from around the world conducive environment to promote creative writing and cultural research to aid sustainable development.”
Rivers State Deputy Governor, Dr Ipalibo Banigo, said the Shell e-library project was in line with the state government’s avowed committed to build new quality schools, upgrade and build new libraries and other facilities at secondary schools in the state, and urged students and researchers to take full advantage of the opportunity offered by the library to improve their knowledge and researches.
Even the National Librarian, Prof Lenrie Olatokunbo Aina, recommended the initiative to other corporate bodies to take a cue from, and promised that the National Library of Nigeria would give maximum support to the facility.
Just like a tip of the iceberg, the impact of Shell’s human capacity development initiatives in the Niger Delta region has never been taken for granted by those who have been touched. Indeed, Shell and some other international oil companies, have walked the talk to close the knowledge gap by implementing educational policies that would benefit the youth of its host communities, states in the Niger Delta region and the nation at large. This is why it would be fair to conclude that Shell has been guided by the import of Alan Moore’s famous saying: “Knowledge, like air, is vital to life. Like air, no one should be denied it.”
Susan Serekara-Nwikhana
This is an open letter to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike.
Your Excellency,
Sir, ordinarily, I would not be writing an open letter to you, but like a wise man once said, “Silence would be Treason.” So I prefer to stay alive than face the consequences of silence in the face of crime. With each passing day, and as the socio-political tides continue to turn, it has become more pertinent that more people speak up in a concerted MANNER to prevent the death of our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as we appear to be, in the words of W. B. Yeats, “turning and turning in the widening gyre” heading for an end where the falcon will no longer hear the falconer
It is unfortunate that since losing control of the Federal Government, with the loss of President Goodluck Jonathan at the poll in 2015, our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has continued on a downward spiral. It is much more painful, that where it is expected that leaders within the party should rise to the challenge and put an end to this decline of our great party, some have instead taken up roles as its undertaker.
It will be hypocritical to claim aloofness to what I believe is your grouse with the PDP and I am not a hypocrite. It will be uncharitable on my part to discountenance the role you have played in strengthening the PDP from 2015 up until the last Presidential primaries of the party. It is my belief that your grouse against certain members of the party who you perceived worked against the party and abandoned it in 2015 and then came around much later to take control of the party, is justified. Also know that your decision to remain in the Party and stifle its progress on the other hand, as a sort of payback, stands condemned. For a man of your pedigree and stature, it is a dishonorable act, highly dishonorable and stands as testimony against all you claim to stand for.
At least, it can be argued that those who you hold this grudge against, abandoned the party completely and did not sit back while actively working to destroy it from within. But what then can be the argument on your own part, seeing that those you are currently working with against your party are the same people who set in motion, and executed surgically, the plans that not only ended our Party’s leadership at the centre, but ended up dislodging the first Niger Deltan to occupy Aso Rock as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Is this not akin to “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face?” That will be worse than folly. Let us not throw away the baby with the bath water because we do not like the soap used in bathing the baby. It will be a grave mistake.
Honourable Minister, sir, it is rather unfortunate that of all people, you have also decided to play the role of an undertaker not only for our party, but for our dear Rivers State.
I will like to take you down memory lane a little. Let me remind you of your emergence as Guber candidate of the PDP in Rivers State, against all fairness and justice in 2014. You will remember that despite the reality being that you as an Ikwerre man was poised to replace a fellow Ikwerre man in Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in our multiethnic state, Rivers people overwhelmingly stood by you and pushed for your emergence as Executive Governor of Rivers State in 2015. I dare say that your popularity in the entire Niger Delta region was at an all-time high at this point.
I want you to understand why you were loved across board leading to your eventual emergence as Governor of Rivers State in 2015; it was because when it looked like all were against the second term ambitions of the first Niger Delta man to emerge as President of Nigeria, you became not just a pillar but a beacon of resistance by standing for Goodluck Jonathan. Rivers people, as grateful and rewarding as they can be, paid you back by ensuring your electoral victory against the incumbent All Progressives Congress (APC) led by your predecessor. On your emergence, where there were second term Governors in the region, you, a first term Governor, was seen by the people as not just the leader of the PDP, but the leader of the entire Niger Delta region. You earned it, and no one could dispute it.
In 2019, when your re-election bid was being challenged ferociously, Rivers people once again stood solidly behind you. Many were killed in the process of defending your votes. Do you remember Dr. Ferry Gberegbe that was shot and killed while trying to protect your votes in Khana Local Government Area? There are many more unnamed and unrecognised sons and daughters of Rivers State who sacrificed their lives so that you could emerge as a second term Governor of Rivers State.
In 2022/23, Honourable Minister, you oversaw a party primary across board that saw some candidates imprisoned and internal party democracy jettisoned for your wishes, leading to the emergence of flag bearers of our party all singlehandedly picked by you. You have on more than one occasion publicly stated that you paid for all their forms. Even those shortchanged in this process licked their wounds and continued to play their roles as party members to ensure the success of the party at all levels. In what will go down as one of the most keenly contested elections in recent Rivers history, with formidable candidates like Senator Magnus Abe of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Mr Tonye Cole of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the vibrant youth driven Labour Party (LP), PDP emerged victorious across board except for Phalga Constituency 1 that was lost to the Labour Party. (Not that you did not loose in some other LGA’s but let’s stick to the official figures declared by INEC).
It begs the question, why then do you want to burn down Rivers State, when everyone who now holds political office emerged through a process designed and endorsed by you? Is it that you do not care about Rivers people and you are all about yourself? If so, I am forced to believe that those around you are not telling you the truth. The truth being that in a state where your words were law; where houses and businesses could be demolished or closed down without any recourse to legalities, where Executive Orders could be deployed to stifle the opposition, that your popularity is now at an all-time low. Probably because they are afraid of you, or of losing the benefits they gain from you, they fail to tell you that what you might perceive as a battle against your successor, has slowly but gradually degenerating into a battle against Rivers State and Rivers people. You know, there is a popular saying that, a man can cook for the community and the community will finish the food, but when a community decides to cook for one man, the reverse is the case.
LEAVE FUBARA ALONE
You have gone on and on about being betrayed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara. You point fingers forgetting that some of those same fingers quick to spot betrayals point straight back at you. It is not Governor Fubara that has betrayed the PDP by working against it in the just concluded General Election, and working with the opposition at the State and Federal level to destabilise the party. It is you, Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that betrayed Rivers people by instigating a political crisis with propensity to escalate ethnic tensions in Rivers State. It is you Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that has declared himself God over all in Rivers State and has no qualms with burning the state to the ground to prove a point. It is you Honourable Minister. It is you Honourable Minister who told the world that the APC was a cancer and you can never support a cancerous party. It is you Honourable Minister who ended up facilitating the emergence of the same “cancerous” APC that has accelerated the economic decline of this country and further impoverished our people with no remorse. All so you can be a Minister of the Federal Capital Territory? The lack of self awareness is gobsmacking.
Some days back I came across a video where you talked about death and how you do not cry when you hear about the death of some people because you have no idea what might have caused it considering many a politician swear “over dead bodies” and still go back on their words. Those words made me think, and I could see the reason behind them. You see, in chosing to be God in the affairs of Rivers people, you have closed your eyes and ears to reason; you see nothing and hear nothing that can cause you to rethink on the path you have chosen. In your quest to “show Fubara” you have unwittingly united a vast majority of Rivers people behind him, so much that even those who despised him because of you, now like or love him, because of you too. In your scheming, I will advise you not to forget that “the voice of the people is the voice of God”.
Note that the war which you have or are waging against Governor Fubara, has gone beyond being merely political as you might see in your minds eye. It is now one that, fortunately for some and unfortunately for others, has evolved into a war against Rivers people. It is good to point out that no one has taken a stand against Rivers people and won. No one has gone against God and won. In your defiant characteristic manner, it will be unfortunate if you believe your own hubris and that of those around you on the possibility of you being the first to successfully go against Rivers people. It will be a needless gamble; one where if you win you create more enemies for yourself than you can withstand on your political journey, and if you lose, your legacy becomes an inglorious and irredeemable one in Rivers State, the Niger Delta, and Nigeria at large. For your sake as regards posterity, it is my greatest wish that you have a moment of sobriety and a deep reflection and introspection on this path you have chosen.
Honourable Minister, sir, what is left of your legacy is on the brink of being completely desecrated and relegated to the dustbin of our political history, and it will be a sad end to what I will say has been a wonderful political career that many can only dream of. The ball is in your court, and may God Almighty have mercy on us all and forgive us for our shortcomings.
Gabriel Baritulem Pidomson
Dr Pidomson is former Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt and former member, Rivers State House of Assembly.
In 2015, I made a conscious decision to invest my financial resources, my time, and energy into supporting Nyesom Wike’s gubernatorial campaign. I poured my heart and soul into ensuring Nyesom Wike emerged victorious even at the risk of my personal safety.
Again in 2019, I doubled down on my commitment. I invested a significant amount of money to procure campaign outfits for all twenty-three Local Governments Areas of Rivers State. I spared no expense in supplementing Wike’s election efforts in my own local government, and once again putting myself at great risk to safeguard the fairness and transparency of the electoral process.
However, despite my unwavering loyalty and sacrifices, I found myself abandoned and forgotten by Wike. Throughout his eight-year tenure, he failed to acknowledge my contributions or fulfill his promises and agreements. Even as a former Deputy Governor, Wike denied me my severance benefit.
My investment in Wike’s governorship was not just financial – it was a commitment of passion, dedication, and belief in a better future for Rivers State. Yet, his leadership style of dishonesty, greed, drunkenness and rash abuse of senior citizens brought me nothing but disappointment, misery and losses.
By the grace of God, today I speak not as a victim, but as a hero. I have accepted my losses, and I have moved on. And as I reflect on my experience, I cannot help but urge Wike to do the same and allow peace and development to reign in Rivers State.
Nyesom Wike, when you speak of investing in Governor Sim Fubara’s election, remember those like me who also invested in you. Remember the sacrifices I made, the risks I took, and the promises and agreements you left unfulfilled.
It is time for you, Wike, to let go of the past and allow Governor Sim Fubara the breathing space he needs to lead Rivers State forward. Allow him to focus on the challenges of good governance and the aspirations of the people. Spare him these unwarranted and ill-conceived political manoeuvrings founded on personal agenda and not for general good of Rivers State and her people.
I may have lost my investment on Wike, but I have not lost hope in the future of Rivers State. And together, we will continue to strive for a brighter tomorrow.
Long Live the Governor to Rivers State, Sir Siminialayi Fubara!
Long Live the Good People of Rivers State!!
Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!
Engr Ikuru is former Deputy Governor of Rivers State.
Tele Ikuru
