Burubo: Communities can partner FG to Police oil infrastructure

Pastor Victor Burubo is a prominent Okrika community leader and spokesperson of the Ijaw National Congress. He told KELVIN EBIRI that traditional rulers in the Niger Delta have to be empowered to provide surveillance for oil pipelines in the region.

Should traditional rulers be in charge of oil pipeline surveillance?
For me, I do not think the traditional rulers have the wherewithal or human capacity to secure oil pipelines. First of all, the domains of some of these traditional rulers are quite small. Sometimes, in a stretch of four kilometers you have three or five kingdoms. So, their domains are quite small. Nobody has that kind of large stretch of territory under his domain. Another thing is that administratively, these traditional rulers are under the council chairmen. I do not see how they can begin such independent task on behalf of the Federal Government. In terms of security, what kind of manpower do they have? They don’t have any kind of manpower. Incidentally, they may be forced to depend on ex-militants from whom the Federal Government is taking away the contract of securing the pipelines. Traditional rulers might have input, if it comes to considering giving surveillance contract to the communities, but as per handing the security of the pipelines themselves, I don’t think they have the capacity.

Despite awarding surveillance contract to ex-militants, pipeline vandalisation still persists in the Niger Delta?
Well, that is because those pipelines are in very remote areas. If a pipeline runs from Okrika through Okrika Island, there are actually four kingdoms. So, who is going to have the dominance? If it runs through Trans-Amadi, which is also a short stretch of land, you have Amadi-Ama, you have Somiari, and before you get to Abuloma, you have four to five communities. The government needs to work out a system whereby the issue of insecurity of pipelines will be resolved. Of course, the input of ex-militants cannot be discountenanced. Let the security be done by core trained and uniformed personnel of the Federal Government in cooperation with the communities. I think we can arrive at a better arrangement in that manner, than giving it to traditional rulers. I don’t see that working.

Why did government cancel ex-militants’ surveillance contracts if it was not a failure?
Honestly, I don’t know the terms of that contract. If the contract was given as a kind of jobs for the boys’ arrangement, then, naturally, it means it was faulty from the inception. It should not have been given as a job for the boys. These people should be properly trained and given the discipline required for such a sensitive task. That these people are picked from the streets to go and man pipelines, of course, they themselves will be a danger to what they are supposed to secure.

What is your reaction to the further militarisation of the Niger Delta in a bid to secure the pipelines?
I don’t see that working. Militarisation does not work anywhere in Nigeria. When you bring these military people into the system, do not forget that in a lot of instances, the military people themselves were involved in bunkering and other crimes related to the problem we are discussing. If military and local commanders are involved in bunkering, then how can they be a solution? How can they secure installations? We have a very serious problem, which bothers on corruption and indiscipline in this country. We better look for a way out, rather than thinking that if we militarise the region we are going to have security. We can’t. The traditional leaders live in the same community as the ex-militant leaders. The traditional rulers may have to depend on the ex-militants to secure any pipeline. I don’t think that the solution to the problem lies with traditional rulers. Government has to work out a way and then secure the trust of the local community.

Look at the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, the impression we have in the Niger Delta is that some people who think they are in the majority have ganged up against us. The removal of the 10 per cent equity will greatly affect the relationship between the communities and government, as long as they see this government, as anti-Niger Delta, then, anything government is doing will be treated with suspicion. If people are told to watch after these pipelines, they may not have or feel that necessary sense of duty and commitment to look after these pipelines, because they have no confidence in the administration.

There are pipelines running through the Southeast, Southwest, Middle Belt and Niger Delta. If all the people in these areas have no confidence in the Federal Government, I fear that it may not get too much cooperation in securing the pipelines. It is not, because of conspiracy of any sort, it is just a natural human reaction when you suspect that the authority in place is not fair towards you. So, anything concerning this government and whatever they are doing may be treated with suspicion by the local population. And as long as the local population treats you and considers what you are doing with suspicion, then you cannot get their cooperation in other areas.

Will pipelines be more secure if communities are paid for surveillance?
That will be a good step, but we still need some form of official security arrangement to oversee the system. There are too many small communities along the stretch of pipelines. Government has many task forces; these forces should be encouraged to work with local communities in a transparent manner. I think that will help.

The communities will be willing to secure the facilities as long as they feel a sense of belonging under this administration. As long as they feel they are regarded as equal citizens and treated fairly. But not when in other areas you treat them with levity and act as if they are second class citizens. Worst still, when their interest and lives are not protected. The pipelines run through all the country, but mainly through the Niger Delta, and to a large extent, the Southwest, Southeast and North Central. If the people in these areas don’t feel a sense of protection and belonging, and if they feel they don’t have a stake in this Federal Government, then, naturally you can hardly get their cooperation in such a sensitive matter.

President Muhammadu Buhari haD threatened to treat pipeline vandals as Boko Haram terrorists, will this approach help solve the problem?
With all due respect, that is an empty threat as far as I am concerned. I don’t see the meaning in what he said. He did not define how Boko Haram terrorists are treated. Is he saying that pipeline vandals should be shot at sight or executed? This is a democracy. We are not in a military government, where the president can wake up one morning and tell the military to shoot at sight. He does not have such authority. If somebody is caught vandalising a pipeline, the person is usually handed over to the police or the Nigeria Civil Defence Corps. He is taken to court for trial, before he can be jailed, if found guilty. So, what is the relations between this and Boko Haram terrorism? The statement simply showed that the government was at a loss on what to do.

First of all, let the government dialogue with the people in whose domain the pipelines run. What benefit should those people have for hosting the pipelines, because they constitute a health hazard? When the pipes rupture, the people’s livelihood is a stake. Look at the Ogoni situation. Burst pipelines can create such Ogoni situation and when such things happen the people do not get compensation. Their livelihood is thrown away and most of the people have even left the community. If, the people are given sense of belonging and treated as relevant stakeholders with some level of respect, then, naturally they will cooperate. They will bring some ideas and proffer solution to this problem. When this solution comes from the people themselves, who know their terrain and their own people, then, naturally, we will have a better solution. But if a few people sit in air conditioned offices in Abuja and imagine solution for the Niger Delta, they are bound to fail. The government has to show good faith. I agree pipeline vandalisation is economic sabotage.

But if the government seems to be practicing social sabotage against the people, then such things are bound to come up.So, first of all, the government needs to shore up the confidence of the people and carry them along in whatever it is doing. The Buhari administration is too aloof. It seems to be ensconced in Abuja, and then treats whatever concerns the people, as if it is a remote issue. These are real issues in the lives of the people of the Niger Delta and other parts of Nigeria. The government must seek and obtain the cooperation of the people, not only in this area, but also in other areas that matter to them.

The government needs to talk with them. You have to talk to the people that matter in areas in which you want cooperation to secure pipeline. After talking with them, you must show goodwill and attend to matters that concern them. And after that, set up the structure with their cooperation.

There were lots of areas the Umaru Yar’Adua administration cooperated with the people concerned and they got result. Look at the amnesty itself. The militants were diverse because they were not under a central command, but they all cooperated in laying down their arms and restoring relative peace to the Niger Delta. It is an achievement. How did Yar’Adua do it? He didn’t just sit in Abuja, he sent the then vice president, Goodluck Jonathan, out. He was moving from place to place in the Niger Delta, because he is a son of the region, the people and government trusted him to play a mediatory role. These days, you will ask who are the Niger Delta people in power who could play similar role, very few.

People in certain parts of the country are not given a sense of belonging, a sense of being a stakeholder in whatever the government is doing. The president needs to come down to talk to the people. He is too aloof. His officials are too aloof. Every time, they are talking down on us. Each time we have difficulties, all we hear is that they share in our pain. We see no evidence of that. They don’t cry, when we cry. They don’t feel any pain that we feel. They just keep talking down on us. We need to get involved in the administration. It is not through the appointment of ministers as that is a constitutional thing. But the people in the Niger Delta must feel a sense of belonging in this administration. Their interests must be protected. Their lives and land must be protected, and then, they will cooperate with the government.