FR
Host
H S E
F O R
T H E
N L N G
issn: 1119 7676
H O S T
C O M M U N I T I E S
2011
Farming is for Life and Living page 12
Rivers
Great Men &
Women (some of them)
Better Ubeta Out of Songhai Around & About Yam and a first-class bash
from the editor-in-chief
Treasure base of the nation
I
f one describes Rivers State as being blessed, one would definitely be right. Indeed, most minds would instantly focus on the natural resources – oil & gas – that nature has bestowed in ample quantity on the state. Yes, that is a form of blessing; however, not the kind we were thinking of when we set out to put this issue of the HOST together. Our focus was not on the natural resources but on the human resources of the state. From seasoned administrators to educationists, jurists to footballers, gentlemen soldiers to valiant seafarers, skilled artisans to talented artistes, Rivers State is indeed blessed. A compendium of Nigeria’s accomplishments as a nation would definitely throw up a long list of individuals of Rivers extraction who have contributed to putting Nigeria on the global map in different spheres. We tracked down a few, just a few, of these individuals to tell us their stories. People who have aspired despite the odds to succeed in their chosen careers and have made their families, communities and their state, proud! They are our treasures! Our goal? That in their stories, we all might find a few nuggets to hold for our own journey to success! Rivers State, named after the many rivers that border its territory, was part of the Oil Rivers Protectorate from 1885 till 1893, when it became part of the Niger Coast Protectorate. In 1900, the region was merged with the chartered territories of the Royal Niger Company to form the colony of Southern Nigeria. The state was formed in 1967 with the break-up of the Eastern Region of Nigeria. Its capital is the historical city of Port Harcourt. Until 1996, the state also consisted of the region which now constitutes Bayelsa State. It is bounded on the South by the Atlantic Ocean, to the North by Imo, Abia and Anambra States, to the East by Akwa Ibom State and to the West by Bayelsa and Delta States. Rivers State is home to a variety of ethnic groups – including the Abua, Andoni, Ekpeye, Engenni, Etche, lbani, lkwerre, Kalabari, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, Okrika and Ogoni people – demonstrating one of Rivers State’s exceptional qualities: a rich culture of inclusive diversity. In this issue we serve you a dish of the richness of these cultures and what they treasure! The Rivers State Government seems not to be taking the problem of unemployment lightly. One of the various programmes recently instituted to help our youths become gainfully employed is the Overseas Maritime Manpower Capacity Building Programme. Some products of that scheme are well on their way to becoming celebrated treasures in the future! They say great minds think alike; one project that NLNG has shown so much support for is the Maritime Institute at Oron. Refer to the 2010 issue of NLNG: The Magazine to read about our efforts there – e-copy is available on our website. One of our collaborative efforts with farmers in our communities is now showing promise of a bountiful harvest. Some of them who took part in the 2010 excursion to Songhai Integrated System Centre, Port Novo, a modern farm in Benin Republic, tell of how their farming practices have been affected. In fact, the farmers have now organised themselves into what they call the N-AGENDA Farmers Association and are poised to take on great things. Find out what all that is about in this issue. Here again, NLNG and the Rivers State Government seem to be on the same wave length; the Songhai Rivers Initiative Farm (SRIF) is becoming quite a success story. We got good feedback on the last issue, please keep them coming. You can write to us or visit our – www.nlng.com – to drop your feedback. Have a good read.
Siene Allwell-Brown 2
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contents 3 4 6 8 10 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 22
Preface: Role Models
23
People & cultures of Rivers State
Opobo man, NASA’s saviour Born with a bronze spoon Master juggler A firm and fair man Royal, regal Amal Our teacher Yam and a first class bash Better Ubeta Making them sea-worthy Out of Songhai Farming - for life and living Around & About Economic Empowerment & Development Day
Photos on Page 2 and 22 by Chudi Nwankwo. Photos on Page 24 courtesy of Mrs Stella Alaputa, Deacon and Deaconess Akuro Parker and NLNG Photo Library
HOST (ISSN 1119-7676) is for the people and host communities of Nigeria LNG Limited. The views and opinions within the magazine however do not necessarily reflect those of Nigeria LNG Limited or its management. Editor-in-Chief: Siene Allwell-Brown Managing Editor: Ifeanyi Mbanefo Associate Editor: Mohammed Al Sharji Editor: Yemi Adeyemi Deputy Editor: Elkanah Chawai Writers: Anne-Marie Palmer-Ikuku, Dan Daniel, Eva Ben-Wari, Ophelia-Tammy Aduura, Philip Afolami, Iwokiri Aprioku, Abiotonaa Warikubu
All correspondence to: Yemi Adeyemi, Editor, Host, Nigeria LNG Limited, C&C Building, Plot 1684, Sanusi Fafunwa Street, Victoria Island, PMB 12774, Lagos, Nigeria. Phones: 234 1 2624190, 2624556, 2804000. e-mail: yemi.adeyemi@nlng.com. Website: www.nigerialng.com Editorial consultancy, design and production: Taijo Wonukabe Limited, 2 Anifowoshe Close, Surulere. Tel 01-6283223, 08023130829. e-mail info@taijowonukabe.com, web http://www.taijowonukabe.com Printed in Nigeria by PrintPro Projects Limited, 2 Anifowoshe Close, Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria. Tel: 01-6283223
preface
Rivers (Wo)men who
inspire S
ome time in 2008, at the height of the debate and struggle for the soul of the Niger Delta region, some photographers were commissioned to go into Rivers State to capture hope. How hard could that be, you may ask. Let’s just say their impression of hope was not inspiring enough. It wasn’t just enough to take photos of new roads and projects or market places and festivals as a representation of hope because it didn’t capture the emotional dimension that would fully define the positive outcomes the society longs for. You can’t really blame the photographers. In times of adversity, beauty is rarely seen. But the flower that blooms in such times is most beautiful. In different corners of Rivers State, some of these flowers in the form of great achievers, bloomed; men and women, who by virtue of their passion for good and their hard work, became these rare stock. They were good spirits. In the words of the 33rd president of the United States of America, Harry S. Truman: “I studied the lives of great men and famous women, and I found that the men and women who got to the top were those who did the jobs they had in hand, with everything they had of energy and enthusiasm and hard work.”
In the same vein, the great and famous men and women in Rivers State achieved success striving through the fog of inequality, stereotype and hardship to get to the zenith of human endeavours in the country. Host brings you closer to a few of them. In this issue of Host, men and women of reckoning are celebrated for their outstanding and excellent achievements in life. Excellence is the common trait in all cases. There are many things you may not know about these people. For instance, did you know that a Rivers man, yes, an Opobo man, helped demystify a problem choking the prestigious National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the pioneer of space exploration and the pride of Americans? Or did you know that a retired footballer from the state went ahead to score high in the judiciary? To continue these questions would be to spill the beans too early. At this juncture, it would be remiss not to mention that the people you are about to meet are not the only great men and women in Rivers State. They are only representative of the high-standing, top-of-thepack indviduals. Rivers State celebrates them all. Turn the pages and be inspired. As Charles H. Fowler once said, “the best teachers of humanity are the lives of great men and women.” HOST
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cover story
By Yemi Adeyemi & Elkanah Chawai
H
e could aptly have been the star character of a sci-fi movie. His rise to stardom sounds like a well thought-out and captivating plot or the musings of an incredibly imaginative child.
The Solutions
MAN “It was a problem of mathematical instability which was applicable to the NASA problem. I was able to get a solution and from then on, I was flying.”
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In 1969, he had just graduated from the University of New Brunswick as the first black man in the world (and yes, you read right) to bag a Ph.D in Geodesy, the science of the earth, and was chief geodesist at the Battelle Columbus Research Institute in the United States, bubbling with great ideas. It’s beginning to sound like a plot, right? Relax. At that time, NASA was having a major challenge providing effective land tracking stations, a crucial link to launching crafts into space. NASA didn’t know how to track satellites; one big issue stood in their way—the ocean constitutes 70 per cent of the earth. Most of the tracking would be in the ocean or at sea. NASA considered us-
ing something called the Apollo Ships to track. But before you can use a ship to track, you have to know where the ship is first—another missing link for NASA at the time. Weeks after this man, already a doctor of geodesy, joined the team to solve this problem, he came up with a solution; a solution he had in his pockets since the completion of his Ph.D. Please, meet, Alabo Professor Dagogo Fubara, from Opobo in Rivers State. You know what? At first, NASA didn’t believe him. But he was their saviour. “I had solved that problem when I was studying,” he recalls. It was a problem of mathematical instability which was applicable to the NASA problem. I was able to get a solution and from then on, I was flying. I was part of a team that developed how to use acoustic transponders planted in the ocean, using steel band readers to determine their positions. Those acoustic transponders can then determine the position of the ship and the ship can then do the tracking,” Prof. Fubura elucidates without losing breath. From then on, he became a star in the international science world. Professor Fubara went on to work for the United States Navy. Again, he helped offer the solution to determining the point or ranges to calibrate or test missiles off-shore. You would give Professor Fubara more credit when you consider that
“Until we industrialise Nigeria through this inculcation of science and technology, the country is doomed to remain stagnant and even the 2020 vision might just be a mirage.” this feat was in the early 1960s, the height of racial discrimination in the US. “The black men were called Negroes and were treated worse than their lot. In America, they brainwashed the people of our race. In fact, that brain-washing has not left most African-Americans today. But, with all those kinds of discrimination and brainwashing to feel less human than they are, having been brought out of Africa, I competed with them in their schools in the US and they were not better. By the grace of God, most of the time I was top of the class and they had no reason to make me feel inferior,” he says. He later returned to Nigeria to contribute to the development of science and technology. “Whatever I was doing for NASA and the US Navy, I thought that my country needed me to come and do the same here. It was nice coming back. I had a house
in a White residential area and even my children were beginning to see that they were not inferior,” says the professor who is now 73. With that zeal for science, education and his country, Prof. Fubara had his fingers in many things. He is one of the founding fathers of Rivers State University of Science and Technology and the founding chairman of Rivers State Polytechnic in Bonny. He contributed to the development of the first national policy on science and technology and served in many professional national committees including the collaboration between the American and the Nigerian space agency where he is the national coordinator. He is also a member of Rivers State Economy Advisory Council where he is the chairman of the Energy and Environment Committee. And he is a chief in Opobo land of Rivers State. He is the Alabo and Dappaye Amakiri XXVII. Born in Bonny into an Opobo royal lineage in 1938, Prof. Fubara had the birthright to become the Alabo, a title that comes with a symbolic stool that has been in existence since 1580 in Opobo. That was key to his resolve to being the best. His words: “One thing my father used in motivating me was his admonition anytime I did something wrong. Instead of punishing me, he
cover story would tell me about my lineage. He would say ‘you are the first son of the first son of the first son’ and he will name all our ancestral fathers all the way to Asimini, the king of Bonny. Then he will say people of our pedigree don’t do stupid things like this. That meant a lot to me and it made me feel like I was born differently and that a lot was expected of me.” Professor Fubura finished from the prestigious Government College, Umuahia, a college that has produced many eminent Nigerians. Thereafter, he was sponsored by Shell BP, as Shell was known then, through his education in Britain where he became a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, his masters degree at the Ohio State University where he specialised in geodetic engineering, and his doctorate degree at University of New Brunswick. He believes passionately that science and technology education is the only panacea for underdevelopment in Nigeria and laments the apathy by youths and government. In his word, “We must face science and technology and industrialise our place using the resources we have. But at the bottom of it all is that, painfully, the new generation today don’t want to go to school to study. We are producing illiterates because of two things: the universities are not wellequipped and the students themselves don’t want to learn. Until we industrialise Nigeria through the inculcation of science and technology, the country is doomed to remain stagnant and even the 2020 vision might just be a mirage. Science is no magic, no voodoo, no native doctor.” He is also a champion for the development of Niger-Delta. “We are developing a plan on development of the Niger-Delta which we have presented to the River State Governor and to the President. It is unfortunate that successive federal governments have not had the will, fairness and justice to address the development of Niger-Delta.” Prof. Fubara retired in 2003 to fully dedicate his time to his company which he set up to conduct land and offshore geo-physical and geo-technical surveys. He has executed projects in major oil and gas companies in the country. He is married to Dr. Vinolia S. Fubara and they have seven children and 13 grand-children. His story doesn’t seem like a movie plot or a muse after all that. He is really human, meaning that his feats can be replicated and this he is keen to tell River State youths. With a philosopher’s touch to it, he summarises his advice to youth in these few words: Live, learn, love and leave a legacy.
HOST
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cover story
bronze spoon Born with a
G
by yemi adeyemi & elkanah chawai
etting an appointment for an interview with Mr. Atedo N. A. Peterside, OON, is quite a task. But when you eventually do and get to meet him, you will understand why. The man just has his fingers in so many pies. What he is so passionate about now, however, is giving back to the society from which he has been so blessed. This he does through ANAP Foundation, which he is President and Founder of, a non-profit organisation committed to promoting good governance. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, where he was the Chief Executive Officer from the inception of the bank in February 1989 at age 33 until 2007 when became Chairman. He is also the Non-Executive Chairman of Cadbury Nigeria PLC. Mr. Peterside had his secondary school education at King’s College Lagos, and later obtained a B.Sc. degree in Economics from The City University, London and an M.Sc. (also in Economics) from London School of Economics & Political Science. His executive educational experience is wide and varied and includes the Owner/President Management Programme of the Harvard Business School. Peterside was the Chairman of the Committee on Corporate Governance of Public Companies in Nigeria, which crafted the first Code of Best Practices for Public Companies operating in Nigeria. The Code was published in October 2003. He also sits on the Board of the following publicly quoted companies – Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc (Heineken Subsidiary), Presco Plc and Unilever Nigeria Plc. His recreational interests include boating, polo, reading and travel. Peterside hails from Rivers State in Nigeria and he is married to Abiodun (Dudun), who hails from Lagos State. They are blessed with three children (Tokini, Atowari and Tariye).
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The man, Atedo Peterside I am an ordinary Nigerian who wants the best things for his country. I never considered the pursuit of knowledge, income or wealth as an end in themselves. For me, all these things were a means to an end and so I could never dedicate my entire life to pursuing them. It is important to acquire some knowledge and to attain some financial security; thereafter, I believe one should pursue what one believes to be their purpose on earth and that purpose is something that only the Almighty fully understands. By studying what skills and endowments the Almighty gave you as well as the genuine satisfaction you get from taking particular actions, you can get a glimpse of what your true purpose on earth might be. I had a successful banking career, but I believe that only gave me a platform to build on. The things that always thrilled me were those associated with the economic transformation of my country and my people. This explains my latter decision to set up ANAP Foundation, which is a non-profit organisation that is committed to promoting good governance. I am very happy spending the rest of my life in this pursuit. Family background I was born in Port-Harcourt, but never really lived in PH for more than four continuous years between ages six and 10. My parents are both from Rivers State. Indeed, my four grandparents are all from Rivers State. I grew up in a closely knit family structure. My two sisters and I were inseparable until we all became adults. I do not have any brothers. Growing up Growing up was fun. My sisters and I were very close. They were both older than me and so I was the last to leave home. I left PH for King’s College, Lagos, at age 10 and never really came back to PH except as a “visitor”. The rest of my formative years were therefore spent outside PH. Looking back, I realise that I was blessed (or dare I say born with a little “bronze” spoon) in the sense that my parents were well-educated and could afford to send me anywhere for me to pursue my education. I chose to pursue my university education overseas and they paid my fees. Life-shaping influences My moral compass came from home. From a very early age, I never had a choice regarding being told about what was wrong and what was right. My mother, in particular, was unrelenting and is still unrelenting in terms of getting me to pay attention to spiritual matters. She still scolds me for not reading enough of the Bible. Life as a foreign student Like I explained earlier, my parents could afford to send me abroad to university. Life as a foreign student in London was both challenging and fun at the same time. I got to London at age 18 and had to learn to become an adult almost instantaneously. I did not have a choice. My sisters were not there. My parents were
“Life is about probabilities and risk management. We can each invest our time and energy in improving the probability that we become successful.”
not there. I realised I had to grow up and be responsible, and quickly too. I do not think that studying abroad was the decisive factor. Being “on my own” and without family nearby might have helped me to mature quickly, but then it could also have destroyed me. There were bad influences lurking everywhere. A long and successful career in banking I came back from London and right from my NYSC year, I asked to be deployed to a bank in Lagos. My request was granted and I eventually joined NAL Merchant Bank (now subsumed under Sterling Bank). NAL was the oldest merchant bank in the country. I worked there for 10-and-half years before leaving to set up IBTC. I had to spend at least 10 years before setting up the investment bank of my dreams because, in those days, CBN only allowed those with a minimum of 10 years banking experience to be Bank CEOs. I became the Founding CEO of IBTC in February 1989. At that time, at 33, I was the youngest bank CEO in the country. But I was also a bank entrepreneur. I had a good small nucleus of founding managers with me and we had a shared vision. Guiding principle and achievements I decided very early that integrity was very important. I had no interest in amassing a huge financial fortune through dubious means. There was no EFCC then, but I understood that if you committed a crime they could come after you in 45 years time. There is no time limit for prosecuting a criminal. Perhaps I was lucky because I also felt I could be moderately successful without sacrificing integrity or ethics. Economies of the Niger Delta states When I look at the Niger Delta States, I am both happy and sad at the same time. I am happy that a lot has been achieved, but I am sad because a lot more could have been achieved with the same resources. Improving the lives of people in the region We need to accelerate the pace of improvement in our social and physical infrastructure. I wish our governments would all accept this as their top priority. Harnessing and developing talents that lIE fallow in the state The only thing that endures is competitiveness. You can only spoon-feed people for so long. Teach a man to fish and he will feed himself. Give him fish to eat and you
cover story will have to keep on feeding him. That is why the entire focus should be on improving the physical and social infrastructure. The latter includes education. Quality infrastructure makes it possible for people to build industries or provide services that are competitive. If their businesses are crumbling because of the huge burden they face trying to overcome the limitations of decrepit infrastructure, then you are back to square one. Competitiveness and Sustainability are concepts which appear to be alien to some of our decision-makers. Too much time is spent and too much of our scarce resources are squandered in pursuing dubious projects and/or other “short-cuts” that will fail. Today’s youth are lucky that the telecommunications’ infrastructure is much improved. They can communicate. If they are computer- literate, then they can get all the information they need via the Internet. In my youth, information was expensive to obtain because it was not accessible in your home. You had to travel around to gather it from various sources and you could not pass it on easily because the telecommunications infrastructure was non-existent. We had to overcome all those hurdles, but we were strong in the basic subjects - maths, English, sciences, history, geography and so on. It is sad that we are now transporting our youths into the information age but then some of them have no firm grounding in maths and English. Success recipe for our youth The youth have to understand that the world is a competitive market place. If you are not good at anything, you cannot excel. Success usually comes because you are engaged in an activity in which you have a competitive edge over others. You do not have to be the very best in the world to survive or to excel. Very often you only have to be better at something than those around you. On some activities, though, there is very little protection from foreign competition. On others, the competition is purely local. There is a broad spectrum in between. Many of our youth get distracted by the successes achieved by someone who was exceedingly lucky. You cannot rule out outliers, neither am I saying that miracles do not happen. What I am saying is that we cannot just fold our hands and wait for a miracle to happen. Life is a marathon and it is also about probabilities and risk management. We can each invest our time and energy in improving the probability that we become successful. At the end of the day that was really all that some of us did. As the saying goes, man proposes, but God disposes. If you do your homework and do your best to improve your knowledge and skills and you are flexible enough to read the early warning signs and adjust to new demands, dictates and information, you may succeed. If you do the exact opposite and you are intransigent, indolent, stubborn and illogical then you are programming yourself perfectly for failure. You may still get lucky. You could even win the football pools or some lottery jackpot, but who among us will advise our children to bank on that? HOST
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cover story
juggler Master
By Yemi Adeyemi, Elkanah Chawai & Iwokiri Aprioku
F
ive years ago, Columbia, a small town in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, was known for its notoriety and Mafiosi-style dealings. Only the bravest, the feared, known residents and, maybe, people who have earned respect or honour for their good deeds or fame dared enter the town. The bravest only came for the Suya, the best you could find in town. Today, the town has shed its notoriety; the Suya is still good. Amongst the many decrepit houses stands out this property, one of a clearly distinctive quality, owned by a man of honour, well-respected and once-feared — Adokiye Amiesimaka.
Respect and fear, some of the strongest emotions used to sway loyalty, have kept men in corridors of power and influence. Even though Amiesimaka cannot be described as a man in such corridors, these emotions have worked well for him almost all his life to keep him among the top prominent people in Rivers State. Amiesimaka earned respect for being one of the early footballers that put the country on the world soccer map. He played for the Green Eagles of Nigeria with the likes of Best Ogedegbe, Christian Chukwu, Segun Odegbami and Muda Lawal whilst he studied law
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at the University of Lagos, a feat rarely replicated by footballers in Nigeria. He is the first law undergraduate and the first legal practitioner to play for the national team. In 1980, together with members of his team, he won the first African Nations Cup title and an Olympic medal in Moscow, Russia. No wonder the newest stadium in Rivers State was named after him. But that is half the story. There is more. During his short stint with Radio Rivers, he became the golden voice of radio, charming listeners with his sonorous voice. He hasn’t lost that voice. He was also, at one time, prosecutor in the robbery and fire-arms tribunal. He later became Attorney-General of Rivers State government in 1994. He was the youngest ever to occupy that post. As a prosecutor, he faced outlaws, standing at what many would call a very dangerous corner in the court room. He was the symbol of law and order; sometimes, tempered by the soft image of a soccer star. Many times whilst in court, he got this a lot: “Adokiye, we are your fans oh. When you used to play football, we used to be your very good fans oh.” They knew that he didn’t have a problem with them and that he was just doing his job. And he did his job well. For fear of boredom and for want of adventure, he got involved in so many things at the same time. “I was privileged by God’s grace to have the capacity to combine a few things at the same time, a kind of multitasker. I was able to multi-task myself. As a student of CMS Grammar School, I was privileged to be the senior prefect of the school. I decided to take five papers instead of four that every other student in Lagos State took. I combined that with my work with football,” says the 55-year-old former winger. Born to a customs officer and a fulltime housewife who taught him and his seven siblings to live within their means, Amiesimaka’s philosophy was
to be happy and make as many people as possible as happy as he can. He believed in fairness, justice, and selflessness as was humanly possible; and he believed in God. Consequently, through football, he made the whole country happy with the medals he won and the fame he brought to the country; he became a lawyer because he believed in fairness and justice; and he was selfless because he thought of things he could do for his country and not the other way round. Amiesimaka’s ancestral home is Okrika, Rivers State, but he practically grew up in and around Nigeria, starting his primary education in Maiduguri and Kano. He finally ended up in Lagos where he spent most of his life honing his football skills and charting a course in the law profession. “One thing that influenced me in life is something that keeps on flashing in my head. It was on the blackboard at my primary school, Salvation Abraham Primary School, Surulere, in 1968: ‘a good name is better than riches’. One of the class teachers must have written that and I kept it in my head. Another factor was my parents. My father was a customs officer who many described as incorruptible and straightforward, contrary to the general perception of customs officers. I remember shedding
“When I believe that something is right, I can be very tenacious. I am not the type who jumps on the bandwagon because everybody is there.”
cover story tears when I met a lawyer at the Rivers State Ministry of Justice who worked with my father in 1963 (what a small world). He told me of how they were trying to get my father out of the way because of his stance against fish importers trying to evade import duty,” he said. Like most parents, his father had frowned at him for playing football. You wouldn’t blame the man. Football was not yet that million dollar dream job. But his English Language teacher had foresight and urged him on. “As I said, it’s all by God’s grace because I never took football as profession. No. I played till the heights and it was always recreation to me,” he said. He played his first match for the Green Eagles in 1976 when he was 19. Later, his love for the sport led him to Sharks of Port Harcourt in 1976 and got him into Rangers International of Enugu in 1978 whilst studying law in Unilag. “I voluntarily opted out of the national team in 1981 because I decided to come to Port-Harcourt and settle down as a legal practitioner in the Ministry of Justice. I was playing for Sharks Football Club; did my work as State Counsel in the Ministry of Justice and also took the News at Radio Rivers in the evenings. By God’s grace, I was able to juggle all of that. Here was Amiesimaka’s schedule at the time: “I train at the temporary stadium before 7am. Immediately after that, I dash down to a hotel (I had an arrangement with the management of the hotel) for a shower. I get to court before 9am, then to the Ministry of Justice to review my cases and prepare for the next day. By 4pm, I am home for another shower and some rest. Then, I dash down to Radio Rivers for the 6pm or 9pm news. No night clubs. No beer parlours. Just football, courts, news and me” He describes himself as tenacious. “When I believe that something is right, I can be very tenacious., I am not the type who jumps on the bandwagon because everybody is there.” With a stand like this, he has his fair share of controversies. The latest was his revelation on age falsification by footballers in his weekly column in The Punch newspaper. He also had quite a few whilst he was AttorneyGeneral. He has survived it all because he believes in himself and his talents. Amiesimaka has some wise words for youth who aspire to be like him. “Identify your talent; don’t let anything come between you and that talent God has given to you. Don’t let the society or your parents or any other person get in the way of your God-given talent,” he advised. Amiesimaka retired at the age of 40 in 1996, living off returns from investments like the one in Colombia. Outside his property is a new community football pitch being built by the Rivers State Government. Good people attract good things. HOST
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Fair
cover story
By Eva Ben-Wari and Ophilia Tammy-Aduura
H
e is a television broadcaster, soldier, diplomat and public relations practitioner. Remarkably affable; thoroughly disciplined. He knows too well what significant advantages those who learn to benefit from the experience of others wield over their peers. He is Chief (Ambassador) Dagogo Claude Wilcox. SeAlabo, Paramount Head of Wilcox Major House, William Wilcox III, Buruwi VIII of Bonny. In this interview, Chief Wilcox shares insights from his wide and varied experiences in the Nigerian Army and the Congo, among others.
Give us some insight into your growing up I was a spoilt child because I was the only son of my mother. I was taken to Lagos by my parents,and I was told that I was very rascally growing up. So, they had to tie my legs to furniture in the house to keep me from moving around. At the age of 11, I lost my mother. My father later re-married and that changed my attitude to life. We all know the story of step-mothers. Mine was not any different, to a large extent. I thank God that she gave me all those hard training. My growing up was very interesting and eventful. I was not a very brilliant scholar. My parents no doubt encouraged me to show more interest in my studies. On graduation from secondary school, I worked briefly as a third class clerk at the Federal Ministry of Works and Surveys Mechanical Workshops Ijora, Lagos. In 1963, I branched out into television broadcasting, Nigerian Television Service later called NBC-TV and now known as NTA. I was trained as a Studio Floor Manager and served there for over seven years. I come from a family where my elder brother, Wariopusenibo Ida George Claude-Wilcox, a veteran radio broadcaster and our father, a great jazz music enthusiast, motivated my interest in television broadcasting. My father was a good ballroom danc-
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A firm and
Man
Chief Wilcox understands too well what significant advantage those who learn to benefit from the experiences of others wield over their peers.
er, played the jazz drums and taught people the art. The late Bobby Benson was one of his students. What are some of the societal influences that shaped your life? My father was a big influence on me. My late uncle Chief R. T. E. Dappa-Wilcox was the first lawyer from these parts, and I lived with him. He was meticulously dressed. He later became a magistrate. He was once the Chancellor of the Anglican Church on the Niger. He made sure we attended church service regularly. I travelled a lot with my father because he was always on transfers. In my last two years in secondary school, I was made to live with, and serve, a chap my father employed as a houseboy who eventually became a messenger in his office. I cooked his meals when he was at work. Going to school, I had to carry an extra market bag on my way to college and, on my way back, would stop at King Jaja Street market, Burukiri New Layout Port-Harcourt to shop for food items with which I prepared food for my master, Ambrose. Before this time, Ambrose was the one who served me, now I had to cook his meals. That alone taught me humility.
What led you to your various careers? Let’s start with the military; I was not cut out to be a soldier. I was in broadcasting. A good number of Prof. John P. Clark’s plays were recorded from the studio floor and Chief (Amb) Segun Olusola, my boss, was one television director whose productions influenced my TV broadcasting experience. He made TV dramas look real. At a point, my interest in the job started waning. The influx of radio broadcasting personnel caused me to start looking in another direction. NBC decided to introduce radio personnel into the television so I thought I should go back to school. I went to the University of Lagos for a course in mass communication, and I returned to the television house on Saturdays to present my TV Teenage Programme. I was part of the programme on TV called Saturday Square produced and directed by late Art Alade. After a while, I applied for and got a job in an advertising agency, SH Benson Advertising Agency (later Oglivy Benson & Mather Advertising Agency) as trainee account executive. One eventful day, the Managing Director, Mr. David Coates, summoned me to his office and read a letter that had come from NBC-TV requesting that I return to the station or be relieved of my job by my new employers and SH Benson Advertising did not wish to lose that bond of friendship. The Nigerian civil war was then at its peak and the Federal Government of Nigeria was recruiting young graduates of mass communication to be commissioned as officers in the Armed Forces to counter Biafran Army civil war propaganda. I sought the advice of my friend, General Ike Omar Sanda Nwachukwu, and he encouraged me to enlist. I did and I was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Directorate of Army Public Relations. Then I wrote back to NTA that I was on national assignment. That’s how my career in the army started.
Hardly did I know that it was a profession I was going be engaged in for the next 35 years. Immediately I was commissioned I was sent to the war front in 3 Marine Commando Division. I was first sent to the headquarters in Port Harcourt to serve under the command of General Olusegun Obansanjo who was then the General Officer Commanding (GOC). The next few weeks saw me posted to 14 Infantry Brigade, Owerri; then I was posted back to Lagos. I was posted briefly to the Nigerian Army Medical Corps and later to our late Head of State, General Murtala Mohammed. He was then the Inspector of Nigerian Army Signals; I had my office at the Signal Brigade Headquarters. That was how my progression in the Army advanced until eventually I was appointed the Director of Army Public Relations, a position I held until 1991 and retired during the time of the late General Sani Abacha because of some views I held about what a soldier should be. So this particular day, I was to give a talk on Public Relations. Normally we would come to hold a conference at the headquarters. Abacha was the boss. I was asked what the subject of discussion would be for that day, and I gave my candid view of the general public’s expectation of those of us in uniform. This was during the time when the image of the Armed Forces was being scrutinised by the public. My candid advice was not taken kindly. I looked at Abacha and could see rage in his face. That was my undoing. I was denied promotion to the rank of Colonel and a subordinate officer who was reporting to me from an out station was promoted and I was deployed to take over from him. We were both due for promotion to the rank of Colonel and there was one seat at the Directorate which I was substantively the incumbent. I didn’t get the promotion. My subordinate then became my boss. I remained at my new duty post for a couple of months. Headquarters thought it wrong and General Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) gave a directive that ordered my reposting. That was how I got to Supreme Headquarters, Dodan Barracks, to work as the Director of Public Affairs in the Office of the Chief of General Staff. I waited for another three years without a chance for promotion. My retirement from service came as a result of my uprightness. I left Lagos immediately. I came to Port Harcourt to scout for business opportunities. There was this Alhaji Yar’adua, then in charge of the Refinery in Port-Harcourt, who gave me some helping hand in material procurement for NNPC. I was still looking for funds to finance the contract when I got a call from Major-General Ike Nwachukwu, our then Minister of Foreign Affairs, to report to Abuja. He had been instructed by IBB to pencil me down to fill the Rivers State
“I believe in hard work and the only way you can get there is to be selfmotivated, get general education and work for everything you want in life. These days, many young people want every good thing in a hurry.”
quota for ambassadorial appointments. I wondered how I could manage such a position. My Armed Forces Command & Staff College training anyway played a big part preparing me for the challenges that lay ahead of me in the diplomatic service of our country. My appointment was approved and I was posted as Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary to the Democratic Republic of Zaire (DRC) with concurrent accreditation to the Republics of Rwanda and Burundi. I served for eight years. Those eight years were the most difficult years in that region because of the political instability there. What values influence your decisions in accomplishing your targets? A lot of patience when dealing with people helped me greatly; honesty of purpose and fair play to all who came my way. I read a lot about people who have made some impacts on the lives of other people, looking at how they rose and how they affected the lives of people around them. I read biographies of great world leaders like Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, and Jomo Kenyatta and even the likes of the great rock ‘n roll star Elvis Presley. I believe that no knowledge is lost in forming a reading habit. The volatile nature of the Congo caused me to devote my spare time to whatever literature I laid my hands on. I am so introverted now that I can remain indoors for a whole week without stepping out of my home. It was a different ball game during my time in the military. I was posted to the Republic of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) in 1991. I served in the Congo for seven years. My training and discipline as a soldier helped me in carrying out my diplomatic duties in a country that was then faced with hostilities of sorts. I have brought the culture of being firm and fair in my every day interaction with my brothers and sisters who make up Wilcox Major House. What are some of the achievements you’ve made that you will want to share with us? By being prayerful and close to God. I consider that as one very big achievement. When I became the chief of my house I had to direct my people to refocus their attention on God to solve the family problems. It was difficult but with time, things are changing. What career path will you recommend for our young graduates? I strongly recommend a career path that is focused on science and industrial technology. Our young should be exposed to some form of general education while in college or university. This will enable them diversify on graduation. Our country is gradually focusing
cover story attention on industrialisation. Tell us some very difficult decisions you have had to take, how it affected the organisation you were in and why you took such decisions. The first that comes to mind when I had the opportunity of leading some of my soldiers in the Signals Corps for training at the Bosh Factory in Stuttgart, Germany. The soldier’s Basic Travel Allowances (BTAs) were paid to me for disbursement. One very senior officer, who had privileged information about the trip, ordered that I get the soldiers to sell their BTA to him. I saw that as very unbecoming of an officer and gentleman. I was sick to my stomach on how to convey the officer’s request to the soldiers. I decided on keeping the officer in the dark about our travel plans and departure date. I took the soldiers out without recourse to the officer. A good number of the soldiers used their BTA sensibly to purchase photographic equipment during that training course. I recently met with one of the soldiers in Enugu. He now runs a photographic laboratory. One wonders what could have become of this individual if he had been denied the use of his BTA by the officer. Do you find your experience as a diplomat useful in your current position? Yes, whatever you do in life should have a bit of diplomacy. There is a way of telling somebody to “get out” and he will say “thank you.” There is another way of saying the same thing and it will stir a fight. It has helped me a lot, being diplomatic and patient in dealing with people. Looking back at all you have gone through, are there things you did that you regret today? Yes, a number of things that I should have done better. One was a personal decision of sending my children abroad at a very tender age. Apart from the financial strain it put on my pocket when government stopped paying their fees, when my first child turned 18 years,the children could have done with more of the Nigerian survival instinct. I wish I had left them a little longer in Nigeria. They have not done badly though. They are now adults in their own right. We are very proud of them.Career-wise, I have no regrets. What’s your advice to upcoming youths in these parts? I believe in hard work and the only way you can get there is to be self-motivated, get general education and work for everything you want in life. These days, many young people want every good thing in a hurry. ‘Easy come, easy go,’ they say. The case today is that most of our cultural values have been eroded by the infiltration of western culture and lifestyle in our system. The situation is such that young people have lost traditional respect for the elders following the western lifestyle. The responsibility of parents therefore is to give their children the right direction. HOST
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cover story
he was a palace girl and the king’s courtyard was her playground.
Royal Regal
Amal
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One Christmas, she had prepared for the major event of the season, the Nwaotam Masquerade display. A major characteristic of the festivity, the procession, was where youths displayed their eccentricity or alter ego. It was just fun for them. She had ideas for the procession and one of them was to set out of the palace wearing two wrappers. A taboo. In Bonny, a woman who has not done the Iria ceremony, which launches a young woman into mature womanhood, cannot wear two wrappers, said her grandmother. Her grandmother opened her late mother’s suitcase and gave her one wrapper instead. Her grandmother was firm and that irked the young girl. She thought she could get her grandmother to give her the second wrapper by reporting to the king. So she walked to the king, sulking and frowning. She told the king of her grandmother’s refusal and as she went on to whine, the king interrupted firmly, “my darling cousin, she is right. You can’t do that in this family.” She sulked some more and didn’t go to see the masquerade in protest. But she later began to realise that she
had to strictly adhere to the tradition and culture of her people in the family. They had to keep a standard peculiar to that pedigree. Amal Iyingiala Pepple learnt an important lesson from her cousin the king and never wore two wrappers until she performed the Iria ceremony. Ms Pepple’s life is about maintaining high standards in all aspects of her life, one worthy of admiration and emulation. She even surpassed it with her passion, will power and wits. She was simply born that way. Ms Pepple was the second woman to be Head of the Civil Service of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a position she rose to after several key appointments as Permanent Secretary in seven ministries including the Petroleum Resources Ministry. She was a governor at the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries [OPEC]. After her retirement from the civil service as the Head of Service, she was appointed Minster for Lands, Housing and Urban Development in 2011. She is a Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) and she is one woman to beat in Rivers State and Nigeria. Her achievements are proof. Ms Pepple was born into the Perekule royal family in Bonny. She was precocious and she knew it, not by the way she buried her head in her books but by the way she got by really well without reading much. “I have always believed I had it in me; four of us from my primary school passed the entrance examination into secondary school but I was the only one selected at the interview. In my secondary school, Archideacon Crowder Memorial Girls School, Elelenwa, I never knew that people read after school. I was young and quite playful. I never in my life read at night and my concentration span was very short. But I was still within the first five in the class. At the end, I passed my ‘O’ levels examinations very well. This behaviour persisted through to the university. I worked consistently but I never read at night,” she says with a confident smile on her face. She got married early and went to the United Kingdom with her husband. She had wanted to become a nurse because she liked to help people, but the sight of blood turned her off from the idea. She also got advice from family that she was very smart enough to impact on people’s lives elsewhere. She then went on to grab a first class degree in political science in 1975, a rare achievement in those days.
cover story “I wasn’t too sure of the class. The day they decided the result, I was very nervous, walking around the university. One of my lecturers then sent for me and shook hands with me as an equal. The previous year, someone from Rivers State got a first class in economics and the next year, I became the first to bag a first class in my course. I used to tell people that it was the fish we ate that made us so brilliant,” she says charmingly. Her career began with teaching, not too far from her desires to help people. “I went into teaching after my degree. My first job was to lecture at the College of Education, now University of Education in Rivers State. Then I went for my masters at University of London in the School of Oriental and African Studies in 1981. I went back to teaching after that, and in 1988, I was surprised when someone called me to tell me that my name was on television. My television wasn’t even working at the time. The person couldn’t tell me what it was. So, I went to my neighbour’s house and waited for the recap of the evening news. There it was the announcement of my appointment as the Deputy Secretary for the Constituent Assembly. “That was how I went to Abuja to take my position in the Constituent Assembly. As we were winding up, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, who was the Secretary, resigned and went into politics. I then headed what was called the National Assembly Provisional Office and that was how I went into the political environment. We started making preparations for the start of the third assembly. When that started, I was made the Clerk of Senate. In between, I was the Secretary of Social Democratic Party in Rivers State. I was also the Sole Administrator of the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) which was the largest party during General Sani Abacha’s administration. I also helped with the 1995 Constitutional Conference, playing a role in the secretariat. Somewhere along the line, I was sent back to mainstream civil service as a Director. In March 1999, I became a Permanent Secretary.” Appointed Head of Service on her birthday in 2008, Ms Pepple made her mark. Some of her achievements were the completion of the Public Service Institute of Nigeria, the National Strategy for Public Service Reform, the introduction of public service lecture events for knowledge sharing and the introduction of core values to guide professionalism in the civil service.
According to Amal Pepple, “I didn’t feel any pressure because I was a woman. All the time I served, I always had it at the back of my mind that I must work hard; that I must be efficient and effective because some men tend to make uncomplimentary remarks about a woman in a top position. My determination all along was to prove to the men that women are capable of holding any position we find ourselves in. So, I worked hard so that they didn’t get a chance to make such remarks. And I think they got the point. You can see all over the world that women are proving themselves in every field of endeavour. I never felt any pressure. I had a short period as Head of Service and I knew what I wanted to achieve. So I kind of hit the ground running so that I could make a mark within that short period. That was the pressure I put on myself, not anyone putting pressure on me,” she points out. So, is Ms Pepple a feminist? She has quite an interesting view about this. Her words: “I would say I am a stickler for the independence of womanhood but that should not prevent a woman from performing her roles as a wife and mother. It is good for a woman to have financial independence if you are working and sometimes, she can contribute to the upkeep of the home but that should not prevent her from looking after the home. You can’t equate yourself with a man. He is the authority and he must be given that respect. At my level, I still cook at home. I like to cook for people and it doesn’t stop me from doing my work in the office. Women should learn to balance these functions.” Her advice to women and men alike in Rivers State is to be the best in what they do. She believes that for citizens of the State to get a fair opportunity in the public service, they have to get more education in different fields. “I believe we have to help our people acquire education. We live in a global and competitive world and only the best survive. But again, the opportunities have to be there. I was lucky in 1988 to go to Abuja and I didn’t run back. Some people went like that and they came back to Port Harcourt with all sorts of excuses. They lost that opportunity. If we are well educated and with opportunities and the grace of God, the Rivers people can reach any level they want to reach.” Remember her days in the palace? Ms Pepple believes that the values she
My determination all along was to prove to the men that women are capable of holding any position we find ourselves in.
picked up during her childhood are what made her who she is. “The erosion of our tradition and values is very sad and unfortunate for our communities. We were taught respect for elders, honesty and hard work. But these days, a lot of young people don’t care. We have lost our values. These values teach people lessons. But what do we have now—children disrespecting their parents and teachers, not ready to work hard, joining cults, using drugs, generally living life on the fast lane that sometimes lead to doom! I don’t believe that tradition and religion are antagonistic because both teach virtually the same values and virtues. The Ten Commandments are the things that tradition admonishes us about,” she professes. The future, she says, belongs to God. The icon was spending her retirement doing church work as layreader in the Anglican church, teaching in the Sunday school and reading biographies until she was pulled back to public service with her appointment as Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development. HOST
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cover story
By Yemi Adeyemi, Elkanah Chawai & Ophila-Tammy Aduura
7
5-year-old Reverend Clifford Talbot Tokin George has made quite a name for himself in Rivers State.
Rev. George, veteran educationist, was in 1968 a teacher at Baptist High School, Port Harcourt which was the only primary five school in the city. During the war in 1968, all students who were in primary five in the state were brought to the school. He was also a cleric already and had started out on his education career path as an instructor in Nigerian Theo-
Our
teacher
“ One thing that makes me very happy is for me to see my students rising to positions of responsibility and trust. I meet people on the road and they say you were my principal.”
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logical Seminary in Ogbomoso. After Baptist High School, he went on into other activities in the sector and contributed at different levels to the development of education in the state. His life is that of selflessness, honesty and love for education in the state. Here is how he started. “I went to Baptist High School. When I was in my final year, I was to go to our theological seminary in Ogbomoso but then the principal, Mr. Davis, an American, wanted me to go Baptist College, Iwo, because my relationship with students was so good. He thought I could make a good teacher and continue with that kind of relationship with students. I liked the idea but I had a call to be a pastor; therefore, I did not immediately accept it. I completed the theological school and stayed back as instructor in the same school. I came back to Port Harcourt briefly and went to Ibadan for further studies. I ended during the civil war. “When I came to Port Harcourt, there were no pupils. But when the military started to bring the students who were in school before the war, I became a teacher. “In 1972, I was appointed vice principal of Baptist High School. When the principal unfortunately died, I was asked to be the principal. But then, of course, Baptist High School was a Grade A school. So when the government came back later to categorise teachers, I was a junior teacher as the principal and that led them to send me to Enitonna High School,” he says. This “demotion” didn’t deter him. He loved his job. “I loved to work with young people so much. At Enitonna, in the evening, even though there were no staff houses, I would go there. They loved to see me and I loved to see them.” The Sokarikiri-Buguma-born cleric, at different times, served as the chairman of the Rivers State Scholarship Board; chairman, State Primary Schools Management Board; and director in the state’s Ministry of Education. He was also vice president and later president of the Nigerian Red Cross Society in Port Harcourt and also vice and later chairman of the Athletics Association of Nigeria. He held a lot of very important positions in the church as a priest. He is the recipient of many honours and awards including the Doctor of Divinity from Cision Christina University, USA and Justice of Peace, Rivers State. His love for his job paid off. He is proud to walk the streets and have people greet him or give him a lift
because he touched their lives. “I was of a view that I was fulfilling God’s purpose in my life. It wasn’t really the money. One thing that makes me very happy is for me to see my students rising to positions of responsibility and trust. I meet people on the road and they say you were my principal. For me, nothing can compare with this kind of satisfaction when you see those you have helped develop. You can walk in their midst very comfortably because you know that they love you. “I didn’t know I had many of my former students in the United States of America. They came together and asked me to be their patron. In the last regime in Rivers State, there were about five of them who were commissioners. Some of them are even pastors,” he says with delight. The quality of education in his days as a teacher was solid but he would not want to compare it with the quality today. He wouldn’t want to join the band wagon of critics that conclude without a second thought. “In the early days, the emphasis was on 3R’s. We call it reading, writing and arithmetic. The number of subjects was limited and there was so much emphasis. “To say that the standard has fallen, you have to look at the lessons and the causes and research. It has become so wide. It is not so good to make the comparison. The standard has fallen, people say so. People may not be able to speak good English as it used to be, the handwriting may not be as good, but that’s handwriting. Arithmetic, we used to call it is now called Mathematics. You have to look at the age of the people, the scope of work and all of that before you can say something. But I will like to say this: when you talk about standard falling, we are also aware of the fact the society has put so much emphasis on certificate and paperwork; because of that, people go for this certificate in any foul way. “I strongly believe that easy life is not the way to real success. If a person has worked for something, he or she will see good results. Young people should be determined to work. To deserve the service of the people you should be able to serve the people. Don’t forget your creator, God. I believe that in Christ, you have the model of life that young people should have,” he says, exposing the clergy side of him. Reverend George now spends time in his retirement home, fulfilled and praying for the best for Rivers State and the country. He is satisfied, knowing fully well that if he ventures outside of his house, he will very likely bump into someone he taught a long time ago.
cover culture story
s s a l c t s r fi a Yam and
bash
By Philip Afolami
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Egi monarch giving his blessings
Dancers grabbing attention
The children dancers were not left out
Deputy Managing Director of Total in Port Harcourt, Mr. Denis Berthelot
Egi Council of Chiefs
Playing the instruments with passion
A masquerade display
he timing was right, an August occasion in August. The Igwa-Iji Egwu Ogba ceremony of the Egi people is always a special time in Ogba Kingdom, Rivers State. The Igwa-Iji Egwu-Ogba Festival is an annual new yam festival celebrated usually in August. The festival marks the traditional harvest period of yam, a relished and traditional food crop in Egi Kingdom. But the harvest of yam wasn’t the only reason the Egi people were celebrating on 13 August, 2011. The Egi monarch was recently elevated to a first class chief and the Egi people didn’t leave any doubt that they were in good mood that day. It was one of the most colourful events in the kingdom. The Egi clan of Ogba kingdom is host to major oil and gas giants and this added flavour to the event as all the majors were represented at the event. Most importantly, the traditions of the land displayed in beautiful dances and cultural rites. HOST
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spotlight
Better Ubeta By Eva Ben-Wari & Ophilia TammyAduura
The Youth Development Centre
Dignitaries witness the cutting of the tape
Dignitaries inspect one of the classrooms
NLNG GM, External Relations Siene Allwell-Brown talks to the community
NLNG Community Relations Manager Andy Odeh with siene Allwell-Brown gm, External relations
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he drums rolled out on on 20 May 2011 in Ubeta Community. What was the occasion? That day, Nigeria LNG Limited handed over 11 community development projects to the community as a part of the company’s programme of giving back to its hosts. The projects include provision of 12 classroom blocks each for the Community Primary School and Government Secondary School Ubeta, fully furnished science laboratory building for the secondary school, extension works and fencing of the primary and secondary schools, school administrative block, a youth development centre, a 2.1km road project and the Ubeta water plant. At the event, the paramount ruler, Chief Kenneth Odoyi, acknowledged NLNG’s favourable disposition to Ubeta community, affirming the company’s attitude towards improving the living standards of the people. He pointed out that NLNG has contributed immensely to the socio-economic development of Ubeta Community. NLNG’s General Manager External Relations, Siene AllwellBrown, assured that the company will continue to listen and respond to the yearnings of its host communities. She implored the community to protect the facilities provided and ensure their sustainability. She explained that the company’s commitment to its host communities is borne out of genuine concern for the welfare of people. Her words: “Corporate social responsibility is not about making people happy in a bid to do your job; but it is about making the people happy in course of doing business.”
Feature
Making them sea-worthy
By Yemi Adeyemi, Elkanah Chawai and Iwokiri Aprioku
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ship, where they would board and do the training. It took them up to a year or more and the boys finished and came back and they were not able to go back to do the sea time training. It was at that time that we started looking inward to see where we could fix them. That was how we came to meet Nigeria LNG. But there were limited spaces and again, the company’s procedures required them to take an assessment to confirm their competence to sail on the ships. So we gave them a refresher course to be able to attend that assessment and do well. Due to space constraints, they initially promised to take six of them but they later took nine of them that performed excellently at the assessment So what is the plan to see that the others also get sea time training? That is currently being worked on through liaising with other companies with vessels just like NLNG and even where possible, pay for this aspect of the training. Once we obtain approval from the government, because you can’t spend money without getting approval, we will sort that out. What were the criteria for selection? A major criterion for picking the initial 40 that we trained was that they must have a minimum of secondary school certificate. Other considerations such as interest in sea life, age and indigeneship also came into play as we could not take all that applied. Was there preference to the local government? Yes. That is our policy, for this and all other programmes of the ministry. For instance if there’s a training for 46 people, and you know we have 23 local government areas, that implies least two people from each local government. I have always enforced this since I assumed duties here. The goal is to ensure that we carry everybody along because that is the only way the people would know that
the government is working. So we are strictly following that principle. If we train 23 people we make sure it’s one person from each local government. So why was a decision taken to train them as seamen? The government saw is an opportunity in having our people trained and certified as seamen. This is important when you consider that Rivers State is crucial to the oil and gas sector of Nigeria’s economy which itself draws tremendous support from the maritime industry. So why not train them in Nigeria? Why did they have to be sent abroad? That programme is called the Overseas Maritime Manpower Capacity Building Programme but then we also have the Local Maritime Capacity Building Programmes. This has produced no fewer than 115 Able Seamen and Motormen/Oilers as well as about 69 Rig Floorman/Roughneck. Rivers State Government is always seeking ways to improve procedures and processes hence the decision to have the Overseas Maritime Manpower Capacity Building Programme. Eventually the competence developed will come back to us and, who knows, in a few years we might just be training for other countries too. The men trained locally, at the Maritime Academy of Nigeria Oron in Akwa-Ibom State and the Charkin Maritime Safety Centre at the Rivers State University of Science and Technology were all awarded with internationally recognised certificates and equipped with international passports and Seamen Discharge Books that will qualify them to work in any vessel all over the world. What exactly is the brief of the Ministry of Employment Generation and Empowerment? The focus of the ministry is to generate employment and also empower those who have acquired skills throughout the state. What we do here is to liaise with companies; identify areas where manpower is required, and see how we can meet that need. This might require us training people to acquire the skills necessary to work in those roles.
hen the Rivers State Government approached Nigeria LNG Limited to seek sea time for the state’s newly trained seamen, fresh from Norway, the request was simple: three months sea time, a mandatory requirement, to enable the trainees to complete their training and get certified as Seamen. But the nine smart and lucky Honourable M. O. Ekikenta men, who scaled through the assessment to book their time on the “The goal LNG ships, went ‘beyond’ the extra is to demile. velop a They executed their duties so skill pool well that after conclusion of the training period, they were offered of seamen full employment on the LNG ships. that can work in the More than any thing, the glowmaritime ing reports about them justify the huge investment Rivers State industry government made on them and and with attests that, given the right optheir peers portunities, an average youth will globally.” make a success of whatever he sets his mind on. But the road wasn’t that smooth. The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Employment Generaohn Meredith is a secondee to Nigeria LNG Limited from Shell tion and Empowerment, HonourShip Management Limited (SSML) where he helped recruit Rivers able M. O. Ekikenta explained State-trained cadets who had just finished their training and Government’s reasons for training needed sea time experience. He made a selection of nine cadets the youth for the Maritime sector that he was most proud of. He spoke on the pact between Rivers in this dialogue. State and NLNG to assist the cadets. How did it all start?
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The programme is called the Overseas Maritime Manpower Capacity Building Programme. The goal is to develop a skill pool of seamen that can work in the maritime industry and compete with their peers globally. So, the state government approved the training to take place in Norway. An agreement was reached and a contract signed with a Norwegian firm to train, in four batches of 40 men each, a total of 160 able seamen. The first batch of 40 attended the course which involves two aspects, the theoretical training and the sea time training. They completed the first aspect but then, we had problems when it came to the sea time training. The Norwegian contractor was unable to secure placements on
How did the Rivers State ratings project start, you were privy to it from the outset? Please tell us what you know about it. I was the manager of resource and development within Shell Ship Management Limited (SSML) with particular interest in the Nigerian ratings, Nigerian officers, cadets and the whole Nigerianisation programme. In February 2010, I made an enquiry from NLNG Ship Manning Limited (NSML). The General Manager for Shipping at NLNG had been approached by Rivers State, with a view to giving some of their ratings sea-time. These ratings had already been picked by the Rivers State authorities and had been sent to Norway for some pre-sea training. So in March 2010, I interviewed them, there
were 30 of them, at the NLNG Bonny R.A (Residential Area). Nine of them were successful at that interview. I passed the information back to the NSML team and the Nigeria LNG Shipping DivisionSD and the ratings were then informed by the company that they would be given sea time. Before they continued on page 20
If you love
‘being away’
John Meredith
HOST
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Songhai Out of
By Yemi Adeyemi, Elkanah Chawai and Philip Afolami
The best way to fight poverty is to turn people into active producers—Rev. Fr. Godfrey Nzamujo
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hree things excited 18 farmers who participated in the 2010 excursion to Songhai Integrated System Centre, Port-Novo, a modern farm in Benin Republic.
One, it was the first time many of them flew by air. Two, it was the first trip outside the country for many of them. And three, the fresh, innovative ideas they were exposed to at the agricultural centre. They left the centre seven days after with a dream that they will improve their means of livelihood to better care for their families and those in their communities. Dreaming was the easy part. Making it reality was a bit tricky. The 18 farmers were selected for the trip through a programme structured to help farmers, the N-AGENDA—short for NLNG Agro-Enterprise Development. The programme targets the improvement of revenue-earning potentials of smalltime farmers. The Songhai farm trip was one of those opportunities to improve capacity. The farmers arrived the farm on 2 August, 2010 and began a learning curve that exposed them to new ideas. They met the proprietor of the Songhai Farm, Rev Father Godfrey Nzamujo with whom they shared a common trait - passion for agriculture. Pastor Luke Ekine, Promise Ali, Joyce Uke and Pastor Enest Idum were some of the participants on that trip. Bitten by the Songhai bug, they made certain decisions that would change their lives. A year after these decisions, did their lives change?
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n the beginning, Pastor Ekine was a mechanic, eking a living from fixing caterpillars and trailers. Hungry for higher responsibilities, he took up a pastor’s role in a local church in Emuoha, Rivers State after some training. But he also realised that his new job was not too different from the mechanic’s job in terms of sufficient income to fend for himself and family. He is married and has six children. Whilst he was mulling and praying for a good source of income, he had a vision. “Between 2005 and 2006, I had a little
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fish pond very close to my house. One night, I saw that pond expand. It even expanded into my parlour and I was scared. When I went to look into the pond I saw a lot of cat fishes. I woke up with joy and the following week, I put in some fishes into the pond. Six months after, I harvested and from that time on, I have been fishing,” he says about his humble beginning. One pond grew to seven and Pastor Ekine is already using the proceeds to pay his school fees for a degree in Theology. One thing Pastor Ekine learnt more in Songhai was respect for land; a newfound regard for mother earth. He considers his experiences a great achievement because of the impetus it gave him to invest more in farming. The new light changed his concept of agriculture from that of a dirty and a local business to something that he can use to excel. Without shame, he moves from house to house gathering cassava stems, beans and all he can get to run his farm. “Most of the things I said I would do after Songhai, I’ve started doing them. I was taught in that place and now I am teaching so many people. There are so many farms I have established for people mostly in piggery. Others ask for some veterinary drugs because the drugs are not sold everywhere. I can book and order for some of these drugs from my doctors. Within my locality, I go to farms and treat pigs. I also supply pigs to some butchers. “I no longer use fertiliser. I use compost all through. We were taught in Songhai that organic manure is the best and it does not cost money, just your labour to make it work. After about three months it becomes very good to use, so from the pig waste and cassava shears I gather from the village, I produced my compost. I also sell some to people. So I’m selling compost, vegetables, pigs and fish and even plantains,” he says proudly. The profits made have also built him a three-bed house, though he now feels he should have bought more land and expanded his farm.
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oyce Uke is known for cat fishes in Finima on Bonny Island. Even though she operates on an Island known for salt water fishing, she has managed to carve a niche for herself in cat fishing. Joyce entered the occupation because
top to bottom: Joy Uke feeds her fishes; inspects her snails; and makes fish feeds. Behind her is her freezer for fish storage
she could not get a job after completing a mass communication degree at Nnamdi Azikiwe University. “When coming back from the training, we were given N5, 000 as transportation back to Bonny. I decided to invest that N5,000 after I learnt that fishing can be done in big plastic containers which women use in their kitchens. I lost about 70 fishes when I started out but I did not give up. Soon, the containers couldn’t hold them anymore. That was when I decided to build the concrete pond and that was how business started,” she says. She says that she had decided to practise caged fishing when she came back from the excursion. But something else came out of Songhai. “NLNG took me to Songhai and when we got there I told the NLNG people that my problem was fish feed. It was too expensive. So right there, they arranged for me to be trained in feed making and when I came back, I made arrangements for my loan which I used to buy the feed making machine.” She makes feeds from cassava peels and other raw material she picks up around
interview
Promise Ali from the ISB Spread
Pastor Ernest Odum’s poultry enclosure
Call it relentless, but she carries on like the challenges don’t exist. “I have not been able to do what I wanted do when I left Songhai because of the land. Currently, I am on a relative’s land and in three months time, he will be coming to build so I would have to move and I still haven’t found where to move to. These animals cannot walk freely. Right now, two of the animals are sick. I have to bring them out to massage them with hot water every morning and evening. “I can’t be discouraged. This is something I love and have a passion for. If NLNG can support one way or the other, I will be very happy,” she suggests with an abundance of hope in her.
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Pastor Luke Erinne
Finima in a machine in a room adjacent her own room. The room also houses a freezer which she bought for the business. She still dreams of actualising the caged fish farming after she has gotten the land she is currently applying for. She intends to go into snail farming, an idea she got from another NLNG-sponsored trip to Ibadan. Pastor Ekine’s and Mrs Uke’s progress is not to say they have reached Eldorado or that they do not still dream to be better. They do. They face common challenges peculiar to these parts of the world— shortage of land and funds.
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romise Joy Ali rears about 200 chickens in an uncompleted house owned by a relative and closely surrounded by residential houses. No space. Her chickens are clustered in what would have been the living room of that building. Adjacent to this is what aspires to be a toilet in the future where she keeps her goats.
t would seem like business is not good for Pastor Ernest Odum because there were no chickens in his farm. On the contrary, business has been so good that he sold out. The farmer rears chickens on seasonal basis, targeting festivities. His farm is also domiciled in his compound where he lives with his family. He has managed to drop the mortality rate in his poultry since he came back from Songhai. “The improvement I put in there is the lighting and the heat because most of the mortality I suffered before was as a result of inadequate heat. But again, I found out that the matured birds were dying from the heating. So what I did was to provide adequate heat when they needed it and we stopped when they are matured. That was one of the things I learnt in Songhai. I’ve also been able to reduce cost and maximise profit.” He plans to take a loan to buy two plots of land for a bigger farm. “We have to start somewhere and that is the future plan now. If that money comes in, I will buy a place. My land would not be for only poultry. I was into piggery and I was doing well. It enabled me to buy two plots of land then; unfortunately the place is very far from here. Here, the problem is land and a plot of land is very expensive. Nevertheless, a different thing excites these farmers these days. Going to other farms and seeing other people do well doesn’t do it for them anymore. No. The new excitement streams from seeing their farms flourish, tendering to their animals and plants as they grow and reproduce.
Farming - for life and living
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he Nigeria LNG Agro-Enterprise Development (N-AGENDA) was set up in 2006 to imbibe in local farmers sustainable methods of exploiting the rich agroresources in the communities in Rivers State. Hundreds of farmers have benefited from the scheme and they are taking extra steps to continue with improvements and encourage more people in their communities to take on agriculture. They formed the N-AGENDA Farmers Association and put HRH Eze Allen Okrigwe in charge. In this chat with Yemi Adeyemi, Elkanah Chawai and Philip Afolami, Eze Okrigwe reveals how the association was born and what they want to do for Rivers State farmers. How did this association start? On the 9th of September 2009, we (beneficiaries of N-AGENDA) were together on one of NAGENDA learning trips at African Regional Aqua Culture Centre (ARAC), Aluu, Port Harcourt and we thought we could establish an association to improve our lot. So farmers who went to the National Roots Crops Research Institute, Umudike, and ARAC met at Ahoada information centre where we formed the national association and elected executive officials. The association is made up of eight spreads representing different geographical groups in Rivers State. Today, we have grown membership from 154 HOST
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FEATURE love being away continued from page 17
“Our goal: turning subsistence farming into commercial farming and making it productive and profitable.”
to about 300; broken into specialised areas like cassava farming, yam farming, poultry and the like. We have been meeting to see how we can develop based on the objectives of N-AGENDA as set up by NLNG; that is turning subsistence farming into commercial farming and making it productive and profitable. We have introduced support packs of our own and it has not been easy. Some farmers even had the impression that it was another Nigeria LNG Limited scheme but we had to correct that impression; that the association is more of a business to be run by us and maybe supported by other agencies or organisations. How structured is this association to take on this task that the farmers are set to take? One of the ideas is to incorporate the association. We felt that nobody would give us a loan if we were still at the association level. So, we are thinking of incorporating N-AGENDA Farmers Limited. We have already commissioned a consultant and we have started to contribute towards that goal. We want to register a legal entity that can sue and be sued, an entity that can be sustained or that can be on its own. If we are incorporated, and we have our own farm, that is a step towards sustainability. We are taking responsibility. Is there a corresponding enlightenment to ensure that the younger generation, especially within your community, also buy into the idea of agriculture as profitable business? We have not organised training programmes yet and we haven’t gone out to train non-members whom we call associate members. This year, I brought widows together in my village where I have lands and cleared about two hectares of land, divided it into five plots, and gave it to each of them to farm, to encourage them as growing community of farmers. We intend to bring the youth, girls and women to a farm set out for them, share it, help them to clear the bush and prepare the land. In the next five years what do you think your association would have achieved? In the next five years, we should boast of having our farms and processing unit in place. We will like to see N-Agenda Association in five years as a full -fledged farming organisation with a lot of tentacles spread across the eight zones in Rivers State. We
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want to be in a position to fund our farms and give farming inputs to farmers instead of them going to the open market to buy them. One of the things crippling us is the fish feeds. It is so expensive. We want to be able to produce our feed for fish, birds and pigs. I do have some ideas on renewable energy. I am the national president of Jatropha Growers and Bio-frame Society of Nigeria. I’m trying to introduce the production of this plant to farmers. Jatropha is a plant that can produce seeds which can be used to produce bio-diesel. These are things I am promoting. One of the problems with agriculture over the years is marketing produce. How do you intend to create new markets for these farmers? You already know that there is an issue with agriculture and export. There is an effort to discourage export of raw materials. One of the things we discovered during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration when he introduced cassava was that a lot of people went into cassava only for them to hit the wall because there were no buyers. I had an experience. I was producing cassava to supply to a starch producing industry in Okija. This Indian company would collect your cassava and process it. Immediately, they saw there was a glut in the market, they started to put a lot of conditions that made it difficult for farmers to realise their dream. They would tell you that if you harvest cassava here in Emuoha, you must make it available to them within 24 hours, otherwise they won’t buy. So, by the time you get a truck to carry the cassava to that place, 24 hours would have elapsed. When you get there, they would tell you that the cassavas have started to ferment. It would be useless to carry the cassava back because it would cost you more to bring it back. So, the best thing would be to dump the cassava there. That was how the initiative died. We intend to do it like they do in the United States of America where the price is pegged whether there is a glut or scarcity. There is a programme where the produce are bought off from farmers and taken to a buffer station. They take up the responsibility of what will happen to the produce whether they want to sell, donate or even dump in the ocean. NLNG should help us with capacity. We know we can do a lot for our member -farmers and the associate members.
could go on board the ships, they had to do pre-employment medicals and that was done in April. In May, they had to do what is called the STCW mandatory training, this is safety training for every single person that is going to sail on board the ship. Then in July, we started putting them on board the ships. As I said, the initial enquiry was for threemonth contracts just to give them some sea-time. However, during the first three months, it was apparent that they were doing very well onboard and the decision was then made to offer them long-term contracts on a continuous basis, which was done. They all were acceptable to SSML that is to say that their performance was very good and they were all willing and happy to stay within the project. So of those nine, seven of them are now on their second trips, they did typically between five to six months onboard the ships, went home, had some leave and now most of them are onboard the second ships. Of the four that were put on the deck side, two of them have already been promoted to the next level up and the next two are ready for promotion, probably in the next month or so. In general, the reports that we are getting from the ships and their performance and attitude on board are very good. Let me backtrack a little, you said there was an assessment or interview to look at them and from the 30, you picked nine. Can you give us an idea of the kind of people you were looking for? You know going to sea requires a different type of person. Bear in mind that if you go away, you are likely to be away from your family, your loved ones for up to six months at a time. So while you are away, there has to be some sort of support network at home, whether you are married, if you have children, who is going to look after them; for instance; if your wife is ill and when you are onboard the ship you may be 6-7 thousand miles away, who is going to look after your children. So, one of my questions is how close are you to your family, your wife’s parents, your parents, who will look after them. I am looking for somebody that is used to being away. It will be very hard for somebody to go away for the very first time. If they have never left their family, never left their surroundings, it will be very hard. These guys were lucky because they had spent a few weeks in Norway, so they had already experienced the travel. I am looking for attitudes, I am looking to see what their work ethics are, I appreciate within the Rivers region, particularly in the Bonny area, work is not easy to come by, so some of these people may not have actually had a job for two to three years, that wasn’t held against them. I am looking for somebody who, although may not have a job, wasn’t content to just sit at home, watch the television, read the paper or something, I am looking for somebody that is ready to go, who is eager to work, and lastly I am looking for people who want to go to sea. At the point where we looked at them and saw that nine of the 30 had the attributes and also understood the job they were going to be doing, if you had found more would you have taken them or were there space constraints? My initial agreement was to find spaces for six to 10 people. On my initial interviews, in my notes, I only had six; but appreciating that ideally we would like to get up to 10, I re-evaluated and included another three. Of those three, one of them I just received a report last week saying how well he is doing and he’s actually putting some of his seniors to shame in the way he’s behaving. Is there any likelihood in the future of taking up more of this kind of people? Yes, we are always looking for more people and I have personally interviewed quite a few ratings that have come from the Bonny, Finima, Port-Harcourt region. We always get more people than we have spaces for. Obviously word goes round that it’s a well-paid job, it’s a regular employment, so, as I said that I need some criteria. Most of these chaps that came for the initial rating had good spoken English and a number of the people that come from outside do not speak good English and unfortunately, it has to be a major requirement. You bear in mind that safety is the paramount importance of any organisation and NLNG especially. If somebody cannot understand the simple English on day to day, how are they going to understand if there is an emergency and they have to react accordingly? I may not like it, but for his safety and the safety of everyone onboard the ship, I have to turn them down at that stage. For the average youth in the Niger-Delta who loves and desires sea life and would like to make a career in sailing, how best can he go about achieving that dream? The first step is to identify where people are recruiting for those positions, find out what the jobs entail, find out what the requirements are, whether he has to do anything for himself to help matters once he gets through the initial tests and then the interview stage. He has to be prepared to work and it’s easier if he understands the hardships as well as the good bits. Do you think there are ample opportunities in this career for teeming youths in the country? There are opportunities, definitely.
AROUND & ABOUT By Yemi Adeyemi, Elkanah Chawai, Philip Afolami & Abiotonaa Warikubu
NLNG’s Amadi-festation
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arrister Diko Ogbanga is a youth leader and one of the community representatives in Amadi-Ama. He spoke to Host about a new health care centre that was built by Nigeria LNG Limited this year and other issues in the community. Excerpts.
How the project started It started because of a need. We used to have an older health centre built by the community but as the years went by, there arose a need to have a modern outfit. We, as a community, decided to put the proposal to NLNG, who we consider as partners in development Although the project took some time but what we see here is a manifestation of what NLNG has done for Amadi-Ama community. Not only did they build the health centre, they also had it equipped with state-of-art equipment. We are very happy because people from the neighbourhood communities also come here for health care which is one of the desires of every community, good health for all. We are grateful to NLNG. But, in as much as we are grateful, we also expect NLNG to do more Barrister Dick in the near Ogbanga, Youth leader future.
NLNG is also providing us with doctors and nurses quarters. Awareness and Patronage There is a conscious effort on the part of the community leaders to ensure that there is adequate awareness so that people come in and make use of these facilities. If you come here anytime, you will see a lot of women, especially pregnant ones. And you will find out that they are
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not only people from the community but also people from outside the community. They know that something good has happened here. What’s next for AmadiAma? We will have to tap into government programmes. We depend on
School lab for Amadi-Ama
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hen the Community Secondary School, AmadiAma, Rivers State emerged the winner for 2008 in one of the top tests of scientific proficiency in secondary schools in the country (the NLNG Science Quiz), they left the venue with a science laboratory, figuratively speaking. This year, the laboratory was commissioned. The school came first among 28 government secondary schools in over 100 NLNG host communities . “My students are only exposed to science practical when it is close to examination time but with this laboratory now, when they study they will
ASCA is working ccumulated Savings and Credit Associations (ASCA), a scheme powered by Nigeria LNG, is producing strong entrepreneurs as well as credible and accountable leaders in the communities in Rivers State. And who can attest to this more than those it has affected? Meet Henrietta Inimgba, Kuro Bestman and Comfort Zeb from Amadi-Ama community of Rivers State. The idea of ASCA was to encourage members in NLNG host communities to save money for the rainy day. Mrs Inimgba, mother of three, speaks of her experience with ASCA: “The NLNG field officer called women together and introduced the association to us. At first, we weren’t sure if this
Modern health centre at Amadi Ama
our representation to cash in on these programmes. Right now, we are working with the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta to give the community shoreline protection. It has been neglected for a while and we have been agitating over the years even before the Niger Delta ministry was commissioned. Now, the federal ministry has given us reprieve and we believe that in the next two or three months, we will have shoreline protection in Amadi-Ama. Regardless of all NLNG has done for this community, we still think NLNG can still help us. The community will always be grateful for having NLNG as one of the companies that are in Rivers State.
group would last for a long time and if we will benefit from it. In 2008 we just managed. But in December, when we shared the money, we were all surprised about what we discovered. For example, my daughter gained admission into the University of Port Harcourt and you know what that means. The little money I gathered I used for my daughter’s school expenses. I went to Trade Fair and bought a bag and a stove for her. That is NLNG handwork. If it wasn’t for the association, I would have used the money anyhow. But the money became useful. I am grateful. So when we noticed this, we resolved never to go back. Even if other people are falling apart. Amakruka, our own ASCA, will not fall apart, we will continue. We were just 14 women when we started.”
Laboratory at Amadi Ama community school
be exposed to how it works. They will see the chemicals and the equipment ahead of time,” says Mrs J. M. Briggs, principal of the school in Amadi-Ama. The laboratory fits into a new modern school ambience championed by the Rivers State government. However, it is yet not Eldorado for the school administrators.
“I don’t have enough teachers or instructors to maximise the use of the laboratory. For instance, I don’t have any physics teacher Mrs J M Briggs in the school. Sometimes, I have to beg the physics teacher of Community Secondary School, Abonnema, to come here to prepare the students and I have one teacher who is not really qualified, so he assists,” she adds, calling for assistance from the government and other socially responsible companies.
Comfort Zeb Mrs Zeb, mother of six in her shop children, sells drinks in crates. Before Amakruka, she could only buy two or three crates to sell because she had no investment money. “When we started this meeting, I started getting some money and was surprised that life can be like Herrietta Inimgba, Kuro Bestman and Comfort Zeb this. So I took a loan from the association and contributed gradually until I was able to pay back my money. I got a little extra money which was the interest. So I’m so happy. We were in the dark but NLNG showed us the light,” she says. Mrs Bestman, mother of five, says They even borrow to non-members too. with the loans from the association, her Former officer in charge, Abiotoona business has grown and she is so good Warikubu, says the maximum for the in business that she returns the loan size of membership is 25 and a miniback before due date. Business is good. mum of 10 people for easy management.
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Economic Empowerment & Development
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Day
Guests and beneficiaries
A stand at the exhibition
The Micro Credit Scheme stand
Some beneficiaries
A champion receives his award from the GM, External Relations, Siene Allwell-Brown
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NLNG officials with resource persons
he NLNG Economic Empowerment and Development Day celebrates Nigeria LNG Limited’s corporate social responsibility initiatives in economic empowerment. The 2010 edition held at the Atrium Centre in Port Harcourt on 27 October, 2010 with over 300 beneficiaries of the Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES), the Micro-Credit Scheme, the NLNG AgroEnterprise Development Action (N-AGENDA), the Village Savings and Loans Scheme and the Business Development and Advisory Support (BDASS). They came from all corners of Rivers State to give testimony on the positive change the programmes have brought to their lives. See for yourselves in the colourful collection of photos from the event.
PEOPLES & CULTURES OF RIVERS STATE
forms i.e. Owu masquerade display, Iriabo [maiden dance ceremony], etc. The Nwaotam masquerade, celebrated between the 25 December and 1 January each year, is one of the By Eva Ben-wari & Ophilia Tammy-Aduura highlights of the Obolo festivals as well as the similarly popular ivers State was styl- canoe-house was a very well organised socioNkwak and Egbelegbe cultural political institution that served the purposes ishly called the oil displays. of commerce, combat (at inter-tribal wars), rivers (being part Major towns of the Andonis communality and leadership. Made up would include Egwede, Ngo, Ikuru of a man’s usually large immediate and of the Oil Rivers Town, Asarama, Unyeada, Ebukuma extended family members, slaves, servants, Protectorate from Ataba, Ekede, Agwut-Obolo, and trading assistance, some immigrants, the 1885 till 1893) and for deriving canoe-house facilitates adequate manIlotombi. Some of these parts can its name after the many rivers be accessed by road but all parts are ning, constant labour supply and defines accessed by the sea. The people are the idea of wealth. that border its territory. CelMrs. S Allaputtella predominantly fishermen but have also Grave sensitivity may surround a d ebrated as the treasure base of in typ a ressed l Bonny gone into trading and other vocations, traditic issues of ethnic grouping owing to io for w mnal outfit the nation in recent times, Rivwith the advent of industrialisation. It en durin dialectical differences and accounts of tradito g nal marriaio ers State can hardly be denied is on record that Oyorokoto in Andoni history. Nonetheless, the distinct culge is the largest fishing settlement in Rivers tures of some major indivisible ethnic the smugness of chief host to State to date. clusters easily identified in the state the hydrocarbon industries in BILLE are presented below in alphathe Niger Delta. Fashioned into betic order as a package to the Situated on an island, Bille is a typical a distinct state by a military de- quintessential adventurer or salt water “riverine” community. Though a lowlying land, Bille possesses rich mangrove vegetacree in 1967, following a further tourist. tion like most coastal settlements in Rivers State; ABUA split in 1996 – with the creation precisely located on the south-eastern part of the In oral tradition, legend of Bayelsa State – Rivers remains has it that the founder of present Degema Local Government Area. On the basis of oral tradition, linguistic and archaeology, a diverse ethnic state, with a rich Abua had four sons, namely researchers are inclined to accept Bille as an anOtapha, Emughan, Okpeden cultural history and an enthusicient autonomous settlement that may have been and a fourth whose name got astic cosmopolitan outlook. founded prior to the 14th century, migrating from eclipsed admist his father’s Linguistics research depicts that ethnic compoan earlier settlement around the Tarakiri clan in influence. What is known as sitions in the state comprise of the eastern Niger, central Ijaw. Abua today is made up of five including Kalabari, Bile, Okrika, Ibani and Nkoro With the Atlantic Ocean close by, the Billes are clans: Ogbo-Abuan, Emughan, in lower Niger, referring to Ekpeye, Ikwerre, Ogba, predominantly fishermen but also play host to Okpeden, Otapha and Odual. Egbema, Ndoni and Etche, the central Niger, enoil majors following the discovery of crude oil in Its people are Abua and Odual a masquerade dance compassing Khana, Gokana, Eleme and Tai; lastly, commercial quantity about 1958. It takes an aptribes and speak Abua and Odual the lower Cross, referring to the obolo speaking proximate two hours drive on an outboard dialects, which are among the group, found in Andoni and Opobo. powered engine from Port Harcourt to Bille. minor dialects of the people of Port Harcourt, the state’s capital, fondly reThe Billes celebrate the Agiri masquerade and Rivers State. Bounded in the north by ferred to as the “Garden City” is considered one speak a distinct Ijaw language, known as Bille the Ekpeyes of Ahoada, west by Bayelsa of Nigeria’s most industrialised cities and the language. State, east by the Ikwerres of Emohua commercial hub of the Niger Delta. Truly cosmoDEGEMA and south by Degema, access into Abua politan, Port Harcourt grants access to the second Degema is spoken in two autonomous comes through five major link roads busiest seaport in Nigeria, a functional internacommunities on the Degema Island known as and waterways i.e. Abua-Ahoada Road, tional airport, four degree-awarding institutions, Usokun-Degema and Degema Town (Atala), Ahoada-Ochiba-Emughan Road, Port two refineries, a petrochemical plant, fertiliser in Degema Local Government Area. In other Harcourt-Abonnema-Omokwa waplant, a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant and A tradiwords, the Degema language is in free variation terside, Yenegoa-Ididie-Imiringi- Shell tional Rivmarks the eastern terminal of Nigeria’s railway in these communities and mutually intelligible. ers maiden Road and Emalego Road. system. Port Harcourt is renowned for social dance, According to oral tradition, Degema people are In Abua, life is woven around fampeculiar activities and events and hosts some of Nigeria’s to riverine originally of the Egnenni ethnic group, prior to ily, community and societal mores communifinest golf courses, including the Air Assault Golf immigrating to Degema Island. which include, land tenure and farmties Course, Port Harcourt Golf Course, Shell (SPDC) Although Degema is located in an area of ing, marriage, cultural groups, reliGolf Course and the NLNG Golf Course in Bonny swamps, mangroves and gion, and entertainment. The people Island. Top rate private membership clubs on the depend largely on farming as their means of livelicity include Port Harcourt Club (1928), the Boat hood and fishing Deacon & Club and the Polo Club, which organises comDeaconess Their major festivals include yal Abua, egbukeAkuro Parker mendable boat racing and polo events yearly. re dance and the Abua Day. Taboos in a traditional during their At 44 years, Rivers State boasts of 23 distinct traditional Abua community would include: beating a grandmarriage Local Government Areas [LGAs], constituted rite in the child, working on market days and a grandchild Okrika Custom along ethno-cultural lines and affiliations. climbing trees; though these are increasingly wanpopularl Masquerade displays, dances, wrestling, etc known as Okuruy ing as the society grows more urbane. kaka are yet a sight to behold at an iria (maiden dance ANDONI ceremony) of the Kalabaris, Bonny, Opobo and Known as a distinct enthno-linguistic group, Okrika, just as celebrating the farming seasons the Andonis are the only Obolo- speaking cluster and new yam, draws out the best of fine traditional in Rivers State. However, historians and linguists wresting (egelge) amongst the Ikwerres, Ekpeye, depict the Obolo language to have and approxiOgba, Abua, etc. mate 36% linguistic relationship with the Ibibio The canoe-house system is another distinc& Efik Languages. Nonetheless, Obolo remains tive feature of most proto-Ijaw ethnic groups in the only language essentially distinct to the AnRivers State. Known to have been critical to their donis. They share the rich culture of neighbourinvolvement in transatlantic trades on the West ing riverine communities and similarities in art African coast with European merchants, the
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a masquerade dance
tropical rainforests, the region received early influence of the Baptist and Anglican missions which encouraged Western education among the people, catalysing social growth and development. The location of a British Consulate (Colonial Administrative Centre) in the pre-independence era, and later, a Government Teacher Training College, Ministry of Agriculture and General Hospital, were also other agents of social growth. Degema people depend largely on fishing as their means of livelihood and popular gears used include spears, fish fence, hooks, set nets, and traps of various kinds alongside subsistence farming. EKPEYE Ekpeye refers to a language, culture and people found in Ahoada and OgbaEgbema Local Government Areas of Rivers State. It is common and widespread in the history of the Ekpeye and Ogba people that both are descendants of a royalty of the ancient Benin Kingdom, who migrated southward the River Niger to a geographically elevated area, current-day Ubie in Ekpeyeland and Egi. However, the Ekpeyes have long lived in the land bounded in the west by River Orashi and east by River Sombreiro as proven by researches in history and archaeology. The Ekpeyes are believed to perhaps parade the most dynamic of cultures in Rivers State even if the differences are very plain. Their culture offers a curious mix of original Ekpeye, neighbouring Ijaw and influences of Igbo – having had one of the earliest and most intense interactions with the Igbos. A typical example is the Ekpeyes Egbukele masquerade which came from Ijaw through Abua. Egbukele is distinct for the horizontal fish-shaped headdresses as compared to the Aarungu masks which exhibit a wide range of forms and imagery, many of which are also found in Igbo. Principal Ekpeye dialects are Akoh, Upata, Ubie and Igbuduya. The Ekpeyes are predominantly farmers and hunters. Their staple diets would include, farm produce of yam and cassava, vegetables and hunts from their vast tropical rain forests. IBANI At the edge of the Atlantic Ocean facing the Bight of Biafra sits the island of the ancient grand Bonny Kingdom whilst located to the east, is Opobo Kingdom. Ibani language, peoples and culture is a variant of Ijaw and distinctively spoken across the communities of these historic Kingdoms
of Bonny and Opobo in Rivers State. Founded prior to the 14th century, Bonny Kingdom is a traditional city state with a robust cultural heritage. According to oral tradition, the name “Bonny” is a distortion following early European Portuguese, Dutch and British incursions into the Island. Though it was the British that renamed it the Island of Bonny, the first settlers called it Okolo-Ama meaning Curlew Town, since the island was full of Curlews. To date, the official pictogram of Bonny Kingdom is the Curlew and the name Okolo-Ama is still in use locally. At the peak of its power about the 15th century, Bonny was a major entrepôts for the slave trade. The thriving economy of the state owing to transnational trade on its coasts, gave Bonny Kingdom a cosmopolitan status of sorts. The people were to later pick up a commercial language referred to as “Bonny Igbo”, following incessant engagements with peoples and cultures from the hinterland. In addition, some cultural fusion is observed with the introduction of the “Nwantam”, “Oboni” and “Ekpe” clubs, etc. Nonetheless, Bonny Kingdom maintains her distinct cultural heritage in the spoken Ibani language and other traditional forms in the Owu-ogbo” (masquerade displays), “Eremina-ogbo” (women dances), “Iriabo” (maiden dance/ceremony), boat regatta or gigs at ceremonies or wartimes, “Omu-aru” etc. which features at customary events and ceremonies. The emergence of the Opobo city state is said to be fairly documented, following some predominance of literate leadership and the presence of the British consul. However, history accounts that a former slave Jubo Jubogha, renamed Jaja by the British, founded the further inland (east of Bonny) state of Opobo Kingdom, in 1870. King Jaja led a defiant group from Bonny, including members of the Annie Pepple House, arising from a feud with Chief Oko Jumbo, also chief of the rival Manilla Pepple House. King Jaja was said to have named Opobo Kingdom after Opubo, a Pepple King in Bonny that reigned from 1782 to 1830. However, King Jaja did not only leave with some part of the British and palm oil trade that equally prospered Opobo Kingdom but with the complementary practices of the peoples and cultures of the Ibani people. Present-day Opobo is acclaimed for an international boat regatta held yearly, and life beaches and resorts. IKWERRE According to researches in history and oral tradition, the Ikwerres are believed to be of Igbo tribe of south-eastern Nigeria. They are said to be descendants of long distance traders from the hinterland of the south-east Igbo communities. Known to occupy measurable land space in Rivers State, the Ikwerres are predominantly farmers and hunters and practised a bit of fishing. They speak a variant of central Igbo and exist in well-delineated clans, with a characteristic Paramount Chief. Dissimilar to their riverine neighbours, Ikwerres do not have an overall king. Ikwerre communities in Rivers State play host to several multinational oil com-
panies, owing to massive deposits of crude and gas located, attracting rapid urbanisation in Port Harcourt, the State capital – which has eclipsed parts of Ikwerre land. Institutions hosted on Ikwerre land would include University of Port Harcourt, Choba, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Nkpolu, all three campuses of the Rivers State University of Education, Rumuolumeni, Ndele and St. John’s, the Rivers State Oil Palm Company Ltd., in Ubima, among others. There are also evident cultural linkages between the Ikwerres and their riverine neighbours in traditional dances, attires for men and women, traditional wrestling, etc. Major ceremonies amongst the Ikwerres would include Ovowhor, Obudu, Esa, Ofa Ukwu, Osa Oro, Ogbu Noju-jii, Osu. KALABARI The Kalabari people speak Kalabari as spoken in Akuku Toru and Asari Toru Local Government Areas, located on a series of islands in the Delta of River Niger, four degrees above the equator. Researches in history and the benefits of oral tradition speak of Kalabari language as a variant of Ijaw and that the people derived the name Kalabari from their progenitor, PereboKalakebari (contracted to Kalabari) who settled in the area about the 15th century. Through the process of time, the settlement now known as Kalabari, also ElemKalabari, grew into a large prosperous city state with others of mutual interests and cultural affinity as symbolised under the personage of Perebo-Kalakebari; incorporating other neighbouring proto-Ijaw communities into its sphere of influence. Kalabari Nevertheless, it was the Kalabari civil war about 1879 – 1881 that triggered the formation and founding of major Kalabari towns and villages including, Bakana (Obaama) in 1881, Abonnema (Nyemoni) in 1882, Buguma (Asari) in 1884 and others. Kalabari people mastered the art of trade as expert middlemen in slaves and other rare commodities at the time, such as cloth from India, Venetian glass beads and corals resulting in constant interactions with the Europeans. This became an invitation to western education and culture as well as attempts at missionary work. Kalabaris still maintain their predominantly Ijaw culture like most proto-Ijaw settlements in oral literary forms, dances and practices. The language of Kalabari is distinct to this ethnic group though mutually intelligible to neighbouring communities. It is said that the Kalabaris gave the traditional Rivers State attire, the etibo and woko flamboyance and eminence, further to their exposure to foreign values, styles and cultural artefacts. The gentleman’s outfit is incomplete without a matching walking stick and bowler or felt hat. The Kalabari culture is most appreciated at ceremonies and festivities such as chieftaincy investiture, “Bibi-fe” (in marriages), “Owu-gbo” masquerade displays, etc. The island city of Buguma is said to be the cultural capital of the Kalabaris. OGONI The Ogonis are a distinct ethnic group in Rivers State, comprising mainly of three sub-groups of common historical origins – though with slight dialectical varia-
tions in the spoken language. The major towns associated with this ethnic group are Nchia-Eleme, Onne and Akpjo Eleme, Khana (Bori, Bani) and Gokana (Bodo, Kpor). Located on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, east of Port Harcourt, Ogoni-land extends across the four Local Government Areas of Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme. Albeit traditionally, it is divided along the lines of the six kingdoms that constitute Ogoni-land and peoples encompassing Babbe, Eleme, Gokana, Ken-Khana, NyoKhana and Tai who speak related mutually intelligible languages. With its unique location, Ogoni-land is endowed with an abundance of crude oil and gas, rivers and a vast tropical rain forest. The Ogonis have had a well established socio-political system that is sustained by their rich cultural heritage, prior to British invasion in 1901. Known to have a distinct language and culture from other neighbouring communities in Rivers State, Ogonis celebrate the “Amanikpo” masquerade display amongst other festivals and ceremonies. OKRIKA According to oral tradition and linguistics researches, the Okrikas in language and culture are a proto-Ijaw ethnic group akin to majority of coastal communities in Rivers State. What serves as the cultural capital of the city state of Okrika Kingdom, since the early 17th century, is located on an island (also known as Okrika Island) north of Bonny River and 35 miles upstream the Bight of Benin. Like most of its neighbouring coastal communities, Okrika was known to have participated in the transatlantic trades, through the Okrika island port, giving it a port town status like Bonny and Opobo. Also known as Wakirike, Okrika is a suburb of the much larger city of Port Harcourt, but still much in touch with its ancient Ijaw history. Following trade interactions with the hinterland, Okrika also had its own share of language and culture fusion more pronounced in, Okrika’s mainland communities. The Okrikas are known to celebrate the Ogwein, Periangala, Otobo, Odum, etc masquerades and also indulge in iriabo ceremonies. Okrika could be said to have been eclipsed by Port Harcourt as most of its mainland communities can be accessed by road from Port Harcourt. However, its various communities are situated on islands that can only be accessed by water.
teenagers from Bille Community, dressed for the burial ofe an aged on