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• ‘Young people remaining in Warri are under-employed
Oil companies’ engagement of expatriates to directly oversee negotiations over disputes concerning compensation and unsustainable community levies contributed to continuous operational disruptions, increased vandalism and sabotage of oil facilities by community members. These disruptions frustrated business activities and, ultimately, contributed to some oil companies leaving the country.
This was revealed in a memoir, My Dream, My Journey, written by Nigerian broadcaster, communication expert and cultural advocate, Sola Omole.
In a section titled “Bon Voyage, Nigeria,” Omole recounted how mistrust of Nigerian negotiators and the recruitment of many expatriates to take over led to persistent community conflicts, oil pipeline sabotage, demands for increased compensation and operational disruptions.
He said this contributed to his eventual departure from Nigeria after years of working in the oil and gas industry.
Omole, a former Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), described the operational difficulties confronting oil companies, particularly Chevron, where he worked between 2000 and 2003. During that period, community agitations, vandalism and disagreements over compensation increasingly disrupted business activities.
He said the company frequently had to intervene whenever community disputes disrupted its operations, with efforts directed at resolving disagreements and ensuring that workers could return to their duties after negotiations and compensation payments.
Omole said community members deliberately sabotaged oil facilities by cutting pipelines, resulting in oil spills and extensive environmental damage. He alleged that members of affected communities prevented the company’s personnel from taking immediate corrective measures to stop the flow of oil into the environment because they wanted increased financial compensation.
According to him, the culprits allegedly collaborated with others in communities within the company’s operational territory to damage pipelines. Some incidents occurred at remote locations along pipelines in the dead of night, making it almost impossible to identify those responsible.
Omole explained that the company established procedures for responding to oil spills, including notifying regulators, inspecting affected sites and negotiating compensation payments.
He said community members also made demands for infrastructure support and other benefits, which became regular sources of tension. Virtually every community request, he said, created the possibility of operational disruptions.
He recalled that the situation became particularly frustrating following the takeover of Chevron’s Escravos operations by Itsekiri women and the subsequent takeover of its Abiteye swamp facilities by Ijaw women.
Omole disclosed that the company’s Opuekeba offshore platform was completely vandalised during the period.
The communication expert said the repeated disruptions generated considerable frustration among the company’s technical team, who blamed him and his Nigerian team for failing to find a lasting solution to the community-related challenges.
According to him, company management explored the option of bringing in expatriates to oversee its operations during the period.
He said the expatriates served as managing director, supervised the Safety and Environmental Affairs Division and handled security services, including dispute and compensation negotiations.
According to Omole, the expatriates believed he was not doing enough to address the community problems. They resisted attempts to undermine his authority and encroach on his responsibilities.
He cited an incident where a young expatriate was brought into the company to handle media relations. Omole said he opposed the proposal, insisting that Nigerians possessed the competence to manage the company’s media relations responsibilities.
Omole said his team handled compensation negotiations with communities that received fair and adequate compensation, although reaching agreements was often difficult.
He said that whenever the expatriates became directly involved in negotiations, compensation payments to communities increased significantly. He cited the Tsekelewu community in Delta State, where he said his team had maintained reasonable compensation arrangements until an incident occurred during his absence.
According to him, the late Ken Eakin, then logistics manager, became involved in negotiations with the community and approved a payment of N6 million.
He said the Tsekelewu community stopped dealing with the Public Affairs team, handled by a Nigerian, and preferred to engage directly with the expatriate.
Omole said other communities, having learnt of the N6 million payment, reportedly attempted to secure similar benefits, leading to demands for increased compensation.
He said his team firmly resisted such demands, describing the payment as excessive and far above what the company had previously paid the community.
Omole said his resistance led a group of expatriates to persuade the managing director to remove him from his position as head of the Public Affairs Department. He was relocated to Abuja, where he was assigned to manage the company’s government relations office while also overseeing public affairs operations in Lagos.
In another section of the memoir, titled “The Warri Lesson,” Omole examined the economic decline of Warri, Delta State, and how it deteriorated from a major industrial and commercial centre into a shadow of its former self.
He said that between the 1970s and 1990s, major companies and institutions operated fully in Warri, including the Warri Refinery, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Delta Steel, Delta Glass, Shell, Chevron, Schlumberger, Dunlop, Agip, Saipem and Halliburton.
He added that Escravos and Forcados were at their peak, alongside multinational and local banks. The Warri Port served as a hub of economic activity, as well as entertainment and nightlife.
According to Omole, the vibrant activities attracted people from different parts of the country who migrated there in search of employment and other economic opportunities.
The situation, however, began to deteriorate in the late 1990s when community leaders and youth chairmen began fighting over control and the sharing formula for royalties from oil and other businesses in the city.
He said the bloody conflicts began around 1999 and continued into 2003 and 2004. Community leaders subsequently began imposing local taxes, known as “Deve,” on companies, industries, local businesses and even building projects.
Omole said the growing hostility and financial demands frustrated businesses and contributed to the gradual departure of companies from the city. This led to mass layoffs, rising unemployment and the loss of economic opportunities.
He said several businesses moved their operations to Port Harcourt, Lagos and Uyo in Akwa Ibom State. Many young people also left the city in search of better opportunities.
Those who remained, he noted, increasingly turned to informal economic activities, including commercial tricycle operations, popularly known as keke; point-of-sale (POS) businesses; spas; boutiques; beer parlours; and what is commonly described as “hook-up,” a euphemism for prostitution.
Omole noted that Warri’s leaders could not have anticipated the far-reaching consequences of their disputes and the imposition of unsustainable levies and taxes on businesses.
