PIPELINE SURVEILLANCE: Resource Control On Trial
By Enideneze Etete – There have been ripples over trillions of Naira pipeline surveillance contracts handled by indigenous firms in Nigeria’s Niger Delta.
The tenured contracts were awarded by Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, renewed in Muhammadu Buhari’s era and later in the incumbent administration of Bola Tinubu, who fired Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in 2025.
The three indigenous contractors handling the plum jobs are Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL); Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, and Maton Engineering Services Nigeria Limited. Feelers indicate that two of these firms are majorly controlled by Delta State moguls. The contractors are said to have recorded some successes in curbing vandalism of pipelines, other facilities, crude oil theft and Illegal petroleum refining.
Nonetheless, external and internal controversies trialed the bumper surveillance contracts since inception, and heightening currently.
The tussles put agitation for resource control on trial, thus a Rubicon test for the region to surmount.
When the agitation for true fiscal federalism or resource control was hot, jesters, especially from the North chided the region that it could not control its resources even if given the right. Skeptics in the Niger Delta made same statement.
Sadly, for a long time now the cacophony of agitation is fading to the lowest decibel. No thanks to clique, personal political and economic interests of some political and ethnic leaders as well as actors in the struggle. They have been basking in clientele and prebendal politicking and ‘politipreneurship’, betrayal and in-fighting.
These divisive acts are sometimes orchestrated by external oppressors who get largest chunk of oil largesse from the region. The internal allies get their 30 shekels of silver.
The divide-and-rule and palliative tactics have persisted at the expense of the fundamental demands of the people – to gain full right over their natural resources, and develop as they want.
Since inception of the contracts, some self-styled ex-militant generals in the region felt sidelined in what became the biggest booty of the so-called freedom they had fought for, and the peace achieved.
Their argument is that they accepted amnesty, better still, armistice from the Umaru Yar’Adua administration, losing their arms in surrender to federal government’s overtures for perks and pardon.
Whereas, many of the militant leaders and their creek-men and foot-soldiers actually benefited from the amnesty programmes, many Niger Deltans, especially oil-bearing communities and non-militants express reservations.
Tongues have also been wagging and expressing concern about men of the surveillance companies not overstepping the rules of engagement, in order not pose threat to law-abiding communities and natives.
The communities are still in the quagmire of environmental degradation and squalor, compared to the quantum of crude-oil dollars drilled from their soil.
Largest percentages of the crude-oil dollars power Nigeria’s economy, and have been used to develop Abuja and non-oil states. Non-indigenous oil mining license owners are swimming in inexhaustible wealth. Foreign oil companies take their profit home, leaving host communities poor, and the environment damaged.
Miffed by the continuous neglect and disempowerment, aggrieved former militants, youth groups and communities joined the fray of protests against the handlers of the surveillance projects. They called for discontinuation and unbundling of the contracts to various companies, reflecting states and ethnic groups in the region, instead of what they see as oligopoly business.
The media was awash with the call; physical protests have also been staged, even to the National Assembly in Abuja to press home the demand. The Senate promised the protesters that it would probe the allegations raised, up to the NNPCL, Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and other security and administrative agencies supervising and collaborating to implement the surveillance policy.
But the Joint National Assembly Committee on Petroleum, last Wednesday, rejected the protrsters’ demand for decentralization of the surveillance contract. The committee reportedly commended Tompolo’s Tantita for doing a good job.
The recent ripples were re-ignited by some ex-militant generals whose grouse is exclusion in the surveillance jobs, from which the handlers have become stupendously rich and flaunted the wealth. This smacks of economic conflict, in what has coloured the freedom fighting as ‘freedompreneurship’ and ‘pocketocracy’.
Meanwhile, the federal government denied awarding the contracts as political patronage. Instead it premised the awards on tender process, expertise and the operators’ familiarity with the environment, in line with the PIA 2021. Perhaps, their doggedness as ex-militants was also an underlying reason.
The contracts may have also been awarded to appease the repentant militants and the region. But, mostly to boost oil and gas production and buoy up national revenue in the crippling economy.
But not without a pinch of salt. Stability of the industry and government’s revenue interest overrides the plight of the impoverished host communities. A large number of non-restive people are yet to benefit from the wealth. The region is still begging for infrastructural development.
Nevertheless, the surveillance contracts is a huge economic opportunity, even though it is controlled by few persons. The firms have created jobs and incomes for youths. Additionally, they are rendering corporate social responsibility (CSR) and philanthropic gestures to communities, groups and needy individuals. But more is expected.
The government could have given non-indigenes the contracts; same way people from the region, for instance Ijaws have insignificant number of oil blocks. The scheming and crises over Atala and Malabu oil mining licenses, earlier owned by Bayelsa State government and Chief Dan Etete, respectively, among few approved for indigenes, are instructive. Oil bloc politics is one game Niger Deltans ought to channel their energies.
Monies from the surveillance would have flown out of the region or Ijaw land, if the federal government had not considered indigenes for the job. Or it would have deployed digital drone technology for the surveillance. And aggrieved persons would have only cried wolf.
The concerns of the ex-agitators and communities seem plausible in view of the resources being their natural endowments and ancestral heritage, thus, the proceeds ought to spread evenly. Moreover, the decades of environmental spoliation and underdevelopment impact on the entire ecosystem and the people.
Though those who need the job or want their brothers’ contracts discontinued might be perceived as green eyed, the call for other handlers to come on board to eat the national cake may not be out of place.
Yet those interested in the juicy pipeline job should pitch for it; market their expertise and use high influence to get it, as a matter of right, without putting sand in others’ plate of garri. That is if the bidding process will be transparent and devoid of favouritism.
Interest of communities could be factored into the contracts. Even though the PIA has Host Community Development Fund, it is yet to touch lives. Agreed, communities, local leaders and youths may be thrown into conflicts, if given the job directly.
But they could actually mount effective surveillance, and earn income, as the oil installations are on their lands. Awarding subcontracts to them in the bumper deal could thus be okay.
While the scheming is on, the ebbing agitation for resource control and true fiscal federalism, should be revived, being the best solution to region’s plight.
I do not subscribe to the sarcasm that Ijaws or Niger Deltans cannot control crude oil and gas resources, even if given the right to so do. Internal oppression and conflicts could ensue, if resource control right is granted. Yet it is better to have power over your resources and not manage it well, than leave it in the hands of oppressors.
Let the region have the opportunity first, instead of apprehensively predicting doom. It could indeed be better that managers of the resources are indigenes. The people know them and could hold them accountable, if sycophancy does not take away their conscience.
The proceeds could also trickle down better than continuously leaving the resources under external appropriators.
While in-fighting, betrayal and ‘selfocracy’ tear the people apart, the stranger reaps the crude from your backyard. And illegal miners and foreign collaborators are having a field day making dollars from solid mineral in the North. Amnesty and rehabilitation is demanded for terrorists unleashing terror in the North, a request made in comparison to the Niger amnesty programme, despite differences in ideology and approaches to the struggle.
Despite political and economic affiliations, the trends call for brotherhood and concerted effort towards revisiting the resource control or true fiscal federalism agitation, with renewed vigour, in Nigeria’s feeding-bottle federalism. It falls short of K. C. Wheare’s definition of a true federalism which the units are coordinate and independent, else not a real federalism.
The task is also on Niger Deltans and Ijaws in particular not to let the pipeline security job skirmishes affirm the sarcasm that the people cannot control resources, given the opportunity.
This trial, must be overcome to save face, and prove that the people can manage their resources, if so empowered. All stakeholders of the Niger Delta should therefore, intervene to resolve the stem the surveillance conflict from escalating into violence.
~ Enideneze Etete wrote this article from Yenagoa.
