By: Ifeanyi Izeze<\/p>\n
It isdisheartening that the Anglo-Dutch oil giant, Shell, seemed not to
\nhave leant asingle lessons in its self-inflicted misfortunes in the
\noil-rich Niger Deltaarea. How come that not nearly enough is being done by
\nShell to polish orrather mend its tattered perception by the people of the
\nDelta? Does anybodyneed to tell Shell that its grandstanding and
\nself-glorification to a peopleand a region it has so battered could be
\nprovocative and may further worsen itswoes in the area?<\/p>\n
Whether Shellwants to hear this or not, the spate of frictions between oil
\ncompanies andtheir host communities in the Niger Delta region was created
\nor ratherinstituted by Shell\u2019s dishonest and opaque dealings with the
\ngovernments andpeople of the Niger Delta operational areas. Go and check
\nthis out! And it is curious that Shell isyet to come to the reality that
\nits brand is widely perceived as toxic by mostif not all indigenes of the
\narea.<\/p>\n
What is the essenceof the ongoing covert campaign of dangling mind-blowing
\nfictitious figures as itscontributions to the federal government and the
\nNiger Delta Development Commission(NDDC)? How come Shell now organises
\ncrocodile-smiling stakeholders\u2019 meetingall over the place to throw around
\nfigures of the billions of dollars it paidto both the federal government
\nand NDDC? Is it actually to inform the people ofthe Niger Delta or incite
\nthem again against the federal government and NDDC?<\/p>\n
First it was the2017 Swamp West Hub Integrated Stakeholders Engagement
\nForum forTarakiri\/Egbema\/Oporoma Community Leadership in Yenagoa Bayelsa
\nstate. This wasfollowed by another forum titled \u2018EA Hub Integrated
\nStakeholders EngagementForum for Iduwini\/Mien\/Kou\/Bassan-West Cluster
\ncommunity.<\/p>\n
Earlier in Port Harcourt, Igo Weli,Shell\u2019sGeneral Manager, External
\nRelations, while reacting to the recent shut-down of SPDC flowstation and
\ngas plant by angry youths of Belema community in Rivers state, didnot
\nspare any discretion in reeling out outlandish statistics solely
\ncontrivedto blackmail the federal government and the NDDC and incite the
\nangry youthsagainst the government and the Niger Delta development
\ninterventionist agency.<\/p>\n
At the peak of the Belema community crisis, Shell was quick to
\ndisclosethat it paid $31 billion to the Nigerian government as its
\ncontributionsbetween 2002 and 2016.<\/p>\n
Recently at the2017 Swamp West Hub Integrated Stakeholders Engagement
\nForum forTarakiri\/Egbema\/Oporoma Community Leadership in Yenagoa Bayelsa
\nstate, Weli, representedby the Assets Manager, Swamp West Hub, Mesh
\nMaichibi, told the local peoplethat Shell and its Joint Venture (JV)
\npartners contributed $29 billion to theNigerian government between 2012
\nand 2016 in addition to another $1.8 billionpaid into the coffers of\u00a0 the
\nNiger DeltaDevelopment Company (NDDC) funds within the same period for the
\ndevelopment ofthe oil-bearing communities in the Niger Delta region.<\/p>\n
Mischievously, thecompany was quick to remind Nigerians that, \u201cWe also
\nknow that we have NDDC andthe NDDC was set up to develop basically the
\nNiger Delta and the FederalGovernment has come up with a law where all the
\noil companies must pay certainamount to the NDDC for them to use in
\ndevelopment. As a company, as a jointventure partner, we have contributed
\n$1.8bn into NDDC\u2019s fund within the period.And the expectation is that this
\nfund will be used for the development of ourcommunities\u2019
\nsocio-development, roads, bridges and all of that. That is part ofthe
\njoint venture development that we have. Despite these huge contributions
\nbothto the development of our host region and the national economy, we
\nhave hadsituations where our facilities were shut down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Is that what theangry youth in Belema or Bayelsa want to hear from Shell?
\nIf you paid $29billion to the federal government and $1.8 billion to the
\nNDDC, how does thatconcern Belema community that has continued to live in
\nabject poverty, neglectand environmental devastation for decades since
\nShell started oil explorationand exploitation in the area? Has it bothered
\nShell that the only spots you cansee fickles of civilisation (electricity,
\nclean water, good sanitary systemsetc) are around the company\u2019s facilities
\nin the same Belema community? Can Shellpoint to any tangible and
\nfunctional Community Social Responsibilities Services\/projectsin the
\nentire Belema up to Kula area?<\/p>\n
Is the man inTarakiri, Egbema, and Oporoma communities in Bayelsa
\ninterested in how muchShell paid to government\/NDDC or in the company
\ndoing even the little basicthings to improve the quality of life in those
\ncommunities that host itsoperations?<\/p>\n
Do we need anybody to tell usthat not only does the Shell\u2019s statistics
\nappear bizarre but may have beencontrived to hoodwink
\nNigeriansparticularly the people of the oil host communities. Even a
\nnovicecan decipheroutright inconsistencies and halftruths if not blatant
\nlies which make these claims by Shell\u2019s Igo Weli contentious, absurd, and
\nmisleading.Weli should go and crosscheck what the former Managing Director
\nof Shell,Nigeria, Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu saidin December 2010 and see if what
\nhe is now saying jives with what was said earlier.<\/p>\n
It is vexing for Shell tocorrelate its contributions to the development of
\nthe Niger Delta vis- a -vis theNDDC not minding that the Anglo-Dutch oil
\ngiant is a major culprit in the unsustainableand wicked exploitation of
\nthe oil and gas resources of the Niger Delta withits attendant devastation
\nof the means of livelihoods of the people of theregion.<\/p>\n
Agreed that the FederalGovernment through its NDDC has mismanaged, even
\nout rightly embezzled fundsearmarked for the development of the region, is
\nit in Shell\u2019s position toincite the people against their government? Has
\nShell done any better with theimplementation of its corporate social
\nresponsibility (CSR) in the same NigerDelta?<\/p>\n
Shell should know that we knowthat these figures they are dangling are
\npeanuts compared to the huge profitsthe company declares annually from
\nshort-changing our people and destroying ourenvironment.<\/p>\n
As Shell has resolved to danglefigures of what it paid to the federal
\ngovernment and the NDDC, we want also toknow how much the company fleeced
\nfromthe region within the same period under review. How much did Shell
\nmake fromits operations in the Niger Delta including near and deep
\noffshore? If we know,then we can work out what percentage of their entire
\nearnings is $29 billion infour years.<\/p>\n
Shell being smart by half dangled$29 billion and $1.8 billion as monies Also, Shell did not tell uswhether the $29 billion it claimed to have paid If Shell\u2019s top management is notcomplicit in this grand scam to delude Is Weliand those that sent him on this mission of mischief not aware that The earlier SPDC recognizes\/realizesthat they can no longer hoodwink
\npaid in the last four years to thefederal government and NDDC
\nrespectively. We will want to know if the amount tothe NDDC was exactly
\nall that Shell was obligated to pay to the escrow account between2012 and
\n2016 or it\u2019s a fraction of it.\u00a0 Sincethe NDDC came into existence and oil
\nproducing companies were obligated by theAct establishing the agency to
\npay certain percentage of their annual budgetinto the escrow for the
\ndevelopment of the region, has Shell been paying up asat when due or there
\nare still backlogs of unpaid arrears by the company? We needall these
\nfacts to help us ascertain whether Shell has done what Napoleon couldnot
\ndo by paying $1.8 billion to the NDDC\u00a0in four years<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n
\nto the federal government wasfor taxes, royalties, rents or government\u2019s
\nshare of the return on investmentsby the joint venture.<\/p>\n
\n(un)suspecting stakeholders, then it follows that they are complacent
\nand\/or incompetent as it appears they are being led by their noses
\nbyunscrupulous subordinates.<\/p>\n
\nthecompany\u2019s entire operational areas are littered with ourtightly
\nunsustainableand poorly implemented community projects that could not be
\nrationalized whenjuxtaposed against the project cost, location, impact,
\nobjectives etc?<\/p>\n
\nanybody in their operational areas by obfuscating issues and come clean in
\ntheir dealings with allstakeholders the better it will be for them and
\ntheir future in the NigerDelta. Running to offshore arena would not save
\nthem from paying the wages oftheir sins against the people. God bless
\nNiger Delta!<\/p>\n