A DAY after President Olusegun Obasanjo launched the Niger Delta Development Masterplan, the Federal Government yesterday met with officials of the United States (U.S.) and British governments on how to check the menace of hostage-taking in the region.
The government team was lead to the talks by the Minister of Information and Communications, Mr. Frank Nweke Jnr. who charged the oil companies to adhere to best practices in the industry to reduce the crisis in the Niger Delta.
Nweke particularly accused the oil firms of failing in their social responsibilities to their host communities.
To the Bayelsa State governor, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, foreign nations have contributed to the escalation of the violence in the oil-rich region.
Jonathan, who is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Vice Presidential candidate, said that some foreign nations in their desperate bid to secure the release of their kidnapped citizens, dole out huge sums of money to militants.
By so doing, Jonathan said that such countries often take the negotiation for the freedom of the affected workers out of the hands of the government. He added that the countries had also made the militants to believe that it pays to seize oil workers.
Nweke said: “What we ask is that you observe basic fundamental business ethics when dealing with our people. We believe the management of such companies have a duty to ask and fulfil their social responsibility…Why would Shell, Chevron or Mobil engage in practices in Nigeria that they would not in their own countries or elsewhere in the world? For those who do not invest in their local communities, are ultimately the losers in this…”
On his part, Jonathan said: “Peace in the Niger Delta region is attainable when the multinational oil concerns cease their panicky patronage of militants and join hands with the government to disarm the hostage-takers and economic empowerment of local communities.”
They spoke on the “Situation in the Niger Delta” at a breakfast interactive meeting attended by the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Gozney and his U.S. counterpart, John Campbell, Nigerian government officials and other stakeholders in the crisis.
The meeting also afforded the government the opportunity to put before the international community a set of “inter-related challenges” held by stakeholders to be critical to the overall implementation of the new Niger Delta Masterplan.
Besides, Goodluck and Nweke, the Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr. Timi Alaibe and the Secretary to the Bayelsa State Government (SSG), Dr. Godknows Igali were emphatic on the failure of the oil companies to live up to their social responsibilities.
Jonathan said it had become imperative for the oil companies in the Niger Delta to stop paying ransom to militants in exchange of freedom for hostages as such actions were sabotaging the government’s efforts at resolving the problem according to the dictates of its sovereignty.
He said: “When a hostage is taken, there are quite a number of interest groups involved. The parent country and the oil company get worried. And through that process, some of them give money. We want to discourage this so that they do not expect any financial benefits from hostage-taking. If they are making gains, they continue much like armed robbers.”
Speaking on how to mobilise the stakeholders on funding, Alaibe stated that without sustained funding, the new Marshal Plan would fail, adding that “rehabilitation of militant youths must come before disarmament”
But it was the quick deals between the oil companies and militants that dominated initial exchange of points. And Igali elaborated on this when he demanded a paradigm shift in the manner the oil firms treat local communities.
He said: “We have correctly identified and we have said that panic measures by ambassadors when hostages are taken create problems for us the negotiators. We are not talking about token sums but when large sum, of money is involved. When the foreign missions pay like that they create problems of credibility for us as the militants feel there won’t be any need for them to negotiate with government officials so long as the companies and ambassadors are paying…”
The British government however said it believes that it will take quite a while before the Niger Delta problem is completely resolved.
Speaking on the need to have bottom-up wealth creation programmes for the communities of the Niger Delta, Gozney said the most critical of the steps was the restoration of community face and integration. “This would probably take a decade to fix and we will be willing to join in,” he added.
On his part, Campbell said: “As we wrestle with the problems of the Niger Delta, transparency and frank speaking are the keys. How many miles of roads have we built? How many of the indigenous people have been brought into the scheme of things in the police and armed services? These are security issues… But let me announce here that the U.S. government will be extremely pleased when there are no travel warnings for any place in Nigeria and we are looking forward to achieving that end.”
The three inter-linked critical challenges highlighted yesterday by the Foreign Affairs Minister, Prof. Joy Ogwu are those of “verified and variable information, the notion of partnership in the Marshal Plan, and the challenge of sustainable engagement with those with direct responsibility for overseeing the implementation of the plan.”