Instructively, government seems to be more interested in wielding the big stick rather than offering the carrot. There is reason to believe that strong arm tactics may not yield the desired result, going by the desperation of people involved in the scheme to survive in the absence of other engagements. From comments attributed to the operators, it is clear that they indeed recognise the inherent danger in their activities, but believe that the risks are exaggerated, notwithstanding the Imo tragedy. The Imo State Commissioner for Petroleum Resources, Goodluck Opiah reportedly said for instance that: “Government will no longer treat those who engage in illegal oil bunkering with kid gloves. No matter how stubborn the challenge of illegal oil blundering is, it remains surmountable, and the government will surmount it.”
On the other hand, those involved in illegal bunkering try to justify their actions on absence of jobs; and the fact that once they can surmount the hazards in the operation, the proceeds can make them comfortable for a while. Flawed as this contention may be, government should not simply wave it away without seeking to cure the source of the people’s motivation. Poverty cannot be a plausible excuse for engaging in illicit bunkering, but it can blind the operators to the imminent tragedy of the magnitude that happened in Imo State.
Over the years, the authorities have been unable to arrest illegal bunkering that started with minor cases of vandalisation of pipelines, with its attendant loss of billions of dollars in public funds that can be channelled into initiatives to reduce poverty in the oil bearing areas and the country as a whole, if properly handled.
Government needs to improve its commitment and transparency to fight illegal oil bunkering activities, so as to reduce the diversion of funds into private pockets. Currently, illegal bunkering has become highly organised and a threat to the current production of crude oil as well as the stability of energy supply in the country. Illegal oil bunkering – long prevalent in the Niger Delta – has become a sophisticated operation that has grown from strength to strength. The operators carry out their illicit trade with impunity and sometimes in broad daylight as they are equipped with sophisticated equipment, unconcerned with pollution of the environment and the clear danger they expose host communities to.
Sometimes, the use of petrol tankers to lift the illegal products has become the norm nowadays. One of the major threats to the degradation and pollution of the oil bearing communities is the indiscriminate site of oil bunkering opportunities. This has significantly escalated the pollution of the environment causing cloud of smoke in oil bearing communities as well as worsening the human rights abuses suffered by the people. Also, the oil bearing communities are given an indelible miserable mark as the aquatic life and lands are rendered useless for farmers and fishermen.
The other day, according to reports, officers of the Nigeria Police clashed with the Nigeria Civil Defence Corps (NCDC) personnel in Rivers State over alleged protection cover to illegal bunkerers of petroleum products in the state. While the police have always denied the alleged involvement of its men and officers in the heinous trade, the arrest of a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Rivers State has confirmed that highly influential people and government officials are also involved in the nefarious activities. It is disturbing that security agencies that should protect the oil facilities are the ones perpetrating and facilitating the crime and theft of oil. It is also puzzling that the people and government know those behind illegal bunkering activities in the country. The owner of Imo bunkering site is a well known individual in the society and the state government chose to wait for the catastrophe that claimed so many lives to happen before he was declared wanted.
Shamefully, oil bunkering was allowed to develop into a multi-million naira illegal business. Every new administration speaks tough and declares the bunkerers as saboteurs but no substantial efforts are made to stop the illicit act, while some dubious government officials and security agencies collude with the bunkerers. Statistics reveals that the Nigerian government is far more severely affected by this theft than the oil companies. But the huge loss of foreign exchange earnings for the country and creation of opportunities to acquire wealth illegally has not translated to any proactive government strategy for investigating and bringing to end the organised rackets. Notwithstanding the arrest so far made of both foreigners and Nigerians, there are few, if any, successful prosecution for involvement in the theft of oil and it is not always clear what happen to the cargoes of oil that are seized.
The Imo illegal bunkering tragedy should not by any means end with the usual hullabaloo of lamentation, condemnation and empty threats.
The government needs to send warnings to the bunkerers by ensuring prosecution of culprits in the Imo disaster. In the long term, there is need for holistic measures to engage people meaningfully through jobs creation and eradication or reduction of poverty in the land.
