Vanguard | 15 July 2024Edo host communities of palm oil companies allege injustice
The host communities of oil palm companies in Edo State are alleging injustice, violations of rights and devastation of their environment by the companies.
The communities made their cases at a Roundtable on Roundtable for Sustainable Oil Palm, RSPO, organized by the Community Development Advocacy Foundation, CODAF, in Edo State.
According to a statement on Monday by Elvira Jordan, CODAF Communications Consultant, the intent of the event held July 12 and 13 was to educate affected communities on the content of the RSPO and how it can be utilized as a tool to hold oil companies accountable to the alleged human rights and environmental concerns emanating from their operations.
Participants
At the roundtable on RSPO were several communities from Ovia North East, Ovia South West and Uhunmwonde local government areas; representatives from the Edo State ministry of Agriculture, civil society organizations, student environmental groups and other stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, the Director of Campaigns and Administration of CODAF, Maimoni Mariere Ubrei-Joe who facilitated the program, explained how the RSPO principles and key criteria can be applied by local communities in holding oil palm plantations accountable, reading out the principles of the document and how the rights of the people have been violated, in respect to the provisions of the RSPO document and its deliverables.
He exposed the community representatives to the content of the principles of the RSPO document which states that the company is expected to behave ethically and transparently, operate legally and respect rights, and also optimize productivity, efficiency, positive impacts and resilience.
Still explaining the principles of the RSPO, he also highlighted the need for operating companies to deliver benefits to the community, respect their rights, to support small holder inclusion, respect worker’s rights and to protect eco systems.
He further stated that the purpose of the meeting is to bring community members up to speed on what the RSPO is about and how they can take advantage of it.
According to him, there are so many palm oil industries who are RSPO certified but on the other hand, are breeching the principles that led to their certification.
He added that the program will bring to the attention of palm oil companies who are RSPO certified to understand that their violations of local communities’ human rights and environmental concerns need to be addressed urgently, and this can be done through sensitizing the people and raising their voices to be able to file a complaint against these companies, using the RSPO as a tool for accountability.
Communities’ reps narrate experience
In an experience sharing segment, the community representatives narrated the their experiences with oil companies, complaining that their rights have been trampled upon on different levels, as people in host communities now live as slaves in their own land.
Abdulahi Hajaratu who represented Uhunwonde Local Government Area, stated that there are several communities affected by the activities of palm oil firms.
He said: “A palm oil company invaded many communities in my LGA and started grading without consulting the people. There was protest by some of the communities. At the end of it all, they settle some youths and forgot about everything. They grabbed the land and started locking the gate.
“There is no road for us to pass. We have no freedom to go anywhere. There are people who have left their communities to other communities to rent a hectare of land for N70,000 just to farm. We need the help of the government but the government is not assisting because the company pay tax and revenue to the local government. They have caused problems within the community by settling people who conspire with them, while those who refused their bribe are enemies to the company.”
Akpokiniovo Rex, who represented Okomu community in Ovia South West, stated that the oil palm firm has not been fair to the people.
His words: “On the 4th of May 2022, we found excavators and other equipment in our community. We asked them what is happening they said they want to block that road for no reason. We cried out and came out peacefully to demonstrate. They used men of the Nigerian Police and other security agents to stop us.
“They shot one Mrs. Iyabo Botu during the protest. After the incident, I went to the Police to report. There was no response from the government or company. As a citizen of that place, if I go back home after 9 p.m., they will lock me out of my community because they fenced and barricaded all the access roads leading to our communities into their facilities.”
Anthony Igharo of Odiguetue community in Ovia North East stated that the activities of the oil company have destroyed the lands in his community without any commensurate compensation.
“We cried to them but they said they had paid the money to one person. We moved to that man’s office and he paid us peanuts. When we went back to the company, they said they do not know us. When we go to speak for ourselves, you will see people who are bigger than us standing behind them.
“We have nothing to do in this situation. We didn’t really understand what the RSPO meant and how the company is supposed to conduct themselves in our community. They are doing some part of their duties in my community so you will hardly find anybody who will speak against them.”
‘Govt protects the company’
Also speaking at the event the National Coordinator of Community Forest Watch, Sunday Ajele stated that the palm oil company has portrayed itself to be a responsible company but research will show that most of the company’s public statements are meant to provoke public empathy and the government is not ready to investigate.
He said: “How do you expect a company that is paying N12 billion tax to the state to behave responsibly? If there is any complaint against the company, the government always protects the company, which enslaves the people they are supposed to protect.
“The testimonies of the communities are nothing but the truth but there is nobody to listen to them? When thy try to speak up, they send security agencies to arrest and harass them.”
According to him, it is difficult for the people to fight against the company because of their “divide-and-rule” tactics which has turned the people against one another. He added that the communities should come together to speak with one voice, while filing a complaint against the company according to the RSPO document.
… in Liberia
While sharing similar experiences in Liberia and how the RSPO document can be used to seek justice, the Program Manager of Community Rights and Corporate Governance Program of Sustainable Development Institute/ Friends of the Earth Liberia, James Otto stated that the RSPO was designed to help communities fight against injustice and human rights abuses from Oil Palm companies.
Otto pointed out that the first step of utilizing the RSPO is for communities to gather information about the company, their shareholders and agencies/bodies backing them up, and the tactics they use to carry out their activities.
According to him, this information gathering will also help the community to gather evidence against the company, which will be relevant in fighting these corporations by filing a formal complaint to the RSPO against the company.
He further added that the companies are able to get away with their excesses because they seek out the youths and other available people as tools within the community to fight against the people. He admonished the community representatives to be united and to speak with one voice, as this is the only way to fight these companies.
The highlights of the event included a practical demonstration of the RSPO on how disunity, greed, bribery and other vices can distort the process of utilizing the RSPO.
