Pipeline Surveillance Row: MOSIEND Calls For Restraint, Warn Against Ethnic Division in Niger-Delta
YENAGOA – The Leadership of the Movement for the Survival of the Izon Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta (MOSIEND), has appealed for restraint and calm over the growing controversy surrounding pipeline surveillance contracts, warning that dispute over money and contracts must not be allowed to snowball into ethnic tension in the Niger Delta.
MOSIEND said the region had suffered too much from division, marginalisation, insecurity and underdevelopment to allow disagreements between individuals or companies become fresh sources of ethnic suspicion and confrontation.
Reacting to an allegation by foremost Niger Delta voice, HRH Alhaji Asari Dokubo, concerning an alleged ₦2.7 trillion annual value of pipeline surveillance contracts, in which the Olu of Warri and Chief Osahon Okunbo of Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL) were referenced, an allegation which has since generated response from a representative of the Olu and divergent reactions across the region.
A statement signed by its President, Dr. Kennedy Tonjo West, MOSIEND said it would neither endorse nor authenticate the disputed figure, stressing that allegations concerning public funds should be subjected to evidence and appropriate institutional scrutiny.
“If there is an allegation, let there be evidence,” the group said, adding that questions surrounding public funds, contracts and procurement should be addressed through the appropriate institutions and not through speculation, ethnic sentiment or public condemnation without evidence.
MOSIEND noted that the representative of the Olu of Warri had rejected the allegation and called for scrutiny of the relevant contracts, procurement processes, corporate records, government approvals and performance reports. The group described such scrutiny as a fair and responsible basis for resolving the matter.
However, MOSIEND said its greater concern was not merely the contractual disagreement but where the controversy could lead if allowed to acquire an ethnic character.
According to the group, what begins as a disagreement involving individuals, companies or contractual interests must not be allowed to degenerate into an Ijaw, Itsekiri, Urhobo or wider Niger Delta confrontation.
MOSIEND reminded the people of the region that the various ethnic nationalities have a long history of living together, trading together, intermarrying, sharing communities and waterways, and facing common challenges of economic deprivation, environmental degradation, insecurity and political marginalisation.
It said that shared history should count for more than any disagreement between individuals or corporate interests.
The group specifically noted that the fortunes of the Ijaw, Itsekiri, Urhobo, Isoko, Ikwerre, Anang, Ogoni, Ibibio, Efik, Kalabari, Andoni, Obolo and other Niger Delta peoples are interconnected, stressing that the peace and prosperity of one part of the region ultimately affect the others.
“We can disagree without becoming enemies. We can be different and still be one,” MOSIEND said.
The organisation also reaffirmed its support for legitimate efforts to protect oil and gas infrastructure and combat crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and pipeline vandalism, saying that the participation of indigenous companies in the protection of the region’s critical economic assets should be seen as a positive development.
It said indigenous operators, including PINL, Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited and MATON, should be assessed on the basis of their performance, contractual obligations, measurable results and compliance with the law, rather than the ethnicity of their owners.
MOSIEND said it had received encouraging feedback from communities along the Eastern Corridor concerning PINL’s operations, adding that the legitimate roles being played by the Olu of Warri, Chief Osahon Okunbo and other Niger Delta stakeholders in lawful economic and security activities should not be viewed through an ethnic prism.
The group stressed that the emergence of more indigenous Niger Delta companies in strategic sectors of the oil and gas industry should be celebrated as regional progress.
“The success of an Ijaw enterprise should not be an Itsekiri loss, just as the success of an Itsekiri enterprise should not be an Ijaw loss. Every legitimate Niger Delta success should be a regional success,” MOSIEND said.
It appealed to the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III and those around the throne to continue to weigh the wider interest of peace and regional harmony in responding to issues of this nature.
MOSIEND equally appealed to the Amanyanabo of Torusarama piri (Elem Kalabari) HRH King Asari-Dokubo, a well-known and outspoken Niger Delta voice whose interventions on regional issues have often generated strong reactions. His passion for the Niger Delta is not in doubt. However, precisely because words from prominent regional voices carry weight, we encourage greater caution where statements concern individuals, ethnic identity, contracts and sensitive economic arrangements
The group said public figures remained entitled to challenge government policies, contractual arrangements and business practices, but urged all stakeholders to distinguish clearly between fact and allegation, and opinion and evidence.
“Where there are genuine concerns about public contracts, let the contracts be examined. Let the procurement processes be scrutinised. Let the appropriate institutions investigate. Let those accused have the opportunity to respond. That is how a serious society resolves disputes,” MOSIEND said.
The organisation also cautioned young people and social-media users against turning every disagreement involving prominent Niger Delta personalities into an ethnic contest for clicks, views and likes.
“No amount of clicks, views or likes is worth the peace of the Niger Delta,” it warned.
MOSIEND called on all parties to lower the temperature, resist inflammatory narratives and allow facts and due process to determine the issues at stake.
The group said the Niger Delta had already paid too dearly for division and should not hand unresolved conflicts and ethnic suspicion to the next generation.
“We have lived together, survived together and faced the same challenges together. Let us now build and prosper together. The Niger Delta is one family,” MOSIEND said.
