Samuel Oyadongha
3 December 2008
What could be described as a peaceful protest march by Bayelsa women yesterday almost degenerated into violence when a senior police officer attached to the Government House otherwise known as 'Creek Haven' descended on a cameraman covering the rally.
The timely intervention of one of the soldiers manning the Armoured Personnel Carriers in front of the Government House gate however averted a possible show down between the protesters and the security operatives.
The cameraman was taking shots of the protesters when the police officer, a Deputy Superintendent, ordered him out of the arena with slaps threatening to smash his camera if he failed to leave.
Sensing trouble, one of the soldiers around, a sergeant quickly stepped in and prevailed on the officer to exercise some measure of restraint given the charged scenario.
Angered by the action of the officer, the women drawn from the eight local government areas of the state under the auspices of HOST Communities of Nigeria (HOSCON), Oil and Gas, Bayelsa State chapter, who were protesting the continued refusal of the state government to constitute a board to manage the oil revenue accruing to the state, resorted to booing at the officer.
Armed with placards some of which read, "We have the right to manage our oil fund," "Give us Bayelsa State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (BASOPADEC) or face a showdown from oil communities in the state." The women said they can no longer fold their arms and watch the state resources being wasted while the oil producing communities are wallowing in abject poverty and denied the basic necessities of life.
The governor had repeatedly said there was no need for such commission as virtually all communities in the state are in one way or the other linked with oil production.
But the women leader of the HOSCON in Bayelsa State, Violet Obun, in a statement made available to newsmen lamented the deplorable situation in the oil producing communities saying the communities have the right to manage the resources coming from their land.
She said they took to the street to let Bayelsans know that the host communities are not feeling the impact of the derivation proceeds which runs to several billions monthly since the advent of constitutional democracy in 1999 when the enforcement of the 13 per cent derivation payment to oil producing areas commenced.
"We wish to affirm in unequivocal terms that the proceeds of the 13 per cent derivation do not belong to the Bayelsa State government and most importantly, Timipre Sylva, but, the host communities in the swamps and creeks, who bear the brunt of the oil exploration and exploitation.
"Therefore, the governor should as a matter of urgent public importance release from January, 2008 the funds to a commission to enable the host communities participate and manage our resources and determine our development imperatives", she said.
The oil communities appealed to the Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Prof. Kimse Okoko, traditional institutions in the state and oil majors to prevail on the governor to "create the commission and allow peace in our communities".
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