As the controversy over the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) just signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari rages,the President, Ijaw National Congress (INC), Professor Benjamin Okaba says that contrary to claims in some quarters, the act is aimed at intensifying and expanding “ the degree and scope of denial of our people’s right to resource justice, equity and sustainable livelihood.”Okaba speaks on the law and other issues in this interview with Mike Odiegwu and Simon Utebor.

WHAT is the grouse of the Niger Delta about the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB)?

It is a truism that every patriotic Ijaw, home and in the diaspora and all well-informed, well-meaning and lovers of the Niger Delta region are deeply saddened by the recent passage/assent to the PIB.

This singular act has been condemned and described as a painful slap on the sensitivity of the people of the entire Niger Delta who have suffered several decades of environmental and human degradation resulting from the aftermath of oil and gas production.

It also seen as a show of ingratitude to a people who bear the cost and losses of oil and gas production which accounts for 80% of the source of survival, peace and development of this country.

The major grouse of the people centers around the ignominy and disdain accorded the loud cry and consistent demand for minimum of 10% as against the 3% approved as host community trust fund, proper operationalization of the term ‘Host Communities’ to be limited to the places that are directly impacted by the activities of oil and gas production and not to be extended to everywhere as far as Niger Republic where oil pipelines are routed through, the allocation of 30% to frontier basins, none of which is in the region, the need to unbundle the NNPC, and provide a profitable, transparent and accountable process of its privatisation and commercialisation, making provision for remediation of the impacted environment  and the many other infractions on the 1999 Constitution (Section 162) that denies the state, LGAs, major stakeholders, oil bearing communities and the suffering masses of the ljaws  and the Niger Delta region.

This insensitivity to the yearnings of the suffering Ijaw people shows that our ill-feelings and agitations against criminal exploitation, human and environmental degradation and gross underdevelopment in spite of our rich God given resources are inconsequential because of the minority status we suffer in the Nigerian contraption.

It is our conviction that the Act in its entirety was never intended to reform the oil sector, the NNPC and develop the Niger Delta as claimed  by state apologists. It is an exercise to rob Peter (Ijaw and the Niger Delta) to pay Paul and intensify and expand the degree and scope of denial of our people’s right to resource justice, equity and sustainable livelihood.

Now that the PIB has become law, what is the next line of action for the host communities and others in the zone who are unhappy with the passage?

The Ijaw National Congress (INC) is currently weighing several options open to it as a people and after due consultations, engagement and interfacing with other relevant stakeholders in the region, will definitely come up with a position. Meanwhile, we continue to raise concerns on the attention of the local and international communities to some salient nagging questions that need to be attended to by proponents of this act. Is oil and gas exploration no longer a purely commercial venture executed at the cost of the interest of the business companies? What now happens to the original finance framework of 40% (FGN) 35% (IOCs) counterparts funding? What will the states with 0% contribution to oil and gas contribute to funding the frontier oil basins in their respective domains? Is there any reasonable justification to apply the resources of the region to fund all the exploration of oil and gas for the benefit of the entire country and giving a paltry 3% to mitigate the perennial problems of the host communities?

Why is the gold and other solid mineral resources discovered and exploited in other parts of the country not appropriated in like manner, to disprove the claim that what belongs to Ijaw and the Niger Delta, belongs to all, but what belongs to people in other parts of Nigeria belongs to them, e.g the Gold in Zamfara?

‘Sylva, others working against our collective interest’

What is your reaction to people like Timipre Sylva who argue that 3% is better than nothing?

Without trying to personalise issues, we express no surprise at the actions, involvement and defence of the characters you are referring to. Their stance on Ijaw matters and the Niger Delta are well known by the people. As far as we are concerned, they have offered themselves as the willing horses to patronise the interest of their paymasters even to the detriment of their suffering brothers and sisters.

The defence and justification of the PIA by these characters is not just considered as a smart overthought but a politically motivated act to advance their personal schemes and those of their allies in the oil industry against their people, whose interest they should have naturally defended if they were true patriots of Ijaw nation and the Niger Delta. Their starting point should be 50% derivation as it was the practice in years past. Anything worth doing is worth doing well.

The Ijaw people have been persistent in the quest for the restructuring of Nigeria. How much of support will you say they have been enjoying from other ethnic nationalities?

It has become very obvious that the few but influential Nigerians who are vehemently opposed to restructuring are the real enemies of our nation’s progress, mutual and accelerated growth, peaceful coexistence and sustainable development. A glossary reflection on the state of the Nigerian  nation from every sector including  the economy/exchange rate, unemployment, health care delivery, provision of basic amenities, institutional growth and stability and insecurity shows a steady decline in general performance  index. Hence, we see restructuring as the needed magic wand that will restore normalcy, competitive progress and harmonious coexistence of the Nigerian people, even in our diversity.

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The advocacy for resource control is increasingly becoming the business of all (except the privileged and biased few) across regional ties.

The INC will continue to press harder for Restructuring, Resource Ownership and Management. The issues surrounding the PIA, the anticipated Water Resources Bill and refusal of the state to address several obnoxious clauses in the 1999 Constitution have given us a clearer picture of our stake in the Nigerian contraption and further justification for a more rigorous push for self-determination and self-actualisation.

Trust is critical in the struggle. Yet we can’t rule out mutual suspicions and rivalry when you have many groups locked in a fight like this.Has there been any occasion when you begin to fear whether you’ve not embarked on a fruitless exercise?

Generally, people adapt to changes in phases according to their level of understanding, commitment and their individual and collective sentiments. Though we enjoy overwhelming support from and outside our people, we have also experienced some levels of betrayal and even attacks on issues that are of common benefits to all and sundry maybe due to lack of understanding or for selfish purposes.

We consider all of these as normal and a learning process and are therefore not discouraged or distracted. Instead we are more focused and determined to deliver on the mandate of our people to drive and champion this tortuous journey of our emancipation with greater vigor and tact than ever before. We are further encouraged by the emergence of many Pan Niger Delta groups such as FENND, PANDEF, Advocates for Peace and Sustainable Development in the Niger Delta, Niger Delta Environmental Rights Group etc. All speaking with one voice on the critical Niger Delta question and particularly announcing to our distractors that those who are making restructuring impossible are simply increasing the volume of the cries of frustration and marginalisation. They are equally making the pursuit of secession inevitable.

What sort of federation do the Ijaw or the Southsouth people desire? How much power are they willingly to concede to the centre?

We remain resolute and committed to our age-long demand for a truly restructured country with conditions that guarantee resources Ownership and Management based on the minimum 50% derivation as was practised before the ugly political transition to Unitary cum Pseudo-unitary/Federalism, rentier, self-seeking jaundiced political arrangement. We are confident that the drastic reduction of the Exclusive List to certain core areas of national interest and identity as Aviation, Customs and Immigration, National  Currency would help build a more responsible, creative, adventurous, competitive and productive federation units that will promptly address the daily but basic needs and aspirations of the people. There can’t be a better way of frontally addressing Nigeria’s problem of banditry, kidnapping and other forms of economic sabotage, than through community policing as entrenched in the various submissions on Restructuring by state and non-state actors.

The Southern governors recently agreed to ban open grazing but the Gombe Governor wonders where the South wants herders to go. In your view, what is the way out of the incessant misunderstanding/quarrels over open grazing?

Pastoralism is not a new form of business enterprise in this part of the world but dates as far back as into Pre-Colonial Nigeria. Until recently, it was practiced even in Nigeria without infringing on the lives and properties of others, herdsmen and non-herdsmen alike; in fact crop farmers, herdsmen and other businessmen lived together under conditions of mutual trust and respect for their respective values, cultures, interests, human and environmental rights. Examples of communities where herdsmen, farmers and other businesses lived together abound in many parts of this country.

Today, the crises associated with open grazing are becoming increasingly overwhelming. Several cases of banditry, kidnapping, outright destruction of communities have been linked to the terrorising forces of herdsmen. The display of impunity for evil by these herdsmen gives credence to the suspicion of a hidden agenda to run over, capture and annex the entire Southern Nigeria. The imperative to treat the cow business as a purely commercial venture and deal with the critical security issues associated with their monstrous activities are counted among the reasons for the decision to place a ban on open grazing. We are living witnesses to the ravenous activities of herdsmen who move around freely with sophisticated weapons and attack indigenes with or without provocation. We therefore support the ban on open grazing and encourage the Governors of the South-South to individually and collectively ensure strict compliance, in order to guarantee the safety of their people.

The way out of the incessant misunderstanding over the issue of open grazing is for the Federal Government to enact policies that would deal with open grazing as a purely economic business whose cost of operations and modus operandi must be in tandem with the principles of mutual respect and protection of the lives and interests of the herdsmen, farmers and others whose sources of livelihood do not fall within this bracket. The federal government’s tacit support for open grazing might be inimical to peaceful coexistence and advancement of the Nigerian Project on unity, justice and equity.

Insecurity, especially kidnapping, has become a major problem across the country today. How can we as a people and as a nation, pull out of it?

The issues of kidnapping, banditry and other forms of criminality have posed major security and development challenges to us as a people. The relationship between security and underdevelopment on the other hand becomes clearer when we understand Nigeria’s ranking as one of the most unsafe countries as well as the poverty capital of the world. Getting out of this quagmire will require a conscious and strategic fight against corruption, revolutionary transformation and strengthening of our currently weakened core institutions – economy, education, judiciary, governance and leadership structure etc. Ethical and moral revival, that  teaches and inculcates our core values of human dignity, integrity, dignity in labour and entrepreneurship should be taken more seriously at all segments and sectors in society, be it family, business, politics, and religious organisations.

The Federal Government and the Kaduna State government are strongly opposed to paying ransom to kidnappers. Are they right in your opinion?

This question does not require a yes or no answer. It is one thing to say no to payments of ransom and yet another more compelling imperative  to possess and utilise the appropriate intelligence and operational machinery to nose out, prevent and rescue citizens from the devilish hands of kidnappers. It is the suspicion of the lack of the above that creates serious anxiety and tension among family members of victims who would, even if government says otherwise source for and pay the ransom to free their loved ones from further danger and possible loss of lives.

What future does Nigeria have?

The future of Nigeria is pregnant with a lot of possibilities for good and for bad. The prospect of a more united, stronger and viable Nigeria squarely lies on the ability of the present APC administration, to a large extent, and the rest of us to, in our different ways, begin to address the multidimensional problems and challenges facing us as Nigerians.

Moving forward, the views of the masses and their aspirations should be considered very seriously. State policies and programmes, including distribution of development infrastructure and social amenities and appointments, should be done in such a manner that reflects Federal Character and our Unity in Diversity.

Nigeria’s political culture currently undergoing review in the National Assembly should be taken seriously to the extent of revisiting the e-voting debate.

Leadership is key in all of this. It should be seen as a civil responsibility by all Nigerians to put aside primordial sentiments and support the emergence of leaders at all levels of governance who possess the capacity to deliver the dividends of democracy to all Nigerians without prejudice to ethno-religious and class consideration. We should expect a bleak future, if we pay deaf ears to the clarion call to restructuring, resource control and resource justice.