Harnessing bacterial bioremediation to restore the Niger Delta ecosystem by Fortune Ekene Dibiah - | Microbial Matters @ITREALMS

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As the Niger Delta grapples with decades of environmental degradation from oil exploration and pipeline leaks, a standardized transformation in cleanup technology is emerging. 

Scientists are moving past traditional, often harmful methods like burning and chemical dispersants toward bioremediation; a mechanical necessity for restoring polluted farmlands, rivers, and mangroves through the power of microorganisms.

NNPC Ltd, partners donate 2,300-seater ultra-modern library to Niger Delta University - ITREALMS

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As part of its commitment to encourage learning and academic excellence, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and its Joint Venture partners in OML 18 have donated a 2,300-seater state-of-the-art digital library to the Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Amassoma, Bayelsa State, reports ITREALMS.

The venture partners, ITREALMS gathered, includes the Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), Total Energies EP Nigeria Ltd, Nigerian Agip Exploration Ltd, and Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Ltd.

Niger Delta people: Lagos election, declaration of war against our people - ITREALMS

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The Indigenous People of Niger Delta (IPND) has declared that the level of harassment and intimidation, and threat to lives of Ndigbo in Lagos is a declaration of war against their people, warning Yoruba warmongers that their peaceful nature and hospitality should not be taken for cowardice, reports ITREALMS.

President General, Indigenous People of Niger Delta (IPND), Tiemo Pumokumo made this known and warned the definition of the Ndigbo in those attacks were targeted at non-indigenes of both South-East and South South among citizens from other parts of the country outside Yoruba land.

Shell, staff donate relief materials, money to Niger Delta flood victims - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The staff and management of The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) have spent the last two weeks working as volunteers in the distribution of relief materials worth over N300 millions to communities affected by devastating floods in the Niger Delta states of Rivers, Bayelsa, and Delta, reports ITREALMS.

The General Manager External Relations, Mr. Igo Weli, revealed that the exercise was made possible with staff making personal cash donations, SPDC’s provision of food and non-food items and medical supplies reached over 4,000 displaced families in some communities as well as those in government-approved camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in the three states.

“Staff made personal donations to complement the company’s US$1 million donation, because we care and want to help affected people overcome the effect of the flood disaster,” he said.

SPDC will also donate USD125, 000 to the National Red Cross Society to support the provision of relief materials to nominated Local Government Areas and communities affected in Kogi State as well as provide relief materials to affected families in Anambra State.

Weli said the relief materials are to support the people to have some normalcy until the flood completely recedes.

Delta State Commissioner, Bureau for Special Duties and Chairman Delta State Relief Committee, Dr. Ernest Ogwezzy, described SPDC as “a good neighbour”. The Commissioner, who spoke at the Patani IDP Camp, thanked SPDC “for identifying with the people at a time of need.”

Accompanied by the Director General, Delta State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mr. Karo Ovemeso, and the Patani Local Government Chairman Barrister Perekebena Perez Omoun, Dr. Ogwezzy said, “While government has provided some relief materials, it is heart-warming that SPDC still sees the need to augment government’s effort in alleviating the suffering of the people.”

Earlier, in Akinima community, Rivers State, SPDC Regional Community Health Manager, Dr. Akin Fajola, supervised the provision of health services and referral of severe cases to nearby government hospitals, while in Ogbia Main Town, Bayelsa State, SPDC Manager for Social Investment and Performance, Mrs Gloria Udoh, noted that the donations and medical outreaches to affected communities were to “identify with SPDC’s neighbours in their period of crisis.”

External Relations Manager Swamp West, Mr. Evans Krurkubo, and his team were received with fanfare at the Uwheru IDP camp in Ughelli North local government in Delta State. The traditional head of Uwheru, Agbaovwe Afugbeyah Oyise II, led dignitaries to appreciate the team for the donations.

Though the focus of the donations is on communities near its areas of operations, SPDC disaster relief support has also been extended to other communities most devasted by the flood and selected IDP camps in the three states.

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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AllOn closes 3 off-grid investments deal in Niger Delta

ITREALMS:

A Nigerian off-grid energy investment company, AllOn, has closed three financial deals for fast-tracked access to affordable and sustainable energy sources in the Niger Delta region of the country, reports ITRealms.

Confirming the deals, the Chief Executive Officer of All On, Dr. Boer Wiebe, to ITRealms weekend that the latest follows the equity investment made in 2017 to Nigeria Solar Home System market leader, Lumos Global BV, in the form of a debt facility to facilitate a quick rollout in the Niger Delta. 

"All On is also providing equity and debt to Port Harcourt based Green Village Electricity (GVE), Nigeria’s leading mini-grid player, for expansion in the Niger Delta and across Nigeria, while ColdHubs is receiving a convertible debt facility to expand its solar-powered marketplace cold storage business to new markets in the region," Wiebe said.

These developments, ITRealms gathered are coming barely three months after All-On announced its first set of transactions in Nigeria’s off-grid market, and two months after the firm and U.S. Africa Development Foundation (USADF) announced a $3 million partnership to expand access to energy for underserved and unserved markets in Nigeria.

The Manager, External Affairs and Strategic Partnerships at AllOn, Ekaete Okoro, in a press statement, also quoted Dr. Wiebe as saying that the investments made in these energy solution providers further demonstrate the firm’s belief that off-grid energy is indispensable in the improvement of Nigeria’s energy narrative.

“It therefore deserves adequate attention and financial backing from both the public and private sectors.” Dr. Wiebe said.

Equally speaking, the chief executive officer, Lumos, Davidi Vortman, said this debt facility from All On both cements the strategic relationship between the two companies and goes a long way towards significantly accelerating the speed of penetration of Lumos Solar Home Systems in the Niger Delta region.

“All On has established itself as a leader in off grid energy in Nigeria and we are therefore excited to work with All On to enhance energy access for Nigerians in the Niger Delta and across the country,” Vortman said.

For the ColdHubs CEO, Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu, the investment is a demonstration of All On’s commitment beyond simply addressing the ccess to energy gap, to harnessing innovative renewable energy solutions for the preservation of perishable foods. 

“This support by All On will enable Cold Hubs to further refine its business model to help improve the livelihoods of people and enhance food security in the Niger Delta,” he said.

Yet, the Managing Director of GVE, Ifeanyi Orajaka, said they were excited about this relationship with AllOn, describing it as an investment from a world-class organization, which further validates the position as “one of the leading and most innovative indigenous clean energy solutions providers in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

ITRealms recalls that All On, an independent impact investing company, was seeded with funding from Shell, and works with partners to increase access to commercial energy products and services for under-served and un-served off-grid energy markets in Nigeria, with a special focus on the Niger Delta.

  

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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NGE begs Niger Delta Avengers, FG to dialogue

ITREALMS:

The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has begged the Niger Delta Avengers not to resume attacks on oil facilities in the oil-rich region, reports ITRealms.

The President, Funke Egbemode and General Secretary, Victoria Ibanga in a press statement made available to ITRealms, the Guild expressed worry over the threat by the Niger Delta Avengers to resume attacks on oil facilities in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.

Also, the Guild called on the Avengers to drop the threat and embrace dialogue in resolving their grievances, urging the Federal Government not to resort to the use of force in resolving the matter, stressing that the use of force has never solved any problem.

“As stakeholders in the task of nation-building, the Guild is worried by the recent show of military force in the quest to neutralise the threat of the militants. This move has done little to calm the tension, instead it has aggravated it. We urge caution and restraint,” they said.

Equally, the Guild urged the government to dialogue with all stakeholders, including the aggrieved militants to resolve the problems in the region, insisting that the only path to peace is dialogue.

Further, the Guild noted that renewed hostilities in the Niger Delta will reduce Nigeria’s daily oil output, which will in turn deny the country the benefits of the current marginal increase in the price of crude. Anything that's capable of returning Nigeria to economic recession should be avoided.

“We seize this opportunity to appeal to traditional rulers in the region to use their offices and goodwill to call the Avengers and any other militant group in the region to order. As royal fathers and leaders of thought, we urge them to play a leading role in the resolution of any breakdown in communication between the Federal Government, oil majors and the militants. We cannot afford another bout of force majeure by oil majors on account of insecurity in the region,” the Guild said.

The Guild noted the increasing crime rate in the country, especially kidnappings and communal clashes and calls on security agencies to rise to the occasion, enjoining the Federal Government to deploy the relevant security agencies to check the pervasiveness of these crimes.

“The widening spread and growing frequency of kidnappings and allied criminal acts do not only threaten the nation’s socio-political stability, they also rob Nigeria of income as potential investors are scared of coming into the country while in some instances, existing investors are being forced to leave the country. Either way, the nation loses,” the Guild said.

On the 2018 budget proposal currently before the National Assembly, the Guild is concerned about the size of the recurrent as against the capital expenditures. This trend,  which is inimical to any country's development, has continued for so long.  We urge prudence and innovative budgeting in order to achieve a reversal in the nearest future.

On the state of the media, the Guild is worried that in spite of the country exiting economic recession, the media industry is mired in distress.

“We recommend that stakeholders should come together to seek the way forward,” the Guild declared.

                                         

Ayo Midele/GEE 

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Dickson, a rising star from Niger Delta

Commentary@ITRealms:

There is the idealized notion of leadership which offers that progress is change, and that no leader ever becomes great without overthrowing extant rules and conventions in order to transform society. In other words and in true Fanonian fashion, those leaders who have real vision and are truly desirous of making enduring impact in the lives of their societies must shake up and if necessary overthrow the status quo.

Though this could come at a political price, some even with huge loss of political capital and, in revolutionary cases, lives, this is how serious leaders lead and how they entrench enduring legacies.


In the recent history of governance in Bayelsa State, I think the dramatic shift in leadership style, vision and achievements, speak eloquently of how incumbent Governor Henry Seriake Dickson came armed with a mission and was resolved never to betray it. His resolve to question the status quo since 2012 when he first came into office is translating to a re-validation of the proper ethos of public service.


Now in his second term, the first year of which will be celebrated on February 14 and would also come barely days after his 51st birthday anniversary today, evokes the kind of extraordinary story genuine leaders can create in the development narrative of their people. Specifically, the socio-economic and political re-engineering birthing such remarkable developments in the last five years of his leadership in Bayelsa State, underscore the fact that Governor Dickson is a driver of change, a reformer driven by big ideas. Not surprisingly he ran into spirited resistance by forces of the status quo who were comfortable with depressing indices of societal development so long as their own narrow interests were taken care of.


For us to properly appreciate the import of this reflection is to compare the situation the Restoration Government inherited in 2012 and what obtains today in the various sectors of the state economy which will show clearly the huge transformation that has taken place among our people and why the future beckons with such exciting possibilities. One does not have to look far for the evidence of the imprint Dickson has left on Bayelsa landscape. The evidence is everywhere.


His leadership goals were founded upon a deep understanding of the challenges he met and a realisation that he would literally have to drag much of the society to attain noble goals of development and progress. There was the high security challenge of 2012 as a result of wrongheaded militancy and when criminals of various stripes ruled the roost. He took on the challenge head on, employing modern crime fightingtechnics and technology to tame crime and criminality. Then there was the challenge of education. What has been achieved has been adjudged a revolution given the achievements in infrastructure and human development. The declaration of emergency in the sector which made education totally free was the impetus which enabled those who might have been unable to go to school due to financial constraints to now do so and with rare scholarships to boot in some of the best schools at home and abroad. There is the re-introduction of boarding schools in all the senatorial districts and with adequate classrooms and teachers provided. The nobility of the teaching profession is now marked not only in words but in deed.


In terms of visible impact no sector has received as much attention and reflected obvious progress as infrastructure.  Governor Dickson met an abysmal state of infrastructure compounded no doubt by a forbidding terrain that gulps hugeexpenditure. Bayelsa is largely riverine and linking the various towns and communities is a huge and expensive task. This obviously has had consequence for trade and commercial activities. But today, the story is different as we have modern roads and bridges linking up the entire state in a strategic manner and properly designed to connect  people and communities to facilitate commerce and social relations. From the first flyover bridge in the state capital, Yenagoa, to the various senatorial roads and bridges to the fact that people can now drive straight to Nembe by road recently facilitated by the Governor Dickson-led Restoration administration, a project first mooted in the 1950s by Shell and later jointly executed by NDDC, we have seen true leadership, focused, determined and sincere, tackling the challenge of development and putting the welfare of the people first.


That the welfare of the people is the primary purpose of government has informed the attention to manpower development which has enabled many youths to be trained and empowered and to helping women entrepreneurs get financial support either through the Izon Microfinance Bank or special grants facilitated by the government. Promoting economic independence has seen the emphasis placed on modern agriculture which utilizes the geographical comparative advantage of the state to grow rice and cassava and to boost fisheries, a traditional occupation of our people but now developed not only for local consumption but for sale farther afield.


Far-sighted leadership is also evident in the massive investment on a the international airport at Amassoma, a strategic step which will further help to open up the state for major development as business entities in the south east and south -south region will prefer to land straight in Bayelsa and onward to their destinations or around the state.


Thinking big and working doubly hard to actualize the dreams is indeed the Governor Henry Seriake Dickson story. He has been animated by the goal of moving the state from over-dependence on oil and gas to becoming an industrialized entity. To him, nothing is impossible especially going by his understanding of the Dubai story of sheer enterprise that has also catapulted a landlocked country to such a highly diversified economy that has become a huge attraction to the whole world. It was such thinking on mastering the art of what ordinarily is the impossible which informed the determined efforts at economic diversification long before it became a sing song elsewhere.

Hence the bold exploration of tourism potentials with five star hotels, golf links and all other infrastructure to develop the tourist attractions which abound in the state in the pipeline. A better tomorrow is also heralded by plans for a light industrial park in the state, the Agge Deep Seaport and the LNG project in Brass. What is needed is just the support from the federal government not only because of the constitutional/ legal structures of such complex establishments but also the huge capital involved. But what is not in doubt is the viability of these projects. For instance, Agge has the deepest coastline in the country, a strategic gateway, looking at its proximity to the Gulf of Guinea and Governor Dickson sees it as a national endowment which will naturally help to decongest the Lagos Port and boosting trade and commerce in the eastern half of the country and farther to the north east.

Transformation of a society entails the people knowing that part of their civic responsibility is paying tax and the government demonstrating by its own example that accountability is an indispensable trait for any human institution or government.

Overall, we have witnessed stability in recent years and this speaks volumes about what a serious leadership which inherited a situation of anomie could bring to bear in the lives of the people.  No wonder the fond reference to Dickson in popular parlance as the “talk na do governor” or  “countryman governor”.

Our reflection on Dickson as he clocks 51 won’t be complete without talking about his politics and the philosophy driving it. As he is wont to say, he is a politician of conviction, meaning that his participation in politics is driven by his desire to leave society much better than he found it. Every other thing follows from this. He believes in the utilization of state resources to develop the state instead of pillaging such resources as a personal estate.  Which is why he has had fierce running battles with many members of the elite formation in the state, battles which he has largely won and which framed the cut-throat contest for the last governorship election in the state. As the public would soon read from a book written on the controversial election, the foreword of which is written by Ekiti State governor,Ayodele Fayose, what made the election a mortal combat warfare as it were, was the desperation to control state resources for personal aggrandizement but which Dickson abhors. Interestingly, the good people of Bayelsa whom theOfurumapepe (the great white shark that braves the ocean when the tempest is fiercest) has served in truth and in deed rallied round him by voting en-masse for his re-election, some even throwing their bare bodies to challenge armoured tanks to safeguard democracy.

The rest as they say is now history but the lesson here is the need for dedication and determined leadership if society must move forward. This is also what Governor Dickson’s 51st birthday means to the good people of Bayelsa State. He only challenged the status quo for the sake of the people, to create a new direction that has now led us out of Egypt. 
But his work is not yet done. Nigeria beckons for the enthronement of a new leadership paradigm so that this long suffering land will at last enjoy the benefits of the resources Almighty God so generously bestowed upon her. It is a call which with other like minds would leave him no other choice but to answer. Happy 51st year of your sojourn,Ofurumapepe, in this our God-given earth!


*Contributed by Daniel Iworiso-Markson, the Chief Press Secretary to the Bayelsa State Governor

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Niger Delta: A 3-point agenda for President Buhari

Commentary@ITRealms:

SETTING THE NIGER DELTA AGENDA

Recently confirmed by Nigeria's minister of state for petroleum resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu when he presented a roadmap for the development of the nation's oil and gas industry at the Presidential Villa Abuja on Thursday the 27th of October, 2016 that President Buhari will meet with some stakeholders from the oil rich region on Tuesday, November 1.

At this point, it is advised you read the first part of this article HERE because this article is dedicated to proposing the agenda for any meeting between the Niger Delta and the government.

The scheduled meeting between elders of the Niger Delta and Buhari is a development, though one we should receive with open minds, ears, and eyes so we do not miss a thing.

The people of the Niger Delta have had too many meetings - with successive governments, with oil majors, with ourselves, yet we can't afford to turn down any meeting, no matter how little the prospects of meaningful engagement. This is because we fear to be accused of not giving our best to the project Nigeria.

In any case, dialogue always offers an opportunity to reach an agreement non-violently. I am an abiding advocate of non-violence as a result; I endorse dialogue as an option in resolving the clear and present crisis in the Niger Delta.  But, we as a people must be cautious so as to not come across as people "who don't know what they want" or are unaware of their options.

In light of the tensed political atmosphere in the Niger Delta region and Nigeria, as a whole, it is pertinent to highlight the following issues.

1. We must not confuse this first meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari as the dialogue of the Niger Delta people with Federal Government. No. Because it is not.

2. While we understand the need to limit the numbers at this initial meeting we must not forget that the Niger Delta region has 40 ethnic nationalities, and nobody has been mandated to represent any ethnic nationality at the meeting. So, ethnic nationalities, which make up the Niger Delta region, are not represented at this meeting. It is my opinion that any meaningful discussion on resolving the age-long agitations for justice by the people of the Niger Delta, can't take place without everyone representing their own aspirations. No one should be gagged or neglected into or in negotiations.

3. While we expect that this initial meeting with stakeholders in the Niger Delta and the federal government would be a sort of debriefing, and the persons picked to attend this meeting would return home to debrief their people, we also do expect that anybody speaking from the side of the Niger Delta would present the mandate of the people and not their personal mandate.

4. It must be remembered that the Niger Delta people have attended numerous meetings, seminars, and issued a number of reports, Bill of Rights, demands, communiqués, and so on. It must also be remembered that some of our people have died in the process of dialoguing and negotiations with our oppressors. Many have been maimed, raped; some have been imprisoned, blackmailed, all for the Niger Delta cause. Some, unfortunately, have also betrayed the Niger Delta cause. In all of this one thing is clear we know what we want therefore, we expect our views to be presented at this initial meeting.

5. It is the quality of the content of what the stakeholders attending this meeting will present in our collective name as 'Niger Delta' that will determine the result of the meeting and whether this November 1 meeting will be fruitful and will produce fruits.

6. We do not expect the attendees to commit the 40 ethnic nationalities in any way, shape, or form, because they are not elected to represent any of the nations that make up the Niger Delta. It should be noted that any commitment made on our behalf on our collective security, development, and rights, without any due consultation, as it were, will be rejected by the peoples of the region.

7. It is important to rehash that since 1960, development in the region has been retarded; a fair representation in the federal government has been denied our people; justice, equity, security have been withheld from our region. This deliberate exclusive policy thrust of the successive government, including this current one, has brought us to where we are today. It must not be forgotten.

8. Various groups from the region have been making demands for the issues raised in #7 above at various times, the continued denial of these peaceful interventions is what has led to an escalation to where there is a decade-long on-going armed struggle. While those in the armed struggle are in the minority, their demands reflect the aspirations of the majority.

9. Following decades of the see-saw approach of dialoguing with the oppressors of the region and expecting that the descendants of the people who brutally enslaved our ancestors will willingly grant us our freedom, there has been a consensus among the leaders of thought in the Niger Delta that the absence of any or all of the three issues below will never lead to lasting peace in the region:

a. Resource Ownership

b. Restructuring of the political structure in the country. Powers need to be devolved. The Scottish example is good template to begin with. 

c. Self-determination for the peoples of the Niger Delta through a United Nations recognised referendum. Self-determination is a right of indigenous peoples guaranteed by the African Charter of Human and People's Rights and the UN Declaration on Human and Indigenous Peoples Rights.

It must also be made clear here that this article contains my personal position on the issues confronting our people and that our people have to confront. I am not speaking for any ethnic nationality, but I do speak as an Ijaw woman and leader who has spent the past 18 years engaging my people at all levels, beginning from the grassroots in the creeks. I speak with every sense of responsibility when I say that 95% of my people want these 3 issues above in a, b, and c addressed.

In my work as an advocate for the people of the Niger Delta, I have met and interacted with respected leaders in the other ethnic nationalities of the Niger Delta, and their aspirations mirror those of my people.

If there is any Niger Delta daughter or son that wants anything contrary to those highlighted in #9 above, it is only for their personal and selfish and momentary political interest, and these interest can't override the greater interest of the greater Niger Delta people.

While recognising that there are institutional engagements and negotiations that are key to driving lasting positive change that brings peace to the Niger Delta, it is important that the federal government be cautious because the methods being proposed, are the same methods that have failed in the past. It is time to inject new and creative thinking when addressing the Niger Delta question.

From communication coming out of the government, it appears that the primary aim of the Buhari-led government is to resolve militancy for the sole aim of bringing back crude oil production to 2.2 million barrels a day. The same old method of deceiving the people with dangling carrots, that never land on the ground.

The urgency of the federal government to reduce militancy by 90% and ram up crude oil production to 2.8 million barrels a day is laudable, but the lack of a corresponding policy that addresses the needs of the region is worrisome.

The people of the Niger Delta and indeed all Nigerians must not forget that the entire enterprise of government at all levels in Nigeria is funded by more than 80% from the resources of the region. As new regional development commissions are launched in the North, and a plan to throw the country into further debt of $30 billion are put into motion, we must all remember that the funding for these come from the Niger Delta.

So, the invitees to the government's November 1 meeting must remember that they are there because they come from the Niger Delta and they must act as emissaries of the region first and foremost. They must remember that they are there for their ethnic nationality, their states, their communities, their region, their people.

The invitees must go there as the people who come from the region feeding the nation, and not as beggars or slaves beholden to the oppressors of their people.

We the people of the Niger Delta region will not accept anything less than OWNERSHIP, RESTRUCTURING, and REFERENDUM on the question of SELF DETERMINATION.Our call for justice and equity is not about individuals or political parties, it is about all our peoples and the future of our generations to come.

I remain a proud Niger Delta daughter and servant, of Ijaw ethnic nation, from Kalabari Clan, in Nigeria whose priority is and will remain the defence and protection of our rights to be who God has called us to be and will remain what we want to be, unconquered and peace loving.

*Final part of a contribution by Annkio Briggs, a daughter, servant, and respected leader of the Niger Delta. She is a leading voice in the struggle for human rights and environmental justice in the oil-rich region. Connect with her on Facebook. 

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60 Niger Delta students gain SPDC full scholarships

ITRealms:

The latest batch of 60 children from the Niger Delta have been awarded the special secondary school scholarship of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) Joint Venture, under its Cradle to Career which covers tuition and all other bills for six years in four of the topmost private secondary schools in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, reports ITRealms.

The 60 benefiting students drawn from Brookstone Secondary School, Jephthah Comprehensive College, Archdeacon Brown Educational Centre (ABEC) and Bloombreed High School in Port Harcourt were placed on full scholarship for their secondary education, after a two-week orientation programme with introductory courses in academics, character and psychology.

ITRealms also reports that the students are the seventh set of beneficiaries and they bring the total number of beneficiaries since inception of the Cradle to Career programme to 410.

The Managing Director of SPDC and Chairman, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor, said, this year, the first set of beneficiaries completed their secondary education and the report available indicated that about all of them recorded excellent performance in the school certificate and unified tertiary matriculation examinations.

“It means the aims of the programme are being achieved,” said Okunbor who was represented by the General Manager, External Relations SPDC, Mr. Igo Weli, at the award ceremony in Port Harcourt at the weekend, the MD said SPDC and its joint venture partners have sustained the scholarship initiative despite the current economic challenges because they see education as a right for every child and not a privilege.

Dr Patricia Ogbonnaya, Mrs Elizabeth Alagoa and Dr Moses Onoriode Bragiwa, representatives of the Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states Commissioners for Education respectively, extolled the Cradle to Career scholarship scheme for complementing their governments’ investments in education. They praised the transparent selection process and the human capital development benefits of the programme to the region.

“SPDC has a passion for investing in people and we are happy to report that students in the programme have over the years been on the top of their classes in their respective schools. We thank Shell and their joint venture partners for helping to ameliorate the problems of the Niger Delta,” said Dame Christie Toby, the proprietress of one of the implementing schools.

The SPDC JV launched the Cradle to Career initiative in 2010 to provide for bright indigent students and improve on the positive results of its other portfolio of scholarship schemes for local and international undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

Shell Companies in Nigeria have a long history of supporting education through scholarships and other initiatives. In 2015, a total of $10.1 million was invested in scholarships by the SPDC Joint Venture and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo.) Grants were awarded to 930 secondary school students and 638 university undergraduates in 2015, with a total of 10,401 (secondary) and 3,532 (university) grants given over the last five years.

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Pix: L-R: General Manager, External Relations of SPDC, Mr. Igo Weli; Master Anioki Godfirst (Bayelsa State Beneficiary); Master Ibojoh Godwin (Delta state beneficiary); Miss Blessing Chioma Eric (Rivers State beneficiary); Mrs. Elizabeth E. Alagoa, Director for Secondary Education – Bayelsa State Ministry of Education and Dr. Moses Bragiwa, Director for Basic and Secondary Education – Delta State Ministry of Education, In Port Harcourt.

Tragedy of unthinking agitation and Niger Delta militants

Opinion@ITRealms:

The Managing Director of Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (DESOPADEC), Chief William Makinde, speaking on Quest FM on Tuesday, 6th September, 2016, made a very serious point regarding the relocation of oil servicing companies from Delta State that should be a take home for every true lover of the Niger Delta. His major point was that we created the state of insecurity that chased away the companies that would have provided employment for our teaming unemployed youths.

This is the immutable truth that our so-called agitators and those who applaud them have failed to see. There is on the rise, a culture of laziness and self-destruct that has permeated and continues to bedevil the Niger Delta region, especially Delta State.

I can recall the mid-80s to the early 90s when Warri, the economic hub of Delta State was home to hundreds of oil companies. Oil production was at its peak and many of our young men and women were engaged in one form of employment or the other: technicians, fitters, welders, caterers, security guards, etc. It was in this era that catering, a hitherto disregarded profession in this area came to the fore.

Several catering schools sprang up to train careers to fill the need of the catering companies that catered for the countless oil companies that operated offshore and they were legion. Even security companies became sophisticated and people were no longer ashamed to take on security jobs as they were now well kitted and the pay was good. The economy of the area boomed. Night life and recreational activities which are indicators of economic buoyancy of the citizenry thrived.

Female night workers, popularly called club girls, could visit any of the night clubs, pick up an expatriate oil worker of any nation and take him to her one room apartment in a face me I face you apartment and spend the night in peace. That white man would wake up in the morning take a cab and go back to his place of abode without any fear or may even decide to spend the weekend without a care for his safety. Club girls were known then to turn down advances from black men whom they nicknamed "si kro kro" for lack of dollar power during club nights until the early hours of the morning when it became clear that there would be no white customers to catch.  Such were the exotic tastes of even prostitutes! How times have changed.

Enter the dragon! From nowhere, in the name of resource control, greedy politicians seeking leverage in national politics empowered and encouraged criminal groups to cripple oil installations. This graduated to kidnapping of expatriate oil workers for ransom and then vandalization and bombing of pipelines.

There was a time in Warri when you walked into a roadside bar and you would see an "Oyibo" man drinking beer. They had black friends, co-workers, whom they visited at home. But with the advent of unthinking militancy, the companies started relocating one after the other. Those that remained bought up our security and made us second class citizens in our land. You need to observe these expatriates hold up traffic during rush hours.

While our gun wielding uniform security operatives clear traffic for them –sometimes flogging us – we are made to spend needless hours in traffic just so that they can pass. While there is shortage of security for our homes and neighborhood, our expatriate friends have no such worries. Even the almighty Nigerian Army has been reduced to “maigad” – personal security men – status at the residents of the expatriates. You dare not loiter around their abodes or else you get the usual bloody civilian treatment.

Where has all this left us? A teeming horde of lazy jobless youths who think the surest way to easy wealth is intimidation and violence. They are even against the development of their own communities. Anyone who has attempted to create a road, draw electricity or site a building project in any of our commutes will know what I am talking about. "Deve" collection has driven away many investors from our clime as well as hampered and led to the folding up of many business concerns.

The evil that we created has come full circle. In the absence of white men to kidnap, these so called agitators have turned on our wives, daughters, and mothers who are daily kidnapped, and violated.

How does bombing and polluting the already degraded environment help the Niger Delta cause? How has the harassment and intimidation of investors helped the cause of the region? Instead of acting with tact to protect and preserve our environment, we have contributed in no small measure to its destruction. Instead of agitating to create wealth and employment, we have chased away employment opportunities.

Now let me say this to the so-called Niger Delta agitators who blow up oil pipelines and pollute the already over devastated environment. You are like the mad man who in an attempt to solve problem of rats in his house, set the house on fire only to sleep out in the rain. You are worse than the Boko Haram of the North-East. At least, for the Boko Haram, there is a religious hope of heaven and dream of conjugal bliss with seventy virgins, but for you, your religion has already condemned you to a life of damnation in hell, for the faith you profess is against rape, arson, stealing and murder. And for those who profess the African traditional religious faith, yours is even worse, for the gods of Egbesu, Agbejugbele, Igbe or whatever god you serve does not wait for the afterlife to mete out retribution.

Until we create a conducive atmosphere for investment to thrive we will continue to be jobless. The DESOPADEC MD put it succinctly when he said, until a white man can walk freely from NPA, Warri, to Enerhen junction in Effurun, without fear of being kidnapped, investors will continue to run away from our region and with them the prospect of employment and general economic boom.

Mark Zuckerberg recently came to Nigeria, was allegedly to have freely walked on the streets of Lagos and jogged on Eko Bridge without security escort. This is the kind of environment that encourages investors and employment creation and not an atmosphere like the killing fields of the streets of Lebanon.

I challenge all “Waferians” with memory to cast their minds back to the mid-80s to early 90s before the agitation that drove away the companies and tell me when the region was better off: before or after the agitations? What gains has the so-called militancy brought us if not strife, tears and pain? Besides making billionaires of a few, what gains have the years of criminal militancy disguised as agitation for freedom the region?

Niger Deltans, it is time for us to think.

Contributed by: Austin Emaduku wrote from Ekete, Udu LGA, Delta State, Nigeria.

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Chevron Nigeria secures Niger Delta with AtHoc

 ITRealms

AtHoc Incorporated, the world leader in networked crisis communication, recently stated that Chevron Nigeria has integrated AtHoc technology to create a fully enhanced emergency mass notifications system (EMNS) for its joint venture refinery in the Niger Delta region, reports ITRealms.

"AtHoc is the unmatched innovator with the most secured crisis communications platform and also with the deepest track record in executing unified emergency mass notifications systems for large-scale industrial complexes," explained Mr. Kunle Dada, Managing Director, Benabigail Ventures Limited, Lagos, Nigeria.

"When Chevron presented its requirements for unified emergency alerting, we conducted a thorough assessment of the market," and AtHoc came top, ITRealms gathered..

"We are honored by the trust that Chevron Nigeria and its partners have placed in AtHoc," said Efraim Petel, AtHoc's Vice President of Public Safety. "AtHoc applies a network approach to solving the most complex requirements in safety and security, which results in creating a safer environment for our customer's valued personnel and business operations."

By selecting AtHoc's EMNS technology to unify their disparate communications systems together, ITRealms learnt, Chevron Nigeria has strengthened safety and security readiness for its personnel and business operations.

AtHoc is the pioneer and recognized leader in networked crisis communication, protecting millions of people around the world. AtHoc provides a seamless and reliable exchange of critical information among organizations, their people, devices and external entities

Cyriacus Nnaji/ GEE

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