Ebow Haizel-Ferguson, Community Relations Consultant

Edited transcript

Ebow Haizel Ferguson is a Community Relations Consultant who lived in the Niger Delta of Nigeria for several years. He says Ghana needs to listen to the host communities if it is to avoid the conflicts that emerged in many parts of Africa with the emergence of oil and gas. This interview is about his experiences and his suggestions on steps Ghana must take to avoid any potential oil and gas related conflict.

David:  Nigeria has so much oil and gas and it’s still confronted with many challenges with development. What do you think accounts for this?  
Ebow Haizel Ferguson:  Port Harcourt which is the center of oil industry in Nigeria is like Takoradi, the centre of activity for Ghana’s emerging oil and gas industry. Twenty years ago the place was cool and enjoyable just like Takoradi; the people were free and hospitable like the people of Ghana; they were ordinary people and now 20 years after they are wielding guns, kidnapping people, fighting among themselves and stopping the oil from flowing. Why? It’s because they were neglected right from the onset; they were not part of any decision-making; they were told they were not educated and they were not qualified for jobs on the rigs. Rigs were sited beside them in the creeks and I visited the creeks several times.  On one part of the creek, there was complete civilization and on the other part was a total black village; people over there had no food to eat because their rivers were polluted, their land unable to grow anything and all that existed was abject poverty as a result of the activities associated with oil exploration. Women had to cross over to the rigs to engage in whatever jobs were available in order to provide for their household; others ended up in the township of Port Harcourt and engaged in criminal activities. If anybody tells me that this cannot happen in Takoradi, that person is a big liar.

David:   Because Ghanaians are often described as peace loving people there are many who cannot imagine an outbreak of violence as in Nigeria or in Liberia. Are you saying that this is neither here nor there?

Ebow Haizel Ferguson:   The same Ghanaians  also know that when you push a dumb person to the wall, he talks. The Ogoni people of Nigeria are just like the Ahanta people of Ghana; both have nice green landscape; they are a hospitable and peace loving people. Suddenly oil was discovered and the Nigerian government failed to include the host community in the decision making process; and when the people complained, government hanged their leaders; Ken Saro Wira and others were all hanged by the Nigerian government.

David: What do you think government should do know?

Ebow Haizel Ferguson:  Government must involve the host community right from day one. The fact that operations are taking place offshore does not mean communities will not be affected. There will be gas plants, refineries, petro-chemical plants, tank farms and the other installations built along the coast. Already the people are aggrieved because their lands have been taken from them and they are currently living in the bush. If the whole of the Western Region is going to open up as a result of the oil find, it will be prudent for the Western Region to be opened up together with its people.  People have so much to say about unfolding events; they want to be trained, they want to be part of what is going on; there are lots of graduates who do not know what to do; who to talk to, where to go; they’ve heard about the oil find but they do not know what the whole thing is really about. People have to be informed and know how and where to fit in the various aspects of the oil industry.  When people are informed and helped to fit themselves in the industry, the tension is diffused. There must be institutions on the ground to assist people.

David: Are you worried?

Ebow Haizel Ferguson:  I am afraid.

David: Of what?

Ebow Haizel Ferguson:  Well the youth within several coastal communities are putting pressure on us to find ways for them to benefit from the emerging oil industry. There a number of rigs out on in the ocean already occupied by people from Ivory Coast, Gabon etc. Meanwhile there are Ghanaians with experience of having worked on Gabon rigs, Nigerian rigs and where have you; all these people have come home with the hope of securing a job on the rig. Not to mention the fact that Takoradi is a sea-man’s town.  I think that workers should not be imported to work on rigs; if it’s necessary to import workers at all, let’s import say 60% and recruit the remainder locally. Currently there are 4 more rigs to be stationed in Ghana waters yet they are recruiting from elsewhere while some youth have started training themselves to fit in; people are desperate for jobs, yet no one is telling them anything. Government should help manage expectation by directing people on how to get involved. We will need about 300 welders for the gas plant so we’ll have to train a whole lot of people. We should make  a conscious effort to assist people take up the opportunities in the industry.

David:  Are you one of those people who think that there should be special emphasis on the people of the host community when it comes to distributing oil proceeds?

Ebow Haizel Ferguson:  I share this view and the absence of this in Nigeria was the cause of the problems in the Niger Delta. The people close to the resource were totally ignored. The government takes oil revenue from Niger Delta to develop other parts of Nigeria. There was a period when the then head of state, Sani Abacha , wanted to perpetuate himself in power and some Nigerians got involved in the One-Million-Man-March in support of him; people were picked from all over the country including the Niger Delta area to go to Abuja and demonstrate in his favor. Soon after, a leader from the Niger Delta  appeared on TV saying he now knew where all the monies that come out of Niger Delta went to -building Abuja. Since then there has never been peace at the Niger Delta. The people of the Niger Delta began agitating for their share of the resource. Those days people working at Shell, Chevron and other companies were all living so well and they lived right in the middle of these people; they hired their houses and then showed off.

David: So we should have a special privilege for the coastal communities close to the resource?

Ebow Haizel Ferguson:  Yes and I think it’s even a Western Region affair and let me explain why it’s so. There must be a special allocation for development of the Western Region because there are so many things that are not present even though the Western Region is opening up to civilization. The emerging industry is going to give a boost to the real estate sector and speculators are going in for land and government sits in Accra and instructs us not to sell our lands when they have done nothing to improve our lives all these years. Government should come to the Western Region and discuss what should be done in order for oil to be of benefit to everyone.

David:  Is it really right to argue for a special focus for the people of Western Region? Cocoa is grown primarily in specific areas of Ghana yet the benefit has gone to the whole country. What if everyone decided to stake a personal claim to particular commodities?  

Ebow Haizel Ferguson:  We have heard it all but oil is a different ball game; we have seen what happened with the mines. Today everyone is digging around the mines and calling it galamsay. Whilst government calls it illegal mining they claim it’s their source of livelihood; If government ignores the people of Western Region, I can assure you that we’ll experience the same conflict in the oil industry; it will only take a period of 5 years before the agitation begins and this will be so because of the availability of information and new technology; Nigeria’s agitations started after more than 20 years of sitting and watching. Nigerians began breaking pipes for oil to sell. The first time I heard people had been arrested for breaking pipes, sucking oil and selling oil a Ghanaian was involved; He became rich overnight. Later, we found out that they drove tankers into the bush, cut the pipe lines, sucked the oil, filled tankers, sold to filling stations and pocketed the money. No one said anything. After all, the police were often involved. This is how the lawlessness began and this was almost 20 years ago. My point is, if government keeps the community comfortable, by training them and getting them involved in what is going on plus a special revenue allocation with managers to ensure the effective disbursement of revenue for development purposes, I am sure we can avoid the Niger Delta experience.

David: Why should government be required to somehow make things happen? Is the local entrepreneur not capable of taking advantage of opportunities in the industry?

Ebow Haizel Ferguson: When the people form Aberdeen came to Takoradi during the WABA Conference, they said that initially when oil was discovered, every aspect of the oil production and exploration was handled by the North Americans.  However their government had to create a local content policy for them to eventually gain management of the whole industry. The people of Aberdeen understudied the Americans until such a time that they were able to take over the industry. Also, I think unlike people in Accra for example, the people of the Ahanta and Nzema area are not as sophisticated and require education on the opportunities available. In Takoradi there must be a conscious effort to educate the people on the opportunities available in the oil and gas industry. Government can achieve this by putting in place an institution to take care of issues of this nature. oil companies should site their headquarters in Western Region and not in Accra.

David: Where is the office space in Takoradi ?

Ebow Haizel Ferguson:  So they want to come and live in our small houses and by so doing raise rents?  These companies should come to Takoradi, buy land and put up structures so that the town can develop.  In Nigeria the oil companies sited their headquarters in Lagos and issued instructions about what should be done in Port Harcourt without any idea of what the ordinary people were going through. When they relocated their headquarters to Port Harcourt, a better understanding of the business opportunities there soon became evident. They take the oil money back to build their own hometowns because they can easily afford rents the natives cannot afford to pay. In Takoradi rent has started rising. Houses have now been emptied waiting for banks or oil companies and the next thing you know an oil company occupies the place. Another thing I want to talk about is the lack of infrastructure. Where are the roads in Takoradi that all these big cars are going to ply on? Not too long ago manganese and bauxite were transported by rail. Currently we meet huge vehicles carrying manganese and bauxite plying the roads that were built so long ago; the roads are no more in good condition. Currently, oil pipelines are also coming by road. What are we doing to ensure the roads are expanded?

David: But there’s a belief that things are going to get better because of the oil find?

Ebow Haizel Ferguson:  Well, I’ve had the opportunity to mingle with some members of our political leadership and it’s pathetic; always talking about their intentions to this and that and then finally after four years they leave office. I met with people in the last administration and nothing happened. It will take the new administration another 2 years to fully understand what is going on. Government must listen; there are people currently in Takoradi who can help to think and plan on behalf of Ghana. Journalists should appreciate the concept of host community and get closer to communities now so that when things change it will reflect in their writing and their commentary can help to educate Ghanaians. You can’t sit in Accra and report on what is happening in the communities. Unfortunately there is so much going on now but nobody knows about it and nobody cares about how the people are going to get involved. We are telling the companies that this time around when they come to Takoradi, nobody will give them land for free; it should be equity, even if it is 5%; every year they declare profit they should reserve a certain percentage to be used for human and physical development. Some companies have agreed to this proposal. Meanwhile some of the chiefs are in a hurry to dispose of their lands in exchange for money; it’s a whole complex situation.

David: Are the chiefs allowed to sell the lands?

Ebow Haizel Ferguson:  It is theirs.  Who is going to take it from them?
David: Government

Ebow Haizel Ferguson:   Has government not returned some lands to Accra Chiefs? Owners are owners . If government wants to do anything with anybody’s land they’ll have to sit with them and talk about it. All this empty talk on radio and television with no substance must cease and let’s get down to business. Its high time Ghanaians used our arms and heads to work and stop using our mouth. When the Nigerian High Commissioner visited us in Takoradi, he addressed the Ahanta and Nzema Association and he said that it was time for Ghanaians to walk the talk and start doing things.

David: Are the fishermen concerned about the impact of the oil and gas industry?

Ebow Haizel Ferguson:  The fishermen have been aggrieved even before the oil; now they are even more grieved and it basically has to do with the pair trawling. I investigated this issue. They had cordoned off a place on the sea and have prevented fishermen from fishing in those areas. As if that is not enough, the lights on the rigs also attract the fishes in that direction eventually leaving the fishermen with no catch; they are also not allowed to fish around that zone because it’s dangerous; so what can we do to ease the plight of the fishermen? I think the time has come for us to change the artisanal fishing into something else, higher. Why don’t we group our fishermen into associations of four or more and assist them to get boats that go deep into the sea to bring fish for consumption?

David: Do they have to go that far? What about the space between the shoreline and the rig?

Ebow Haizel Ferguson:   Fishing there is finished. Ten to twenty years years ago there were about a 1000 fishing vessels plying that same route now we have about 5000 vessels plying the same route doing the same things over and over again.

David: Thank you for granting this interview. I’m glad you could come from Takoradi.

Ebow Haizel Ferguson:  Thank you

First Broadcast 1st August 2009, TV3 Ghana