Niger Delta Human Development Report - UNDP Nigeria - United ...

Oil companies’
intervention projects
have not been able to
meaningfully impact on
livelihood because they
were implemented
without any systematic
link to any development
plans.
People say infrastructure
is their number one
concern. Educational
facilities and good
water rate near the top
of their list.
cases, the water route is the only one, and
where the option exists, more direct than
the highland road. Residents travelling out
of the vicinity typically use a motorized
boat. Bridges could link some of these
communities, if they are environmentally
sustainable. The canalization of the major
waterways, construction of jetties and shore
protection should also be given priority.
Unfortunately, as discussed earlier,
successive state and federal governments
have neglected such physical developments.
For their part, the multi-national companies
have established facilities reaching
international standards in oil-producing
areas, concretely demonstrating to the local
inhabitants that their communities could
be better developed (Chokor, 2000).
The analysis will be incomplete if the role
of oil companies in providing physical,
social and institutional infrastructure is not
mentioned. All the major oil companies
operating in the Niger Delta Region, the
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC) and its subsidiaries have had one
community- development programme or
the other in their areas of operation. Such
community development projects cut
across rehabilitation and/ or construction
of roads, hospitals, schools and water
system; establishment of entrepreneurial
development programmes; and award of
scholarships; establishment of micro-credit
programmes; among others. See table 6.5
for the specific projects undertaken by the
oil companies. It is important to note that
these projects have not been able to
meaningfully impact on livelihood because
of some reasons. First, the ineffectiveness
of local governance in this region is
appalling. These projecs, which could have
complemented the developmental role of
local governments virtually ended up as
the only development projects in most of
these communities. Second, the projects
were implemented on ad hoc basis without
any systematic link to any development
plans either at the local or state government
level. Consequently, in some cases, schools
and hospitals were built without any
teachers or para-medical staff to operate
the infrastructure. In many cases, indigenes
rather than blaming governments often
hold oil companies responsible for the
lapses associated with poor planning.
An affordable energy supply is also critical
for livelihoods in the Niger Delta. It is a
prerequisite for industrialization and a
major support to small and medium
enterprises. A gas-powered energy supply
would be the cheapest option, in view of
the abundance of gas and the existence
of gas pipelines in the region. Currently,
however, even though the delta satisfies
both national and international energy
needs, it experiences energy shortages, and
fuel is more expensive than in many other
parts of Nigeria.
The provision of good, affordable housing
in urban and rural areas is another critical
element. The squalid conditions under
which the vast majority of city dwellers
live in the oil rich cities of Port Harcourt
and Warri is one glaring evidence of the
juxtaposition of poverty and development
in the region. In the rural areas, the oil
wealth has made very little impact in
upgrading building structures and materials.
According to the NDDC survey, the yearly
increase in registered and approved
building plans in the period 1999 to 2003
was about 1.2 per cent while the rate of
population increase for the same period
was 4.5 per cent.
The significance of infrastructural
development came through clearly in the
focus group discussions. Respondents
identified issues that should be addressed
urgently (see table 6.6). Infrastructure was
ranked first, with three times the
importance assigned to the second
concern, unemployment. The focus group
discussions went further to collect the
views of local populations on the most
crucial infrastructural problems. They
regarded educational facilities to be the
highest priority (34.4 per cent), followed
by a good water supply (16.7 per cent),
health facilities (13.3 per cent) and facilities
to create jobs (8.9 per cent). Other priority
needs were roads (7.8 per cent), electricity
(6.7 per cent), industries (4.4 per cent) and
a clean environment (3.3 per cent).
The priority needs of local populations are
likely to vary from one community to
another, however, as each community
faces its own unique problems. Similarly,
within a community, different groups,
140 NIGER DELTA HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT