In the last two weeks, Nigerians have been treated to the bitter public war of words between Rivers and Bayelsa States over the Soku oil wells. In this piece, Managing Editor, Northern Operation, Yusuf Alli and Assistant Editor, Akin Orimolade examine the issues tearing the brother states apart.
After about 66 years of mutual suspicion, the bubble has finally burst between Rivers and Bayelsa States over the Soku oil fields in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers. The lingering but suppressed anger between the two brother states, which had heightened since 2002, is now a street fight with President Goodluck Jonathan not spared the mudslinging by the parties.
The raging dispute is the first ‘open’ confrontation by the two states which used to be one entity. Since fate joined the people of the two states together by Decree 14 of 1967, signed into law by ex-Military Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon on May 27, 1967, the parties had peacefully cohabited as Rivers State even though their ethnic groups, tongues, and boundaries differed.
In spite of their age-long cold war, they became the political brides whose ‘wild votes’ from the creeks determined the fate of presidential candidates in the Second, Third and Fourth Republics. For quite a while, Rivers State boasted that it churned out the highest number of votes at the 2011 election for Jonathan (a Bayelsan) to win the presidential poll. The votes from this axis very often tip the balance for the ultimate direction of political power in Nigeria.
In their topsy-turvy history, the people of the two states have quietly tolerated each other to the extent that the founders of what is known as Rivers State (Commander Alfred Diete-Spiff and Chief Melford Okilo) came from Bayelsa State. Despite this history of cohabitation, the gulf between the ethnic groups in the Old Rivers State is as deep as the oil basins they are fighting over.
Their initial pre-occupation was to liberate themselves from the Government of Eastern Nigeria where they were notable minorities and whose voice never counted. But after 19 years of existence, the differences among the people of Old Rivers State became obvious to the extent that the military regime of former Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha had to create Bayelsa State out of this old Rivers State by Decree 36 of October 1, 19996.
It was a case of liberating a tiny minority from a major minority group. The creation of Bayelsa State has rekindled age-long rivalry among the ethnic groups in the two oil producing states. The battle for oil revenue from the Federation Account has compounded the boundary war which might transcend the present political actors in office with the prospect of a long-drawn legal battle ahead.
HOW DID THE CRISIS START?
According to findings, the border crisis actually started during the colonial era in 1946, about a decade before oil was discovered in Oloibiri in Bayelsa State. Investigations confirm that it was a nasty hostility which unsettled the colonial masters on the future of the Niger Delta. When the animosity became intense, the Governor of the then Nigeria (Protectorate and Cameroons) issued an Order in Council in 1946 which was later made a Public Notice No.71 of May 1, 1951 when the crisis did not abate among the ethnic groups. The order (made public in 1951), now in the National Archives, was signed by the colonial Acting Chief Secretary to the Government, H. F. Marshall. The order, which provides insight into the cold war, reads in part:
“In exercise of the powers conferred upon him by Sub-section (2) of Section 5 of the Nigeria (Protectorate and Cameroons) Order in Council 1946, His Excellency, the Governor has been pleased to direct that the boundaries of the Degema Division of the Rivers Province shall be those described in the Schedule hereto.”North- The Southern boundary of Ahoada Division from the point of junction with Eastern boundary of the Brass Division to the point of junction with the Western boundary of the Ogoni Division to the point of junction with the Western boundary of the Calabar Province.
“East – The Western boundary of the Calabar Province from the junction with the Southern boundary of the Ogoni Division to the sea at the mouth of the Andoni River.
“South- The sea from the Western boundary of the Calabar Province at the mouth of the Andoni River to the Eastern boundary of the Brass Division at the mouth of the Owangatoro or Santa Barbara River.
“West – The Eastern boundary of the Brass Division from the sea at the mouth of Owangatoro or Santa Barbara River to the junction with the Southern boundary of the Ahoada Division. “Note -The boundaries of the Brass and Ogoni divisions of the Rivers Province are described in Public Notice No. 146 of 1948 and the boundaries of the Ahoada and Port Harcourt Divisions of the Rivers Province are described in Government Notice No. 1577 of 1949.”
By 1954, it was apparent to the colonial administration in the Rivers-Bayelsa axis of the Niger Delta that it might not be able to resolve the boundary disputes among ethnic groups. In a 1954 document, titled “Nembe-Kula Administrative Settlement”, the colonial masters foresaw the present crisis between Rivers and Bayelsa when it advised any aggrieved group to go up to the Supreme Court to clarify any boundary issue in order not to have a breach of the peace in the area.
The settlement document, which was signed by L. Barrow (District Officer, Degema) and J.B. Craig (District Officer, Brass) reads: “The Administrative boundary between the Brass and Degema and between the Nembe and Kalabari Native Authorities is the Santa Barbara River. “To the West of Santa Barbara River, Kulas shall not introduce strangers nor collect rents but shall have right to continue in occupation of the following places without payment of rents: Kuroghaliri (alias Konyeboko); Pukokiri; Owukubu; Adlamuama; Ikriko-Idei-Kiri; Nyounkiri (aliasOwinkiri); Charlie-Kiri; and Tweniboko (alias Toni).
“To the East of the Santa Barbara River, Nembe shall not introduce strangers nor collect rents but shall have right to continue in occupation of the following places without payment of rents: Darapagamo and Goldsmith-Kiri. “Nothing in this order shall preclude either party from taking action in the court to establish any right or title which it may claim. “Such actions must, however, be taken in the first instance in the Nembe Native Court if it concerns anywhere in the West side of the Santa Barbara River and in the Kalabari Native Court if it concerns the East side of that River. Either party may then apply to the Supreme Court. “Unless and until it is supervised by any court judgment, this order must be obeyed by both parties and contraventions will be treated as conduct likely to provoke a breach of the peace.”
ORIGIN OF THE SCRAMBLE
Before the discovery of oil, it was gathered that the scramble for boundaries was informed by craze for collection of land rents, control of some areas to attract favour from colonial masters, coastal access to white traders and fishing right, which is the economic mainstay of the Niger Delta.
Now with abundant oil, the boundary war has shifted from the right for polluted fish to royalties from sweet crude and accruing jumbo revenue from the Federation Account. The more oil wells a state has, the more it smiles to the bank even if the masses will not benefit from the oil wealth.
In an interview with our correspondents, former Security Adviser to the Rivers State Government, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, said: “When you talk of the border problem between Nembe, Kula and Kalabari, that has taken over 100 years. It was there before the colonial masters came. The colonial masters did some interventions.
“What were they fighting for at that time? They were fighting for fishing right and they killed themselves over fishing right but the administrators at that time were wise. They took several decisions from time to time which aided the communities, which brought peace within the communities. Between 1926 and 1929, there was a big problem between the Nembe people and the Kula and, to an extent, the Kalabari people.
“The district officer at that time decided to demarcate the boundaries for them and the boundaries were put at the West of Santa Barbara River for the Brass Division and degrees were issued, documents were written and that led to the demarcation of various divisions in the area. Then, callboard map came out 1945. The callboard map was the first mark that covers the different district or area and this took care of the various local areas in Nigeria including the Brass Division and the Degema Division.”
GENESIS OF THE PRESENT CRISIS
Although the seed of the present crisis was sown on October 25, 1999, it could be traced to the release of the 11th edition of the Administrative Map of Nigeria in 2002, and the printing of the map by the Federal Surveys of Nigeria.
As soon as the map came out, Rivers State suspected foul play leaving the administration of ex-Governor Peter Odili to protest to ex- Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who was the Chairman of the National Boundary Commission (NBC) during the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo. The Government of Bayelsa State under ex-Governor DSP Alamieyeseigha, in a letter dated October 25, 1999 petitioned the Director-General/Secretary of the NBC requesting the demarcation of the inter-state boundary between Bayelsa and Rivers states.
Bayelsa also made its petition available to the NBC with delineation documents showing that the boundary between the Brass (Nembe) people of Bayelsa and New Calabar (Kalabari) people of Rivers should be San Bartholomew and not Santa Barbara River. The Rivers State Government, however, fought back through it State Boundary Commission by submitting memoranda Volumes I and II to the NBC on March 20 and 30, 2000.
To resolve the matter, the Obasanjo administration directed that a meeting be held by Rivers and Bayelsa with officials of the NBC and Federal Surveys. A Joint Field Team (JFT), headed by the Surveyor-General of the Federation, was set up to “carry out the field tracing and provisional demarcation of the boundary.” But it was learnt that in defiance of the JFT, the Surveyor-General went ahead in 2000 to produce the 11th Map while investigation into the boundary dispute between the two states was still in progress.
The same map became effective in 2002. In a June 20, 2002 letter to Atiku by the then chairman of the Rivers State Boundary Commission, Sir Gabriel Toby, the state said the 11th map was unacceptable because it fundamentally altered the boundary of the state. He also explained what transpired between the two states and the NBC and Federal Surveys.
The letter said in part: “The boundary between Rivers State and Bayelsa State at the Southern sector had been fundamentally altered by shifting the boundary from its being west of the Santa Barbara River to the San Bartholomew River.
“The Surveyor-General of Rivers State was directed to immediately bring this anomaly and material distortion to the attention of the Surveyor-General of the Federation requesting for immediate withdrawal of the said Administrative Map 11th edition from circulation.
“The Joint Field Team met at Abuja on 4th and 5th May 2000 and studied the delineation documents to be used on the field. “Officials of the National Boundary Commission, Federal Surveys and officials from Bayelsa and Rivers again met in Port Harcourt on 16th October 2001 and constituted a Screening Committee to screen all delineation documents submitted by the two states at Abuja on 29th and 30th November 2001.
“The screening exercise, attended by all the parties, took place at Abuja on 3rd and 4th of December 2001 and all the submitted documents were categorised as primary documents, secondary documents or accepted for information only for purposes of field exercise.
“The Joint Field Team, headed by the Federal Surveys, was formally inaugurated by the National Boundary Commission at Yenagoa, Bayelsa State on the 11th of December 20111 and it was agreed that the field work should commence on the 21st of January 20o2. A technical sub-committee headed by the Chief Project Survey (a staff of Federal Surveys) was also set up to work out the modalities and requirements for the field exercise with Surveyors-General of both states.
“The foregoing succinctly establishes that there is a dispute between Rivers and Bayelsa as to the boundary in the Southern sector between Nembe and Kalabari axis.
“It is important to place on record that the Administrative Map of Nigeria, First and Ninth editions, also prepared by Office of the Federal Surveys 1977 showed the boundary between Nembe and Degema (Kalabari) as being the West of Santa Barbara River.
“It is very disturbing that the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation which has fully participated at every meeting organised by the National Boundary Commission for the demarcation of the boundary between the two states and which is well aware of the dispute between the two states in this axis and which is in fact the Team Leader of the Joint Field Team can unilaterally produce an Administrative Map of Nigeria totally at variance with its last edition(or in fact any previous edition ever) during the pendency of the dispute.
“The 11th edition which on the face of it is stated to have been published in the year 2000 only recently came into circulation. “The Government and people of Rivers Sate seriously doubt that the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation of which Federal Surveys is a part can carry put the grave responsibility of an unbiased arbiter in demarcating the boundary between the two states working in conjunction with the National Boundary Commission.”
HOW THE 11TH MAP WAS ARRIVED AT AND NATIONAL BOUNDARY COMMISSION INITIAL INTERVENTION
Following the petition of Rivers State, the National Boundary Commission, in a letter of July 3, 2002 (NBC.SEC. 4/S.75) signed by its then Director-General, Dahiru Bobbo, admitted inadvertent misrepresentation of Bayelsa/Rivers Interstate Boundary in the 11th Map due to pressure and asked the two states to maintain the status quo pending corrections in the 12th Edition.
The letter, addressed to ex-Governor Peter Odili, said: “With reference to the letter Ref, No RSRC/002/37 dated 20th June 2002 addressed to His Excellency, the Vice-President. Chairman, National Boundary Commission, I wish to inform Your Excellency that I have discussed the issue with the Surveyor-General and wish to state as follows:
“That the National Boundary Commission has taken note of the state’s observation on the inadvertent misrepresentation of the Bayelsa/Rivers interstate boundary at the San Bartholomew River as shown on the map.
“The error was as a result of the delay in inputs from Rivers State during the production of the Edition and the pressure to quickly publish the long overdue 11th Edition of the Administrative Map of Nigeria.
“I am to assure Your Excellency that your observations have been noted and that necessary corrections shall be reflected on the 13th Edition currently under production. I am to further assure you that the boundary line as reflected on the said Edition of the Administrative Map shall in no way have any bearings on the current efforts of the National Boundary Commission to determine the correct boundary between Bayelsa and Rivers states.
“It is our hope that the current effort at the demarcation of the Bayelsa/ Rivers interstate boundary shall be concluded as soon as possible to enable its reflection on the 12th Edition of the Administrative Map of Nigeria currently under production.
“Let me reiterate that as agreed at our previous meetings, the status quo on the boundary shall be maintained until the correct boundary is determined after the completion of the current demarcation exercise. This letter is endorsed to your Bayelsa State counterpart for his information.”
ISSUES AT STAKE BETWEEN THE TWO STATES
After waiting for 10 years without any redress on alleged misrepresentations of its interstate boundary on the 11th Map, the battle has shifted to the Supreme Court which ruled that the status quo should be maintained. The question is: Which status quo? Is it the 11th Map officially adopted by the Federal Government in 2002 and which is in favour of Bayelsa State or the 10th Map as inferred in the NBC letter to Odili? This is the crux of the matter between the two states and they may have to run in and out of the court to get the correct interpretation.
But in line with the 11th Map in use by the Federal Government, Bayelsa State has had interstate boundary ceded to it with the accruing Soku oil wells and high revenue yield. During a protest march to the Government House in Port Harcourt by Kalabari monarchs, Rivers State Deputy Governor, Tele Ikuru said the problem started when the National Boundary Commission and Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) technically ceded about 80 percent of the oil and gas bearing communities and settlements in Akuku Toru Local Government area to the old Brass Division in Nembe, Bayelsa State by shifting the boundary demarcating Degema Division from the old Brass Division to River Sombreiro, in the 12th provisional edition of the Administrative map of Nigeria.
The Deputy Governor said money in the escrow account, pending the resolution of the dispute, is now being paid Bayelsa State. He said so far, N17 billion proceeds from the Soku fields in the escrow account had been paid to Bayelsa State.
On his part, His Royal Highness, Disreal Gbobo Bob-Manuel II, Owukori IX, Amanyanabo of Abonnema, who spoke on behalf of others, said they were in Government House to protest against the sudden shift in the boundary between the two states. He said the boundary that divided the two areas had been there for over 100 years, adding that the colonial masters recognised it. The monarch said with the sudden shift, they had moved over 90 per cent of AkukuToru Local Government Area to Nembe.
CLAIMS AND COUNTER-CLAIMS
Not even an emergency ceasefire session called by President Jonathan has been able to douse the tension between the states. Allegations put in the public domain border on alleged plans to annex some parts of Rivers State to secure more oil wells for Bayelsa. The claims and counter-claims are bringing out more revelations. According to the Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, besides the currently disputed Soku oil fields in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of the state, Bayelsa State had initiated a plot to adjust more boundaries that would rob Rivers State of about 71 oil wells in its favour.
Amaechi, who dissociated himself from any ongoing political campaign towards the 2015 election, however, commended President Goodluck Jonathan for the statesmanly role he had played so far in the oil well/boundary row between the two states.
“As we are talking now, they have given 46 oil wells belonging to Rivers State to Abia State. At the same time, apart from claiming that Soku belongs to them, the Bayelsa State government is fighting hard to extend the boundary to somewhere near Abonnema in order to take over another 71 oil wells belonging to us.
“The president advised us not to talk to the press on the Soku issue and he wants the right thing to be done and we will support him. Since Rivers people are happy with the way President Jonathan is handling the issue, we have to obey him by not talking to the press. But since you asked, I have to say it out. As a state and as a people, we have one common destiny; we will fight for our right.”
He said Rivers State, which used to be the number one oil producing state before is now third following the ceding of its oil wells to neighbouring states in the Niger Delta.
But Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, denies plans to annex any part of Rivers State because of oil wells. He said Bayelsa was only demanding its share of derivation based on the 11th Map of Nigeria. The governor in a statement said: “The attention of the Bayelsa State Government has been drawn to media reports credited to chiefs and elders of some Ijaw clans of Kalabari extraction in Rivers State, alleging attempts by some persons to forcefully annex communities and ancestral lands as well as oil facilities and installations in Kalabari land to Bayelsa State for the purpose of claiming derivation entitlements.
“The government of Bayelsa State wishes to react as follows: Firstly, we assure our Ijaw kith and kin in the Kalabari clan of Rivers State that there is no such move to forcefully annex any territory or people into Bayelsa State. We further wish to state that the Ijaw strategic interest demands that Ijaws wherever they are should be supported and strengthened and not to be forced into Bayelsa State.
“That the purported claim is an attempt by detractors of the Ijaw nation to create unnecessary strife and hostility within the Ijaw ethnic family to our collective disadvantage.
“The true state of affairs is as follows: That by the 11th edition of the administrative map of Nigeria published in 2000, Bayelsa State as a state was entitled to derivation and other claims from crude oil production in respect of oil exploration carried out within its territory as stated in the said map.
“It is important to note that the claim of a state to derivation on account of oil production within its territory is different from ownership of land by families, communities and even clans. Whereas the claim of a state is based on territorial boundaries contained in the administrative map, that of a clan, family and community is based on traditional history, possession and other forms of ownership.
“Therefore, it is very common in the Niger Delta, owing to the way and manner states were created, for communities or clans to be in one state while part of the ancestral land is in another. The family, clan or community does not cease to be traditional owners of such lands, while the state in which the land forms a part exercise administrative control over such land and therefore, entitled to derivation.
“By the said 11th edition of the administrative map of the Federal Republic of Nigeria dated 2000; Bayelsa State is entitled to derivation in respect of all the oil wells within the state territory.
“The government of Rivers State has been receiving derivation revenue over several oil facilities and installations which are clearly within Bayelsa territory from 1999 till date in spite of the clear boundary delineation in the said map.
“We acknowledge the long standing dispute between the Ijaws in Bayelsa in Nembe clan and the Ijaws in Kalabari clan in Rivers State over traditional land boundaries. The claims predate the creation of Bayelsa State. However, the present issue is not about Nembe people laying claim to Kalabari land or of people trying to annex Kalabari land and communities as part of Bayelsa State.”
THE BACKLASH ON JONATHAN
Bearing the brunt of the missiles being thrown by the two states is President Goodluck Jonathan on whose roof at the Presidential Villa the rockets are falling. The crisis has deteriorated to the extent that it is being linked to the jostle for the presidency in 2015.
Some are suggesting that Jonathan, who many suspect is interested in a second in 2015, will not be too pleased by any political complications to his ambition arising from his own backyard. Rumours of Amaechi running as Vice President with Jigawa Governor Sule Lamido have been floating around for a while. But Amaechi says he was not privy to any campaign or agreement with anybody to be Vice President.
He said: “I heard that there are vehicles moving round the country with my poster as running mate to Governor Lamido. I have no plans for 2015. I don’t know who those sponsors are. I have no ambition because, I am exhausted. Can’t you see?
“Those carrying those vehicles campaigning for Amaechi for vice-president are on their own. They should stop because I have no ambition. I have not attended any political meeting or gathering that has to do with 2015 presidential election.”
While Amaechi might be circumspect and strategic in unfolding his 2015 ambition, he cannot deny that there is a cat and mouse relationship between him and the President. As the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) and defacto chairperson of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum, Amaechi and his colleagues in the PDP held the President by the jugular before Jonathan could get the party’s presidential ticket in January 2011.
It was a negotiated ticket which earned the governors automatic second term tickets. Without the deal with the governors, it would have been difficult for Jonathan to defeat erstwhile presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar, who had a hurricane-like campaign machinery.
The governors, led by Amaechi, pushed their luck further to checkmate Jonathan when the PDP wanted to elect its national officers. Although they later bowed to his choice of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as the National Chairman of the party, it is obvious today that the governors are in control of the party machinery as they have put enough checks in the party executive to keep Jonathan at bay anytime.
Amaechi later emerged as a kingmaker in the party when his candidate, Sam Jaja emerged as the Deputy National Chairman of PDP contrary to the preferred candidate of the President, Uche Secondus. The game plan manifested itself when in the heat of the fuel crisis in January; Sam Jaja made scathing remarks which hurt the government. The same Amaechi had also clashed with First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, over the demolition of Okrika Waterfront in Port Harcourt.
Up till today, Amaechi has not shown enough ‘remorse’ to be in the good book of the presidency. The boiling point in Jonathan-Amaechi frosty relationship was the loss of second term ticket by ex-Governor Timipreye Sylva, who is a close ally of the Governor of Rivers State. It was an open secret that Amaechi gave backing to Sylva despite the fact that the Presidency did not want the ex-governor of Bayelsa back.
Some people, including close aides of Amaechi, are alleging that the presidency may be paying back the Rivers State governor in his own coin. But Jonathan, who has lived mostly in Rivers State and got a beautiful Dame, has denied having any ulterior motive in the crisis between Bayelsa. Though he was the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State when the petition to the NBC was written against Rivers, the President insists he has no vested interest in the boundary dispute.
Although he has offered to play the role of honest and impartial peace broker, his skills in this area will be sorely tested given the high stakes involved in the oil wells dispute. With the added flavor of 2015 presidential politics in the mix, the whole dispute is shaping up to be very combustible if not properly handled.
