The occupant of one of the most ancient thrones in Africa, His Royal Majesty King Edward Asimini William Dappa-Pepple III, Perekule XI, Amanyanabo of Grand Bonny Kingdom has called on the multinational companies and government agencies operating in his Kingdom to be more responsive to the needs of the community. He was speaking at an inaugural stakeholders meeting held in Bonny at the instance of the King and the Bonny Chiefs Council, and attended by representatives of all the major companies, contractors and government agencies operating in the island Kingdom. The monarch asserted that most of the agreements reached between the agencies of the Kingdom and the companies operating in Bonny have been breached by the companies. He described, the issues of employment of indigenes of Bonny into established positions in some companies, the disregard for the community’s policy on the employment of temporary and contract staff, as well as the delay in carrying out some community projects, and the lack of empowerment of local contractors, as being major concerns of the Kingdom.
Bonny Kingdom is the site of some of the most important facilities and institutions in the Nigerian oil and gas sector and has been regarded as the base of the nation’s economic priorities for more than three decades. In spite of this the urban development of the island city has been deficient and the empowerment of its indigenous population has not reflected either their hospitable attitudes or the level of their general educational standard. Successive leaders of the community have raised the issue of neglect and marginalization of the people of Bonny over the years and while there have been some notable improvements in recent years the general consensus of opinion among the people is that what has been done so far is too little too late.
Against this background the King, who has been on the throne for ten years, and whose ancestors have ruled the territory for several centuries, warned the companies that the patience of his people was running out. He listed several instances of agreements and promises that had been reneged upon by the companies concerned. These included the continued supply of water to the community by tankers when a pipe borne water system had been promised for a long time. In addition he pointed out that the quality of water being supplied had deteriorated drastically in recent months and he called for an immediate halt to the supply of sub-standard “brown water” and the rapid development of the promised pipe borne water supply system.
The Monarch told the representatives of the companies that the traditional leaders of Bonny had resolved to enforce all the protocols of agreements signed between the Kingdom and their guests which he pointed out had been violated in several instances. He also outlined a number of these violations including the wrong process of acquiring land for use which the Nigerian Navy had embarked upon recently. He stated that in such cases the process must be regularized to ensure that there would be equity in the community. He asserted that the people of Bonny had been noted through the centuries for their hospitality and tolerance and that while the Chiefs and people of Bonny were always ready to guarantee the safety of their guests it was important that guest should also endeavour to cooperate with the indigenes to maintain peace and harmony. He warned that the companies were not being fair when they reneged on important agreements especially in the area of employment and promised services. He acknowledged that there had been some substantial successes but pointed out as well that the Kingdom had put institutions in place that the companies should make contact with in order to regularize relationships.
The stakeholder meetings are to be held every two months and the King requested that all the companies should meet with the relevant agencies before the next meeting so that all agreements and compliance could be placed on record and reports prepared. He also brought to the notice of the representatives of the companies the fact that while some of them were undertaking proper procedures of seeking advice and information from local agencies others were failing to do so. He asked those who were failing in this wise to restore the people’s confidence in them by cooperating with the local bodies.
The stand taken by the King of Bonny on this issue at this time reflects the general sense of apprehension and militancy that is pervading community relationships throughout the Niger Delta. Although he represents an ancient tradition he is a young and dynamic leader whose principles are based on popular interests. This was even more obvious in his utterances at an earlier function when he attended the launching of a Vocational Centre in Bonny funded by the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Co. Ltd., one of the largest and most important organisations in the community. Although he commenced by recognizing and appreciating the contributions made to development in the Kingdom by such organizations and certain individuals associated with them the King was forthright in denouncing delays and deficiencies in the compliance with the expectations of the community. He used the Bonny Vocational Centre project as an example of how devoted the community was to seeking meaningful cooperation, when he stated that, “The community could have decided to collect the money for some other reason but we decided that the money should be put into this project for the betterment of our wards and children”. He said the community had made a sacrifice to ensure that this project came to fruition and the company should recognize this and reciprocate it in its approach to development issues. He charged the companies to “Respect the social structure you meet wherever you go to ensure that you work with the structure that you have met.”
This has been the common theme of the concerns of the leaders of Bonny for decades. Although the Chiefs Council headed, by its Chairman, Chief Reginald Abbey-Hart, is an ancient institution its members are highly experienced and well educated. It is widely acknowledged that the Bonny Chiefs Council is one of the most sophisticated and effective of such Councils in the Niger Delta. When the Chiefs Council perceived that the NLNG project was being inaugurated without a number of community based demands being met they mounted a serious protest and supported the youth of the community to blockade the installation. This action drew worldwide attention and was one of the major signals of the growing militancy in the Niger Delta. By the same token the King is regarded as being both a symbol of the traditions of tolerance and international cooperation that Bonny has been famed for in history, but also of the forward looking and progressive nature of the youth of the community. He is an embodiment both of the past and the future.
The King complained at the ceremony that apart from the commercial ventures from which the Federal Government gained enormous profits Bonny had hardly been blessed with any major Federal institution that could provide either employment training or appropriate services to the community. He said” In the ten years since 1996 (when he ascended the ancient throne) I look around and can hardly see any Federal Government presence on the island, aside from the huge involvement in oil and gas. There is nothing that community or people-oriented here.”
The King also appealed to the Federal Government to take a greater interest in the development of the island’s infrastructure, and complained that it was not necessary for the government to wait for a road from the mainland to the island to be constructed before it could commence to bring internal roads and other infrastructure to the Kingdom. In spite of the complaints the King said his people and himself were committed to maintaining peace and law and order, but that this should not be at the expense of the progress and development of the Kingdom especially given the extent of its contribution to the national wealth.
IN RESPONSE TO TASK FROM BONNY MONARCH TO COMPANIES.-The King should have informed us on the proper way to aquire or `rugularise` land in Bonny.WHY?
In 1952 the chiefs council leased the coconut estate to the Eastern region government but was silent on the direct owners of the land.
In 1958/63 SPDC Aquired land from the Jumbo/Finima communities while the chiefs council wittnessd it though they acted as `consentors`
In 1996 the Finima community leassed the workers camp to TSKJ.
In 2002 Late Chief Donald Pepple and Chief Reginald Hart jointly sold land at Orukalango to SPDC for N8M without the knowledge or `consent`of their fellow chiefs.
In 2004 Fred Pepple single handedly sold part of the coconut estate to the Bonny LGA.
In 2005 the Bonny King single handedly leased part of the coconut estate to Saipem LTD without knowledge or consent of his council of chiefs for N50M
In 2005 Harrigan followed the trend and collected an undisclosed amount from the Navy as `compenastion` and leased part of the coconut estate, an area supposedly Jumbos contribution to the estate.
Idala Pollyn has been known to receive royalties from AGIP at cathorn chanell.
Which of these methods is the regular method which the King and his chiefs now want to follow and when did it occur to them that proceedures were being violated?
Was it after they collected their own change through the bad method or before?
My candid suggestion to the King and his chiefs is this, before they think of regularising land, they should first reularise their relatoinships with the Finima, Jumbo and to an extent the Oguede people. Why? because the choice lands in Bonny lie within their teritory. THIS IS MY NEW YEAR MESSAGE
