HostF O R T H E N L N G H O S T C O M M U N I T I E S

F R E S Hjuly 2010

Thegroovebackis

The Voice of Wisdom

page 12

Bonny Market Comes to

NLNGRainbow on

WaterReady, Steady,

Whytein Rivers

People, people... people

The year 2010 came in with seriously tasking thoughts of how to make Host magazine bet-ter, especially after a very successful make over edition. What do we do? Reiterate the success

that has been recorded, by company and community, in our relations and development? Do we talk about the airtight partnership with community groups in project implementation? Or do we talk of our commitment to sustainable development?

We of course had at the back of minds the fact that we needed to sustain the standard we had set for our-selves in the last edition which we tagged a “bountiful harvest” or what others called, ‘the Host with the Most’. As we brainstormed, little did we know that the answer was staring us in the eyes—People, people and more about people.

One can’t really get tired of talking about people. They animate the world and development, which we so proudly promote from time to time. It was at this point that a colleague pointed out a very salient point about NLNG and the Bonny Community, and indeed, all our other communities, be it the ISB or the GTS. He said the company and community live under the same sky, breathe the same air, eat the same food and drink the same water. He questioned “why don’t we write about those things we do together with community?”

Oh, there are many things we do together with our host communities! Trust me, it was difficult trying not to turn the magazine into a book of tales on coopera-tion, lending a hand here and leaning on a shoulder there. We looked deep and close and picked out some-thing small in the eyes of many, yet powerful in bringing people of diverse backgrounds together - The NLNG Residential Area Market, one thing we do together and this edition highlights how we blend and share peace-fully, a pertinent ingredient in NLNG’s engagement with host communities.

And then, it is again about people. We went to the land of Ovogo where Ohna Obed

Orlu Wekwa, Paramount Ruler of Ovogo community in Rivers State, tells the story of how he became an Ohna and the laudable succession plan, in the tradition of his people, which ensures that only those ready to serve emerge as the leaders of the people. Yes, it does happen. Just turn the pages.

More about people...A Nigerian proverb goes thus: “however far the

stream flows; it never detaches from its source”. Bonny Kingdom has come a long way, so long that most people, especially the youths, have begun to forget their history and roots. This was all we needed as a prompt-ing to visit the Ama Opu Senibo Spurgeon Adawari Green in Bonny. In one of the most scintillating chats we have had on the Host magazine, Green, the Chairman of the Bonny Historical Society, brings the history of Bonny alive.

The question before us begging for an answer is “will this edition be another bountiful harvest?” Are we yet to read the Host with the Most? You be the judge.

Siene Allwell-Brown

contentsfrom the editor-in-chief

3 Bonny Market comes to NLNG

5 Ready, Steady, Whyte

6 Call it Ohanmentation

7 How pure is Bonny water?

8 Carving Conversations

10 Nwautam Story

12 ...the Voice of Wisdom

15 The Groove is back

17 Partners and stakeholders

20 Rainbow on water

22 Win-Win, ride on

23 ‘Aru Aru Nlu G’

24 A Smit Image

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 the Nigeria LNG Limited or its management.Editor-in-Chief: Siene Allwell-BrownManaging Editor: Ifeanyi MbanefoEditor: Yemi AdeyemiDeputy Editor: Elkanah ChawaiAssociate Editor: Mohammed Al SharjiWriters: , Emma Nwatu, Glory Joe, Anne-Marie Palmer-Ikuku, Dan Daniel, Emeka Agbayi, Victor Ogbonu, Nelson Braide, Jessica Jacob-Oba

Guest Writers: Tam Fiofori, Boboye Onduku

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.comPrinted in Nigeria by PrintPro Projects Limited, 2 Anifowoshe Close, Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria. Tel: 01-6283223

Photographs on Cover and Pages 2, 15 and 16 courtesy of Rivers State Ministry of Culture and TourismPhotographs on Pages 20 and 21 courtesy of Daibi BamifioriPhotographs on Page 16 culled from www.cnn.com and www.wazobaa.info

2 HOST

preface

By elkanah chawai & dan daniel

At 7:30am, a bustle of activities begins to build up at the Nigeria LNG Limited Residential Area (RA) gate. A group of traders, mostly women, gather at the visitors’

office to pick up identity tags. Outside the office, some other women haul baskets of tomatoes, mangoes, vegetables and other

foodstuff into an old white rickety bus packed by the gate.

A bit of squabble ensues over the ground space in the bus for the baskets with each woman making sure that her baskets secure good spaces. The other traders in the visi-tors’ office rush out to join in the scramble for vantage position.” Twenty minutes after, as if on cue, they leave the bus and, in the same hurried manner, scurry to another bus to take their seats. The door of the passenger bus closes and the driver’s voice could be overheard from the outside, tell-

ing his passengers to fasten their seat belts. There is excitement on their faces. Some-thing worthwhile was ahead.

Inside the RA, the imposing structure of the water tower always stands tall in a welcoming pose. Behind the tower, a paved pathway leads to a roundabout that can undisputedly be described as the epicentre of the RA. Beyond it lays a shopping com-plex with a roofed courtyard-like arena, an architectural allure with connecting narrow paved pathways like spider legs. This was where the traders at the gate were headed.

The Human Resources Department (HRP) in Bonny had in 2007 thought it a worthy place to set up a small community market where market traders from close-by Finima and Bonny could come to sell their wares and where RA residents can conveni-ently shop with a complacent feel that value is being gotten for money. The market, however, has outgrown its purpose from convenience and enterprise to a more noble cause — a meeting point and a melting pot of RA residents and Bonny community members.

“At first, the security situation in Bonny Island limited movement of residents into the market in town and therefore the need to bring the market closer to the RA residents. This was then superseded by the need to create opportunities for spouses and people from the community to trade,” Manager of HRP, Mr Aka Nwokedi, ex-

Goods survive the discerninG

eyeBonny marketcomes to

nlnG3HOST

cover story

plains.Under the same sky and breathing the

same air, NLNG staff and the Bonny com-munity have lived on the island for over 10 years. And over time, the frontier of their interaction has advanced considerably. The RA market place became one of those new grounds gained.

The RA market started out as a once a month affair. It grew bigger and popular and changed to twice a month. This year, Mr Nwokedi increased the frequency to every Saturday.

“The growing popularity of the mar-ket and the growth in demand for goods as well as the need to keep encouraging spouses and people from the community to keep growing their trade increased the frequency to weekly,” he points out.

The market is a microcosm of larger community markets. People from diverse backgrounds besiege the market every week. Gloria Ibiezugbe is a RA resident and a trained medical laboratory scientist. Living in Bonny Island with her husband, an NLNG staff, she ventured into selling at the RA market after being introduced to someone who sells baking materials. She says the market has been a challenge hobnobbing and trying to make money with women and men whose stock in trade is selling in markets like this. She tells Host magazine that as early as 7 am, traders be-gin to troop in to the market arena to grab ground space to set up their wares. She adds that because of the size of the market, there aren’t so many spaces for lots of trad-ers that would have loved to take part.

About her interactions with the com-munity members, she says “We meet some of them in the market outside the RA and here in the RA again. The interaction is really okay. We are friends, not much of a competition. We buy things from them here and even outside the RA,” adding that when

it comes to market space, it is on the basis of “first come, first served. I don’t have problems getting space. Most times, I come like Friday evenings to book a space for myself and by the time I come the next day, I don’t really see anybody dragging it with me.”

Another RA resident, Mrs Owolabi ,who sells beauty care products and hair accesso-ries, says her interactions with community members go beyond the few hours they spend in the market arena.

“I am very familiar with people outside the RA. Nobody is an island and you can’t be on your own; we have to mix up, else it wouldn’t be interesting. Some of the trad-ers are my friends and we help one another with spaces to sell. Our interactions go beyond the RA market. I see them and we hug and talk. The other time, I saw one of them in the market in Port Harcourt and I offered to do a boat booking on the NLNG boats the next time she wants to go to Port Harcourt. That is the extent of the familiar-ity,” she says turning around to indicate some of the women she parleys with.

Mrs Maria Mike Ofagbomnu has been selling food condiments at the market for two years now. She says “so far, so good, this market has made relationships, kept us together; we chat with them (RA residents) and vice-versa. I can say it has made me more friends.

If I have a customer and a friend of the customer gets to know me through my cus-tomer, my business is promoted. And when there is a strike in the town now which NLNG will not permit residents to come outside for safety purpose, some of them have our numbers and they call us to bring some things to the gate. ”

Anders Carlsson, Head Operations Expansion at NLNG, has an interesting perspective on the market. Beside his pref-erence for fresh vegetables and meat, he says “I prefer to come to the market because I know it is creating local employment also. Employment is really hard to come

by because the oil industry is not labour intensive enough. So they can make a little money and we can integrate with the com-munity.”

A control systems engineer with NLNG, Michael Heap, thinks it is better now that the market is weekly. “It was more difficult when the market was once a month. I am on rotation schedule and I am only here on a month to month basis and if I don’t come at the right time, I will have to wait some weeks before the market runs again. Now I can come every week and buy my fresh veg-etables,” he says, carrying a bag of fresh veg-etables and making light jokes over prices with the market traders.

Like the bustling markets around the world, there are always downsides. Some buyers told Host magazine that the prices in the market are higher than what is obtain-able in community markets outside the RA. Mr. Nwokedi says that one of the challeng-es of running the market: “is keeping prices competitive to ensure trading is sustainable and residents come out and buy the goods. If prices are very expensive, then people will not buy.”

Another issue is that of space to set up their goods. Many community traders feel that the RA resident traders have an edge over securing market space while others feel a bit apprehensive about unrealistic price expectations from buyers. Mrs. Of-agbomnu says “residents should look at market surveys and check out some things and come and check what we are selling here. If they really appreciate us, they have to do something about that issue. Another thing is that we come here and some people will still leave us here and go outside to buy things.”

Mr. Mike Ipuole, a staff of the RA Club, seems to capture the whole story succinctly: “we are embracing ourselves as one people.”

“Under the same sky and breathing the same air, NLNG staff and the Bonny community have lived on the island for over 10 years.”

clockwise from left:

aka nwokedi, manaGer,

human resources

in Bonny; local art on

display; Bonny indiGenes

Benefit from trade; an expatriate

examines local jewelry

4 HOST

spotliGht

By emma nwatu

A lean frame. A smiling baby face. And yet a gargantuan task. How do they mix? That is the question you might ask when told that Charles Whyte is the man

entrusted with the mission of transforming the Bonny General Hospital (BGH) into a world-class medical facility. He is Chief Medical Officer (CMO).

Now, if you are told that Whyte has been in medical practice for 18 years, is a con-sultant paediatrician and a minister in the Lord’s Vineyard – don’t doctors say “God heals, We care? – then, you would want to sit and share a bottle of drink with him.

Dr Whyte has a clear idea of what his mission at BGH is: make the hospital run in an effective and efficient way, with a team that is highly knowledgeable, fully func-tional equipment and facilities and a system that is modern and transparently operated.

Although designated the CMO, Whyte, seconded from the NNPC Medical Services, won’t take full charge till the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on the hospital between Nigeria LNG Limited and Rivers State Ministry of Health for the state government.

The MOU requires NLNG to provide, among others, specialist coverage, technical support, management team and perfor-mance incentives to the staff, and the brick and mortar and all the appurtenances of a modern health facility; the hardware, if you like. About 95 per cent of this is done. Rivers State is to employ doctors and other support staff; provide drugs and other con-sumables.

Whyte’s mandate is to ensure that the hospital is operational daily and effectively: such that at the end of three years, the direct hospital staff would be in charge.

What’s on Whyte’s mind? One: “The im-plication of having Bonny General Hospital run according to the design set by NLNG is that quality and effective healthcare services will be delivered to the residents of Bonny Island at a very cheap price. That is very important.”

Two: “The workers are well-paid and they can (even) ignore the performance bonus that NLNG is building in for them. You are aware that Rivers State government pays higher than the Federal government.”

Three: “The hospital staff are yet to have a buy-in on the arrangement. Some of them are beginning to feel that we are after their jobs.”

Four: “Five to six medical doctors are required to run the hospital 24/7. I under-stand that the government is supposed to provide three but this is not enough. We need to have each of the doctors on call twice in a week; so, at least four more and I could make a difference.”

Five: “Part of the plan by NLNG is to provide specialist coverage using specialist staff - surgeons, gynaecologists, paediatri-cians, etc. Part of the reason why I am here is to build the capacity of the hospital staff and equip them to handle nearly all the medical cases. That is part of capacity build-ing.”

Six: “We will also harmonise informa-tion dissemination amongst government-owned medical institutions in Bonny - Bonny General Hospital, Finima Health Centre and Bonny Health Centre - to improve the provision of healthcare facili-ties in the health institutions. Recall that NLNG recently engaged a doctor to run the Finima Health Centre. All we need to do is to ensure effective information–sharing and management and this entails easy referral of medical cases from these health centres to the Bonny General Hospital.”

Whyte knows that everyone is looking up to him to deliver.

He has what it takes. A member of the Society for Quality in Healthcare Nigeria and the Paediatric Association of Nigeria, Dr Whyte has worked as a consultant paediatrician at two different private hospitals in Lagos and was once Senior Registrar, Paediatrics, at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.

He was General Practitioner (GP) at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria and at University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital where he did his youth service in 1991/92.

He is also a member of a religious and non-governmental organisation called “A CAN can Make A Difference” which assists in providing Primary Health Care service and counselling to people liv-ing with HIV/AIDS, prison inmates and the poor communities in Lagos.

Speaking of HIV/AIDS, Dr Whyte is not oblivious to the peculiar environment of

whyteready, steady,

Bonny Island as a place with highly mobile migrant workers, and therefore the higher-than-the-Nigerian average rate of spread of HIV on the Island. “I will identify its dynamics, factors for and against its spread and coordinate drive for its control and management in collaboration with other bodies on the Island,” he says.

That is the man, Charles Whyte.

BoTToM PiCTuRe: nlnG

md chima iBeneche, dr whyte , and

Gm human resources, idi

mukhtar

5HOST

feature

It is not easy to be Ohna.

Unless you are prepared to walk around barefooted and shirtless for 10 years. And running errands for the Ohna-in-Council.

Those are the entry requirements into the membership of Ohna, the group of

high chiefs who govern Ovogo in Emohua Lo-cal Government Area of Rivers State. So has it been since the early 20th Century till date. No dilution.

Ohna Obed Orlu Wekwa is currently the most senior Ohna and leads the Ohna council, as the 9th Paramount Ruler of Ovogo, a com-munity of about 500 people.

Led by the Community Development Com-mittee Chairman of Ovogo, Dan Manewe, Host magazine’s Yemi Adeyemi, Elkanah Chawai, Dan Daniel and Victor Ogbowu paid Ohna Obed Orlu Wekwa a visit, one they will never forget.Manewe had warned the team of the leaders’ love for culture and the people’s respect for the Ohna council and how they should re-spond to the traditional rites for visitors before the visitors were ushered to the ruler’s court-yard. What they did not expect was the grand reception by the Ohna council and Ovogo chiefs and the resplendence of the practise of their culture.

First, two members of the Ohna filed in with other chiefs in a regimented order, halting by a row of three chairs and each waiting for the person in front of him to take his seat. It was baffling why they left a seat at the far right empty. The paramount ruler wasn’t part of this procession leaving the team with the question “where will the paramount ruler sit?”

As the visitors would learn later, the Ohna members sit according to their ranks—in a chronological order of calling to the noble council. Ohna David Uchendu took the centre chair while Ohna John Oti, sat at the far right. The visitors were puzzled at the arrangement and were about to state their mission with their attention directed at Ohna Uchendu when Manewe beckoned for them to wait a bit—the most senior Ohna and paramount ruler is yet to be seated. In a whisper, they were told that the two Ohnas could only be distinguished by their sitting arrangement which cannot in any circumstances be changed. Seniority in the Ohna is sacrosanct.

Ohna Obed later strode in gallantly and greeted his visitors before taking his seat at the far left. Flanked to his left by two other Ohnas, the Ohna council was complete, and the busi-ness of the day could start. only few are called

Membership of the Ohna is not absolutely hereditary. On the contrary, an Ovogo man must be seen to be morally upright to be called to this dignified order.

Ohna Obed Orlu Wekwa elaborates: “it is only for people found worthy. It is possible for anyone to aspire for the seat and work towards it but at the end, you must be called by them. You will be in your house and maybe one morn-

ing, they will appear in your house and tell you they have found you worthy and that they want you to join them. That is the calling. They must see you as a serious person before they come to you. You must be someone that is clean, sincere and upright. They will take a good look at you before they call you. And as soon as you are called, they will start the process.”the ritual

Coronation is not a day’s job. In fact, it is about 10 years or over, depending on how fast the called learn the ways of the ancients.

The chief continues: “Before you are called into the tradition, you have to go out with a towel around your waist. You won’t put on anything except the towel for so many years before you are called to the main Ohna group. Before the staff of office is given, there are so many stages to go through and there is a lot of sufferings along the line. According to the tradition, on the day of installation, we will come out individually and they will read to us the tradition of the people which we must not go against or we will surely die. Anybody that sees me will recognise me as the traditional ruler in this attire and will know that I have suffered before we got to this stage. Right now, we are only three of us. The staff of office is hardly seen in the market. You must be the type that people want before they give it to you. It is carved from Mayo Nwokisi which is Mahogany wood in English. There are three attires associated with the

Ohna. But there is a particular one that no-body can wear.”

He further said that as soon as an Ovogo man is called, he must walk barefoot and bare chest from that day on and must serve the es-tablished Ohna chiefs by any means possible.

“You won’t put any clothes again. It entails a lot of expenses. You have to cook for the Ohnas. The first cooking can cost you up to N50,000 and that is not all. You will have to cook at different stages, sometimes spending up to N100,000 for 10 years before you will be called out. Any errands that concern them, you must go. Even to serve drinks, you will have to serve them drinks. You will do that for them whether on daily, weekly or monthly basis. In fact, anything that concerns somebody running an errand for them, nobody will go except you for good 10 years. That is a way of grooming,” adding that all these stages of “sufferings” as he referred to them will ensure the Ohnas govern well.the Gods want no shoes

One of the duties of the Ohna is the con-stant communion with the ancestors believed to reside in the earth. Ohna Obed Orlu Wekwa said they don’t walk around with shoes, not even if they were invited to Abuja by the presi-dent: “We must always be barefoot. When we go out barefoot, we are discussing with the gods of the land. Anytime we walk barefoot and we go to a bad place, the gods of the land are seeing us.”

The Ohnas may not be the only people walking barefoot in Ovogo, but when the council is convened in the community, only the Ohnas and the Ohnas alone must have no shoes on. the ovoGo three

Three things bring a throng of people to Ovogo. The first is the Esha festival, in Septem-ber, where women come out to celebrate their first child.

The second is the yam festival. The Ovogo folk are farmers. The chief says: “We plant yams. From January to August, as soon as the first new yams are harvested, we feast for eight days in October. People come around from everywhere to feast with us.”

And the third is wrestling. “We have a leg-endary hero known as Okpu Ovogo, the great wrestler of River State. There is no town we have not visited in Rivers State because of Okpu. We have visited Ekpeye, Kalabari land, Abua, Ogoni land and even some parts in Bayelsa State because of him. People like to invite him to wrestle and anywhere we go, we always returned home with the trophy until he died. That is why we are the champions till date.”our cry

After his extolment of his culture and people, he cleared his throat and informed his visitors that what he was about to say was very serious and important. He asked them if they had noticed the road on which they drove to Ovogo. His visitors nodded.

He looked sternly at them and said: “when you come from Rumuji, you rode on a tarred road but as soon as you enter Ovogo, there is no road. We want government presence, par-ticularly Nigeria LNG Limited. We want to feel their presence. We want them to be near us. We believe in Nigeria LNG Limited and what they can do.”

The Ohnas have spoken.

call itohnamentation

ToP: ohna oBed aBove: ohna oBed’s Bare

feet

6 HOST

spotliGht

friend was aware that my choice was not because I could not afford the pure water, so he asked: “Why tap water?” “Because I learnt that this thing called pure water is not even as pure as the tap water here” I responded. I was speaking with the authority of John Ebinum, General Manager of Bonny Utility Company, who had told me in an interview published in Host magazine that the potable water in Bonny matches the best standard of drinking water anywhere in the world. This restaurant incident made me go back to Ebinum to get tutored on why the Bonny water is purer than pure water. Please enjoy the conversation:

in a simple term, what constitutes pure wa-ter?

The term potable water is normally used in connection with drinking water.

Drinking water or potable water is water of sufficiently high quality that can be consumed or used without risk of immediate or long term harm. Simply, it is water fit for drinking, being free from contamination. Water may be naturally potable as in the case of spring water, or it may need to be treated in order to be safe.How do you measure water purity?

BUC standard testing of water po-tability consists of drawing water from designated sample points and testing for parameters that are critical to human health. Tests are done within the required time frame for coliform bacteria along with e.coli, total dissolved solids, water hardness, ph, and iron content. Some

parameters are tested on a more regular interval than others. During testing,

if any contaminants are found to exceed standard acceptable limits,

the water is considered not pota-ble and will not be distributed for consumption. What is the World Health organisation’s (WHo) basic standard on pure water sup-ply and what is the standard of Bonny/ Finima water?

WHO guideline for drink-ing-water quality covers physical,

chemical, microbial and other as-

pects. These include odour, turbidity, pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids, sus-pended solids, calcium, magnesium, total hardness, calcium hardness, iron, man-ganese, lead, chloride, sulphate, nitrate, e-coli, total coliform, total plate count etc.

Other parameters may be checked if there is a case of suspected contaminants from a pollution source.

Regular analyses of some of these pa-rameters including pH, Iron, E-coli are done to ensure they are within acceptable values.Why can i drink water from tap in Bonny or Finima and not from Lagos or Port Har-court?

You can drink water from any part of Nigeria (or the world) be it Bonny, Finima, Lagos or Port Harcourt as long as it meets the standard requirement of potable, drinkable water that is fit for human consumption. The water produced from BUC Water Treatment Plants in Bonny and Finima is free from microbiological contaminants and very low levels of physi-cal or chemical contaminants and there-fore conform to the WHO specification for drinking water. Daily analysis of the treated water is carried out in the NLNG IA laboratory. Independent analysis of the water has also been carried out in the Riv-ers State Water Corporation Laboratory. Results obtained from these laboratories confirm that the water is safe for drinking.Please describe how you process Bonny/ Finima water?

The process of the treatment at BUC Bonny/ Finima water plants is summa-rised below: • Raw water is drawn from a deep well

through a submersible pump • At the well head, air is injected into the

raw water from an aeration compres-sion

• This first process of treatment occurs from the well head where the injected air removes iron by oxidizing soluble Iron II to insoluble Iron III.

• The water then flows through pipes to filter tanks filled with Nevtraco, gravels and fine sand

• At the filter tank iron is further re-move by the Nevtraco media. Nevtraco (crushed natural calcium carbonate compound) aid in iron removal as well as stabilisation of the pH of the water within a neutral range as recom-mended.

• The filtration process removes all sus-pended matter including the insoluble Iron YIII. These insoluble materials are later washed away during the back-wash process.

• After filtration, chlorine liquid is in-jected into the water which later flows through a vertical pipe to an elevated storage tank

• The treated water stored in the tank is tested in-house and NLNG laboratory to confirm suitability

• The water from the elevated storage tank will later be distributed by grav-ity to the community through various networks of PVC pipes and also by water tankers.

By emma nwatu

It was a hot sunny afternoon in February. I was thirsty. My friend was hungry. Good reasons to stop at a

small restaurant at Finima Road. “Please give me cold pure water,” I ordered. The attendant brought a jug full of cold water and, almost immediately, went back to the freezer and came back with four sachets of water, pure water. I went for the cold water in the clean white jug.My

as Bonny water

aspure

john eBinum, General

manaGer of Bonny utility

company

7HOST

feature

dan daniel, elkanah chawai and nelson Braide of the Host magazine travel in search of woodcarvers in a traditional Rivers State community.

“When my mama born me, I no go school one day, my people no gree make I go. Dem say make I go farm go carry firewood, no anything educa-tion. One day I go inside

compost I pick cocoyam, when I bring am I start to carve, I don’t know people will like it, this is how I started and this is what make me a man of today…. Ikwerre here, I represented them in competitions, in Calabar, Osogbo, Warri, and Lagos. We don go Lagos! When I carve, dem carve, dem see my own. Nobody has ever won me in any competition.” – Ebere Isaiah Nwajiohu (famous woodcarver of Ibaa).

There isn’t a lot of wood carving these days in Rivers State, at least not as much as people say there once was. In those days, wood tripod stools made the Ikwerres popular. Whole canoes carved out of trees were common in the Kala-bari and Ahoada regions. And the State boasted some of the most beautiful and colorful masquerades (replete with impressive wood masks) in the country.

The expedition to find the wood carvers of Rivers State took us to Ibaa, a little Ikwerre town in Emohua local gov-ernment area, where we found Nwajiohu and two others.

“I don’t know I can do this, have a wife, have building, have children, and feed them! (From wood carving). This is how I see my life.” Nwajiohu’s life is an interesting tale about woodcarving in Rivers. It’s been well over 30 years since he last carved yet in his hey day, he was and still is an icon for the Ikwerre woodcarving tradition. He claims to have been born about the same period as the great Nnamdi Azikiwe, which would make him a little over 100 years old, yet he still retains some of the playfulness and creativity that marked his youthful years.

“When after carving the wood I meet all these mould-ers (sic), black smiths,” he explains, “after carving with the stick, the black smiths translate it, from there people started seeing the work as a good work and hiring me outside and I started moving from place to place, that was how it hap-

pened.” And that was how a humble woodcarver from this little town called Ibaa on the outskirts of Rumuji, with neither education nor proper training, gained prominence outside Ikwerre land. Carving any thing from the traditional Ikwerre stool, to ornate walking sticks his skill was known far and wide and his major stock in trade were masks and figurines. The former would often adorn a wide variety of masquerades in that region of Rivers State, the latter he made simply for the love of it or for whatever a collector could pay him.

The figurines and statuettes he shows us are an eclectic collection, very intriguing. Unlike the realistic leanings of an-cient Benin art, for instance, it’s tempting to label Nwajio-hu’s style as being Picasso-like. Dealing with real-life as well as mythical themes, his work employs the use of distorted proportions, unique shapes and colouring to evoke emo-tions, the artist always seeming to convey some hidden mes-sage. “Before I will do work,” he tells us, “I am inspired. What I am inspired I will do. Nobody teach me. Majority of what you see is carving all these masquerades. You can go to where somebody died if they bring his picture I go carve am. As soon as people call me to carve them, I carve. All these things you see here; look,” gesturing to one of his creations, “that is a human being.” “Since I don’t know what I was doing, anything they give me say make I do, I do, and I don’t know it is money. You bring drink like this, I don start, I don’t know it is money, before I know it money has passed me.”

Canoes in Rivers State are typically not made in the towns. So we set off on a very bumpy ride (through many kilometres of forest) on motorbikes, mindful of the trees and shrubs that could tear a shirt or prick the skin. When our bikes could go no further, we covered about a kilometre more on foot and by then we were sure we had long gone beyond the limits of Ibaa. Why would anyone put them-selves through so much agony to carve wood?

“We dey work for canoe. Canoe is money. Person wey dey go forest, wey get river, een go pay you ya money. Ha! If een come say een wan use am, een go pay you ya money.” Thus began a thoroughly entertain-ing lecture on the dynamics of the unique canoe carving trade. Our tutor was a retired carver named Governor Benson. His limbs too old for the rigours of navigating and residing in the bush throughout the three to six months it could take to carve a canoe, Benson has resorted to a much easier life of hawking herbal medicine. Nevertheless he was happy to give us a prim-er in canoe carving and set us on our way in our search to find

conversationscarving

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some work in progress… “We dey use iron wood, Ikwerre people dey call am Okolo, na strong wood oh! Other wood wey we dey use na Ihie, Oji, Oka.” When asked about passenger capacity he explained that “for canoe three people own dey, seven people own dey, ten people own dey, forty people own dey too.” And as for their uses: “fish own dey. If say you no wan fish na trader go carry am go buy something take sell. The lucky wood na Oka. Okolo na iron but oka” he shakes his head and whispers dramatically, “mami water! Very lucky!” How much luck, we ask? “Ah, e get luck for fishing and for trader! Anything wey you take am sell, e go sell am quick quick.”

Deep in the forest we find a monstrous felled Oha tree, we’re in luck. The tree in question was hacked down by a popular canoe carver in Ibaa town, Chief Lucky Owodei. We notice some ropes tied to the tree in an interesting configuration. “That is local jack, ehn hehn, I use that one to turn it… if I don’t use two jack, it will worry me, so I use two local jack,” he points out. Fire had been used to exca-vate the centre of the trunk which was plastered in some areas with some mud, “that is so that it will not burn the sides of the wood, the edge, to prevent the fire so that it will not burn it. It will not burn the outside, not at all. After I will dress it to make it equal so that it will not tip over for water.”

Once the trunk has been prepared to a certain extent “I will construct a path here, then I will hire people to help me drag it to that stream. Then I will try and go to a very good area,” Owodei explains. So, why isn’t the entire project completed at the felling site? “We have a special place to smooth this thing, mm hmm, everything dey complete. We have what we use to wide it; we have stick to hit it so that it will open for us. In fact we use fire, be-cause where you see that it did not open again, you have to use fire to make it come out, to make it soft just like iron heat when it expands, when you melt iron. If you hit am e go begin expand.”

What tools does a canoe carver use, we asked? “There’s one to smooth the inside,” he reveals, “there’s one to dress the body, there’s one to just cut the body, to carve it, that one is still rough, it’s a rough axe, we call it rough axe because that one it will cut anyhow e like. But the one for smoothing it will make it smooth like say you take hand paint am, the inside is just the same thing.”

The sun begins to set, we must head home. We leave the woods wondering if the sun is not also setting on woodcarving in Rivers State. Fibre glass canoes are now being produced in higher quantities and much less time and are rapidly reducing the popularity of carved canoes. Also, when asked whether wood carving is still alive in Ibaa, Nwajiohu screamed out “no more!!” He spoke of a few individuals that showed interest in the craft in the past, many of them gone now, and lamented that religious changes in society seem to have hurt the craft’s popularity. Thankfully woodcarving is now taught in schools across Nigeria, so this age-old tradition need not die out in Ibaa when Nwajiohu leaves to join his ances-tors. We’ll have to keep our fingers crossed though, or touch wood, that with some luck it never does.

eBere isaiah nwajiohu

nwajiohu presents some walkinG sticks

masquerade adornments

some human caricatures

head Gear for a masquerade

dr lucky owodei

Governor Benson a duGout canoe BeinG carved

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By tam fiofori

What are ‘owus’/masquerades, their lineage and creation, their present status, understanding and acceptance

within the Bonny community; more so with the growing onslaught fuelled mostly by pentecos-talism and culture-and-civilisation modernists?

In Opuowu Jumbo’s view the deliberate revisionist definitions and perceptions of ‘owus’, are simply based on cultural ignorance.

The root of the confusion, he believes, is the failure to differentiate and socially distinguish between ‘owu’ and ‘oru’!

“Owu is an art and Oru is a belief and, understanding this difference will save us a lot of problems,” he explains. He makes an eloquent case for the urgent need to appreciate and respect the intellectual and creative depth of masquerades and, their full spectrum of performance. “Interestingly,” he observes that, “the Ijaw/Ibani word for a masquerade performance is ‘play’ and in reality the performance itself is like a modern-day play and entertainment with a plot/story-line, costumes, drum language, rehearsed and choreographed

dancing by the masquerades; accompanied by music, singing and dancing by members of the masquerade clubs/societies. Each masquerade has its own original features of these parts!”

A 1974 graduate of Marketing from the University of Ibadan, Opuowu Jumbo retired as a Regional Sales Manager of the United African Company of Nigeria, based in Calabar. He has the traditional and very competitive title of Opuowu; ‘the big masquerade in the big squares’ as he has been intimately involved in cultural affairs virtually all his life. “As a child I had great interest in culture,” he declares, “because my mother was a famous ‘orukoru’ practitioner (spiritual diviner). I saw this challenge between the Christian world and ‘orukoru’ practice and in my quest to understand the difference I became interested in the ‘owu’ tradition and drum names.”

His immersion in the ‘owu’ tradition and performance goes back over 50 years. He first performed with the Abara Dancers when the current Queen of England visited Bonny in 1956. The Abara was first founded in 1901 by Agbe Brown and was re-established in 1968 by Opuowu Jumbo.

He has so far authored and produced four original masquerade (‘owu’) plays. These are the Ikuba, Ogunu, Ichila (mud-skipper) and Egbe masquerades.

“Masquerades involve collective cultural acumen,” he explains. “It is about themes, songs, dance drums, dance steps and practice. As the creator and producer you have to originate drum names and provide members of the ‘owu ogbo’ (masquerade club) with uniforms/costumes; discuss with the women to agree with you on the songs and with the club members to create original drum steps.”

It is for the production of traditional communal celebratory masquerades that Opuowu Jumbo is most revered in Bonny. Some memorable achievements include the creation and decoration of the major Olomina-Aki masquerade and its supporting Owu-asa-awo (children of Olomina) group for the coronation of the present King of Bonny and again, for the 10th Anniversary of the coronation; during which he was the Chairman of the Culture and Traditional Matters Committee. Thematically, the Olominaki masquerade is a tribute to the god of the winds. It is in the form of a sail; representing the sail and its commander, the wind. It was performed on 25th and 26th of December “when the harmattan is battling seriously with the out-going rainy season and there is a good display of wind.”

The masquerade, introduced to entertain people during the off-season from fishing, also involves a deeper spiritual dimension.

“We are offering thanks to the Most High Himself who provides the winds which power the sails that assist our fishermen to go in and out of the Atlantic Ocean in search of fish and food.” A complimentary masquerade is the Egbelegbe a tribute to the god of thunder and an offering of gratitude for safe passage when lightning and thunder strike as fishermen make the journeys.

“We don’t worship a sea deity or carved objects and, we don’t kill fowls and goats in sacrifice but for the entertainment of masquerade club members,” Opuowu points out. The third major masquerade is Nyingi ngeri yituo; the only child of the mother and it relates to the present situation in the Niger Delta. “It is reactional and very restive; asking

and makingsoulsretrieving

merry

aBove: olominaki

masquerade with head in

form of a sail

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the important question of what is happening to our wealth; a wealth we really don’t know about. Something the mud produces and is blacker and richer than the mud. Somebody should tell me what is happening to the wealth we produce and yet we don’t see its benefits.” To Opuowu Jumbo, this complex masquerade-play and others, exemplify “the outstanding creativity of local fishermen who have not seen the walls of a classroom.”nwaotam

Unquestionably, the biggest and most revered masquerade in the Bonny Kingdom today is the Nwaotam; ‘child/masquerade of Otam/Atam. Incredibly and given its mammoth traditional status and cultural value, it is not indigenous to the Bonny kingdom. However, it is inseparably linked to the legends of origin and the migratory pattern of the Ibani people as they travelled from the Western Delta through Ndoki country to their present-day settlement in Bonny.

As a traditional instrument for preserving the history and culture of the people and an institution for acculturation Nwaotam has grown to be tremendously powerful and popular. From its original roots in Ndoki where it was played once in seven years Nwaotam is now a popular masquerade-carnival in Opobo, Bonny and other places in the Niger Delta like Ogoniland and Port Harcourt; and performed in the Christmas season.

Because of the lingering element of mystery associated with it, Nwaotam was classified as a semi-secret society during the colonial period and shades of this perception still exist in present-day Bonny.

“Nwaotam is not diabolic,” was Opuowu Jumbo’s emphatic response when we raised this issue with him. A member of the yearly Nwaotam performance in Bonny for 41 years, he is currently the Vice President of the Bonny Ukemkpa Nwa Otam Society of Nigeria. “The Nwaotam group is not for children. It is for social elite who have a voice in the Bonny Kingdom. To become a member you must own a house of your own and you must be a management staff. It is for both men and women,” he explains, adding that, “it is a cultural renaissance and a social reformer.”

The genesis of Nwaotam has different versions of specific details. Nonetheless, it is a product of socio-economic political intrigues involving powerful stakeholders in their bid to exploit the flourishing slave trade. A treaty in effect stipulated that no citizen from the

neighbouring communities was to be sold into slavery across the oceans. Interest groups violated this treaty and in punishment a curse was put on the guilty parties in the early 1900s and the results soon started manifesting.

The curse was that there were no longer to be children in the community and, quite soon the women in the society were also no longer getting fertile and pregnant. Thus came Nwaotam; as an institution and masquerade to appease the gods of children. It is thus regarded as ‘child’ of ‘Atam’ an aged old man from Ohambele in Ndoki.

According to Owuopu Jumbo, “Nkajekuri originated the Atam play that advised we should appease the gods of children. We never respected any deity and it was the consent of the Ndoki community that gave us the masquerade.” In the Bonny team that went to Ndoki to seek permission and ask how the masquerade should be performed were Joebass Jumbo and Mr Ben Stowe a.k.a ‘Lekuwa’. They were given a prototype of the masquerade and Ben Stowe was the first curator; he also led the play for ten years after it was first performed in Bonny in the late 1940s.

Incidentally, both Opobo and Bonny were given the instructions at the same time, but Opobo

first played the masquerade in 1931. “We have a Land Perpetual Act; a legal backing for the play. There is no magic or charm involved. We play to make merry, retrieve the souls of the departed and by so doing we have our own children. For the

play to have meaning and a linkage to children we decide to play it on Christmas Day; the day Christ was born and this has a great significance to childbirth.”

It was not smooth-sailing at the beginning. “The King and Council did not initially accept the idea and many people fought against it,” Opuowu Jumbo admits. “But today,” he continues, “we have plenty of childbirth; a harvest, and every house must produce a gang for the annual Nwaotam masquerade festival in Bonny.”

Nwaotam is much more than a masquerade display. It is also “a society-correcting measure.” “If say, someone is a thief, the Nwaotam gangs will sing with his or her name in derision and nobody will challenge them. It has corrected a lot of evils in our society,” Jumbo proudly claims.

The Nwaotam play features just one masquerade. There is an admirable

LeFT: opuowu jumBo; BeLoW:

nwaotam masquerade;

BeLoW MiDDLe: nyiGinGeriyituo

masquerade with kinG (left)

and jumBo (1996); BoT-

ToM: opuowu jumBo (riGht)

in masquer-ades’ leader’s

reGalia; CuT-ouT: olominaki

child CONTD ON PAGE 14

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personality

Spurgeon Adawari Green comes across as a man young enough not to be a nonagenarian, a bar he crossed in September 2006. And, he is still waxing strong, thank you

very much. Deciding on having him for our Personality

Interview was, however, not because of his old age or that he is the chairman of the Bonny Historical Society or that he has been retired since 1970; rather it is to tap from his reservoir of deep knowledge, for the benefit of all.

All through our hour-long interview with him, we are pleased to report, he was humble and unassuming, often referring to himself as ordinary. Soft-spoken and eloquent, he answered question after question, before he joined some of his colleagues to review a man-

uscript of a new book on Bonny. Talk about a nonagenarian with an active schedule.

Mr. Spurgeon Adawari Green is Ama Opu Senibo, the highest title of honour for citizens in Bonny and one he has held since 1979.

In this interview with Glory Joe, Emma Nwatu and Elkanah Chawai, Spurgeon lives the words of Charles H. Spurgeon, that prolific author and “Prince of Preachers,” who said “wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.”

We hope you will be able to extract Mr. Spurgeon’s nuggets of wisdom from this inter-view.

...the voice of wisdom

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ama opu Senibo is a titled citizen as we know it. Please explain what it means to Bonny?

Here, we have the house system which is the family village. We have Wari Senibo, a senior person in the house. But when you say Ama Opu Senibo, it is on a na-tional level, not the house level. My title is senior to the house level and it is only awarded by the King-in-Council. But the Wari Senibo is a title any house chiefs can give to a member of that house or family. But the Ama Opu Senibo is appointed only by the king and chiefs of Bonny. You talked about the house system. There are the minor houses and major houses in Bonny. Can you tell us more about the houses?

Historically, we have three main groups of houses. Apart from the king, we have the Duawari Houses which are the original founders of Bonny. We have the Opuwari who are the major houses. These major houses had the privilege years gone by to establish Kalawari houses, that is, chiefs appointed by the chief of the main Opuwari House to act in a minor capac-ity. They are the minor houses. The Opu-wari and the Duawari Houses are major houses. Thereafter, we have the king at the pinnacle.You mentioned something about the found-ing Houses. Which are the founding Houses?

We have the Dublin Green House, the Tolofari House, the Brown House, the Bristol House and Halliday House. These are the Duawari Houses. After that we have the Opuwari Houses like Jumbo, Hart and Allison. These houses were established by the Duawari Houses. All other houses were houses created by Opu-wari houses. The founders came to Bonny in groups to discover Bonny. During the slave trade, Bonny was a big centre and it had a lot of slaves. The chiefs created houses for them. They were called slave houses but that name is gone now.But from your explanation of the Duawari Houses creating smaller houses, the Tobin and the attoni Houses are under Brown House…

It is not quite clear. I can not say that for sure. They say they are independent of the Browns. But we know that the Brown House is the dominant house.How many houses do you have in Bonny?

We have 34 houses—14 major houses and the rest are Kalawari houses.is there a time when small houses will be elevated to major houses and making them part of council of chiefs?

Today, at the Kalawari level, you have the Kalawari chiefs in the Bonny council of chiefs. You have the Duawari, Opuwari and the Kalawari houses there sitting in the council.The major houses appear to be the ones that call the shots on Bonny island. are the minor houses qualified for the ama opu Senibo title?

The title is awarded principally on the amount of work you have done for Bon-ny. It can come from any house. It goes

from major to Kalawari houses because there are individuals in those houses who are outstanding in the community.There are efforts to revive the ibani language in Bonny. But when did the people leave ibani for ibo language? How did it begin?

We can not say for sure when it all started. It is an accident of history that Bonny people speak Ibo. Bonny was a centre of slave trade and the slaves were there in their thousands. When the slave trade was abolished, many of them did not go back. They remained here in Bon-ny. The Bonny man is traditionally a very diplomatic fellow. They prefer to speak their own language to themselves un-like other areas like Kalabari and the rest where there were slaves who were made to speak the Kalabari language. We have thousands of Ibos that formed the Bonny community and that is the reason why Ibo is being spoken. But efforts are now being made to revive the Ibani language and it is one of the key objectives of the cultural carnival we organise.Do you think you are succeeding with that?

This situation is not peculiar to Bonny. Our efforts to revive the Ibani language is bound to succeed because apart from organising evening classes for school chil-dren and adults, it is part of the curricu-lum of Rivers State for languages to be taught in every community schools. It will take time but I am sure the language will come back again. It certainly won’t die.How long has this renaissance taken?

It has been some years now, since 2005 when the Bonny Cultural Society was formed. It is part of the society’s programme. What is the success rate of the programme so far?

It will be unrealistic to make such an assessment now. It is too early.is the amanyanabo really a dynasty?

It is a dynasty in every sense of the word. There were other kings before King Perekule who reigned between 1700 and1754 but he was the one who established a dynasty. And that is why the heir to the king is based on the principle of progenitor—the first son of the king. That is why kingship runs in that line and it is possibly going to be so forever. Being a titled citizen since 1979, you have seen Bonny evolve. How would you describe this evolution? is it something people like you envisaged for the community?

Bonny has made very rapid progress in terms of education and other aspects of development but I can’t say we have gotten everything we require. But Bonny is making tremendous progress. The coming of the oil companies has helped a great deal. There is nothing to worry about that.at what stage would you say Bonny made the biggest progress in its history?

It is difficult to say but I think the progress is gradual and steady like any other town. Looking back, is there anything you wished did not happen in Bonny?

Nature being what it is, good and evil happen every time in life. That is the way God made the world. Who is the Bonny man?

There isn’t much peculiarity with the Bonny man that is distinctively different from people of other towns in Nigeria. We are Nigerians and whatever happens in Aba, happens in Bonny, Okrika or Nembe. The difference is in the culture and custom—our way of dancing, our language and our beliefs are distinctively different from those of Ibo land or other places. There are certain things that are unique and peculiar to Bonny. The Bon-ny man is a very courageous individual. Once he is stirred up to do something which is right, he doesn’t go back. But he is very friendly and accommodating at the same time. What are the weaknesses of a Bonny man?

The Bonny man can sin like any other person. He is not righteous. He has his fault as a human being. Apart from that, he is a very dependable and likable friend. What preoccupation are the Bonny people known for?

In days gone by, we were fishermen but now with the oil pollution in our creeks and rivers, there are no more fish-es in the river and this has impoverished the Bonny man severely. We are not farmers; we are fishermen but then there are no fishes in the river. That is why you

“Bonny was a centre of slave trade and the slaves were there in their thousands. When the slave trade was abolished, many of them did not go back.”

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“Bonny has made very rapid progress in terms of education and other aspects of development but I can’t say we have gotten everything we require. But Bonny is making tremendous progress.”

personality

find thousands of Bonny men roaming around with no jobs. Even those from the universities are affected. What is the percentage of fishermen in the Bonny population now?

Less than 30 per cent are fishermen now and they go very far to the sea to get the fish. Tell us about your early life?

I am an ordinary person and I grew up in a very humble family. I attended Bonny Government School for my el-ementary education from 1929 to 1936 and thereafter worked in United African Company for about 30 years. I retired in 1970, which is 40 years ago. And because it is an English company, their system of pension was very solidly framed. Up till now, the UAC pays my pension month by month into the bank. I am about the oldest pensioner in Bonny and September 17, I will be 94 years old. In the company, I rose to the rank of Regional Manager. Then, the country was in three regions. Things were very organised then but now the company has been split into different departments. Since you retired, what have you been doing?

I have not been idle. When I retired, I had to take up another employment in the Nigeria Cool Stores as the eastern area manager until 1984 when I left to register with the Shell Company in Bonny as a contractor. I am still a contractor till date.To be an ama opu Senibo, you have done a lot in Bonny. Can you just tell us about those things you did?

I used to be the president of the Bonny Improvement Association in a number of towns in Nigeria. I have worked in Port Harcourt, Zaria, Kaduna, Jos and Lagos. In all these stations, I organised the Bon-ny community into what is known as the Bonny Improvement Association whereby we gather together once a month to plan for the improvement of Bonny.What is the day like for you? How do you spend your day?

I live a very simple normal life. Some-one once asked me the secret of my longevity; I said if I say anything other than faith in God, I might be saying something wrong. I am deeply involved in Christianity. I am a Christian to the core and I know that a measure of care-fulness in the things you eat and the

observance of personal hygiene contribute to somebody living long. The main thing is your absolute faith in God Almighty. Do you still read books?

I read books but not as exten-sive as before. With age I can’t read much. I read one or two in-teresting articles and then read my bible. How would you assess Bonny’s relationship with Nigeria LNG?

It is not easy to satisfy a commu-nity in terms of development pro-jects. But then we say that NLNG has done quite a lot in Bonny. Take for instance the sea transport between Bonny and Port Harcourt. It is a very big help to the community. The boats are excellent and sea worthy and they have escorts. Apart from that, they have established several industries here for which the community is grateful. But naturally, the people will want more and they are asking for more. I hope that NLNG will respond accordingly.Describe your role as the president of the Bonny Historical Society?

Leadership is universal. What it takes to run one organisation is the same, per-haps with little adjustment, with what it takes to run another. We are moving very smoothly.Your leadership of the Bonny Historical Society makes you look like a moving his-tory of Bonny. Do you agree?

It is not true. I can’t carry the whole history on my head. It is unnatural but I try to remember as much as I can. At 94, it is not easy to remember things.

if you were to give a message on what should be the most important thing for Bonny, what would you say?

One who is conversant with what obtains in other towns and cities of the world would readily agree that Bonny remains one of the safest and peaceful places to live in. Then came the sudden downward trend in world economy. The slide in the world economy was sudden and it took even the experts by surprise. The consequence is huge loss of jobs and these have affected thousands of workers in Bonny today. This downward trend is not peculiar to Bonny. But things are bound to improve. A final word for the youths of Bonny: by nature, the Bonny man does not despair easily. In person, let me state as humbly as I can that I don’t for any moment claim to be a soothsayer but I remain convinced that better days are ahead.

symbolism in the costuming of the masquerade. “It comprises the head of a child that looks to stay to old age. The fresh yellow-coloured raffia represents growth and new birth and the idea that it will eventually turn brown with age and, there are shakers on the legs. The twine rope round the waist of the masquerade is symbolic in that we don’t want the masquerade to go out of control,” Jumbo explains. There is no mystery to the fact that the Nwaotam masquerade performs on a rooftop. “Creativity is in-born,” he points out, “and we introduced the idea

of the masquerade performing on a roof for everybody to see and after playing he jumps down.”

Opuowu Jumbo is also a member of the Okonko title society of the Ndoki Igbo; also classified by the British as a semi-secret society and, which like Nwaotam, was introduced to Opobo and Bonny in the 19th Century. “Okonko is the oldest society in the Bonny Kingdom,” says Jumbo, adding that, “there is no society or cultural club I don’t belong to.” Although reluctant to talk in depth about Okonko, he an Okonko Eze; a title that is merited after having “been tested,”

authoritatively offers important basic information.

“Umuahia Ibeku owned Okonko and the intellectual input there is the ability to create impossible things; with the main ideology being sound production. In the Glass Play you hear the sound of glass, clicking of glasses; production of a deep bass backed up by a radiogram sound. Local equipment are used and there are no wire connections. In Akpata; which is a kigbo-play, fishermen use the sound of akpata to simulate the sounds made by kigbo-fish and the fish come in great numbers to display and are caught!”

CONTD FROM PAGE 11

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By yemi adeyemi and dan daniel

“Go in at your own peril,” advised Phillip, our host and guide on the working visit to Port Harcourt. In the dimly lit halls of Wine Bar, one of the fore-most night clubs in Port Harcourt, the flashing strobe lights revealed the reason for the warn-ing. The crush of the crowd was intense as the clubbers worked hard to please their DJ. The air-

conditioners were doing their best but in the over-crowed space, it was a futile battle as every square inch was occupied by fun-lovers in their hundreds having the time of their lives! different types of Busy-ness …

People say Friday afternoons in this city have come to be associated with beeping horns, the frenzied hustle and bustle of stressed motorists, traffic jams etc but by evening the dust settles and a new fever hits the air. On that particu-lar evening of our nightclub adventure, we did see cars dash seemingly from one end of the city to the other. Perhaps all these people were rushing to success-fully conclude business activities. Could they have been trying to beat a curfew? We wondered if there was a curfew, we later concluded, it must have been a very late one as the coming of dusk heralded the appearance of canopies and white plastic chairs springing up around town like mushrooms on many a side walk and previously unnoticed relaxation joints started to ‘show their logos’. The pro-

in rivers!is back!Groovethe

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strength for some heavy duty rocking at Liquid, Illusions, or PH-Launch, the city’s other popular night clubs. The city has its charm and more likely than not it’ll have you spellbound. So much for the days of the militants and kidnappers! Could something new be taking over nightlife in Port Harcourt? city scope …

The Rivers State capital, home to a number of in-ternational oil companies, earned the Garden City moniker many years ago because of its layout and topography but it recently almost got assigned the dubi-ous reputation of being a “slum” and a “dangerous no-go area.” Thankfully, it appears the former reputation is gradu-ally being restored and new plans are in place to develop the city into a major tourism zone. We figured a chat with the State’s Commissioner for Culture and Tourism could help us better understand the city’s resurgence. Not surprisingly, Mr. Marcus Nle-Ejii was as welcoming as his city. He seemed to have a keen under-standing of the entertainment and hos-pitality industry so we asked him what the government had in store for tourists visiting the state; below are some of the events and activities we learned about from him:ion film festival …

Los Angeles in 2007, Dubai 2008, Istanbul 2010, after successfully hosting the ION Film Festival in 2009 Port Har-court has earned its place in this list of established and rising global entertain-ment cities. According to CNN “ION, a unique touring festival, which is dedi-cated to celebrating diversity and unity, (descended) on Port Harcourt from December 9 to 12, 2009 bringing with it four days of culture, dialogue and independent cinema from around the globe.” From USA to Pakistan, even in-cluding entries from exotic destinations like Jamaica, Slovenia and Belgium, the film festival attracted a veritable roll call of industry professionals, students and tourists, from around the world, who were thrilled to the hilt with the best of ‘independent’ cinema. On hand to pro-vide a distraction from the cinematic smorgasbord were: international music sensation Pras Michel (of Fugees fame), local wonderboys Duncan Mighty and Wande Coal, and comedians Julius ‘the genius’ Agwu and Basorge Tariah (Jnr). The local and international media were agog with stories of the Festival’s suc-cess with no reports of violence, kidnap-pings or any other crimes. As a result, this November, Port Harcourt will be treated to another such festival, the Af-

rica International Film Festival, which debuts this year, and was born out of ION’s success. rivers state carnival (car-niriv)…

“Carniriv came about because we re-alised the need to bring back the beauty in our culture and tradition” Nle Ejji ex-plained to us. “It is a pity that before we had the 2008 edition, the carnival held last in 1988. The current administration concluded that we just could not let our culture die as Rivers State has one of the richest cultures in Nigeria. So we decided to revive it. This administration led by Hon. Rotimi Ameachi gave tremendous support to the project and we took the first shot at it in 2008. It came across so well and got wide acceptance that we decided to do it again in 2009 and that again was fantastic. It is now one of the biggest events in the state’s social calen-dar as it serves as a mobilisation tool for Riverians and non-Riverians within and in Diaspora. We intend to continue the legacy.”other carnivals…

“I can also see the vision for (tourism) becoming a popular one as almost all local governments, various ethnic/socio-cultural groups and youth clubs now have days that they have picked for their own carnivals,” explained Nle-Ejii. “Just last December, I was in Bonny to flag off the Bonny Carnival too.” The Bonny car-nival has held every Christmas for several years now. “Also at various times in the year,” he continued, “there are different cultural events and festivals to look for-ward to and we encourage these kinds of activities because they promote harmony and discourage discord or restiveness.” siGht-seeinG …

Besides a bubbling night scene, these days the Garden City seems to have other more relaxed surprises in store for tourists or residents. The State Museum, on Azikwe Road, houses out-standing cultural mementos from the State’s several ethnic groups, colourful masks and ancient utensils (of which there’s quite some variety there too). There are also attractive public gardens being planted around the town, pleas-ant to the eye and relaxing to the soul, these gardens just call out to visitors to come and take a stroll through them. And with the recent government direc-tive that fences in residential areas are built to a prescribed height, you cannot help but admire the different pieces of architecture in places like ‘G.R.A.’ if that’s your kind of thing.

“Rivers State used to be a holiday and tourism haven,” Nle-Ejii explained “so what (the State Government is) trying to do now is to bring back confidence, not just for people living in the state but also for visitors. And if you go around the state now, or check reports in the media you will see that there has been tremen-dous improvement both in security and infrastructural development.” One fun-filled weekend in the Garden city was all it took to convince us of this.

prietors impressed us by refraining from hindering the now less frenzied flow of traffic on the streets with their canopies and chairs. In a way it seemed they fig-ured it was no fun having a good time at other people’s expense. captured …

Before long we were feeling the feel-good sounds of “Oyoyo!” as many other soulful songs about the local girls like “Iva, Iva, Iva eh” filled the air, threaten-ing to make even the most stony hearts “go tingling.” Surely if you’re in Port Harcourt on a Friday night you’re ei-ther at one of these spots or saving your

ToP: reverie at the ion

film festival; MiDDLe:

antoinette Garden; aBove:

oGBuna-aBali niGht market;

LeFT: rotimi amaechi,

rivers state Governor; LeFT:

commissioner for culture

and tourism, hon nle-ejii

16 HOST

interview

Community relations refers to a firm’s interactions with the people constituting the environment it operates in and draws resources from, to foster mutual understanding, trust, and support. – Business DictionaryWith the definition above ringing in their minds, the Host Magazine’s duo of Yemi Adeyemi and Dan Daniel, sought out the Manager, Community Relations & Development of Nigeria LNG Limited, Andy Odeh, for his views on community relations and development and the NLNG approach. You were there when a lot of the things that we have on ground now were be-ing conceptualised. What is the thrust of NLNG’s community relations?

When the company became opera-tional, the general thrust of our com-munity relations strategy was that we saw ourselves as a company that was a catalyst, not the institution responsible for devel-opment. We also believe that for sustain-able development to take place, stake holding and partnership must be the anchor of such initiative. We know that the opportunities are there for change, for development and NLNG has always seen itself as that organization that will help development to happen, but not own the process. So, the message has always been that we will support, we will facilitate, we will look at what is needed, but the ini-tiative must come from the community identifying its needs, presenting them, and of course participating in the process that determines how it is done. What do you do to mitigate your impacts to the environment and the socio economic well being of the people?

Some of the things we’re doing partly came out of EIA that was done prior to the base project; and from the EIA there were so many things that were executed to mitigate our impact to the environment. That is one. Secondly, there are things we do ordinarily, not because they’re part of the EIA, but because we choose to be good neighbours – employing our resources to improve the environment and liveli-hood of our community. So there’s that willingness to do it without being forced to do it. So, you realize that we do what we are doing because we care for our com-munities and our environment, beyond legislative directives. So the question we

partnersand stakeholders

17HOST

interview

ask ourselves with these communities is ‘have things improved or have they got-ten worse at present?’ Fortunately in our case, the answer is that things have gotten better. The challenges are there because we still cannot play the role of govern-ment. So to reiterate, our thrust is to be a catalyst, we are there to support what the government is doing, and to help with de-signing strategies for development along with the communities and government.You talked about not being forced, but be-ing willing. all these great things that are being done in the communities: who initiates them? who identifies them? Who discerns the objectives that are necessary and takes the decision on what the community needs, how it should be done and the beneficiaries?

Interventions are done in two ways, either you intervene because the needs have already been identified by the En-vironmental Impact Assessment or you have conducted a Needs-Analysis which indicates what the community needs and what they are requesting you to do for them.

The EIA identifies areas where you

should really ad-dress because of the impact of your activity, so our responsibility as a company is to identify that. For instance, if you start doing night-sailing it’s likely to impact the opera-tions of the fisher-man. So what do you do? You first of all start with some enlightenment about night-sailing targeted at the fish-erman who is the person whose ac-tivities will be most impacted. Are you going to organize them into coopera-tives and sponsor activities that will provide alternative sources of income for them? Are you going to support them with some fishing gears and boats so that they can go farther into the river? These questions are im-portant because we don’t sit down in-house and say well this is what we’re going to do, there is constant engagement with the fishermen.

On interven-tions based on needs analysis you observe cases like this: Community

A has a town hall; they want a more mod-ern town hall. Town hall one which they already have is not very used. Now the challenge there is to convince them that the existing one can be rehabilitated to meet the present needs. By doing this, we manage community expectations and our resources more effectively. What makes this effective is that there is dialogue and an exchange of ideas and knowledge be-tween the stakeholders. Let’s put it on the table now, what does the community bring to the table in all these projects?

A lot of people make the mistake of saying the community doesn’t bring any-thing to the table. They do! They bring a lot of things to the table. If you were in an environment where you can peace-fully conduct your business, which is an advantage, that way they have provided an invaluable resource which is at the fore of the relationship.

There are so many things they have given upfront, they have given you access and I want to bank that as their commit-ment. It’s a guarantee. Secondly, we are

in an environment where land is key and difficult to get. So if Family A gives up its land for the benefit of the community so that you can give them a 2.1 km road that we all will use, that is a big contribution. I say this because NLNG as a company does not pay compensation to communi-ty for land used whilst doing community projects. The land is their stake. So they must guarantee access and right of way. Generally, the community has a lot to of-fer. These contributions might be intangi-ble but they are critical to the sustainable delivery of the initiatives.We in the industry like to say that the indus-try has a role and the government has a role. Those in the community like to say that the government has a role, we don’t see them but the industries are the ones we see. You’re in charge of the industry’s role in helping out the community. How, do you answer the person who looks to you for everything, the person in the community who is expecting the whole world from you? Why should they not expect the whole world from you?

I always say this to friends in the com-munity: why would a community, instead of going to the government, see you as the person to come to with their complaints? The obvious answer is that there is a sys-tem failure, a sort of disconnect. It wasn’t until a few years ago that we had real local governments, judging by performance. So for people at the grassroots level, it didn’t look like there was a government. And this is what I always say, if you take a look around all the states in the south-south say about fifteen years ago and you put all the kids from those schools in say a mini stadium, and on the board, you display the logo or the coat of arms of the federal republic of Nigeria, and also display the logo of an oil company, and you say to them, of these two who is government? More than half of the kids will actually point to the company as government. And this tells you that that is the government they know. Why? Because the oil compa-nies were doing a lot of things (whether rightly or wrongly) in the communities, because they see the oil companies as be-ing the body that is close to the people so you cannot tell the story of the Niger Delta today without talking about the oil companies. Some call it baggage; some say that the destiny of oil companies and the destiny of the Niger Delta are tied togeth-er. But for me it’s very simple, who do you know, do you know or see more of govern-ment physically or do you see more of the company physically? Something interest-ing happens all the time, when the com-munity needs something done, they come to the companies for two reasons, One they know that it’s either you do it and do it well, because you’re there, or you make a promise that you don’t fulfil knowing that they can always keep harassing you because you’re there. There was a period when every week we would receive about 5 letters from our communities making one request or the other. How many local gov-ernment offices get such requests from their constituencies? So again they owe us something. They owe us a conducive

“We are doing more

of supporting communities,

supporting people, to

improve the way they

live, in terms of physical

development, in terms of

livelihood assets and,

of course, interms of

capacity to do things better.”

18 HOST

interview

environment to operate and we also owe them something. What we owe them is how we can impact these communities to take them from where they are to where they could be. It is however important to note that government has increasingly im-proved their stake in the partnership and have begun to assume its rightful place in the scheme of things. This is the direction we want to continue.We’re looking at a huge basket of activities from infrastructure to health, to education. How do you ensure sustainability? if we pull out, will the communities be able to run eve-rything?

Sustainability is very key. The NLNG policy on sustainable development is very clear. So for every project that we do must be sustainable. The whole process, from needs identification to programme initia-tion, to programme execution must be carried out in partnership with the inter-ested stakeholders and must define a clear exit strategy in the project implementa-tion plan. This ensures ownership of the process by the primary beneficiaries and promotes the activities of the champions within the stakeholders to ensure sustain-ability. We are not saying profitability, and I’ll give you examples. One is power improvement, I mean these days we want power improved and in improving power it should be guaranteed. In the case of Bonny, we started simply by setting up a utilities management committee and that committee eventually transformed into the company we now know as the Bonny Utility Company (BUC), established by the JIC (a collaboration of NLNG, SPDC and Exxon Mobil for sustainable devel-opment projects on Bonny Island) in conjunction with the Bonny Kingdom Development Committee (BKDC), with expertise for general management of the company provided by Nigeria LNG. On the board of the BUC are representatives of the Community, the LGA, the Rivers State Ministry of Power, the Rivers State Water board and the companies involved. The responsibility to ensure sustain-ability lies with these stakeholders but of primary importance is the community which enjoys the service. One of the ways by which the BUC ensures sustainability is that every user pays a token based on their consumption as measured by the prepaid meter. This ensures that everyone is responsible for managing power con-sumption. So the fact that over the years the community has consistently been paying a token on consuming electricity, which is free to a certain extent because the company is partly paying for it, de-picts the willingness to ensure sustainabil-ity. As I speak, BUC is able to pay at least 50% of the cost of running its business. When it started it wasn’t like that so that is sustainability. We need to be very sim-plistic about it, in all our initiatives what’s happening to date, if we are not around tomorrow will those initiatives run on their own long term? If BUC begins to generate more money and it started by generating much less money, then that’s progress. Water will be the same thing.

In a nutshell, we ensure sustainability by making sure that we only engage in initiatives which are sustainable based on the demonstrable need of it by the end users and their willingness and ability to own the process and the product of such initiatives. This we expect to be in adher-ence to the exit strategy which we strive to ensure have been understood and agreed by all parties prior to the execution of the projectSo if you were to boil down the essence of development to one parameter, what would it be?

This one is a very tough question. Let me not escape the question, I probably would have said it depends but it really doesn’t depend on anything. When you have 50 people dying from malaria be-cause of lack of knowledge of how to pre-vent malaria and the number keeps going up and then due to a deliberate plan you are able to reduce that number every year then you have development. If you have beautiful world class primary and second-ary schools but performance of pupils and students just keeps dropping, there’s a problem. But then you bring about a match between infrastructure and perfor-mance; the students perform better and they are able to leave for sec schools and higher schools outside their environment because of better performance, then that for me is development. Development, also for me, is that about 30 years ago, the taps were not running but now; the taps are beginning to run. People don’t damage them as often as before and are willing to pay for water and power to ensure that there are always there; that for me is development. The icing in all of this is when individuals and groups are able to be a little bit more self-subsistent, when the woman who buys and dries fish can graduate to setting up a cooperative and have a cold room to then store and transport in bulk and sell outside Bonny. That for me is development. So I don’t know if I’ve answered your question on development, I see it from a rural man’s perspective. Before we sign off, let’s talk about the mas-ter plan. How far have all the parties gone in executing it?

A plan is a plan; a guide. The master plan was one of the requests by the com-munity and it became a JIC-MOU issue. NLNG, Exxonmobil and SPDC came together in agreeing the MOU to help develop the master plan. All that has been happening, the building of roads, the hospitals, delivering and improving water, efficient power distribution operation and maintenance is all part of what the master plan is all about. Somebody has to own it for you to implement it. Should it be owned by NLNG or the JIC or BKDC or the Bonny Environment Consultative Committee (BECC), or the Chiefs’ Coun-cil or the LGA? We need to identify these as the immediate actions that need to be taken. Someone needs to take ownership to ensure that what needs to be done will be done. How many schools do we have, how many pupils, how many more

schools do we need, what’s the island’s population? How many roads do we have? How many litres of water do we need to deliver and can be delivered on the cur-rent network. Our role as the company is not to deliver and implement the master plan but to provide necessary support. The local government should be able to say that the five year rolling plan for Bonny is this: now we have the power, we will support BUC in extending the supply quantity to x. BUC is currently delivering xy thousands of litres of water everyday, if the population grows it will need xyz thousands of litres. Development should be planned and controlled. The law must ensure that we enforce strict adherence to regulations, such that if there is fire and we mobilize the fire truck and you want the truck to go into a particular area the necessary regulations have been obeyed and right of way has been given for pipes and other structures to be delivered to that place. The agency with responsibility for development planning and control is the local government. So while we’re not jumping on the lap of the LGA we are say-ing we will help build capacity to not just implement but to conduct development planning and development control. If you do that and everything is taken care of then you will have the Bonny city that we’re talking about. The local government should strive to, within the provisions of the master plan, develop the long term vision for the city.

“The whole process must be carried out in partnership with interest-ed stakehold-ers and must define a clear exit strategy in the project implementa-tion.”

19HOST

feature

rainbowon water

By elkanah chawai & jessica jacoB-oBa

Even as you know that behind the mask is your fellow hu-man, the mere sight of mas-querades with leather whips and sound of throbbing drums that accompany them still evoke some eeriness.More

psychological than anything else, there could be some remote possibility that while under the cloak this human could have transformed to a real spirit. Ah!

Think about this: even the humans who go under the cloak prepare for days to miti-gate their fear of depicting spirits they don’t understand themselves. Let’s dive under the water and try to understand the human-spirit or spirit-human, whichever you fancy.

The rivers in the community are home to the water masquerades in Okrika, capital of Okrika Local Government Area. The big-gest of them all is the Egwein masquerade of Kirike-Bése, resplendent in a rainbow of colours, escorted by minions in a swimming splash of aqua adventure.

The masquerade is a re-enactment of a spirit encountered decades ago by fisher-men in Okrika. The folklore states that through an apparition, gentle spirits sent from the gods come down to the fishermen at sea to pass them a message.

One of the leaders from this fishing community, Daibi Bamifoiri, describes how these spirits are encountered. “When the Okrika people go for fishing,” he says, “they set their nets and go to the shore to relax. When they were on shore, they saw these

clouds, looking like it was going to rain. They saw a white thing and the whole place was white and they started to hear voices and drums but they didn’t see anybody. They were afraid. They saw an Egwein mas-querade dancing and it vanished. These peo-ple hurriedly carried their nets and rushed to the town to report the matter to their house chiefs and they had to call the elders for the fishermen to explain. The elders be-lieved that for such thing to appear to their men, it meant that the gods are trying to tell them something.”

The over 200, 000 Okrika people are mostly fishermen who live a around the coastal areas of Rivers State. Through festivals to commemorate the Egwein mas-querade of Kirike-Bése, the Okrika people have kept the masquerade tradition from generation to generation, making sure their connection with the gods remain as taut as ever through the depictions.

According to Bamifoiri, the masquerade is displayed every 10 years in December. This display is different from the miniature de-piction by small cultural groups created to perform at events for a price. He adds that a sacrifice is compulsory before such displays or festivals; put in his own words, “ we have to go into some other things.”

The showing or display of the masquer-ade is a very complex process with many sacrifices. Bamifiori recounts how the Eg-wein masquerade is being displayed.

“The Egwein Masquerades are not just about display,” he says, adding, “sometimes, if they want to pass a message to every male in town, they use the masquerades. A week to the time of the masquerade display, the

members of the masquerade (males) will go around the town to announce the date of the display. The man who acts the masquer-ade will be isolated from women and the general public. The group will keep him and feed him. That is what we call Fongu Mini. This means the preparation of the soul and body for the event, dispelling his fears and assuring him that he is not alone. He will also be prepared physically to avoid injuries while acting the masquerade.

“Whatever the man’s family requires, the group will cater to them. Not even an emer-gency will make them release the man from the rituals, not even the death of a family member. They will rather not tell him of the death not to make him fret. Two days to the time, the members will now gather money and cook to appease the gods for the stran-gers that will attend the ceremony to see the masquerades. They will also offer sacrifice according to the agreements they may have had with the spirit.

“The masquerade is usually displayed in water early in the morning. In those days, it used to be displayed between 5 am and 6 am. By 7 am, the masquerade is gone. Each clan and community around will send a rep-resentative to watch the masquerade with the elders. Representatives are presented with pounded yam in a mortar. In the even-ing, the masquerade dances on land. A girl, a virgin, must be present at the display. She must be a virgin.”

Unfortunately, the cultures of the lands are fast eroding and so are masquerades. The sphere of influence of indigenous culture is shrinking for a more domineer-ing modern way of life and the spirits and

20 HOST

feature

ancients become myths as their depictions cease.

That is the fate of the Egwein masquer-ade in present day Okrika. It has been 18 years since the last public appearance of the Egwein masquerade in the Okrika com-munity: the townsfolk seem to have lost interest, and then lack of funds to hold the festival which the Okrika people say is a very expensive venture.

“Yes. As religion spreads, many people are not participating. When I call some of the members of the group, they usually tell me they no longer remember where they kept their costume. But when it comes to making some small money, you will see them group-ing up because of the money. When it comes to the real aspect of the ritual, they are no longer interested in it,” says Bamifoiri,

Maybe some appeasements are neces-sary. To the gods and the humans. Any which way.

eGWeiN dances at a ceremony

DaiBi BaMiFioRi eGWeiN land masqueradeaLaPu-oWu and its SekiNi dancers

21HOST

tation of Finima legacy issues, emphasising that this shows the company’s love for Finima people.

“This is the second item you are imple-menting. The first was an agreement with NNPC that we use company medical facili-ties but this was not possible. A doctor was engaged for Finima Medical Centre and we were part of the process for his engagement.

“As I speak, there has been over 200% increase in the number of people using the health centre, including other people from outside Finima.

“Today, we are here to receive these buses and this is a great sign of progress. Finima people will continue to reciprocate this gesture by demonstrating mutual love and understanding with the company.“

Finima Legacy Issues were part of agree-ment reached between Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation(NNPC) and Finima people while relocating the people from their ancestral home to give way for the construc-tion of NLNG plant.

Nigeria LNG has since taken up the re-sponsibility of fulfilling most of the promises which is embedded in the legacy issue.

Allwell-Brown, who said meaningful dis-cussion on the issues started in 2004 when the former General Manager, Productions, Brian Buckley, stepped in. He commended Buckley and Mats Gjers, his successor, for the progress so far made in implementing the

issues in the agreement.Handing over the keys and particulars of

the new buses, the NLNG’s General Manager, Productions, Mats Gjers, urged the commu-nity to put them to good use.

He noted that the plan by NLNG to upgrade Bonny General Hospital to serve as a model health institution will also further improve healthcare delivery in Finima.

Gjers added that the company has en-gaged the Niger Delta Wetland Company to plant trees in Finima, which is one of the legacy issues.

He noted that NLNG is preparing for the major issue in the agreement which is the construction of 50 houses and 304 rooms.

Noting that the mutual relationship be-tween Finima and Nigeria LNG Limited is of great benefit, Gjers said the company will continue to show utmost love and care for its host communities.

Other Finima citizens present during the hand over include Kendry Brown-Okardi, Hon. Randolph Brown, Dr Sinyeofori Brown, Suoala Brown and Engr. Maxwell Brown.

Others are Asa Brown, Dagogo Phillip- Brown and Gogo William- Brown. NLNG Community Relations Manager, Andy Odeh, the Head of Community Liaison, Micah Sunju–Allison and the Senior Liaison Of-ficer in charge of Finima Legacy Issues, Dan Amotsuka and Oscar Okonkwo of NLNG Project team also attended.

win-win,

rideon

By emma nwatu

Only mutual rela-tionship with host communities based on trust can secure the oil and gas com-panies in the Niger Delta and their facili-

ties from attack.Chairman of Finima Legacy Issues, Cap-

tain Bara Allwell-Brown said this when he received six new Toyota Hiace buses donated to Finima Community by Nigeria LNG Lim-ited at the plant complex in Bonny.

“That there has been no disturbance on your plant is not by accident. It is a result of mutual relationship you have maintained with your communities and this is a win-win situation,” he said.

He added: “I have said it times without number that other multinational companies need to emulate NLNG. Iron-rod security and power of your gun-powder cannot secure you like your community people.”

He said the donation is the demonstra-tion of NLNG’s commitment to implemen-

ToP: Gm production,

mat Gjers, hands over Bus

keys to capt. Bara allwell-aBove: Brown

Buses for finima

22 HOST

By elkanah chawai & dan daniel

“Since wey I dey come this meet-ing, dem go say sey Aru Aru Nlu G (NLNG) come, Aru Aru Nlu G (NLNG) do this;

I no see am. Na today I see the face of Aru Aru Nlu G,” a community woman tooted in a community hall as soon as she saw Nkem Obu.

She had been told of a certain man called “NLNG,” who had something to do with NLNG; a man who came in regularly to discuss about their roads, health centres and schools. And she had finally caught up with him with a barrage of questions waiting to be answered.

The man in question was prepared for such an encounter. It took him over five years of experience and lots of behind-the-scene activities to make sure that whatever is about to go down in meetings like this, go down well.

Nkem Obu did answer the woman’s ques-tion but the name “Aru Aru Nlu G” also got stuck in people’s minds in that community and in many communities where he works, referring to not only him, but also all the community liaison officers as the human face of Nigeria LNG Limited.

This is pretty much the life and work of NLNG community liaison officers like Obu, Community Liaison Coordinator, in host communities in Rivers State. These officers relate on behalf of the company with over 110 communities, partnering with various groups in the communities to improve the well-being of community members and pro-moting sustainable development.

What many don’t know is what Obu and his colleagues do behind-the-scene to parley peacefully with various groups in the communities. Behind-the-scenes activity of a show or movie is always intriguing—the rehearsals, the mistakes, the volte-faces, the stunts and whatever the crew puts in to pro-duce the final cut. In maintaining harmoni-ous community relations by any company, the behind-the-scene events are not exactly the same. They are laden with sweat, under-standing, empathy, perseverance, patience and courage.

Relating with the communities excites Obu especially through interactive forums organised to touch base with the communi-ties. He says the more challenging, the better: “All communities excite me. I have enjoyed working in very challenging communities. The interactive forum gives me room to lis-ten to them. Some of the harsh things they say I dismiss with a joke but the important thing is to give them facts and you will enjoy the community. Always give them facts. If you start playing smart, you would be taking the wrong path. Give them the facts so that whatever you say today remain the same 10 years after.”

“Whenever you are going to any com-munity, have behind your mind that they will attack you with questions because you are the one they see. Luckily for me, NLNG

has a fairly favourable opinion amongst the community people. That is why when you go to the community, go with facts. Each time I go to any community, I get facts from all the units here. You tell them what you have done and what you want to do further. You have to be very confident and possess the power of persuasion.”

A lot of things go into community rela-tions, says Obu about his experience work-ing in the community, adding that “you have to bring yourself to being a core com-munity man. Your dressing and attitude, even the way you sit or pose tend to send signals. You have to first know the com-munity you are going into. If you are going to a community, know about their ways and culture, their greetings. It makes them feel totally at home with you. Greet them in their own language and if they present kola to you, eat it with them. It brings the ‘Na we’ feeling.”

One of the open secrets of the trade, he says, is never promise what you can’t give. “One thing you must know in community relations is that from the word go, always tell them the truth. Tell them things as they are. Don’t try to make promises you know will not be fulfilled. Once you start with truth in the community, they will tend to rely on you and that is the bedrock of trust. Once they trust you, they will believe any-thing but don’t ever mid-way change the goal post.

Listening to him makes one wonder if things have always been that rosy for him. He recalls when a parley went wrong for him: “Handling youths is one of the most dangerous angles in this job. Choice of language is very important here. In Rumuji, the Ogbele-Rumuji pipeline laying was one of my most challenging in which the youths threatened to keep me until NLNG gave them what they want. In such situa-tion, maturity, diplomacy, patience and the ability to play around with words come in to play. I had to reassure them and joked a lot with them. By the next morning, I was out of there and there was no hard feeling. You have to make every single person feel important.”

Obu has a checklist for the execution of projects in the community. One salient item on that list is to make sure any project intended for the community benefits ma-jority of the people. Another is to make sure the project is sustainable; else nobody will be getting through to him. Meeting these conditions has become his creed in making sure NLNG and the community come out of development project as winners.

As they say, you can never satisfy every-body at once and Obu and his colleagues in community liaison do not try to do that at all. What they look forward to is improv-ing people’s lives and forging a sustainable partnership based on trust – and remain Aru Aru....

‘aru aru nlu G’oBu: it is the little thinGs that count

“One thing you must

know in community relations is that from

the word go, always tell them the truth. Tell

them things as they are.”

23HOST

can work on any vessel in the world. He tells the story of how he got there: “I

was one of the 11 students that enrolled for Bonny Vocation Centre when it started. I was in Mechanical Welding and Pipe Fitting department. I was doing well there but I nev-er relented in keeping abreast with things around me. One evening after lectures at the BVC, I heard that Nigeria LNG was is-suing out scholarship for training of Bonny indigenes on the island to the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron. I started to make moves towards this immediately.”

He got admitted.At Oron – where he earned a diploma,

with distinction, in Nautical Sciences - he went for internship with Smit Nigeria Lim-ited where he showed off as a, yes, dogged go-getter, smart thinker and adventurer.

“I went back to school and NLNG began a recruitment exercise in 2008. We sat for the aptitude test and only one of us passed. I wasn’t the one. We met our coordinator at NLNG, Ifeanyi Umeh, and told him that they should judge us based on our per-formance at the academy and not on the aptitude test. They told us it was a laid down policy to pass the aptitude test. That was how we missed the NLNG recruitment of cadets for training abroad. But this did not discourage me.

“My attitude to work both on deck and in the engine room brought me back to Smit. I was asked to apply for a job at Smit by the operations manager, Captain Ade-kanmi Adekunle and with his recommenda-tion, I came back to the company.

“Today, I am a captain of one of their fleet. I am in charge of the fleet in terms of

administration and operations on board. Since November 12, 2008, I have been working there and I have been sent twice as Mate trainee to Cote d’ Ivoire for dry dock-ing and I can boast now that I have some experience in dry docking. I really enjoy my stay in Smit. Being a master especially on a state of the arts tug boat is very challeng-ing. The manoeuvrability is different from conventional vessels because everything is computerised. You have to be sensitive and careful. It is a challenge for me. In terms of relationship with the crew onboard, you have to make sure you have good leadership quality and also show respect to people that are there before you,” he says with pride.

Even Fop Smit would be proud of him.But he wants NLNG to be proudest –

that a particular cadet they trained at acad-emy is now on the way to sailing the world.

He thanks Captain Adekunle, for his kindness and his avuncular role during his internship at SMIT. He has a message to the youth, not just in Bonny, but everywhere: “They should try to make good use of any opportunity that comes their way. You don’t have to always look for what your country or local government can do for you, but try to see what you can do for yourself. If I was careless with the opportunity that Nigeria LNG (NLNG) gave to me, I wouldn’t be what I am now. My successes in life will first benefit me before it is credited to NLNG and my parents.”

He has yet another dream: to be a man-ager in 10 years. He thinks he has the ex-perience in administration and operations to knock it off. HOST magazine should be there to report it.

By elkanah chawai

Fop Smit founded SMIT in 1842 at the “tender” age of 65. He died 24 years later, but SMIT has become an institu-tion in the maritime sector, “working on salvage operations that make world news, on

mind-boggling transport and heavy lift as-signments and providing complex harbour towage and other challenging services for onshore and offshore terminals.” To the folk at SMIT, all this spell adventure. Little wonder, SMIT employees are regarded as adventurers, smart thinkers and go-getters who persevere in the face of adversity.

So, you can understand when Godwin Stanley Pollyn, a proud Bonny son, at 25, became a captain of a tugboat, 15 months after he joined a SMIT Nigeria Limited. Godwin’s life attests to SMIT’s characterisa-tion of their workers.

It has been an adventure, indeed.From a humble family background,

Godwin had been on scholarships all through his life—Shell scholarship in pri-mary and secondary schools; Nigeria LNG Limited Scholarships at Bonny Vocational Centre and at the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron.

Thereafter, he decided to steer his own boat. His dream was to sail powerful tug-boats that tow Nigeria LNG tanker ships in Bonny.

The dream has come true. Armed with a Certificate of Competency, Officer of the Watch (OOW) Unlimited (2009), Godwin

smitimage

a

“My attitude to work both on deck and in the engine

room brought me back to

Smit.”

Godwin on the deck; and

in command (inset)