Posted by From Geoffrey Anyanwu, Awka on
The Umueri community is familiar with wars. The community had witnessed the Nigerian civil war and more importantly it had locked horns in war with its Aguleri-Umuleri-Umuoba Anam neighbours that lasted between 1995 and 2000.
• Umueri community gears up to confront state govt, Orient Petroleum over planned refinery
The Umueri community is familiar with wars. The community had witnessed the Nigerian civil war and more importantly it had locked horns in war with its Aguleri-Umuleri-Umuoba Anam neighbours that lasted between 1995 and 2000.
Now, the community is considering bring out its war instruments. Therefore, it has warned the Anambra State government and the Orient Petroleum which is building a refinery on its land to avoid issues and action that would re-enact the Niger Delta crisis in the state.
Speaking with Daily Sun on the current crisis in the community, which has allegedly claimed three lives, including that of the spiritual head of the community, the President General of Umueri General Assembly (UGA), Mr. Goddy Obidike, accused Orient Petroleum of using some of their sons to cause trouble in their land.
He, however, warned that any attempt to start war which the people have rejected for peace to reign would be disastrous.
Obidike urged the state government to ensure that destruction of lives and property playing out in the Niger Delta is not allowed to happen in the state, asking the company to come and discuss with the host community, so that peace would reign.
Ensuring peace in Umueri
We've done so much along that line; we have put together a number of peace initiatives. In August, 2007, we assembled our reverend gentlemen, lawyers, some businessmen, and notable men in the community, who waded into the problems in Nneyi Umueri, bringing together the community; because the Nneyi community as a body had problems with some of their sons. We had to preside over the matter and after one month of deliberation, we asked those children to apologize to the community because the community is paramount, above any person.
We gave them time, tried to work together with them to actualize peace, but they have rebuffed every move for peace. As we moved to talk to them, the village was invaded and two persons were killed. We managed to prevent a complete breakdown of law and order by appealing to our people and reminding them of the carnage we were just coming out of. Commonsense prevailed and the whole villagers met, summoned those who had hands in the crisis to state their case.
Twist to our effort
Surprisingly, on three occasions when we invited the stakeholders, some of the principal characters refused to attend the community summoned meeting. We were left with no option, especially when our neighbours, the Aguleri people, wrote us, telling us that there were security reports that some people were about to create another mayhem within the community by attacking them, the Aguleri people. There is a memo to that effect. The community met, summoned those concerned three times. Invitations were sent to them three times which they did not honour. And the community took a decision. Our children cannot be above us, if anybody misbehaves, the community has a right to ex-communicate the person. We ex-communicated them but also gave them the option to come back, discuss with us and abide by community's decisions on their case.
Police connivance
Surprisingly, one of them, the financier, during the Christmas invaded the community with a contingent of policemen, against the community's order that he should keep away until he was able to submit to the authority of the community. We've been able to appeal to everybody. We've prevailed on our youths, persuaded our old men and managed every aspect of the crtsts to give peace a chance because we know what could happen. There was evidence to induce crisis which they had earlier threatened. Our people have shown maturity and I thank them for that. We are handling it and we are reaching out to see what the government will do about this.
It was, therefore, surprising that a person could have police protection, more especially when the IG (Inspector General) had promised Nigerians that those who are not supposed to have police guards would not have them and that the police were withdrawing guards given to individuals in the country. We are surprised that a man who has no antecedent could be given a large retinue of policemen for a period of over one month, when there are lots of duties to be performed by such police men.
We suspect that the IG is not aware of the deployment. That his friend in Abuja who claims to be very close to the powers that be, and has friends in the police are doing that without the knowledge of the Inspector General of Police and top police management. We will, in due course, protest this, but meanwhile, we have begged our people, we have continued to reach out to the people to maintain peace, that in the course of time, the God in heaven will make the fact of this matter known to Nigerians .
Abuja hijacking the case files
Yes, the police have the knowledge of the case. Three murder cases have been recorded on the issue. One in August 18, 2007, one Ifeanyi Abel was murdered. A man invaded the community then with men dressed in military uniform. We did not know who they were, and we wrote petitions to the police on the matter. It has not been investigated till date.
On November 18, 2007, the spiritual head of the community was murdered in cold blood, along with one other young man and the suspects were well known, because there were eye-witnesses to the murder. We reported to the police, we let the police know about the likelihood of murder long before it occurred.
The Anambra State Police Ccommand moved into it, did their preliminary investigations, arrested some suspects, and they were about charging the suspects to court when the powers that be in Abuja intervened. Now, they have taken all the suspects from Anambra to Abuja, including all the case files. We don't know what they wanted to do with that. Now, they have fortified the main financier of the suspects with policemen to invade the village.
Orient Petroleum and the crisis
Yes, you must remember, the Orient Petroleum has just acquired about 1,157 hectares of land in the community. When they came in to clear some of the areas for the building of the refinery on April 20, 2006, the community marched to the place to stop them from executing the project. We called them and met with management of Orient Petroleum because there was no known agreement between them and the village. It was in the course of that, that they produced a piece of paper, provisional agreement between them and the community, which was signed by some persons.
We made it known to them that they have no formal agreement with us. We went through the papers and Orient agreed with us that there was nothing on the ground to show that the land was ceded to them. But they begged us to join them in the ground breaking ceremony, adding that soon after the ground breaking that we were going to be together to have, at least, a memorandum of understanding for the project. After the ground breaking, we wrote them, asking for five items that will enable us arrange and get our papers ready for a meeting.
The land area is 1,157 hectares, it is a large chunk of land, we want to know, the areas they are taking, what they want the land for? It was learnt they are citing a refinery at the place and the law requires that they should produce an environmental assessment impact for the project.
We required all those things. Until now, however, they have not presented them. Instead, they have resorted to using divide and rule tactics to create a breakdown of order in the community, so that we will be fighting, while they continue with their operation.
We don't want another Niger Delta here. Orient Petroleum is the problem. We have begged them time and again to sit down and discuss with us. The community wants to discuss, we are not against their project, but they must carry the community along. If they don't, the kind of things happening in Niger Delta will happen here. And we don't want such a situation in our community. We don't want our children to become birds which would be shot by task forces for little agitation.
Things must be properly done. You are coming into a community, you are setting up a business that is a multimillion naira business, there must be provisions to take care of the communities. They've told us they will build roads, they will provide water, they will build that. Yes, that is wonderful, after that, so what?
Our land would have been polluted, our rivers would have been polluted, we are fishermen, we are farmers, how do we live? They must think of a way of compensating us. We were told in secondary school Economics that there are three factors of production, land, capital and labour, while entrepreneur is the coordinator. There must be provision for the communities, so that in future when the business improves, and they are smiling to the banks with their profits, the communities should also be smiling every year when they share their profits. That is the only way you can make the community feel part of that project. It's the only way you can keep the restive youths at bay. Except there is a well articulated programme to involve the community fully, this piece meal thing will not work and that is what we are asking them to do. Sit with us, let's talk.
State government input
In December, His Excellency, Governor Peter Obi, came inviting the stakeholders. He came along with officials of Orient Petroleum. He told me and members of the community that Anambra State was interested in the project and that we don't have problems with Orient Petroleum, that we have problems with the state government, that we should leave Orient Petroleum alone and discuss with the state government and we welcomed that. Soon after he left, we wrote him a letter thanking him for his intervention and requested to have a meeting with him, so that we can discuss.
We want them to carry us along, we are not against the project but we need to sit down with them and articulate a programme, and an understanding that will take us along. These things we are doing today, if they are not properly handled, in future it will create problem. And we don't want the kind of problems in Niger Delta here. The government should look at it and map out a policy, a guideline in taking care of our people, because refinery is refinery, if you looked round all these places you have them, the people are going through hell because of pollution. They would pollute your water, they would pollute land, they would pollute the air you breath, we need to work out a programme for the future.
Advice to Orient
Let me advise that the project on site which they are thinking about is a welcome development, because it is going to lift up the people of Anambra State. It's going to provide employment, it's going to boost the economic life and allocation to the state. For the project to take place, the Orient Petroleum is advised to stop fraternizing with individuals who parade themselves in Awka and elsewhere as community leaders but will never come home and had never attended any of the community meetings. They should come down to the community, liaise with the real leaders at home, have a working relationship with the youths and reach a compromise for the benefit of the project, Anambra State and benefit of Nigeria .
We are worried about the great divide-and-rule tactics; it will lead us to nowhere. The youths, because of the past experience, are angry and can be described as volatile. We've tried to manage them over times; we've tried to hold them back to make them see reasons. They are waiting, they are anxious over the issues and we would not want a repeat of what happened earlier. We, therefore, appeal that we should sit and talk and move forward together.