The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Eleme

  • Death, destruction trail violence in Ogoni

    The once-peaceful Ogoni land is now taken over by killers and arsonists, writes Southsouth Bureau Chief BISI OLANIYI.

    Ogoni is one of the ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta. It is rich in crude oil and gas, but without commensurate development.

    Ogoni consists of four local government areas in Rivers State namely Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme.

    The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), then known as Shell D’Arcy, started crude oil exploitation in Ogoni in February, 1958, when crude oil was first discovered in commercial quantity at Bomu (Kegbara-Dere) in Gokana Local Government Area. Since then, the area has been experiencing pollution from oil spills and oil well fires.

    On August 26, 1990, Ogoni people decided to adopt the Ogoni Bill of Rights (OBR), which demanded the right to control and use of a fair proportion of Ogoni economic resources for Ogoni development, among others.

    Later in the same year, Ogoni people formed the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) to carry out the objectives of OBR. In 1993, Ogoni people stopped SPDC from operating in the area.

    The renowned environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and eight other Ogoni activists were hanged at the Port Harcourt Prisons on Friday, November 10, 1995, during the regime of the late Gen. Sani Abacha.

    In order to put an end to the many years of neglect and environmental degradation in Ogoni and to adequately empower the people, former President Olusegun Obasanjo initiated the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP’s) environmental assessment of Ogoni land in October, 2006, the initiative continued in the administration of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.

    On August 4, 2011, ex-President Goodluck Jonathan received the 262-page UNEP main report in Abuja. On July 20, 2012, less than a month to the first anniversary of the submission of the UNEP Report, the then President Jonathan put in place the Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP), with the mandate to clean all oil-polluted sites in Nigeria, which Ogoni leaders kicked against, while insisting that it was contrary to one of the recommendations of the UNEP Report.

    The far-reaching recommendations of the UNEP Report were not implemented by the then President Jonathan, until May 29, 2015, when President Muhammadu Buhari took over and he commenced the implementation, with peace gradually returning to Ogoni land.

    The UNEP’s team of environmentalists made 76 recommendations. Fifty of the recommendations are for the government, 22 for SPDC and four for Ogoni communities.

    UNEP Report stated that the water at Nsisioken-Ogale-Eleme in Eleme Local GGovernment Area contained cancer-causing Benzene (carcinogen), which was 900 times the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) standards for water contamination, thereby requiring urgent attention.

    It also noted that the sustainable environmental restoration of Ogoni land would take up to 20 years to achieve, while recommending the establishment of Ogoni land Environmental Restoration Authority by the Federal Government.

    The UNEP Report indicated that the full environmental restoration of Ogoni land would be a project which would take 30 years to complete, after the pollution had been brought to an end, thereby recommending the establishment of an Ogoni land Environmental Restoration Fund, with an initial fund of $1 billion for capacity building, skill transfer and conflict resolution.

    President Buhari, on Wednesday, August 5, 2015, after 68 days in office, approved many actions to fast-track the implementation of the UNEP Report on Ogoni land, including the amendment of the official gazette establishing HYPREP (which was changed to Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project), to reflect a new governance framework, comprising a Governing Council, Board of Trustees (BoT) and Project Management.

    President Buhari, who was represented by the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), on Thursday, June 2, 2016, kicked off the Ogoni clean-up at Patrick’s Waterside, Bodo-Ogoni in Gokana Local Government Area, in fulfilment of his January 8, 2015 promise, when he visited Ogoni land during his presidential campaigns.

    On Friday, April 27, last year, the Ogoni Trust Fund’s escrow account was signed at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, involving the Federal Government, the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and representatives of Ogoni people, at a meeting presided over by Prof. Osinbajo.

    Project Coordinator of the reformed HYPREP, Dr. Marvin Dekil, an Ogoni, is showing total commitment to the clean-up of the polluted Ogoni environment and empowerment of the hitherto marginalised people, but the current killings and arson in Ogoni land will definitely hamper the development efforts.

    On August 13, this year, fresh violence erupted in Ogoni land, despite the recent launch of a new security outfit, Operation Sting, by the administration of Governor Nyesom Wike.

    In the fresh violence that erupted in Khana Local Government Area, nine innocent people were allegedly killed on August 13 and 14, while the palace of the paramount ruler of Taaba-Ogoni, King Nule Junior, was allegedly razed.

    The house of the President of MOSOP, Chief Legborsi Pyagbara, at Nyokuru-Ogoni in Khana Local Government Area, was also said to be burnt in the invasion.

    MOSOP, through its Publicity Secretary, Sunny Zorvah, condemned the violence, saying: “MOSOP received with sadness, the reports from some Ogoni communities of the sudden outbreak of violence and killings carried out by members of some cult groups in the area.

    “The renewed violence, which took place in Okwale on August 13, spilled over on August 14 to Taabaa and Nyokuru, all in Nyokhana District in Khana Local Government Area.

    “MOSOP is pained over these unjustified attacks, which led to the burning down of the house of MOSOP President in Nyokuru. We are also saddened by the killing of many people and attack on the residence of Chief Monday Abueh and other people in Okwale by alleged cult gangs.”

    The umbrella organisation of Ogoni people also declared that the ugly situation in Ogoni land called for urgent and thorough actions by security agencies and every necessary step required of the Rivers State government.

    MOSOP called on the police and the special military joint task force to ensure return of peace to the troubled Ogoni communities by going after perpetrators of the barbaric and retrogressive onslaught on the communities, but without hurt on innocent people.

    The Ogoni umbrella organisation also pleaded with the traditional rulers, opinion leaders and other influential stakeholders in Ogoni land to put their differences aside and work for the peace and security of the area.

    Again, on August 18, eight people (six in Opouko and two in Luumene) were allegedly killed in Khana Local Government Area, thereby heightening tension in the area.

    The President of MOSOP described the killings and arson in most Ogoni communities as a deliberate and direct attack on the peace initiative and process by well-meaning groups and leaders of Ogoni land.

    He stated this while inspecting the extent of destruction in Ogoni land, while commiserating with the bereaved families and people who lost valuable properties.

    Pyagbara condemned the deadly attacks by alleged cult groups on Opouko and Luumene communities in Nyokhana District of Khana Local Government Area on August 18, which resulted in the death of eight people, while the residence of the Chairman of Khana Local Government Area, Lateh Loolooh, and the palace of Gbenemene Banghan, King Suanu Baridam were also said to be burnt.

    MOSOP President also expressed displeasure over the senseless killings and destruction of properties by people whom he alleged did not want peace in Ogoni land, and were making efforts to put the crude oil and gas-rich area under siege.

    He said: “It seems to me that there are internal factors and interests in trying to put Ogoni land in perpetual fear and siege.

    “Do not forget, people that want to destroy you will always use someone in your house. There is a possibility of some interests that we have not been able to uncover, in this matter.”

    Pyagbara, who earlier visited Nyokuru, Taabaa and Okwale communities in Khana Local Government Area to ascertain the level of destruction and to sympathise with victims’ families and people of the communities, lamented the razing of houses in his compound in Nyokuru and the houses of Chief Nule of Taabaa and those of other people in Okwale.

    He said: “Time has come for Ogoni people to look inward and say enough is enough. Every right-thinking Ogoni man and woman must rise up against this madness and tell those involved that they cannot put Ogoni under siege.

    “The peace initiative that MOSOP and other groups began and which youth groups and key stakeholders are parts of is still on course. I am surprised that some people are not committed to the peace agreement at the Saakpenwa meeting.

    “That people have turned around to do what they are doing is a big surprise and a shame. I thought that we had a moratorium, and that our brothers and fathers promised they were going into deepening the peace process that we kick-started at Saakpenwa. Ogoni does not need this carnage; after all we have laboured for.”

    While also speaking on the Bomu/Lewe renewed clash, the MOSOP President stated that he was surprised with the resurgence of crisis between the two Ogoni communities in Gokana Local Government Area.

    He reiterated that at a point, the matter was resolved, with some Ogoni elders moving into the two communities for peace.

    Pyagbara stressed the need for governments at all levels to redouble efforts and take the insecurity in Ogoni with much concern.

    MOSOP President assured that the umbrella organisation of Ogoni people, in collaboration with other groups, would ensure that there are no lapses in the drive for the return of peace to the affected Ogoni communities, to pave way for development in the area. He pleaded with the people involved in the renewed crisis to stop forthwith and embrace peace.

    Spokesman of the Rivers State Police Command, Nnamdi Omoni, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), assured that policemen were on the trail of the killers and arsonists, in order to make them face the consequences of their actions, thereby serving as a deterrent to other criminally-minded people.

    The governorship candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP) during the March 9 Governorship and State Assembly elections in Rivers State, Victor Fingesi, called on the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to quickly intervene and bring the killings and arson in Ogoni land to an end, to ensure peace.

    He stated in Port Harcourt that he was disturbed by the sad information he received about Ogoni land, with innocent people killed and valuable properties also destroyed.

    Fingesi described Ogoni land as the once-beautiful agricultural field in Rivers State, but now turned into a killing field. He accused the Nyesom Wike administration of being helpless.

    He said: “I urge Governor Wike for once, to take security of lives and property in Rivers State, especially in Ogoni land, seriously by directing law enforcement agencies to take specific actions that will guarantee safety of the people.

    “It is not enough to launch a security outfit (Operation Sting) and spend money, without directing actions such as curfew where necessary, setting up panel of inquiry, meetings with the chiefs and people, and visit to the affected areas. These actions, when considered, will show that the Rivers State government is taking the matter lightly.

    “Only the convocation of a security summit in Rivers State will be the panacea to the current insecurity situation. The summit should comprise prominent Rivers people, leaders of cult groups and other groups that are involved in the breach of peace in the state.”

    The ADP’s standard bearer also sympathised with the victims of Ogoni invasion and their families, particularly MOSOP President, whose house in Khana was razed by the arsonists.

    Ogoni people, particularly the killers, arsonists and cultists must give peace a chance to pave way for the much-desired development.

  • ‘Gokana, Eleme worse hit by oil spills’

    NINETY per cent of the 19,600 bbl (3,300 m2) volume of oil spilled in four Ogoni Local Government Areas (LGAs), by the oil giant Shell is in Gokana and Eleme LGAs.”

    This formed part of discussions at a three-day training for 30 young environmental scientists for the position of technical assistants in the Ogoni clean-up exercise.

    The training was organised by Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), the agency in charge of the clean up,  in Port Harcourt,  Rivers State capital, in collaboration with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    The resource person,  Thorsten Kallnischkies, said the spill affected the environment in the two councils,  and that the impact in Khana and Tai was not that devastating.

    In a chart, it was shown the spill affected rivers and water bodies in Gokana and Eleme and deposited benzin chemical into the soil, destroying acquatic life and and other organisms in the soil.

    Earlier, HYPREP’s Co-ordinator Dr.  Marvin Dekil said participants would when finally selected will serve in the field of impacted sites as supervisors and monitors.

    Dekil urged them to equipped themselves for the assignment, but noted that participation is not a guarantee for employment.

    He said, however, it was a process that could get them job with HYPREP or any other organisation requiring their skills.

    The co-ordinator said:  “The essence of the training is to develop the capacity of young environmental scientists as well as foster the involvement of the Ogoni community in the project.

    “HYPREP as a project of the Federal Government of Nigeria has the mandate of remediating oil packed sites and restoring the livelihoods of communities whose sources of income have been destroyed as a result of hydrocarbon pollution.

    “This is the reason we straining to equip out technical manpower to achieve desired results.

    He noted that the training has shown the commitment of the Federal Government in the Ogoni clean up.

    Dekil appealed for support from Ogoni communities.

    The representative of Managing Director, NDDC, Senator Godwin Ndoma Egba, Dr.  Princewill Ekanem, noted that 25 per cent of the 5,000 impacted sites in the region are found in Ogoniland.

    He, however, pledged that with support from HYPREP and others, the clean up will succeed.

    Ekanem said:  “…section 2(A, 8 & i) of NDDC Act,  2000 mandates the commission to tackle ecological problems in the Niger Delta region and preserve the sanctity of Niger Delta environment.

    “The commission is to work with oil companies operating in the region and other stakeholders to carry out this act.

    ‘’In exercise of this mandate and in demonstration of NDDC’s commitment, Dr. Udeme Udofia, an associate professor in environmental protection and pollution control, will work with HYPREP and build the capacity of those to take over supervision of the project.

    ‘’One of such capacity building projects is the three-day training for technical assistants for Ogoni remediation project.”

  • Reps investigate alleged brutalisation of workers by  Soldiers

    Reps investigate alleged brutalisation of workers by  Soldiers

    The House of Representatives Tuesday resolved to investigate alleged brutalisation of Nigerian workers in Indorama Fertilizer and Chemical Ltd, Eleme, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, by Soldiers and Mobile Policemen.

    To this end, the House has mandated its committee on Privatization and Commercialization Investigate the allegation of Brutalisation by men of the Nigerian Army and the Mobile Police on Nigerians at the instance of foreigners in the company

    The resolution of the House was sequel to the passage of a motion brought under Matters of Urgent National Importance by a member, Hon. Babatunde Kolawole (APC Ondo).

    The committee is also to investigate the alleged huge disparity in the salary structure between the Nigerian employees and their Indian counterparts in the company.

    Kolawole while moving the motion told the House that Indorama Fertiliser & Chemical Ltd in Eleme, Port Harcourt produces 4000 Metric Tonnes of fertilizers per day, estimated at $2 million and which is reportedly the highest in the world.

    He said there was a discord between the company and its Nigerian workers over huge disparity in salaries of their Nigerian workers and Indian counterparts.

    He further states: “Cognizance of the allegations that while the Nigerian workers (field Operator) allegedly earn around N46, 000 (Forty- Six Thousand Naira -after tax) the Indian staff (field operator) earns N2, 140,352 (Two Million, One Hundred and Forty thousand, three Hundred and Fifty-two Naira – after tax) for the same job schedule.

    “The workers downed tools in a peaceful protest on the 13th of July, 2017 and the management called in Soldiers and Mobile Policemen to force the workers back to work

    “Aware that in a bid by the Soldiers and Mopol to force the men back to work, they allegedly used tear gas, stun grenades, belts and Horse whips on many of the Nigerian workers who were beaten and brutalized hence sustaining various degrees of injuries.”

    Kolawole who expressed regret that men of the Nigerian Army who are meant to protect the country against external aggression, and their counterparts in the Mobile Police Units are now being used at will by expatriates against Nigerian workers, added that he had video and pictorial evidence of the assault.

    According to the lawmaker, though the case of salary disparity has been reportedly filed with the Ministry of Labour since last year, “nothing has been has been done about it.”

    When the Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Yusuff Lasun called for a vote on the motion, it was passed by members on the floor and subsequently referred to the Committee on Privatization and Commercialisation

    The committee was given two weeks to report back to the House for further legislative action.

  • Eleme community backs Peterside, APC candidates

    Eleme community backs Peterside, APC candidates

    The venue of the inauguration of a borehole in Kenkoro, Eleme, Rivers State was used by the people to endorse the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates.

    The inauguration was done by the senator representing Rivers South-East Senatorial district, Senator Magnus Abe.

    Abe also pledged 50 bags of fertiliser to farmers in the community.

    Kenkoro is a highly populated farming settlement in Rivers State under Ward 4 of Eleme Local Government Area.

    Abe and his entourage had challenges accessing the community as a result of the abandonment of the N18 billion NDDC Trans-Eleme-Oyigbo road initiated to ease the movement of farm produce.

    The people of Kenkoro promised to vote en-masse for APC candidates in order to get more reward.

    The community, in its position, delivered through the paramount ruler, Chief Friday Barisere and former Ward 4 Chairman, John Chinwi, said: “During the forthcoming elections, we want to assure you that we will vote for you and all APC candidates because of your care and concern.”

    Eleme Local Government Caretaker Committee Chairman, Awalanta Ejire, described Kenkoro people as very reliable, assuring Abe that “Eleme communities are fertile ground for your re-election and other APC candidates”.

    Abe, while pledging to do more if re-elected, thanked the people for their continuous support, informing them that the outcome of the forthcoming elections will show whether there would be improvement in the Nation or not.

    “The vehicle for change is All Progressives Congress (APC) and our agents are Muhammadu Buhari for President, Dakuku Peterside for Governor, I, Senator Magnus Abe for Senate, Hon. Barry Mpigi for Reps and Hon. Josiah Olu for Assembly. If we don’t vote right, we will all suffer the consequences.”

  • The model secondary schools of Governor Amaechi: a portentous conversation at Eleme

    The model secondary schools of Governor Amaechi: a portentous conversation at Eleme

    Barely two weeks ago, I was in Port Harcourt for the state banquet that the Rivers State Government held to mark the 80th birthday of Wole Soyinka. The last time that I visited Port Harcourt was about eight years ago and that was a private visit. Long before then, when I was the National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), I had visited the garden city many, many times. This was because like the University of Benin, the University of Port Harcourt had one of the strongest branches of ASUU. Although this was more than 30 years ago, those visits to Port Harcourt remained very fresh in my mind for the simple reason that we all in ASUU were then on a great mission to rescue tertiary education in our country from the consequences of vastly inadequate funding and coercive control by our military rulers and their civil service henchmen. This is why, from that period on, Port Harcourt has always conjured up in my mind struggles and efforts to make education in our country at par with the best and the most modern national educational systems in the world. This observation leads me directly to the subject of this piece, the widely discussed model secondary schools of Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi.

    Although I knew that I was going to be in Port Harcourt for only two days during this recent visit for the state banquet for Soyinka, before the visit I had specially requested that on one of my two days in the garden city I be taken to see some of these much talked about model secondary and primary schools of Rivers State. Our hosts graciously consented to my request and so on Wednesday, July 30, I was taken to three sites: the Model Secondary School outside Port Harcourt at Eleme on the Port Harcourt-Aba road; a model primary school and a primary health care centre both in the garden city itself. As a matter of fact, the plan had been for me to see about seven different sites but I was so engrossed both by what I saw at Eleme and my conversation with the Principal of the school that we ended up spending such a long time there that I could only be taken to three out of the many sites that I was meant to have been shown on that day.

    Buildings and physical infrastructures do not necessarily make a school a showpiece of great educational achievement or possibility, but they do constitute a minimal condition for teaching of  high quality. The Seventh-Day Adventist Primary School at Oke-Bola, Ibadan that I attended more than half a century ago is not far from my house. Anytime that I walk past the school I experience a great sadness. This is because things have fallen apart for the school in terms of buildings, infrastructures and the physical environment. The buildings are not only the same plastered mud structures in which I was schooled as a child, they are now in worse conditions. Moreover, all the surrounding space has been taken up by residential buildings and commercial enterprises such that the school playing ground and “farm” are gone. I state this not just as a matter of personal regret and angst but also as a mark of the great retrogression that has overtaken many of the primary and secondary schools of the city of Ibadan, the most dramatic of all being what now remains of the prestigious Government College, Ibadan, of old. And of course, this pattern is broadly true for many other parts of the country.

    The Eleme Model Secondary School amazed, even dazzled me by the quality of the buildings and infrastructures. [And by the way, so did the model primary school that I visited in Port Harcourt]. The schoolrooms, the libraries, the IT rooms, the science laboratories, the auditorium, the dormitories, the sick bays, and the recreational grounds are models of impressive architectural design and sturdy, durable physical execution. It is no exaggeration to say that in physical infrastructure most of the new private universities in Nigeria, together with many of the older public universities are considerably inferior to what I saw at Eleme.

    Given the fact that each of the 23 local government areas of Rivers State will ultimately have one of these model secondary schools, this is potentially one of the few great, positive legacies that oil wealth would, in the fullness of time, have left for future generations of Rivers State and Nigerian citizens. As I went through the Physics, Chemistry and Biology labs, I marveled at the fact that all the equipments and facilities were of the most up-to-date vintage such that if they are put to good and efficient use, it would not be mere fancifulness to dream of our first Nobel Prize laureates in Physics or Chemistry coming from these Eleme science labs!

    I come now to the most crucial and critical part of the wonders that I saw at Eleme. This pertains to the physical or indeed, technological infrastructure of instruction and learning at the school. This is based almost entirely on what is known as the apparatus of the “smart class” and its very innovative approach to pedagogy. It has to be seen and carefully assessed to grasp its truly revolutionary and also controversial impact; one can only rather inadequately convey in words how it actually works. Perhaps the best approach to describe the “smart class” as a tool of instruction is to invoke the analogy of a booklet or manual that comes with a product, giving detailed, step-by-step instructions on how even a technologically challenged person can assemble and use the product. Thus, in the case of the “smart class”, every subject in the curriculum, indeed every branch of a subject, is packaged into modules that unfold as a teacher clicks on an icon on the computer screen. In other words, everything has been pre-packaged into the modules; all the teacher has to do is click on the icons on the computer screen as he or she takes the students through all the modules that make up a subject or a particular branch of a given subject. For instance, to teach students at a biology class the processes of photosynthesis, the teacher clicks on the icons of all the modules that make up full instruction on photosynthesis. Theoretically, this is learning made not only easy and up-to-date in terms of the latest knowledge in a subject, it is also learning made great fun and very interactive between teacher, students and the computer screen.

    Unfortunately, the students were on holidays when I visited the Eleme Model Secondary School and for this reason, I could not see the apparatus of the “smart class” in operation with students in their learning environment. More generally, it would have been more rewarding to have had direct interactions with the pupils of this extraordinary school whose essence, as its name implies, is to act as a model for what secondary schools of the future in our country will or should be. This was why, in place of such a direct encounter with the students of the school, I had a long conversation, a long question-and-answer session with the school’s Principal. It is to this session that I now turn in my closing observations and reflections in this piece.

    I did not need to ask, but it was clear to me that the reason why the Principal and nearly all the teachers of the Eleme Model Secondary School are from India is because of the centrality of the “smart class” to the pedagogical processes of teaching and learning at the school. The presumption, perhaps the reality here is that Nigerian universities and colleges of education are not (yet) producing teachers knowledgeable or versatile in the technology of the “smart class”. This may be true, but it does raise the fundamental question of shared cultural background between teacher and student, instructor and pupil in the uses of the “smart class”. Let me explain.

    Teachers can never be mere instruments for operationalising the apparatus of the “smart class”. They share certain assumption, values, biases and even phobias with their pupils. This is not a mere nationalistic or jingoistic plea for replacing the Indian teachers at the Eleme Model School with Nigerians. Rather, it is a strong view that since the national systems of education of the world do not operate within a cultural vacuum, it is important to complement the introduction of the “smart class” technology into Nigerian secondary school education with teachers who have a shared cultural context with Nigerian students.

    Tactfully, I did not raise this issue directly with the Principal of the Eleme Model Secondary School. Instead, what I did was to have a long conversation with him in which I tried to get his sense of the social background of his pupils. I am glad to report that he seemed to have taken a deep and sympathetic interest in the background of most of his wards. For instance, when he informed me that the ratio of students from very poor families to kids from relatively well-off families was about 70 to 30, I was both elated and dismayed. I was elated because this fact shows that the overwhelming majority of kids receiving quality, ultramodern schooling in Governor Amaechi’s model secondary schools are children who could never, remotely, have had the chance to receive any education at all, let alone high quality education. But I was also dismayed by the Principal’s information to me that because of their severely deprived economic and social backgrounds, many of his pupils seem unable to take full advantage of the benefits of the school because of their parents’ lack of interest in whether or not their children were doing well at school.

    Will these model secondary and primary schools take root and grow to become standard bearers of the future of education in our country? Or will the next administration after the expiration of Amaechi’s tenure let them go to waste? Finally: the culture of maintenance in our country is one of the worst in the world, the forces of atavistic regression always hovering in the background of every progressive development in our country and our continent, thanks to the backwardness of our ruling pseudo-bourgeoisie. Thus, I wonder: if I come back to Eleme in another ten years, will the bush have taken over this splendid showcase of a profound belief in education and the right of everyone, especially the most needy, to quality education? I most certainly hope not!

     

    Biodun Jeyifo

    bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

  • PH Refinery trains Eleme, Okrika youths to acquire skills

    The management of the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited (PHRC), Port Harcourt, Rivers State has initiated an empowerment scheme for youths from Eleme, Okrika Local Government Area of the state as part of efforts to make the youths self-reliant.

    The empowerment scheme, which involves skill training and capacity building, is being done through the company’s Youths Empowerment and Skills Acquisition Programme (YESAP).

    Speaking during the official flag-off of the programme at the company’s premises, the Managing Director of the PHRC, Mr. Ian Udoh, said the scheme was part of the corporate social responsibilities of the company to its host communities.

    Udoh advised the beneficiaries to make good use of the opportunity so that they would be relevant in the economic growth of their communities and the state as skills acquisition is a critical component of economic development.

    The objectives of the programme, the PHRC boss said, is to increase opportunities for wealth creation, economic empowerment and reduction of unemployment as well as to improve human capacity for sustainable development.

    He also assured that the trained youths would receive starter packs from the company at the end of their training.

    Also speaking, the Ag Executive Director, (Services) of the company, Sir Ralph Ugwu, said the youths would receive training in specific skills like: welding and fabrication, carpentry and woodwork, plumbing and pipe fitting, plaster of Paris (POP), fashion designing, GSM repairs, catering, poultry and fisheries production among others.

    He also pointed out that youth empowerment and skills acquisition programmes are some of the various social investments within the host communities of Eleme and Okrika, aimed at addressing issues of youth unemployment and its attendant negative consequences.

    Speaking at the event, the Paramount Ruler of Alesa Eleme, HRH Emperor Nkpe, thanked the company for the opportunities provided for the youths.

    The royal father who was represented by Chief Benson Dibia from his domain charged the company to build stronger ties with its host communities in order to achieve sustainable development.

    Some of the beneficiaries who spoke with Niger Delta Report, expressed appreciation to the company for the gesture, assuring that they would make judicious use of the opportunities given to them.

  • Eleme/Ogoni youths protest attack on Abe

    Eleme/Ogoni youths protest attack on Abe

    Souths from Eleme and Ogoni communities in Rivers State staged a huge demonstration to protest “the attempted murder” of Senator Magnus Abe by policemen.

    Abe, an Ogoni, was shot by policemen trying to stop a rally on Sunday. The army of youths, as early as 5:30 am, barricaded the double lane Eleme/Ogoni axis of the East-West road, spreading from Aleto Bridge to the Eleme Refinery junction. They blocked the road with trucks, preventing movements.

    They were complaining about their polluted environment and other issues.

    Ogoni, especially Eleme and Onne, is host to most of the Federal Government’s oil, gas and maritime companies in the area.

    Two refineries, the Petrochemical, oil and gas free zone, among others, are located in the area. The barricaded road is the only access road from Port Harcourt where most workers in the employ of these companies reside and are conveyed to work in their official vehicles before 7:00 am every day.

    Officials of these companies were at the Eleme Junction, Port Harcourt, after 7:00 am, stranded in their company vehicles. Some of the companies sent their workers back home to avoid any casualty.

    Many motorists who ran into the protesters abandoned their vehicles to escape being attacked. Truck and trailer drivers were forced to park their vehicles in such a way that they would block the road.

    Keys of some vehicles were retrieved from the drivers. Others had their front tyres deflated.

    The protest went on for hours, until the police intervened.

    Micheal Idoko, a tipper driver who had the windscreen of his vehicle smashed, said: “I was going to work this morning, about 6:30am. On getting to this point (close to the Aleto bridge), I noticed that people were running back. I quickly parked by the side and joined. On my return, I noticed that my vehicle had been smashed.

    “It was not only my vehicle that was vandalised; several others were involved.”

    A commercial driver, Mr. Sunny Monday, whose car key was taken from him by the rampaging youths, said: “I am a commercial driver. I ply Bori to Eleme junction. I was coming from Bori and on getting to Akpaju Bridge, I noticed that a lot of people were trekking while vehicles had parked with none going or coming.

    “I equally parked and worked up to the bridge to ascertain what had happened. On getting to the bridge, I noticed that they had used trailers and trucks to block the road, I decided to come back to my car so I could go back to Bori.”

    “On getting to my car, the boys came and forced my key out of me and now I can’t find any of them to get my key back. I’m now stranded here. I don’t have any other key.”

    The police dispersed then youths and cleared the road. The police arrested scores of them.

    Police spokesman Ahmed Mohammad said he was in Abuja and could not comment on the arrest.

    The protesters regrouped at various points to continue the protest.

    Comrade Friday Needam, who led the protest, said no amount of police humiliation would stop Ogoni people.

    He said the protest was necessary because the blood of an Ogoni was involved, adding that the best prayer for the country is that nothing should happen to Abe.

    “We are warning the politicians not to use the blood of Ogoni man to cleanse Rivers State or Nigeria, Nigeria cannot continue to be using the blood of Ogoni man as a sacrifice in political temple to redeem the past; it can no longer happen.”