By Charles Kumolu

Rights activist, Chief Rita Lori-Ogbebor, in this interview, reveals the reasons the Itsekiri are organising an economic summit which is scheduled to hold on Thursday. She also explains how best to manage community development funds, especially in oil producing communities.

Ritalori-Ogbebor

The Itsekiri Economic Summit, scheduled to hold in Warri, is the second one. What are the reasons for the forum?

The first economic summit was held after the Warri crisis when all our villages were sacked and our people were thrown out of their natural habitat. That summit was successful but it was disrupted by a group of young men, who had profited from the war. They were afraid that if the nation would be reorganised, they will not profit again. So, they came to the Olu Palace and disrupted the gathering. Soldiers and police men came and drove them away. Because the boys and the then government in the state were working together, the outcome of the conference was not really implemented. This is the second economic summit and everybody knows that the Niger Delta is in trouble. The things I saw earlier about our situation, which made me to support the first economic summit, are what people are now seeing. This one will hold on Thursday in Warri because the boys themselves know that something reasonable has to be done to safeguard the future of Itsekiriland. We are concerned about how the funds coming from oil companies and the Federal Government are used in Itsekiriland.   We are now determined that we are going to do all we can to get our people to work and develop our area. This time all Itsekiri are in support of this summit. Hence, we are bringing our son, Bismark Rewane, to deliver a paper on the economic revival of the Itsekiri nation. Prof Pat Utomi and Dr. Omatsola would be involved.

On areas of focus

Itsekiriland is overdue for a university. And Prof Omatseye is going to deal with that because he has gone far on that project. So, we are going to table the issue of the Warri University at the summit. If the construction of the university commences, our people will be engaged. The university will also create an economy in the area where it will be sited. It will be good to channel Itsekiri funds in seven accounts that were recently frozen by the police to the projects that would be discussed at the summit. If our communities are developed, those who abandoned their homeland would be motivated to come back. And most of these men would be attending the summit.

Do you have a plan on the ground to ensure that the outcome of the forum would be implemented within a specified period of time?

We will ensure that the outcome of the deliberations translate into economic prosperity for our people. We know our challenges and we are ready to surmount them this time. All our people, who are going to attend, will decide on what to do with the N2.1billion that was frozen because the money belongs to the Itsekiri nation.

What actually informed your decision to take the Itsekiri Regional Development Council, IRDC, to court?

The Itsekiri owe gratitude to the Inspector General of Police because I reported this matter to other agencies like the EFCC, ICPC, the Office of the NSA and the DSS. This matter also went to the Presidency but it was the IGP who surprised me. He took the matter very seriously. He raised the team that investigated the issue. In fact, I understood that it was his special team that did the job.   The team visited the creeks.   It went to Escravos to investigate the allegations we made.

On MOU with oil producing companies

It is a MoU between the oil producing communities and Chevron for the development of the area. But what happened was that when they identified what the communities needed, Chevron will put the projects together. Unfortunately, when the jobs were given to those who were supposed to do them, they will just take money without doing what they were meant to do. It has been going on for years and the whole of the rural areas are left undeveloped.   Those who should stop the trend prefer to look the other way while their communities are plundered.

As a mother, I could not take it anymore having spoken against the trend.   They wouldn’t listen to me.   Rather, they made a mockery of my efforts, telling people that they will be hungry if they followed Ritalori. While I agree that these men are my own children as it were, I must fight for a better society and the future of this generation and others to come. That was why I went out of my way to demand accountability in the management of Itsekiri community development funds. In anger, I went round the country to stop these men from rendering their own brothers, sisters, and people poor. This is not a matter of Ijaw or Urhobo or anything. We are doing harm to ourselves by allowing the plundering of our wealth and it got to a stage of no return. I was surprised that the IGP took a lot of interest in the case and went to the creeks to ascertain if we were saying the truth. He called Chevron and interviewed its officials. Chevron told its own side of the story. Through the investigation carried out, they were able to discover some of the money in a new generation bank. And it led to the freezing of seven accounts in the bank.

Is the IRDC not a recognised and accepted umbrella for the Itsekiri?

What I know is that the IRDC is not registered. It is not known to law. We were angry with Chevron for doing business in billions with a body that is not known to the law. At a press briefing organised by our people in Warri after the freezing of the accounts, they were amazed as to how beneficial the money could be if invested in Itsekiri projects. The frozen money has given our youths hope because N2.1 billion can be used to do so many things..

Our emphasis will now be on job creation. What I am saying now is not peculiar to the Itsekiri. The Ijaws are also in court. They have taken their representatives to court. Why people like us are doing this is that we want a better society that is known for equity.

The whole arrangement has to be restructured. That is where all the Itsekiri will have to sit down and restructure so that whatever money is coming into the kingdom will be properly spent. The funds can be used to do many things. For example, our people are fishermen. Fishing can be made a big industry.