Ex-militant leader and self-styled General, Endurance Amagbein a.k.a. Adaka Boro the Second, tells MIKE ODIEGWU why he gave up his illegal bunkering business and became a crusader against oil theft in the Niger Delta. He also identifies some major players in the illegal bunkering business empire and recommends permanent solutions to the economic sabotage, among other issues.

At what age did you join the arms struggle in the Niger Delta and why?

I, General Endurance Amagbein, Adaka Boro the Second, have been a Niger Delta agitator for over 24 years in the creeks of the Niger Delta. I have traversed the entire Niger Delta in the name of agitating and struggling for the betterment of life and development of the people of the Niger Delta and its region. I am among those that got involved in the Niger Delta armed struggle at a tender age, being in the struggle for over 24 years from a barrack boy to the rank of a commander under the leadership of other generals. It made me to have a vast experience in the Niger Delta and today, I am a general with followers cutting across the entire Niger Delta area.

I am one person that is still pained for the underdevelopment experienced in the Niger Delta after accepting the amnesty programme. Despite all the promises that were made during the amnesty programme, 14 years after, we are still where we are. As an individual, I am very worried. I know as an agitator we were expecting that at this point in time, the Niger Delta would have become the Niger Delta of our dream, but that did not come to play. That is why some of us are still within the creeks to see how the needed development, employment and empowerment can come to the people of the Niger Delta.

You were said to have once engaged in illegal oil bunkering. Why did you toe such a dangerous path?

Niger Delta is the oil and gas epicentre of Nigeria. In the Nigerian system that we are operating today, in the oil and gas industry, it is the federal government that controls virtually everything while the landlords, who are the rightful owners of the oil rich area, are completely sidelined and they feel marginalised by the IOCs and the Federal Government.

The people of Niger Delta do not feel a sense of belonging in the oil and gas industries operating in the region. That is one the reason why some of us find ourselves in this arms struggle. However, the major oil theft taking place is the corporate theft being carried out by those from NNPC and the politicians because the vessels of crude oil that they take from Nigeria to the off OPEC market is more than what the people of the Niger Delta are taking in the name of illegal bunkering.

Although after the amnesty we believed that development would come to the people and living standard of our people would improve, but that did not happen. So the people drastically keyed into bunkering and oil theft in the Niger Delta as means of survival.

Some persons used the wealth they got from the illegal bunkering to empower themselves. I am not an exception. I also found myself in the illegal bunkering activities, but more of my resources went into community development, human development, youth empowerment and other community-related services. As an individual, I was believing that keying into illegal bunkering would solve the entire Niger Delta problem. But I have come to realize that, that is not the answer or solution to the problems facing the people of the Niger Delta.

Are you still involved in such illegal activities now?

I have come to agreement with people of thought and wisdom that illegal bunkering should come to an end. With zero oil theft, revenue generation will increase, and if the revenue is put into use in the right channels, it will get to the people as it will be used for the development of the Niger Delta region. I think the people of the Niger Delta will protect these oil and gas facilities with their lives.

As we speak, oil theft and illegal bunkering have caused more damage and disaster in terms of environmental pollution in the Niger Delta than what we thought would be the benefits from the illegal bunkering. That is why I have come to agreement and many others that we have to eradicate oil theft and illegal bunkering in the Niger Delta region in order for the federal and state governments, host communities to have revenues that can be used for the development, empowerment of our Niger Delta region and Nigeria at large.

How far can pipeline surveillance contract solve this problem of illegal oil bunkering?

Today pipelines surveillance contracts are being awarded to individuals by IOCs and even NNPC. It is advisable that they engage the rightful people that are vast with happenings in their various areas in order to have effective results. Let them not play politics with such contracts because the outcome has a lot to do with revenue generation and development and as well youth empowerment.

Over time, some of these contracts have been having political undertones and the needed results are not achieved. Some of us have been fighting against illegal bunkering with our personal resources when we realised the negative impact this illegal bunkering is having on our people and the environment.

If you come to my area, you would attest that illegal bunkering, to an extent, is a thing of the past as a result of the effort I am putting to achieve a good result. Although there is pressure everywhere, my resolve has made it impossible, and today my area is becoming free from illegal bunkering. Hence, the locals from the oil communities should be engaged in form of pipelines surveillance contracts and should be awarded to individuals from the area as focal person. By doing so, the needed results will be achieved.

What do you think the people of the Niger Delta stand to benefit if oil theft and illegal bunkering is eradicated in the region?

Oil theft as everybody knows in Nigeria is to an extent an organised crime. What the people of the Niger Delta are doing, that is illegal bunkering and all the rest, is less than one per cent of what those in position of trust are taking, particularly those in NNPC. What they are taking from the Niger Delta and from the Federal Government in the name of off OPEC racketing is huge. Why am I saying so, there is a market called off OPEC Market where those in NNPC and the oil companies, the main players, take our crude to sell. That means they are not giving account of those particular products. These are the real oil thieves. Nigeria as a country that hardly enforces regulatory laws in the oil industry has given room for defaulting industry players in the oil and gas industry to go scot-free.

I am not in a position to fight them, but it is good that we tell the people. That is why we don’t want the little that our people are taking to be used as reference point. We don’t want the narrative that because the people of the Niger Delta are into illegal bunkering and oil theft, that is why the production rate is reducing. This is all falsehood. That is why you see that I am coming out to take the bull by the horn to singlehandedly see that oil theft, illegal bunkering come to an end in the Niger Delta.

If oil theft and illegal bunkering comes to an end, I believe that the modular refinery that the Federal Government has promised the people of the Niger Delta can be fast-tracked, and that will lead to employment, improvement in economic activities and at the same time increase the living standard of the people of the Niger Delta. And if the production level increases, definitely it will lead to revenue increase, which will make more money available for the national coffers for distribution and invariably states will receive more money to execute developmental projects .

Thirdly, I believe as an individual that the PIA Act has made provision for funds for the host communities, which will contribute to the development of our communities in the region. And I believe that if oil theft is eradicated, crude oil production is bound to shore up, and as Niger Deltans, we can ask for upward review of the derivation percent to states and host communities from the paltry 3% to 10 to 20% which will lead to further development.

And the refineries in question that are supposed to be working in the Niger Delta with high resources and revenue, definitely the Federal Government will have resources that will be injected into the refineries to work optimally. And I believe that is what everybody wants.

How do you view the laws regulating the oil industry, especially as they relate to the oil-bearing communities?

What the people of the Niger Delta and we that have been in the arms struggle are asking look into the laws that are guiding the oil and gas sector. The regulatory bodies, empower them to be completely independent so that they can enforce the laws that will bring immediate change and development to the people of the Niger Delta.

What is your take on modular and Dangote refineries. Can they address the challenges of petroleum products?

Now that subsidy has been removed, I believe that all the refineries will definitely become functional. I also understand that getting the crude to refine is giving some of them challenges because the locations where some of the refineries are sited are not actually oil producing areas. So to get the pipeline that will supply crude oil for refining is challenging.

The one our brother, Azikel is building in Bayelsa State, I believe he needs the support of the federal and state governments. He is an individual, and when it comes to building a modular refinery, it is capital intensive. He has the foresight, he really wants to bring it on stream, but the willingness of the state and federal governments to partner with him to bring the project to limelight is crucial, because when completed, it will create employment opportunities for our teeming youths and also lead to economic boom. I want the state government, as a matter of urgency, to look into it. That of Dangote, I believe that the crude line where it is placed is very far from the Niger Delta, and that is why it is having those little hiccups. You know, when those pipes are constructed to those places, it will become functional. I don’t know or think that there is any security threat to their activities. That is why we are still calling on the Federal Government to grant the people of the Niger Delta more licences, especially Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers and the Arugbo part of Ondo State where there are many pipelines. They are major producers of oil and gas, so that the people will be taken off the street and that will give them the audacity to protect the critical national assets because it will put food on their tables.

Do you support the removal of petroleum subsidy?

I have advised Nigerians before this time on subsidy related matters; that they should give Mr. President some time because he has good intentions for Nigerians. This subsidy removal issue is an issue that is long overdue. You know in 2012 or thereabout when then President Goodluck Jonathan wanted to end this same subsidy regime, Nigerians protested, including the present President. At that time the money used for subsidy was less. But today subsidy is consuming trillions of naira. I know that those who protested against Jonathan’s move at that time did so purely for political reasons. That is what we are suffering today.

But Mr. President has taken the bull by the horn to remove the hydra-headed monster called petroleum subsidy. Let us support him and definitely I am certain that the long time benefits of subsidy removal will overweigh the short term pains because the sector has been fully deregulated, which will bring in independent players. This means that we are going to have more private refineries that will definitely create employment opportunities for the unemployed and product availability will be enhanced which will return the country to the golden era of exporting petroleum products.

What we need is economic independence and in order for us to get economic independence, we have to be more productive and take the economy on the part of industralization in our day to day activities. So I believe that Nigerians will give President Tinubu the opportunity and some time to set things right and impact positively on the lives of the people.

Do you think the governors, federal and state lawmakers and other political appointees from the region are doing enough to touch lives?

Lawmakers that ought to be standing firm for the region in terms of lawmaking have decided not to speak on issues that have to do with the Niger Delta people. Look at the PIA Act, the Hoscom fund ought to be 10%, the upper and the lower chambers agreed to 5% but at the end of the day, it was 3% that was passed. That was a time when we had our own brother as Minister of Petroleum who was very influential. But the interest of the IOCs was the interest that was protected against the people of the Niger Delta. That is what is playing out even at the state level. Money meant for development is carted away. At the end of the day, it is EFCC that will go and harvest all of them. It is very painful.

Look at the NDDC, it has become a political arena where the ruling party at the centre directs them and uses the funds meant for development just for political related activities instead of focusing on the key objectives of the commission. That is why you see that day in day out we are backward. We are retrogressing in terms of development, manpower, and industrialization. That is where we found ourselves and those are some the things that pain us.

That is why as an individual, I don’t blame those from the North, Yoruba, Hausa or Igbo for our predicament and underdevelopment. It is a self-inflicted problem, and until we look inward, we can never get it right.

That is how it is. So it is sad. My appeal to our leaders is for them to use resources no matter how little for the benefit of all. That is why we are fighting for upward review of this same resources. Like the 13% derivation is long overdue for review to at least 50%. That is the only way the people in the region will understand that we are stakeholders of the oil and gas activities that are happening in the region, so that we can protect the facilities with all our blood for the benefit of all.

But when you take our own and give us paltry 13% in the name of derivation, while people are harvesting gold in the North and they are taking all home, and you want us to keep quiet? They come to the Niger Delta drill all the oil, make a funny map survey plan and come and tell us that it is one man from the North that own it. It is very appalling. What we want is one Nigeria, Niger Delta that is development oriented, peaceful, business friendly. So we are calling on our leaders to focus more on development of the region than politics, and our people are going to enjoy the dividends of democracy.

What kind of leader are you expecting in Bayelsa State on November 11?

I am not a politician or a party person. I am just the people’s General and what we want as a people in Bayelsa State is progress and a state that is prosperous and other states will envy. As a General, I have said it before and will keep saying it again; it is only when political season comes like this that you see all the political gladiators running helter skelter, trying to brainwash and seeing how they can buy votes for their own personal political gain. At this juncture, I am calling on all Bayelsans to be law-abiding, peaceful and should not allow politicians to use them as political thugs or as tools to cause crisis. They should be mindful. Let them engage politicians based on their manifestos and see those that have genuine interest in the development and growth of the state and make their choice.

Every person that is contesting the election is a Bayelsan. So I don’t have any preferred candidate and will not say that my followers should support a particular candidate or party, because I am not a party man. That has always been my stand. My advice to Bayelsans is to look into the manifestos of the various governorship candidates and take the one they believe will bring peace, security, development, youth empowerment, human capital development and signature infrastructural development to our communities.

My final advice is let the political players play by the rules and not use hate speeches that will cause unrest and crises. And they should not use politics to cause communal crises. Let us be focused and steadfast, and let us campaign based on the manifestos that will convince the people and get their votes to govern the people. (The Nation)

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