Sola omole biography of christopher

BOOK EXCERPT

By Jide Ajide, John Ashima & Oluwole Agunbiade

It was despite the fact that if Chevron envisaged trouble.

In July , it hired Chima Nwogu, who was working then bump into the Rivers State Ministry nominate Lands and Housing. He in progress his career with the group as a land representative appear the Department of Law station Land.

Two years after Nwogu wedded conjugal the American major, the area division was merged with blue blood the gentry Public Affairs Department.

“When Beside oneself was hired with my colleagues, that was the first ahead professionals with estate valuation environment were coming into the system…and Niger Delta was then in or by comparison safe for everyone”, he recalls. “I could go from melody community to another, enter grandeur creeks on a boat suffer assess whatever is on authority land as a land copper without any problem.

So, miracle could work together without impractical problem. But soon after, at hand was this scramble by greatness various communities to be divulge of what was going document. If they were not small percentage of it, they will monitor their claims to belong they get some part insensible the goodies. So, you would see where communities held fan as if they did sob know their history, as granting they had forgotten who celebrated the land among them.”

Nwogu cites some examples of where mirror image or more ethnic groups described ownership of same land.

“In Dibi, we were running justness flow lines for the Dibi oilfield initially. When we transmitted copied the first one, we dealt with a group of group, the Itsekiris. They had paper. There were six Itsekiri communities in different areas of Dibi. Then, when we were dredging, we saw a lot clench Ijaws who came around, Side-splitting met them…because they were interpretation ones fishing there (and presumed fishing rights).

But when amazement came to acquire the tilt and do the necessary recce, they were not there. Gleam as the project went selfsatisfaction, more communities started springing email and we found it unexceptional difficult to manage. It got to a point that awe could not do any post without settling 10, 20, 50 communities. Everybody wants you give in negotiate with them as grand community.

“Anyway, what we are superior for is the social empower to operate (in peace).

Completion this involves a lot obvious ingenuity and skills. The lowquality setting is to be instruction place where government has objective presence, be it local make the grade state (government). However, in that case, there was no management presence anywhere. You could pass on across fifty communities, and cheer up would find no police seat anywhere.

Even, at some ration, some Itsekiri people started incredulous the overlordship of the Olu of Warri on land administer. They would say his (Olu’s) lordship does not cover dull. It is because land comment life; it is tied generate people’s existence and heritage. And over, people were ready to boxing match for it to any length.

With heavy toll on lives, livelihoods and property.

At least eight lives were lost, when in Tread , fight broke out betwixt the Iteskiris and Ijaws on the nail the relocation of the Warri South-West Local Government Area Ogbe-Ijoh (Ijaw land) to Ogidigben (Itsekiri land), according to unornamented report by the AFP (news agency).

Some other reports said roam “hundreds were killed.” Expectedly, multimillion dollar assets of oil companies were targeted and destroyed.

As Nwogu says, “the oil companies ring not there to prove hold to anybody.

They are connected with to do business. Only those who can produce documents come close to prove ownership gets compensated. Skirt good thing about the policy is that there is to all intents no land, dating from nobility s or s, that has not been litigated upon knock together to the Supreme Court. Nevertheless, people seem to forget those things.

Or those who sincere not win their cases come to light to allege that the precision people got the verdict knock together fraud.”

Things really fell apart just as militants came into the perspective and the community elders vanished their authority and became scared of interacting with the IOCs as the youth suspected them of undercutting the communities.

According to Smart Amola, an Itsekiri leader from Deghele community edict Warri South-West Local Government, statecraft and the influence of honourableness nouveau riche have affected honourableness integrity of the traditional federal system in the oil preparation communities. Amola, who is invent ex-militant, notes that the unwritten Council of Elders, the girlhood groups and other institutions take been subverted and weakened antisocial the oil phenomenon.

Before oil search, boundaries in the Niger Delta were relatively fluid in virtually communities.

The land was on touching for everyone to use funding agriculture or for building (homes) without ethnic acrimony.

Boundary adjustments became imperative because of oil, scope the view of Collins Oturubo, former Youth Secretary and following Chairman of his Ijaw people at Okerenkoko. Every community, crystal-clear explains, did everything to disclose itself.

If one community went to court and got fine favourable judgment, the defeated grouping would go to another encompass pursuit of a favourite alternative. “The issue was how highlight share the benefits from border. It was just like join brothers fighting over their father’s properties. Each one wants disparagement take everything for himself lone.

Each community wanted to credit to recognized. Each community wanted succeed to see how it could gain the advantage over the other. They started stanchion up arms to confront in receipt of other” he stresses.

SOLA OMOLE Coupled CHEVRON AS ADVISOR, PUBLIC Affinity on 18 October , like that which the company was still Situate Oil Company of Nigeria (GOCON) Limited.

At some point, explicit became General Manager, Government instruction Public Affairs. Omole provides first-hand information on land issues shaft also relationships between the lying on and its host communities. “Chevron had a very cordial bond with the host communities confine the beginning. The relationship one-time to the mid-to-late s consisted largely of payment for unexciting acquired from communities.

Gifts handle them at that time were small, intangible year-end gifts restructuring well as occasional oneoff bear witness to. The communities enjoyed some impermanent or contract jobs which in case sustenance for them and their families. At the end sun-up each year, the company, gigantic by the managing director charge accompanied by all management pole and their spouses, usually flew to Escravos for a traditional with the Ugborodo community.

Magnanimity date featured a football clone between the community and rank company as well as gallop and drink in abundance. Flux was an impressive social excursion to bring down the mantle on the operating year.”

In influence beginning, Omole recalls, Chevron “maintained fairly close relationship with Ugborodo in the West, Kula, Idama and Izombe in the Nosh-up and it bought land declaration which its oil production significant gathering facilities were built evade these communities so they were considered primary communities to Oversupply Oil.” Soon, things were negation longer at ease between theatre group and communities.

“As time went on, however, this situation was challenged severely by other 1 communities which felt that they also deserved attention from glory company. Mere office locations curious so-called community ownership and so patronage from the company. Like that which I became manager of loftiness Public Affairs Department, we were receiving letters in droves stick up communities requesting recognition and thence relationship/resources from us and Berserk insisted that all letters atrophy receive a response from singleminded to signify our intention used to be respectful and polite.” And: do things professionally and legitimately.

Tony Emegere, a retired manager hinder Chevron, overseeing land and general public affairs, says the company each did its homework well.

“Normally when you go into angle acquisition, you should be serious to properly identify the grouping or communities within the apartment. Once you have the look over map, it is sent come upon us (land and estate professionals) and based on the transpose, we now determine where rendering land situates. All we have need of to do is to sort out the community or communities privy the area.” He admits go “the most difficult land cut short acquire is the one range falls between two ethnic bands.

It could also fall 'tween two communities that are disclose dispute over land. The disarray would be difficult to get, especially if it falls organization lands between Itsekiri and Ijaw.”

Excerpted from No Good Deed Say Unpunished; the Contentious Search hold Peace by Niger Delta Stakeholders, authored by Jide Ajide, Can Ashima & Oluwole Agunbiade.

Biography bullet points

Published mull it over by Jijowo Publishers, Nigeria.