By Yange Ikyaa
in March 2013, during a push for the inclusion of the Host Community Development Fund in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) in the Nigerian Senate, Senator Ita Enang, then representing Akwa Ibom north-east Senatorial District described the opposition to the 10 per cent Host Community Fund by mostly northern senators as “misplaced”.
Senator Enang alleged that over 83 per cent of oil blocks in Nigeria are owned by northerners.
When Enang was asked by the Senate leadership whether he could substantiate his claim, he promptly pulled out a document from his folder and reeled out oil blocs and their owners, while exposing the unfortunate north/south disparity and at the same time denying any intention “to divide the country but to guide those who wanted to contribute to the debate to be truly informed.”
It was later proven that Senator Enang’s claim was based on an article written by one Mr. Rose Alabo George whose famous essay was titled Poverty and Deprivation: Why The North is Poor. The article, which was later reviewed by some group of public commentators, was aimed at playing up the sentiments that a good number of Nigerians from the south nurse on the perceived dominance of northern elite in the ownership of oil blocks. That perception has been proven wrong going by the list of almost 70 oil blocks that are due for re-licensing this year.
Now, about six years down the line after Senator Enang’s assertion, the debate has expanded beyond North/South ownership imbalance in the Nigerian oil and gas sector to the seemingly disparity that exist between North/South in the petroleum workforce, thereby creating the worst form of inequality between the rich and the poor on a regional basis as compared to any other part of the country.
Northern Nigeria, which was alleged to command the largest share of Nigerian oil blocks, ironically has the highest levels of poverty in the country.
According to Nigeria poverty statistics report available to Valuechain, some of the poorest states in the country are Zamfara (North-west), Yobe (North-east), Jigawa (North-west), Bauchi (North-east) and Kebbi (North-west).
According to the report, Zamfara State has been rated the poorest state in Nigeria, with 91.9 percent poverty rate, followed by Yobe State with poverty rate of 90.2 percent.
Yobe State in the past ten years has suffered attacks from Boko Haram terrorists, whose activities could be blamed partly on the unemployment in the state. This has in many ways hindered economic development and contributed to the state’s poverty rate.
Borno State, situated within the northeastern region of Nigeria, has also suffered heavy attacks from the terror group and it has a 70.1 percent poverty rate.
According to investigation conducted by Valuechain, the combined workforce of major oil companies and oil servicing companies in Nigeria amounts to roughly hundred thousand staff, of which 85% are from the south, who earn an average of N30 million above per annum.
Industry watchers have argued that if the north really controls greater percentage of the country’s oil blocks, why then such disparity in the industry workforce?
A document from InfoguideNigeria seen by Valuechain, with a list of 44 oil block owners, has 25 Southern Nigerian individuals, such as Peter Odili (OPL 289 & OPL 233), Andy Ubah (OPL 286), Emeka Offor (OPL 291), Mike Adenuga (unnamed six oil blocks), Alfred James (OPL 302), J.O. Udoji (OPL 226), Arthur Eze (OPL 109), Kase Lawal (OPL 120 & OPL 121), M.A. Olokun (OPL 122) and MKO Abiola (OPL 205 & OPL 206).
Others on the document are Module Alakija (OPL 216), O.B. Lulu Briggs (OPL 114, 239, 234 & 231), ABC Orjiako (OPL 248), Reggie Uduhim (OPL 249), David Richards (OPL 34), Rachel Akintola and Ibukun Olawepo (OPL 241), Appia Korang, Oba Gbadebo & Co. (OPL 278 & OPL 236), Onoh Anthony & Colleagues (OML 54), Ewendu Chidi (OML 38), Du-Frayed, Tonye Cole and colleagues (OML 40), Faton Layi and colleagues (OML 54), Macpepple Victoria and colleagues (OML 11), and Alhaji W.I. Folawiyo (OML 113).
Yet, other oil blocks have joint ownership of southerners and northerners, portraying a picture of consensus among northern and southern businessmen and women rather than a case of regional monopoly by the northern elite and marginalization of southern Nigerians in oil business control. One of such oil blocks is OML 46, owned by Aliyu Abubakar in partnership with Brigidi David, Alamieysiegha Anitonbrapa, Efimaim Ekine, Jonathan Selereipre, Enddeley Francis, Chinwetelu Chris, and Williams E.J.
In terms of employment, one analyst who preferred not to be named said that “95% of the work force in the private oil companies in Nigeria are southerners.”
According to him, few people from the northern side of the country really reckon with the petroleum industry aside from NNPC and maybe DPR.
“And for the few that work in the sector, NNPC and DPR are the organizations where you find them. Contrary to popular perception, neither of these companies is in top 10 oil and gas organizations in Nigeria (by working conditions) at non-executive level,” he said.
Apart from NNPC, a government owned company, NLNG (jointly owned by NNPC, Shell, Total, and Agip), is another company you will find a good number of northerners and majority of them are – not surprisingly – seconded from NNPC.
Yet, issues of wealth control by a few individuals and exclusion of the larger chunk of the population in economic participation, as raised by agitators from either halves of Nigeria, recently necessitated the call by oil workers on President Muhammadu Buhari to take urgent steps to address the situation.
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, recently told the President that only a total overhauling and amendment of Nigerian Content Monitoring and Development Board (NCMDB), Act will make it achieve the main purposes for which it was created.
Speaking during a courtesy visit by NUPENG to President Buhari at the State House, President of the Union, Prince Williams Akporeha, among others, lamented that “the manner in which the provisions of Local Content Monitoring and Development Act, are being executed in the Nigerian oil and gas industry vis a vis the increasing wave of indecent and precarious employment can be described as a disappointment, as the situation is inadvertently contributing to making young Nigerian graduates frustrated to the extent of embarking on suicidal migration to Europe and America.
According to him, “it is worthy to note that the Unions in the Nigerian oil and gas industry worked tirelessly to see to the passage into law of the Nigerian Content Monitoring and Development Board, NCMDB, Act, because it was anticipated that it would aid and support the protection of the rights and job interests of Nigerian workers. Unfortunately, the reverse is the situation because there is the erroneous perception that the intention of the Act is to create as many indigenous contractors as possible without minding the nature of jobs these contractors are giving to Nigerians. Even your executive order of Nigeria First on employment issues is being blazingly disregarded.
“It will interest you to know that, multi-national and indigenous oil companies are no longer employing young Nigerian Technical, Vocational, Polytechnic and University graduates on permanent basis. The general practice now is indecent and precarious employment.
“The rights, benefits and jobs security of these hapless Nigerians are being denied and violated, including but not limited to freedom to belong to the Trade Union. It is our prayers therefore, for your Presidential directive to ensure that a key condition in securing contracts in the Nigerian oil and gas industry should be readiness to employ at least 75% of all cadres on permanent basis and also allow all workers to freely associate with any registered trade union in the industry.
“We wish
to further appeal to Mr. President to overhaul and amend the NCMDB Act for
inclusion of decent jobs.