Civil society's Response Working Within Oil & Gas Host Communities

Okonta Emeka Okelum, Port Harcourt

In the recent past years, the media had being awashed with countless stories and experience sharing on the horrible communal sufferings and environmental degradation, oil and gas host communities endure from exploration firms within the Niger Delta Region.

Just last week, Connected Development (CODE) with support from OXFAM, organized a two day capacity building event for civil society organizations working within the Oil and Gas sector in  Niger Delta States.

The organizers designer the event with a view at seeking partnership with non state actors to ensure and actualize more transparency and accountability in the oil and gas sector.

One of the many reasons for the two days capacity building event was for CODE to share insights into findings gathered from community outreach programs carried out in several oil and gas exploration host communities with the Niger Delta Regions, give opportunities to civil society organizations in attendance to share their perspectives and seek out means of collaborative engagement towards achieving the program's set objective with the participating non state actors.

Some weeks earlier, CODE, organized a media roundtable session with journalists drawn from radio, television, print and social media platforms in attendance, one highlight of the roundtable was the commitment of all participating journalists to key into the Conflict and Fragility program championed by CODE and supported by OXFAM, as well as seek professional means at making more citizens gain better understanding about the project, so that collectively the program's objectives can be reached.

At the two days capacity building event, Niger Delta based NGOs shared their individual insights into what it is like working within the oil and gas rich economy.

CODE also shared some storylines both in pictures and video formats, unveiling both the people's stories about the positive and negative impacts of oil and gas exploration within their communities, earlier CODE's team informed the participants that their community outreach programs had them visit some oil and gas exploration communities in Akwa Ibom and Delta States.

Participants unanimously agreed that the findings screen-played by CODE, in the point of fact represented what the people's true plight was and shared some deeper insights of theirs too.

One remarkable position participants held firm to was the views that some of the prevailing narratives by Niger Delta Citizens need to be changed as well as, the need for some swift paradigm shift in the mindset and orientation of the Niger Delta Citizens.

They also believed that there are still many untold stories about Oil and Gas exploration, its impact,citizens and community leaders roles that either mar or shapes the region's future.

The non state actors also stressed that it will be very vital for all stakeholders within the Oil and Gas exploration value chain to understand what ideally should be the right definition, length and breath of the term 'Corporate Social Responsibility' and the universally accepted pillars of the concept.

Participants shared deeper insights into other issues around the subjects of policy regulation frameworks that should better bind the Oil and Gas exploration firms with the host communities, issues of social economic sabotage, such as witlessly bursting oil pipe lines by either oil and gas staff or host community youths, with a view of demanding for endless community level compensation regimes were also considered by the participants.

Another perspective seriously considered was the notion that in some Niger Delta communities, where oil and gas exploration currently happens, participants believed that the contributions and development impacts from the oil and gas exploration firms, in true terms had performed creditably far better that the local, state and federal governments put together.

Based on this premise, participants believed that there is greater needs to design some new model of engagement with host communities citizens on the need to help them switch their mindset and behavioural attitudes towards the oil and gas exploration firms within their communities.

They reasoned that now is the time to help the community leaders, youths, women and elders to understand that they should reach out and engage more pro actively with their political representatives at the local, state and national levels, holding them accountable for their rights and entitlement to sustainable development, good governance and democratic dividends.

Participants also decried the prevailing dole systems and ever expecting hand out from the exploration firms the citizens look forward to and in most cases lay claims to as their rights and entitlements, an attitude, participants believe has capacity to further make the people lazier.

Non state actor participants at the capacity building event resolved to seek out initiatives and innovative community level engagements that will help change the prevailing narratives as well as design some behavioural change programs that will help change community members already formed mindset towards exploration firms operating within the Niger Delta communities.

This perspective, they agreed is possible as long as a more formidable working partnership is sustained by both OXFAM and CODE with them.

SOURCE :ASABA POST NEWS WIRE (ONLINE)