ETHICS, VALUE ORIENTATION AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN THE NIGER DELTA

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1 ETHICS, VALUE ORIENTATION AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN THE NIGER DELTA FEDERAL MINISTRY OF NIGER DELTA AFFAIRS

2 The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking". Albert Einstein

3 Introduction The need to articulate a framework for value orientation and leadership development in the Niger Delta cannot be overemphasized. For decades, the problems of the Delta have been the subject of discussion both at national and global levels. Governments, international agencies, statesmen, academics and different interest groups have all devoted considerable time and energy to grappling with these challenges. Commissions and Panels have been set up, wars have been fought in the creeks, numerous suggestions have been made and billions of development dollars have been channeled into the region, yet the indicators of development remain at abysmal levels. combined 27th and 28th convocation ceremony of the University of Jos the President called on universities in the country to introduce ethics and leadership courses in their curriculum. This is a clear signal that we are in a dispensation where ethics and values will be given prominence in our development planning. What is however exceedingly astonishing is the fact that in all our planning, the moral dimension is either ignored or carefully glossed over. One of the greatest challenges faced in the Niger Delta today underlying insecurity, unemployment or violence is the loss of ethical values, faith, self-esteem and sense of community. The seeming poverty of the region is not necessarily due to the absence of resources. On the contrary, it is due to the poverty of the mind a mindset that has been brutalized by decades of unfruitful and traumatic engagements with an insular state apparatus and unresponsive oil firms. This is a mindset that increasingly seeks appeasement and settlement - a mindset that suffers from a dangerous sense of entitlement and dependency, and has very little motivation towards creativity. The aim of the policy recommendations is to highlight the moral foundations of the Niger Delta problematic, and to articulate a framework for the development of ethical orientation and leadership development in the region.. Not too long after President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in, at the 1 Marie-Therese Nanlong Buhari tasks tertiary institutions on fight against corruption September 28,

4 The Moral Dimension of the Niger Delta Crisis Effects of the Oil Industry on Ethics and Values It is important to note that oil exploration did not only cause ecological damage, it did serious damage to the psyche of the people. The discovery of oil signaled the end of a way of life and the imposition of a new set of values. The oil industry did a lot to destroy the sense of community of the people and imposed on them a fragmented world view. I summarize here the moral effects of oil exploration: First, with the influx of oil workers who earned higher incomes than the local residents, cost of living became very high. Basic items were no longer affordable. Many youths were forced to live as parasites of the oil industry. Second, the oil industry caused the influx of people from all over the world into the Niger Delta region. There was a dramatic explosion in population. There was also a sharp increase in crime rate. Third, the mixed population brought in mixed values. The old values and taboos began to lose significance. Moral norms that kept community life going were now undermined. Fourth, with the high levels of pollution, farmlands and rivers became barren and could no longer sustain the people 2. The local economy was completely destroyed and desperation set in among the youths. Many of the young boys took to crime and many young women were lured to sell their bodies. Fifth, the attempt to appease the youths led to payment of protection money to criminal gangs by companies. As a result, a class of youths emerged that didn t have to pursue any careers to prosper. A few young men and women lived in material affluence without any visible means of livelihood. They were to become the mentors of the younger generation. Sixth, there was increased rivalry between communities and massive proliferation of firearms 3 Rivalry between gangs also increased. All of these were in a desperate struggle to attract the highest pay from the government and oil companies. The custodians of values, the elders, and even religious leaders were forced to join in the ignoble race to receive compensation from oil companies. Seventh, military operations escalated often leading to forced occupation of territories by soldiers. In some of these areas cases of rape and were reported. Eighth, there was no more respect for education and experience. Fast money and violence became a way of life. Ninth, leadership moved to the militant youths. They became the role models in a society that has lost all sense of value. Tenth, there was a growing sense of entitlement. Ninety percent of the nation s wealth came from the Niger Delta. Whatever they received from Nigeria was a right and not a privilege and could never be enough. Nigeria had wronged them; Nigeria needed to pay! 2 Opukri C, Ibaba I (2008).Oil induced environmental degradation and internal population displacement in the Nigeria s Niger Delta. J. SustainDevAfri., 10 (1), Ojakorotu V (2011). Anatomy of the Niger Delta crises: Causes, consequences, and opportunities for peace. Piscataway, NJ: Transaction Publishers and Obi C (2009). Nigeria s Niger Delta: Understanding the complex drivers of violent oil related conflicts. African Development, XXXIV (2)

5 Two Documents Amidst all these, two important documents emerged in 90s with tough moral arguments the Ogoni bill of rights of November, and the Kaiama declaration of December, These documents served as the moral rallying point for the youths of the Niger Delta. The Ogoni Bill of Rights opened with a declaration that they were forced into the Nigerian union. 1. That the Ogoni people, before the advent of British colonialism, were not conquered or colonised by any other ethnic group in present day Nigeria. 2. That British colonisation forced us into the administrative division of Opobo from 1908 to That we protested against this forced union And here comes the moral challenge: 9. That in over 30 years of oil mining, the Ogoni nationality have provided the Nigerian nation with a total revenue estimated at over 40 billion Naira (N40 billion) or 30 billion dollars. 10. That in return for the above contribution, the Ogoni people have received NOTHING. The kaiama declaration was issued on the 11th day of December 1998 at the end of the All Ijaw Youths Conference ran along similar lines. It began with the declaration that they were forced into a union against their will: After exhaustive deliberations, the Conference observed: a. That it was through British colonisation that the IJAW NATION was forcibly put under the Nigerian State g. That the degradation of the environment of Ijawland by transnational oil companies and the Nigerian State arise mainly because Ijaw people have been robbed of their natural rights to ownership and control of their land and resources through the instrumentality of undemocratic Nigerian State legislations such as the Land Use Decree of 1978, the Petroleum Decrees of 1969 and 1991, the Lands (Title Vesting etc.) Decree No. 52 of 1993 (Osborne Land Decree), the National Inland Waterways Authority Decree No. 13 of 1997 etc. 9 We call on all Ijaws to remain true to their Ijawness and to work for the total liberation of our people. You have no other true home but that which is in Ijawland. These documents posed moral challenges on the Nigerian state by insisting that they gave Nigeria everything and received nothing in return. It is interesting to note that neither of the two documents called for secession from the Nigerian nation. They rather called for equality and justice. 10 We agreed to remain within Nigeria but to demand and work for Self Government and resource control for the Ijaw people. Conference approved that the best way for Nigeria is a federation of ethnic nationalities. The federation should be run on the basis equality and social justice

6 The people of the Niger Delta have never sought for a separate country. Their arguments were always from a moral perspective - control of the resources from the region in order to alleviate their poverty and support the development of their communities. 6 Ken Saro Wiwa expressed the situation of the people thus: Our people have been compelled to sacrifice all lifesupporting necessities so that the Nation may enjoy economic boom from the oil industries 7 Their struggle has always been couched in moral terms of equality and justice. Nigeria needed to respond from a moral point of view. But for decades, Nigeria responded either by setting up commissions or applying brute force. 6 Watts M (2010). Resource curse? Governmentatility, oil and power in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. Geopolitics, 9 (1), Wiwa, K. S. (1992), The Niger Delta and the Nigerian State, A Paper Presented at Youth Conference, Port Harcourt on The Conflict Situation in the Niger Delta organized by USAID 4

7 Responses by the Nigerian Government to the Moral Challenge Administrative Inquiries and Commissions Since the Willinks Commission of 1958, there have been dozens of other Commissions and all of these have produced Reports and White Papers on the Niger Delta. Here are some examples: 1960 Niger Delta Development Board (NDDB); 1970 River Basin Development Authority (this was to develop the entire country s River Basins); 1993 Oil Mineral Producing Area Development Commission (OMPADEC) following report of Belgore Commission; 1998 Maj. Gen. Popoola Commiitte formed by Head of State, Gen Abdusalam to look into the problems of the Niger Delta; 2000 Act of the National Assembly forming the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC); 2002 Lt. General Alexander Ogomudia Special Security Committee Report on Oil Producing Area; July 2004 PRESIDENTIAL STANDING COMMITTEE on the Niger Delta headed by Gov. James Ibori of Delta State; April 5 Presidential Committee on the Niger Delta, headed by President Olusegun Obasanjo; Chief Gamaliel Onosode s Committee report done for Shell petroleum development Corporation (SPDC), and many more. Successive reports and White Papers were published and never implemented. This further heightened the mistrust of the people. Military Response Apart from these Commissions and Inquiries, successive Nigerian governments before 2007 responded to the Niger Delta crisis with brute force. Nigeria therefore produced a generation of angry young men who were asking for development or death. This was the awkward situation Nigeria found itself in the 1990s. On 23rd of February 1966, Mr. Isaac Adaka Boro landed at Tontonbau with one hundred and fifty nine comrades to launch war against the Federal Military Government. How did Nigeria respond? Boro was captured, tried and sentenced to death. Though officially pardoned and fought to preserve Nigeria during the civil war, he later died under mysterious circumstances. When Ken Saro Wiwa and his Ogoni brothers cried against ecological damage and asked for justice, how did Nigeria respond? They were made to face murder charges before a tribunal, and while the world cried foul, they were hanged and acid was poured on their bodies. On January 6, 1999, when community protests raged in two Ijaw villages in Delta State, how did Nigeria respond? According to Amnesty International reports 8, the Nigerian military allegedly commandeered privately owned helicopters that normally are leased to foreign oil companies and fired indiscriminately at villagers from the helicopters. Official figures indicate that security forces killed approximately 35 persons before the state of emergency protests in Bayelsa and Delta States ended on January 10; there were some reports of higher figures. No one was ever held accountable. When some youths of Odi took laws into their hands and killed some soldiers, how did Nigeria respond? Armored vehicles and combat forces and descended on the village of Odi with a tidal wave of arsenals. In the wake of the assault, no single house was left standing in the whole of Odi village and hundreds of men, women, and children were killed Bassey, Nnimmo ( ). Trade and Human Rights in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. Pambazuka News. Fahamu. Retrieved

8 1n 2004, the Nigerian government created the Joint Task Force (JTF) consisting of five task groups: The Army, Navy, Airforce, Police and the State Security Services. The brief of the JTF was simple and clear arrest the criminal activities of the militant groups in the Niger Delta Areas, restore law and order and ensure a secure and enabling environment for legitimate socioeconomic activities of the citizens and oil companies in the area. The assignment was ironically and cynically codenamed, operation Restore Hope. This litany of military brutality helped o worsen the situation. Because of all these, many leaders and youths of the Niger Delta considered the Nigerian state as an evil entity - meant to be suspected, sabotaged, interrogated, short-changed, accused, fought against, and if possible, defeated. With the judicial murder of Ken Saro Wiwa the doors to peaceful negotiation had been shut. Violent confrontation becomes inevitable. The Nigerian government therefore needed to rethink its strategies. A moral and humane strategy was needed. This was the road President Umaru Musa Yar Adua took. Moral Response Amnesty Since President Yar Adua, the approach of government has been more humane, although still without a strategic ethical plan. Of course, experience has taught the nation that using force to solve social problems can only complicate the matter as violence begets more violence. 10 This moral approach ended up being the most successful strategy ever used by the Nigerian government in its history of engagement with the youths of the Niger Delta. The results were immediate. Hostilities ceased, arms were surrendered and economic activities resumed. Nevertheless, because a full blown ethics policy was not put in place, the government seems confused about how to take Amnesty to the next level. Political Response President Yar Adua created the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to coordinate development in the region. The Niger Delta Development Commission was also empowered to execute development projects in the region. Then came the big political twist the election of Goodluck Jonathan, an Ijaw son as President of Nigeria. With this a major moral question had been answered the possibility of a Niger Deltan to emerge as President of Nigeria. This answered to a large extent the posers raised in the Ogoni Bill of Rights and the Kaiama Declaration. One would think that with all this there will be closure in the Niger Delta. Unfortunately, there isn t. What we have is fragile peace. The way forward for Nigeria is a full blown moral programme aimed at the restoration of values and leadership development. It is this approach that will provide enduring solutions. On the 25th of June, 2009 the Late President Umaru Musa Yar Adua announced the amnesty programme A Presidential Amnesty Office (PAO) was created within the Aso Rock Presidential Villa. This programme was designed to grant pardon to ex-militants, bring them out of the creeks and rehabilitate them. 10 Onwubiko Onyemaechi Frederick Jnr., Azizan Asmuni, Khairuddin Idris and Jamilah Othman The causes, effects and potential solutions to the deep-rooted Niger Delta oil crisis International Journal of Social and Behavioural Sciences Vol. 1 (6), p.126) 6

9 INTEGRAL PARTS OF ETHICS, VALUE ORIENTATION AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN THE NIGER DELTA POLICY RESPONSE ONE: Institutional Discipline MNDA AS A MORAL AGENT THE ETHICS DEPARTMENT NDDC AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS POLICY RESPONSE TWO: Development of Core Values MNDA CORE VALUES PROJECT CLARIFICATION OF ROLES AND COMMITMENTS POLICY RESPONSE THREE: Leadership Development - Creating a New Crop of Leaders TEACHERS TRAINING FORMATION OF LEADERSHIP CLUBS IN SCHOOLS ENTREPRENEURSHIP TRAINING VOCATIONAL TRAINING HOLIDAY YOUTH CAMPS POLICY RESPONSE FOUR: Corporate Social Responsibility DEFINITION AND COORDINATION OF CSR POLICY RESPONSE FIVE: Post Amnesty Programme AMNESTY PROGRAMME AS A MORAL TOOL 7

10 POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS The Policy Framework is designed to be an ecosystem involving the following 5 principal stakeholders of the Niger Delta: 1. The government and its organs 2. The community and the cultural groups 3. The future generation (students) 4. The Multinational Companies 5. The Militants POLICY RESPONSE 1: Institutional Discipline As we have earlier seen discipline is one of the pillars of morality. The first level of institutional discipline has to do with the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. 1.1 Establish the MNDA s Role as a Moral Agent The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs must be properly positioned to work as a moral agent. As the principal government agent responsible for driving policy and coordinating development the standards of the Ministry must be without blemish. The Ministry will therefore need to put in place the moral infrastructure to drive this process. This can only happen through the development of core values, creating a robust ethics department and ensuring that it coordinates development from a moral platform. 1.2 Create an Ethics Department The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs needs to have an Ethics Department responsible for the implementation of standards and the promotion of agreed values. Ethics officers have a duty to ensure that both government agencies and companies operating in the region operate within the rules and are building confidence among the populace. This department will also be responsible for relating with the communities and pursuing leadership development in schools. The purpose of this department is to teach, and propagate moral standards. The Ministry presently has many redundant staff in various state offices. What they need is to be trained as ethics officers who will watch and report the standards of oil companies and government institutions. This will go a long way to build confidence in the communities. 1.3 NDDC and Community Relations The NDDC is the most visible face of government in the communities; therefore it must show transparency in its operations and develop deep bonding with communities even before the execution stage of its projects. The present contractor-centered approach to projects must give way to a people-centered approach. 8

11 POLICY RESPONSE 2: Development of Core Values 2.1 MNDA Core Values Project The Ethics Department of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affiars will need to partner with communities to reflect on their values and restore them. Well trained Ethics Officers should know that the restoration of Values is a process that once started should never be abandoned. With the way things are presently, there are no clear codes or standards of ethics for both the people and the stakeholders especially oil companies - operating in the region.. This requires a process of getting people together to discuss and agree on what constitutes their core values. These values will be documented and formally adopted as the moral code of the institutions or the communities. 2.2 Clarification of Roles and Commitments The duties of different groups will be communicated through public information outlets. For example, fathers conduct towards their children will be discussed and a commitment to fulfill these duties will be made by the fathers. The same will happen to mothers and the children. If values must be restored then values must be discussed. 9

12 POLICY RESPONSE 3: Leadership Development - Creating a New Crop of Leaders Leadership training of youths to build an understanding that the first step towards leadership is leadership over the self. The ethics of self-discipline and commitment to duty will therefore be central to the leadership training programme. 3.1 Formation of leadership clubs in Schools The Ministry needs to assist schools to form leadership clubs in schools. The generation of solid leaders this country produced in the 70s and 80s were nurtured by such school clubs as the Boys Scouts, Man-o-War Bay and Reformers Academy. Today such clubs have been replaced by cultic groups that have transitioned into militant groups. The Ministry needs to partner with and enhance the work of such existing clubs as the Society of Ethics and Leadership (SEAL), Reformers Academy and Man-o-War Bay. 3.4 Vocational training The Ministry should require leadership training as a prerequisite for vocational training courses. A carefully drawn curriculum for the various levels of training should be done by the Ministry, aided by Ethics professionals. One target area would be to develop ICT villages to pave the way for youths to be involved in the fast growing computer industry. 3.5 Holiday Youth Camps The Ministry and its collaborating institutions should invest in holiday youth camps for ethics and leadership training and entrepreneurship development. These will be the incubation centers for new youth leaders. The camps could be run along the format of the present NYSC camps. 3.2 Teachers training Through short term training and workshops, teachers can be trained on their new moral mandate. In every state of the Niger Delta a target to train at least 1,000 teachers in two years. 3.3 Entrepreneurship training The time has come for us to create our own inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs. And this can happen when our youths come out of hopelessness and despair and begin to take leadership over their lives and learn to be creative. The culture of dependence on foreign aid has to stop. To achieve this, the Ministry should encourage the emergence of new entrepreneurs in schools and colleges. A deliberate program of entrepreneurship training should be pursued. If this programme succeeds, a new set of leaders will emerge in the Niger Delta. These new leaders will take over the economy and silence the guns of the militants. 10

13 POLICY RESPONSE 4: Corporate Social Responsibility 4.1 Definition and Coordination of CSR There is need to define and coordinate Corporate Social Responsibility in the Niger Delta. This will be a good way to bring together communities, corporations and government to review the activities of the past. The Ministry should sponsor an international conference on Corporate Social Responsibility and this should be held annually and the Ethics office will follow up closely to encourage companies fulfill their moral obligations. POLICY RESPONSE 5: Post Amnesty Programme The Presidential Amnesty Programme played a very important role in bringing peace to the Niger Delta. It is important for the Ministry to continue to engage those enrolled on the Programme. It is the duty of the Amnesty Office to track the development and activities of ex-militants and beneficiaries who have passed through training in ethics and leadership, and they should be supported to become mentors to the younger generation. 11

ETHICS, VALUE ORIENTATION AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN THE NIGER DELTA

ETHICS, VALUE ORIENTATION AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN THE NIGER DELTA FEDERAL MINISTRY OF NIGER DELTA AFFAIRS The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing