OkomuOil: Endangering Okomu National Park and Edo future

Tony Erha

Since about 35 years of a troubled existence as a former Wildlife Sanctuary and now Okomu National Park (ONP), the inestimable conservation enclave hadn’t suffered deadly violations as had been unleashed on it by the Okomu Oil Palm Company PLC (OkomuOil for short), under over two decades of tenacious stay by Dr. Graham Hefer as its Managing Director.

Surely, conservationists and villagers of the host communities of ONP, OkomuOil and others would readily be flabbergasted that Hefer, a South African immigrant to Nigeria, had supervised the extensive plundering of ONP by OkomuOil, a gigantic multinational plantation firm and Nigerian franchise of Socfin, the Octopus agro-allied conglomerate which was originated in faraway Belgium and Luxembourg in Europe.

Indeed, the plundering by the Hefer’s OkomuOil had encouraged the selfsame loggers and poachers, who Hefer, recently turned around to condemn as the real violators of the park.

Through choreographed and monotonous insertions of a news item that competed for choice spaces in the Nigerian media, Hefer, in a rather sanctimonious overcook attempted to misinform the public and whitewash his company. Titled “Another Lucky Elephant Rescued For National Park By Okomu Oil Palm PLC”, it added a sub-title, “…MD calls on Govt. to rescue Park and forest reserve from illegal loggers, total lack of law”.

Hefer was said to have “led a team of his staff to rescue a second elephant on behalf of the Okomu National Park, the first being in October 3, 2019”. He also appealed to “the Nigerian Government and other relevant authorities to rescue the Park and forest reserves from illegal loggers and others who have cultivated the habit of desecrating the natural habitat”.

ONP is a globally acclaimed conservation centre and valuable ecotourism destination, managed by the National Park Service (NPS), a Federal Government’s agency.

ONP is the last vestige of a (“protected”?) lowland rainforest habitat; the smallest in size amongst the old seven national parks, until recently when more of the parks were created. The park 200 sq. km by size and is situated at Okomu-Udo, in Ovia South West Local Government Area of Edo State, on about 50 minutes road distance from Benin City, the state capital. It is very rich in biodiversity and other attractions, with the said endangered African Lowland Rainforest Elephant (Loxodonta Africanna cyclotis), as one of its unique fauna flagships.

The wakeup call by Hefer though suitable, appeared lacking, coming from OkomuOil, a conservation-unfriendly business concern and a boss, who professes to love ONP and nature conservation principles, but soon reverses to do the opposite. Once beaten twice shy. If after confessing to conservation niceties and the overriding need of protecting the park in the past, OkomuOil sooner go ahead to plunder the same, what is the exactness to trusting the latest display of fickle love by its boss?

Firstly, it was outright falsehood that the multinational company “saved a distressed Elephant for the park on October 3, 2019”. Instead and evidently, OkomuOil was serially condemned by a preponderant public and a key civil society group, the Coalition Against Landgrabbing and Deforestation (CALD), after a thorough investigation that workers of the company did attacked with cutlasses and cudgels, the said Elephant, which strayed into its newest plantations, the original home and wandering range and buffers of the park, which the company had grabbed and converted into oil palm plantation. This led to the death of the Elephant at the park’s quarantine, where it received medication. (“Okomu National Park’s Elephant” ThisDay: December 7, 2019: 12/07/okomu-national-park-elephant/)

Dr. Heifer as the boss, brought about the ‘casual workers’ rule, where thousands of OkomuOil’s workforce, especially the unskilled, are hazardously employed by contractors. They are un-gainfully employed, even without ‘pensions’ and willfully sacked, as against the labour laws. The army of sacked and new casual workers, who swell the population of the host communities, easily resort poaching in the park and illegal logging, where the company fails to train them to imbibe conservation principles and support the park.

Again, Dr. Hefer was off-point that the recent Elephant was trapped in the mud, inside the park, as he sought for praises over its exaggerated accounts of helping the park’s management to bring the bulldozers and other earth moving equipment to rescue the Elephant! Was the Elephant a mountain to be bulldozed? A photograph clip of the endangered Elephant would purely show that it wasn’t stuck in a pit in the park, but one bulldozed and not de-silted by OkomuOil, on the same land it had grabbed and turned into a new plantation. Instructively, there are no bulldozed pits in the park’s main land.

Revealingly, OkomuOil had been the most violator of the park and plunderer of the park and Edo forest reserves. For instance, a tiny stream is all that separates the park and the old oil palm plantation of the company (to the left from its main entrance), making the open to poaching by its workers.

If not grandstanding, how come that Hefer, who assisted the company to grab and convert over 16,000 hectares of the original designate land areas and buffers of the park, that it bought from the Iyayi Group of Companies, is the same accusing others of desecrating the park? If Hefer and his company want to be taken seriously for making genuine and redemptory outbursts, they should hand over to the park and the host communities of Okomu forest and the Owan forest zone the 13,750 hectares of lands, which Iyayi sold to it, wherein about 8,000 hectares of the land revoked by Sdo State Government, was from Okomu forest reserve. (See Edo State Government of Nigeria Gazette No. 16 Vol. 19 (page 48-50), published on 5th November, 2015)

Irrefutably, OkomuOil is the single largest driver of land-grabbing, deforestation and livelihood loss in Edo State, regarded as the highest incidence of the just-mentioned threesome scourges, amongst the 36 states of the Nigeria country. Of the total 1081 sq. km land area of the now depleted Okomu Forest Reserve, that was the largest rainforest reserve in Nigeria, OkomuOil alone had the rare benefit of having been ceded with vast land areas and the other vastness it had grabbed from it, in addition to the over 16,000 hectares of Iyayi’s grab.

Had the state government properly catalogued and protected Okomu and other forest reserve estates of the state, OkomuOil would not cash in on the loophole to grab and destroy Okomu and the threesome forest reserves of Ehor, Owan and Ora-Iueleha-Ozalla (sometimes called Owan Forest Zone), thereby causing acute deforestation and livelihood losses to the villagers, the land owners.

Which other forestry laws did Dr. Hefer want government to establish, when he exhibits daylight impunity, by his refusal to obey existing state and federal laws, with his company’s slipshod operations in Okomu locale and Owan forest zone, where it had forcibly established its so called Okomu PLC Oil Palm Extension II? And isn’t a sheer mockery of the Nigerian jurisprudence, which tended to prostrate to the whims and caprices of a foreigner, on Nigeria soil? Has Nigeria submitted her sovereignty to him?

Why did Okomu Oil often ridicule and ignore the Environmental Impact Assessment Law, especially by disobeying severally directives from the Federal Ministry of Environment, on two letters to Dr. Hefer, by the Environment Minister dated 8th January, 2014 (Ref: FMEnv/EA/ 2712/Vol.1/82 and the other dated 22nd December, 2015 (Ref: No FMEnv.123:271/Vol.1/28), that it must follow the due processes of acquiring the Owan forest lands? Is it not shameful that OkomuOil now parades the same EIA certification, even though it burgled the due process?

Yet, OkomuOil craves for lofty praises over its tokenistic or mere cosmetic activities, which it often amplifies as justifiable Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) offers to the park and host communities, despite excessive annual dividends from its huge investments in oil palm and rubber plantations, premised on the forest reserves, including the gigantic processing industry situated in Okomu forest.

Amusingly, Hefer, in the same media commentary flaunted the Roundtable Sustainable Palm (RSPO) certification as authorization to commit such heinous atrocities against the ONP treasure and poor Edo communities, in the same manner of the outlaw Apartheid of Dr. Hefer’s South Africa, where lands are still wrested from the local owners, by fastidious settlers.

Alas, the OkomuOil boss had also audaciously poked to our faces that a certain Billy Ghansah, a Ghanaian and Operational Director that goaded the grabbing of lands from the Owan Forest Zone, is the same who had also been recruited to obliterate the Okomu National Park, so that the company’s oil palm and rubber trees could take over the sacred land.

Those who destroy a global monument, like the priceless Okomu National Park, grab and terminate the people’s land heritage are destroyers of their pride and future.

Tony Erha, a journalist, conservationist and Forest Certifier of the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO), writes from Benin City, Edo State.

Day two Southeast governors shouted at each other

So much has been said about the alleged delay of Southeast governors to set up a regional security outfit to contain rising insecurity in the zone.

Critics say they created the vacuum that enabled the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to establish its security outfit called the Eastern Security Network (ESN), thus creating unnecessary tension and loss of lives.

They also claim governors were unable to do what their counterparts in the Southwest have done because of personal or political interests.

What such critics don’t know is that the delay may have been because of personal disagreements more than suspected external pressure on them. We learnt, for instance, that at one recent meeting in Enugu, two governors sharply disagreed over the type of security outfit that would be good for the zone.

Sources say one of them was so upset with the idea the other advanced that he confronted him personally as the two made to leave the venue of the meeting.

The other governor, also angry at his colleague’s expressed views, did not hide his feelings.

As our source puts it, “it was a bitter encounter. Their Excellences exchanged very hot words before they left. I cannot tell you what they said to each other, but it amounted to shouting at one another. It was all about their different views on the type of regional security outfit that would serve our area better. While one wanted something novel, the other said what he had in his state was working and should be adopted by all in the region.”

But now that General Obi Umahi (retd), leader of the Southeast Security Committee, has said all is set to flag-off the much-awaited regional security outfit, it remains to be seen if the governors have fully resolved their differences.

Bobrisky says he’ll do full $300K sex change in 2021

Nigerian crossdresser Bobrisky, real name Idris Okuneye, 28, said he would go for full gender change next year.

In multiple posts on Instagram he mentioned a Dr Philip in “‘Colombia”, who will do the surgery at a cost of $300,000.

He said he had banked the money and was ready to go.

He also said he was not afraid to die, should there be complications from it.

Bobrisky revealed why he changed himself into a woman after being a man for almost 25 years of his life.

The socialite and brand influencer stated that he kept struggling even with a certificate as an accounting graduate from the University of Lagos.

According to Bobrisky, he noticed his female friends were cashing out, so he decided to join them by cross dressing, since he already has some existent female features.

He also started taking feminine body pills and robbing expensive creams, to maintain the lifestyle, which started paying off in cash.

Read his full post:
“Dis message is for you all to read before you judge me. I was formally a man for almost 25yrs, nothing to show for it. I kept struggling even with my certificate as a graduate of accounting in university of Lagos, nothing to still show for it. I saw how all my females friends were cashing out back then. I went home and think about my life. If I join robbery they will end up killing me, secondly I don’t even have that heart to think to that dimension or to even scam people of their sweat. While I was growing I have a little bit of female features in me, so I decide to try what cross dressing look like. Under one yr of cross dressing I started making money . I was still surprised. So I gave my body more time, rubbing expensive creams, smelling good, using more of females body pills and looking out for myself. Boom more money keep coming… men admiring me, women giving me endorsements from right and left. Short story I fit in as a female to a man. God bless all d women around d world many of you love me and accepted me, save me and I will always respect WOMEN”.

In a prior post, she posted the photo of someone who carried out sex change.

Bobrisky wrote: If she didn’t die during her sex change, trust me I won’t die. God forbid if I did no problem, I’m happy I did wat makes me happy.

Period !!!!!. Have always loved to be a woman from child birth. Now that I have plenty money, let my wish come to pass.

Colombia here I come. Doctor Philip is about to give some wet pu***sy”, he wrote.

BREAKING: Governor Umahi has defected to APC, says Ebonyi lawmaker

Controversy has greeted the alleged defection of Governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. David Umahi, from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), ahead of the 2023 general election.

The member representing Ezza South/Ikwo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Chinedu Ogah, had on Saturday congratulated the Governor Umahi for finally joining APC.

Ogah, who spoke authoritatively, said: “We don’t need division in South-East; we need unity in South-East, we need to be part of the Central government. We can’t continue to be in opposition.”

Ogah, the only National Assembly member from Ebonyi State elected on the platform of APC, revealed that Umahi’s defection was perfected after his meeting with critical stakeholders and leaders of APC including President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said: “Yes, Governor Umahi’s defection to our great party, APC is a step in the right direction. We cannot afford to remain in opposition. We must join the ruling party to continue to reap the dividends of democracy.

“I am calling on other Governors in south east to toe the line of Governor Umahi and join APC. We have to be at the centre, we have to join the mainstream politics for overall development of our zone and the country in general.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has done well. Everybody should join the APC to encourage him.”

But the Governor in a press statement this afternoon through his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Francis Nwaze, in Abakaliki, denied Umahi’s defection to APC.

The statement reads: “My attention has been drawn to the news making the round in some quarters of the media, alleging that the Governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. David Umahi has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“The news is a product of a figment of imagination on the part of the carriers as Governor Umahi was, is, and is still flying the flag of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“It is, however, difficult to observe how people are easily persuaded to believe in fake dummies in the name of rumours.

“If for any reason, Governor Umahi wishes to leave People Democratic Party (PDP), it will be officially communicated and can never be a product from rumour mongers,” he stated.

When contacted for further reaction, the Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Barr. Uchenna Orji said he is somewhere and may not be chanced to react to the defection.

Orji who insisted on seeing the lawmaker’s statement before reaction said: “send to me the report, let me know what they are saying, “so that I can react. I am somewhere now.”

Ebonyi State PDP Chairman, Barr. Onyekachi Nwebonyi, when contacted couldn’t pick calls or respond to text messages sent to him by our reporter for reaction.

News Express