Hon. Philip Gbasin is an Executive Director, Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), and former Head, Department of Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Chevron Nigeria Ltd. In this interview, he bares his mind on pressing national issues, including how the Niger Delta is being turned into a battlefield between government forces and the Niger Delta Avengers. Excerpts:How is DESOPADEC faring in the midst of the economic crisis in the state?
We were sworn in on August 28, 2015. Because of the paucity of funds, we have not been authorized to carry out any new project. What we are doing now is completing ongoing projects and staff management. We have already completed and commissioned some inherited projects. We have commissioned a concrete jetty at Salvation City, we commissioned a palace at Otu Jeremi and an area office of the Commission at Orerokpe, and there are other projects lining up for commissioning.
The oil and gas sector has come under serious attack by the Niger Delta Avengers and other affiliate groups. As a community relations specialist, what is your view on the present attacks?
The present situation is a very precarious one and it is much more dangerous than when MEND was involved because under MEND, you know the faces behind the attacks. For now, government is yet to unveil their faces but I believe that behind any facelessness, there is a bold face.
What do you think is the best approach on this issue?
It will require intelligence to really find out the faces behind the Avengers. The Federal Government has to develop its intelligence to unravel the faces behind these attacks and the interest behind their actions. More so, the Federal Government may need to de-emphasize its powers and capacity to invade communities in their search for insurgents. The way forward is diligence and intelligence on the part of government to find out who really are these people and the reasons behind the bombings.
From all indications, the Federal Government seems poised to deal decisively with these militants. What is your position on this?
Nobody can win such wars. It is really a very dangerous thing for us to have the home source of our economy as battlefield. Irrespective of the might of the Federal Government, it cannot win this battle because the economy has become the battleground and you cannot win such battle until you destroy the oil facilities which will be like destroying oneself. Unless a serious strategy is adopted to address this situation, it would be difficult to quell the fury being displayed by these groups; a show of might on the part of government will also not help anybody.
Chevron seems to be the target of the attacks by the Avengers. As a retired member of staff, what do you think might have infuriated the group to direct their aggression on Chevron facilities?
It is not correct to say Chevron is their target, but they seem to have been focusing on big oil facilities and Chevron is the one that has such facilities in Delta State. I don’t think they are expressing their grievances against Chevron because Chevron has no fracas with any group. Rather, Chevron probably has one of the most effective community engagement machineries in resolving community issues. After attacking Forcados, the next big fish for them in Delta State is Chevron which will attract government attention to their attacks.
The interest of the Federal Government is to guarantee operations of oil firms in the Niger Delta with deployment of more soldiers to the area. Do you think it is right for government to take such a decision?
The guarantee of operations of oil companies in the Niger Niger is not because of the presence of many soldiers for security but because of the goodwill of the community people. It is the goodwill that provides the social license for oil companies to operate safely. When I was in Chevron at the peak of the Niger Delta militancy, surprisingly we did not lose any production. When the national production came down from 2.2 million barrels per day to 700,000 bpd, Chevron still retained its production level because of our strong relationship with host communities. Even if you draft all the soldiers to guard oil installations, without good community relations, it will be futile.
What message do you have for the Avengers and other militant groups?
I will advise them to hold their peace and take the path of dialogue because every problem no matter how big it is, will be resolved on the dialogue table. We do not need to destroy everything around us before dialogue, and I believe the Federal Government also should be willing to do same because our environment is at stake.
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