Bille 2011 (internal marginalization)

The twin events of the death of former President Yar’adua and the eventual emergence of an Ogbia man – Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan – as President of Nigeria have opened the political space in Nigeria for the hitherto marginalized people and communities to have a short at key political positions. Until now, it has been regarded as a taboo for a Niger Delta person to attain such a political height even as the now jettisoned (?) zoning arrangement never gave our people any hope of reaching that height. We are aware of the top level scheming and discussions that preceded his acceptance by the core north first as acting President and later his confirmation as the substantive President of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Nigeria’s highest position. The time for minority interest to be protected is now and as Nigeria takes a leaf from the United States of America by giving opportunities to the minorities to aspire to political offices, the time for the people of Bille is here.

It is the same situation that exists in the Degema Local Government Area where the major communities have always taken the top positions leaving the spoils for communities regarded as minorities. Even then, it has been difficult for some communities to have a say in the scheme of things such that only persons from a specific clan had produced the key political heavy-weights in the area since the advent of representative democracy. It was not different during the military era when only persons from the same communities were favored for political appointments.

At a time before the split of the former Degema LGA into three, only the people of Buguma and Abonema held political offices to the detriment of numerous other Kalabari and non-Kalabari communities. With the creation of ASALGA and AKULGA, the political space was opened for the dominance of the present DELGA by the people of Bakana. This dominance continued until the late Chief Marshall Harry took ever the political leadership of the LGA and this gave rise to the emergence of Tombia as an alternate power base. He did not favored only a particular community but preferred a policy of ensuring that the various communities had some relevance in the political sphere in the Degema LGA, and this he took to the state level when his empire spread to the state capital. Without doubt, this has continued unchallenged after the untimely demise of Chief Harry with the incumbent Speaker of the Rivers state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Tonye Harry taking over the mantle of leadership (political) of the present Degema LGA. He is already running his third term of twelve years as the lord of Delga. Under Speaker Harry, who calls the shots in his high office at Port Harcourt, only stooges approved by him are given key political offices and appointments reserved for the Degama LGA. This has been made possible by the electoral system in Nigeria which allows for political leaders and so-called godfathers to determine election results by collating such results in their bedroom on or before election days. It has so far worked wonders and the beneficences have always exploited the masses over the years.

In recent elections, these leaders have relied on the efforts of the Niger Delta militants and their might to intimidate political opponents who have had to abandon ship mid sea to the detriment of their supporters and communities. In some cases, they are forcefully threatened and asked to step down while in other cases they are settled and made to step down against the wish of their supporters. Often times, the electoral umpires are also used by these political leaders and godfathers to win elections with ease. There are established cases where cash has been used to induce party officials to sway votes even in party primaries, such that qualified candidates are either disqualified (with or without valid reasons) or out-rightly asked to withdraw their candidacy to pave way for their favored candidates.

The above has been the fate of many aspiring politicians in Bille and most of the other ‘minor’ communities in the Degema LGA. The case for Bille is even worst as our continued avowal of our distinctness and singular status as a separate clan in the Degema LGA has brought us more enemies, oppression and hatred rather than sympathy and support. We are aware that our brothers have long decided not to allow us see the ‘light of freedom’ and this had necessitated their blockage of any good thing coming to Bille from the government angle. So, Bille has never been given any opportunity to produce any candidate in all the elective positions including Council chairman, state assembly slots and the slot for the national assembly even as we have never had any civil Commissioner or Board member of state and federal parasta. It is equally sad to repeat that in spite of our several protests against this shoddy treatment, no state or federal government since independence has taken us serious and come to our aid.

There are eight recognized communities in the present Degama LGA, viz: Bille, Bakana, Tombia, Ke, Bukuma, Degema (Isokun, et al), Oguru-ama and Obuama. I want to believe that some people may be tempted to add Kala-Degema as a separate community but let us accept that the Degema axis is one even if they have additional settlements within the Degema Community. Out of these, Bille, Degema and Bukuma regard themselves as non-Kalabari communities while the rest are of the Kalabari clan. Because of this, distribution of elective political positions has always been titled towards the latter with some minor appointments going the way of the former except Bille. To this end, the following analysis shows the various communities that have produce LGA chairman in the LGA;

Bakana: Given Braide (SDP), Pleasant Braide (PDP), Tony Philmoore (PDP),
Tombia: Betterland Davies (GDM), Abiye Davies (PDP), Osaki Dick Abbey (Caretaker Committee), Obuama: Daobu Harry (non-party),
Ke: Osaki Asobari (Caretaker Committee),
Bukuma: MacJaja Amachree (Caretaker Committee),
Degema/Isokun: Kelsey Lambert (Caretaker Committee).

Within the same period the following communities have produced parliamentarians, commissioners and board members:

Bakana: Senator Martin Yellow, Hon. Eniye Braide, Hon Levi Braide, Hon Ibiba Braide, to mention only a few.
Tombia: Hon Ene Dateme, Hon. Sokonte Davies, Hon. E. J. Duke-Natrebo, etc.
Degema / Isokun: Mrs Ofete Ovai.
Obuama: Hon. Tonye Harry
Ke: Hon Aboko Agolia

This injustice has continued unabated with impunity by the political lords in the Degema LGA to the extent that Bille has not had the opportunity to produce any political heavy-weight since the advent of self rule in Nigeria not for want of qualified candidates but because of political marginalization we have suffered over time. Meanwhile, it is the community where the bulk of the oil money that is used to service the LGA and the state is being produced. According to available SPDC records, Bille has 35 oil wells from which 350 barrels of oil are produced daily. The irony is that whereas the oil money is used to develop other communities through their representatives in government, Bille has had to contend with regular oil pollution which had destroyed the aquatic system on which our fishermen and women depend for their survival. We are also disturbed by series of litigations over the oily lands in the Bille territory by some neighboring communities that are sponsored by people in other LGAs having links in SPDC. In terms of social amenities and development projects, Bille has found it difficult to attract such as it has no voice at the corridors of power in Degema, Port Harcourt and Abuja. We have had to rely solely on what we can struggle out of SPDC where it is also very difficult these days to do business because of the influence of government policies that tend to favor only their people in government.

The fact that we have no representation in government has had several negative effects on our survival as a clan even as we were unable to influence policies and decisions which had over the years reduced us to a beggar clan. We had several wards like such places as Buguma, Abonnema and Bakana in the first Republic but over the years, we have been so marginalized that in spite of our high population (42,000 as at 2006 census) relative to other communities in Delga we do not have more than one ward. As a result, Bakana (with 45,000 as at 2006 census) has six (6) wards, Tombia 4 wards and Degema 2 wards while we have only one from an initial 24 ward structure that existed in the 1st Republic.

It is indeed sad that Bille should be crying for government attention on the pages of newspaper when other communities have representatives in government. Since independence, Bille has had only one vice chairman in the Degema LGA and that was because of the magnanimity of the late Chief Marshall Harry. In spite of the number of qualified personnel in terms of graduates and politicians, no Bille man has ever had a Political appointment like State Commissioner, Adviser or Board member of any parastatal or governmental agency at local, state and federal government levels.

We need a change in line with the new trend occasioned by the death of the last Nigerian President which had made it possible for a Christian to emerge as Governor of Kaduna State and a Niger Delta person as Nigeria’s President. We believe that this is the time for Bille to produce its first elected representative and we urge all stakeholders to give Bille a chance in the coming elections in 2011. Indeed, it is time for government and political leaders in Degema, Port Harcourt and Abuja to appreciate the fact that we cannot continue to suffer deprivation and ignorance. We also deserve to aspire to and occupy political offices reserved for Nigerian citizens in the Degema LGA as we are a part of the Local Government Area. Our time to be heard is now and we urge the local, state and federal governments as well as political parties to extend their patronage to politicians from the Bile kingdom.

We do not need to join the militancy bandwagon to attract government patronage as it has taken the militancy of some youths in the Niger Delta for the federal government to eke out policies to assuage the Ijaw and other Niger Delta communities. Our plea is that we should be given a chance to send our representatives in government at all levels. We also urge the government to ensure that political appointments are not made the preserve of only the major communities in the Degema LGA but that such benefits should be spread to minorities like the people of Bille, Bukuma and Degema.

With the emergence of a Niger Delta politician as the president of Nigeria which hitherto we cannot even dream of, it is our desire that our own son will represent the Degema/Bonny Federal Constituency in the next general elections. The people of Tombia currently have several appointments including a member of the Federal House of Representatives, Degema LGA Chairman and some state appointments, so we request that they allow our son to vie for the position as a way of spreading political offices and democracy dividends to all the communities in the spirit of Turn-By-Turn (TBT) before the position goes back to the Bonny people. This is the turn of the Degema LGA and as a people we feel that since Tombia’s Hon. Sokonte Harry has done the first tenure of four years, it should be reserved for the people of Bille to complete the second tenure before it goes back to Bonny.

We seek your understanding and support in this bid as we hope to consolidate our friendship over the years

By Mac Innoma Diri esq

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Halliburton and Nigeria: A Chronology of Key Events in the Unfolding Bribery Scandal

Halliburton and Nigeria:
A Chronology of Key Events in the Unfolding Bribery Scandal

1988: Dresser Industries acquires M.W. Kellogg, ten years before Dresser merges with Halliburton.

September 1994: M.W. Kellogg and three other companies form a partnership known as TSKJ, incorporated in Medeira, Portugal. Each partner owns a 25 percent equal share. Kellogg’s three other partners are Technip of France, Italy’s Snamprogetti, and Japan Gasoline Corp. The partnership submits a bid to Nigeria LNG to build a natural gas plant in Nigeria. Nigeria LNG is owned by the Nigerian government and Royal Dutch/Shell Group. TSKJ’s $2 billion bid is not immediately accepted even though it was 5 percent lower than a bid submitted by competitor, Bechtel Group, Inc.

November 1994: As TSKJ awaits Nigeria’s decision on the bid, Wojciech Chodan, an executive at Kellogg and later a consultant for Kellogg Brown & Root, meets with London lawyer Jefferey Tesler, who is known for his contacts and friendly relations with the Nigerian government, including its dictator Gen. Sani Abacha. During the meeting, they discussed channeling $40 million to Gen. Abacha through Mr. Tesler’s firm Tri-Star, based in Gibralter, Spain.

March 1995: TSKJ formally hires Mr. Tesler as agent; TSKJ’s bid has still not been accepted by Nigeria LNG. Mr. Tesler’s employment contract is signed by an M.W. Kellogg executive on behalf of the TSKJ partnership. Mr. Tesler had been working on behalf of TSKJ prior to March 1995 and the employment contract was given to Mr. Tesler as a reward for his prodding of Nigerian officials. The employment contract provided that Mr. Tesler would be paid $60 million if Nigeria awarded the construction contract to TSKJ. Mr. Tesler’s Tri-Star was contracted to receive at least $160 million in five agreements signed between 1995 and 2002, and the funds were directed to bank accounts in Switzerland and Monaco.

March 20, 1995: Dan Etete replaces Nigeria’s former oil minister, who has a falling out with the dicatator, Gen. Abacha. “In an interrogation of Mr. Tesler, a French magistrate described the London lawyer’s transfer of $2.5 million into Swiss bank accounts held by Mr. Etete under a false name between 1996 and 1998. Mr. Tesler confirmed making the payments but told the magistrate that the money was for an investment in offshore oil exploration leases in Nigeria and that he wasn’t aware the accounts belonged to Mr. Etete, according to people familiar with the interrogation.” (Wall Street Journal, Sept. 29, 2004.)

June 1995: Albert Jack Stanley is promoted to president and chief operating officer of M.W. Kellogg after serving as executive vice president since 1991 and various positions since 1975.

August 1995: Dick Cheney is hired as CEO of Halliburton, three years before he directs the merger of Halliburton with Dresser Industries and M.W. Kellogg. He serves as CEO until August of 2000.

December 1995: TSKJ is finally awarded the $2 billion contract from Nigeria LNG.

July 1996: M.W. Kellogg promotes Albert Jack Stanley to chairman, president and chief executive officer; he also becomes vice president of operations for the parent, Dresser Industries.

February 1998: Halliburton and M.W. Kellogg’s parent, Dresser Industries, agree to a $7.7 billion merger directed by Dick Cheney. M.W. Kellogg is merged with Halliburton’s Brown & Root subsidiary to form Kellogg, Brown & Root. Albert Jack Stanley is named as chairman of the new subsidiary. The Independent (UK) reported that “Mr Stanley had been appointed to his senior role at Halliburton by Mr Cheney when he was chief executive between 1995 and 2000.” (The Independent, Oct. 3, 2004.) The Wall Street Journal confirmed that Cheney “named Mr. Stanley … to a top post at the company in 1998.” (Wall Street Journal, Sept. 29, 2004.) Cheney told the Middle East Economic Digest in 1999 that, “We took Jack Stanley … to head up the organization and that has helped tremendously.” (Middle East Economic Digest, April 9, 1999.)

1999: The TSKJ partners, with Kellogg Brown & Root acting as the lead partner, agree to reappoint Mr. Tesler as its agent during a meeting in London. Kellogg wanted Mr. Tesler, with whom it had a long-term relationship, to attend. But the representative from the French partner, Technip, wanted a different agent and insisted that Mr. Tesler be excluded from the meeting. William Chaudan, the Kellogg representative at TSKJ, said Mr. Tesler had been selected on Kellogg’s recommendation and over Technip’s “strong opposition.” (Financial Times, London, Sept. 16, 2004.) Halliburton officials in Houston deny that Kellogg Brown & Root demanded Mr. Tesler’s participation. Three new contracts with Mr. Tesler required TSKJ to pay his firm, Tri-Star, $32.5 million for his services in Nigeria. Richard Northmore, a sales manager for M.W. Kellogg in England, signed contracts with Mr. Tesler for TSKJ. Syed Nasser, M.W. Kellogg’s legal director, acted as counsel to the TSKJ consortium, approving Mr Tesler’s role. Bhaskar Patel, a sales and marketing vice-president who works in Kellogg, Brown & Root’s office in England, also worked with Mr. Tesler.

March 1999: Halliburton announces the Nigerian government awarded a $1.2 billioncontract to TSKJ to expand the construction of the natural gas plant from two trains to three trains in order to increase the plant’s capacity by 50 percent. At the time, Stanley declared the contract award exemplifies Kellogg’s “project execution skills.” (Halliburton press release, March 11, 1999.)

October 1999: First shipment of liquefied natural gas is shipped from Nigeria.

October 2003: French magistrate initiates investigation of suspicious payments made by TSKJ after a former executive with one of TSKJ’s partners, Technip of France, said Mr. Tesler is “directly linked to corruption in Nigeria.” (Financial Times, London, Sept. 16, 2004.) Halliburton admitted that TSKJ paid $132 million in “advisory fees” to Mr. Tesler and that under Tesler’s contract with the company the money was not to be used for bribery. But the French investigator said the payments to Mr. Tesler “appear completely unjustified.” (Wall Street Journal, Sept. 29, 2004.) The money was paid to Mr. Tesler between 1995 and 2002, more than half of which came after 1999. Under French law, Mr. Cheney could be subject to a charge of “abuse of corporate assets” even if he knew nothing about the alleged improper payments during his tenure as Halliburton’s chief executive. The U.S. antibribery law applies only to executives who are aware of illicit payments to foreign officials. (Dallas Morning News, Sept. 8, 2004.) The Wall Street Journal reported that French authorities don’t have jurisdiction over Halliburton in this case but are sharing information with U.S. authorities. (Wall Street Journal, Sept. 29, 2004.) “A preliminary investigation by the Police Judiciaire of France found that LNG Servicos, a company indirectly owned by the four partners in the Nigerian joint venture, made four payments totaling at least $166 million at times that roughly coincide with the award of contracts. The payments went to a Gibraltar company owned by a London attorney to a Swiss bank account that was later closed at the request of the bank.” (Dallas Morning News, Jan. 25, 2004.)

December 2003: Albert Jack Stanley retires as chairman of Kellogg Brown & Root, but retains a position as consultant for Halliburton.

June 2004: Halliburton fires Albert Jack Stanley after investigators say he received $5 million in “improper” payments from Mr. Tesler. It also fires William Chaudan, the Kellogg representative at TSKJ. Halliburton spokesperson, Wendy Hall, said that during the years he ran KBR, Mr. Stanley reported to David Lesar, Halliburton’s president and chief operating officer at the time and CEO today. Mr. Lesar reported to Mr. Cheney when Cheney was chief executive. (Dallas Morning News, Sept. 8, 2004.) (Important Note: Lesar is an accountant and former Arthur Andersen partner, meaning he may have been in a position to know about the purpose of payments to Tesler when they occurred.) According to the Dallas Morning News, “Mr. Cheney ran Halliburton when one of four suspicious payments occurred.” (Dallas Morning News, Sept. 8, 2004.)

June 2004: It is reported that Tesler put $1 million into an account held by William Chaudan, the Kellogg representative at TSKJ. “The company has since learned that even larger sums may have gone into the accounts of Mr. Stanley and Mr. Chaudan.” (Dallas Morning News, Sept. 3, 2004.) Chaudan retired from M.W. Kellogg Co. in 1998, but had continued as a consultant. (Dallas Morning News, June 19, 2004.)

August 2004: Nigeria’s parliament votes unanimously to summon Halliburton CEO, David Lesar, to answer questions over its bribery investigation. It issues a report recommending that Halliburton and TSKJ be disqualified from bidding on future government projects. Itdenounces what it calls Halliburton’s “hide-and-seek games” to avoid questions from government investigators.

September 2004: TSKJ severs all ties to Mr. Tesler and his firm, Tri-Star.

September 2004: The Wall Street Journal reports on newly disclosed evidence by Halliburton, including notes written by M.W. Kellogg employees during the mid-1990s in which they discussed bribing Nigerian officials. The Financial Times of London said the evidence “raises questions over what Mr Cheney knew – or should have known – about one of the largest contracts awarded to a Halliburton subsidiary.” (Financial Times, Sept. 16, 2004.) The written notes were discovered by Halliburton’s lawyer, James Doty, a lead partner in the Houston law firm Baker Botts. The “Baker” in Baker Botts is Bush family lawyer James Baker, the same lawyer credited with winning Florida for Bush Jr. over Gore. Baker also served as President George H. Bush’s Secretary of State. Doty was general counsel to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the senior President Bush. He was SEC general counsel when the SEC investigated Bush Jr. for insider trading. Doty recused himself from the case, which was eventually closed without action. Bush Jr. was never interviewed. Although Bush’s lawyers gave the “smoking gun” in that case to the SEC the day after it closed the investigation, Doty refused to reopen the case. (Washington Post, Nov. 1, 2002.)

September 2004: Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo officially bans Halliburton from bidding on future government contracts because it violated safety regulations for nuclear material. The president accuses the company of negligently causing the disappearance of two highly sensitive radioactive devices used to take measurements in oil wells. The ban is apparently not related to the ongoing bribery investigations.

October 2004: Revelations about Halliburton’s central role in the bribery investigation forces United Kingdom’s Export Credit Guarantee Department (ECGD) to consider withdrawing its support of a 133 million (British pounds) loan made last year to Kellogg. ECGD said it originally supported the loan on the basis that Halliburton was merely a “subcontractor to the [TSKJ] consortium and financial arrangements were not their responsibility,” but it was maintaining a “watching brief” on the French investigation. (The Independent, Oct. 3, 2004).

October 22, 2004: Investigators with Nigeria’s parliament complain that Halliburton is not being cooperative in their investigation of the alleged bribery. The investigators say Mr. Tesler paid bribes on behalf of TSKJ to Nigerian government officials. The bribes were paid in installments: $60 million in 1995, $37.5 million in 1999, $51 million in 2001 and $23 million in 2002.

June 20, 2005: The French newspaper LeFigaro reports that a U.S. Justice Department official held “lengthy” meetings with French authorities in Paris on the issue of TSKJ bribes. It said an unnamed U.S. source asserted that the bribery scandal is “probably the most significant file of corruption” known in Washington today.

Sept. 22, 2006: A former Halliburton employee says he has evidence proving the company has embarked on a campaign to cover-up all wrongdoing, including attempts to mislead federal investigators.

Sources:

Solomon Hughes and Jason Nisse, “How Cheney’s Firm Routed $132m to Nigeria via Tottenham Lawyer,” The Independent (UK), Oct. 3, 2004.

Russell Gold and Charles Fleming, “Out of Africa: In Halliburton Nigeria Probe, A Search for Bribes to a Dictator,” Wall Street Journal, Sept. 29, 2004, p.A1.

Michael Peel, “Nigeria gas consortium ‘evasive’, says probe chief,” Financial Times(London), Aug. 23 2004.

Michael Peel, “Halliburton angers Nigerian MPs in ‘bribes’ hearing,” Financial Times(London), Oct. 22, 2004.

“Halliburton ‘backed’ bribes probe agent,” Financial Times (London), Sept. 16, 2004.

Middle East Economic Digest, April 9, 1999, p. 7.

Peter Behr, “Bush Sold Stock After Lawyers’ Warning; SEC Closed Probe Before Receiving Letter From Harken’s Outside Attorneys,” Washington Post, Nov. 1, 2002.

Nigeria House of Representatives Petition Committee, Interim Report: The Halliburton/TSKJ/LNG Investigation, Summary of Facts, Sept. 2004.

Richard Whittle and Jim Landers, “Cheney’s years at Halliburton under scrutiny,” Dallas Morning News, Sept. 8, 2004.

Jim Landers and Richard Whittle, “Details emerge in bribery probe; Cheney isn’t focus of French inquiry of Nigerian gas project,” Dallas Morning News, Jan. 25, 2004.

Jim Landers and Richard Whittle, “Bribery case findings detailed; Halliburton says incidents predate ownership of firm,” Dallas Morning News, Sept. 3, 2004.

Richard Whittle and Jim Landers, “Halliburton fires two consultants; Company says ‘improper personal benefits’ received in Nigerian gas deal,” Dallas Morning News, June 19, 2004.

“Bush family lawyer James Doty hired to conduct internal probe of Halliburton involvement in Nigeria payments,” Corporate Crime Reporter, February 16, 2004.

Ahamefula Ogbu, “$180m LNG Scam: Witnesses Stall Investigation,” ThisDayOnline.com, Oct. 21, 2004.

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