That PENGASSAN Threat …Vote For Two Wrongs, One Right Fallacy

One of the lessons learnt from last month’s nation-wide strike, called by organized labour in protest against Federal Government’s deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry is  ‘power is not a good unless he be good that has it’. For, if ill-managed, power of any kind could be a double-edge sword capable of wounding even the holder.

Another is the invaluable caution against calling a strike when all else at reaching meaningful ends through responsible dialogue has not been exhausted. And finally, that some sectors of the economy should at all cost, persuade themselves against such actions for the interest of both humanity and the country.

This understanding accounts for why some disciplines are categorized as essential, their workforce, essential workers. Among such categories are medical doctors whose duty it is to save lives; the mass media, required to alert a striking nation of likely external dangers while at industrial war; the power sector and from our January experiences, the oil and gas sector, among others. Can anyone imagine a strike action by the Nigerian Army, Navy, Airforce and Police for say, a month? Or Tanker Drivers refusing to convey petroleum products from one depot to another service spot, for say , two months?

Here in Nigeria, the oil sector has proved to be one of the most volatile sectors because of the country’s near total dependence on the commodity and its ripple effects on transportation, and by extension, trade and commerce. In fact, there is hardly any Nigerian household that does not feel the impact of fuel scarcity either negatively or positively, depending on whether one is selling or buying, profiteering or being short changed.

Frankly, each time the oil sector sneezes Nigerians complain of acute malaria of a rare economic kind. This is indeed why those engaged by the sector as essential workers are not only very well paid, they are depended upon to exercise their power to punish the fragile economy with some measure of responsibility, good conscience, nationalism, maturity and indeed patriotism.

This accounts for why last Friday’s  threat by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association  of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) that it would shut-down completely, all oil and gas operations in Rivers State, came  to The Tide, as it did many, as a rude shock and disappointment. For the records, Rivers’ operations service 10 states of the zone, namely, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo and Rivers State.

In handing down the seven-day ultimatum to the Rivers State Government and  management of Vam Onne Nigeria Limited, PENGASSAN vowed that if  within the period, the industrial relations crisis in Vam Onne Nigeria Limited was not resolved, ostensibly in the association’s favour, oil and gas operations would be shut indefinitely.

Their grouse, according to a release last Friday, is that Vam Onne, in alleged collaboration with some politicians had sponsored thugs numbering over 15, armed with dangerous weapons, to harass, manhandle, assault the PENGASSAN members and ultimately disrupted a peaceful protest organized  by the Port Harcourt zone of the association against the Vam Onne management.

In a petition addressed to Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, dated February 8, 2012 and signed by its Assistant General Secretary, Comrade Sunday Onyemachi, the workers said, “ As a result of this development, our National Secretariat has directed that, after seven days, with effect from February 9,2012, there will be a  complete shut-down of all oil and gas operations in Rivers State.

“If thereafter, the matter is not resolved within the period, the entire 10 states within the zone will follow suit and this will escalate the crisis”.

PENGASSAN alleged that the country manager of Vam Onne, Mr Eugene Fogli victimized 27 of its members who have been locked out for over three months without salaries.

“It is pertinent to stress that the country Manager of Vam Onne Nigerian Limited, Mr Eugene Fogli, engages in anti-union activities ranging from intimidation, harassment, lock-out, victimization, and enslavement of Nigerian workers, flagrant abuse of our extant laws, and release of Nigerians from employment without clearance from the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and more importantly refusal to honour agreement reached between them”,  the petition said.

On the harassment of members on a peaceful protest, PENGASSAN further alleged, “the harassment of our members by the thugs took place in the presence of the policemen detailed to monitor our peaceful exercise which commenced on Tuesday, February 8, 2012. The State Security Service (SSS) Onne, were also aware of this ugly development”, the petition stated.

These, methinks, are indeed serious allegations deserving urgent remedies. Why, for instance, should politicians send thugs to assault harmless protesters seeking redress from an employer? Who are those politicians? If these have been reported to the police as should be done, what is the extent of investigation? Who were the policemen detailed to follow the protesters?

Is it true that the protesters were assaulted along with the police detachment detailed to monitor the protest? Is it true that the police- men ran away after  witnessing the alleged assault by the thugs to avoid bloodshed? What did those policemen do afterwards? Mum?

These questions require answers from the police high command because the allegations are criminal in content.

The other grievance of PENGASSAN is the industrial dispute with Vam Onne over the lock-out of 27 of their members without salary for three months.

This, if true, is indeed painful and very annoying. How can a diligent worker be eased out of employment, with no valid reason, for as many as three months without pay? This column shares the pains of those workers and would wish that the problem be resolved in timely fashion.

But I have a worry: Is it true that this industrial dispute is already before the Industrial Arbitration Court at the instance of PENGASSAN? If not, why?

Why should Rivers State suffer the punishment of being denied petroleum  products over a dispute the association has with a firm at Onne? Is it a Rivers State government owned company or parastatal? If yes, what of the nine other states within the Rivers zone? Or is it a joint-venture firm owned by the states?

I ask because, try as I have to appreciate the rationale behind the PENGASSAN threat to shut down all oil and gas operations in Rivers State within seven days, what I  find instead is a clear example of blackmail and fear mongering.

How for instance can an association petition the governor of a state over an alleged wrong-doing of the kind complained against and at the same time, threaten to punish the same governor and his people, if the issue was not resolved within its own time frame? Had there been an earlier petition to the governor on the same subject matter before the February 9, threat?

If the answers to these are in the negative then it smacks of abuse of the power which PENGASSAN enjoys, as operators of the oil and gas sector and must be checked. Should every union rise on the wrong side of their beds and hold Nigeria and Nigerians to ransom? Is this a new jungle nation?

Again, has the association exhausted all avenues of  seeking redress before deciding to visit innocent Nigerians living and doing legitimate business in the 10 states of the federation, with an additional threat that it would escalate beyond that point, apparently, another nationwide strike this time, by oil and gas workers? This is not right.

Even more regrettable, if true, is the claim that the threat to shut down oil and gas operations in Rivers State and later, all other nine states in the zone, enjoys the approval of the National Secretariat of PENGASSAN.

Rather than endorse such path of self-destruct, the PENGASSAN high office should have threaded the path of honour, peaceful resolution of the dispute and demonstrate true nationalism in view of the pain the planned action will inflict on innocent Nigerians, who until the seven day ultimatum, were not aware of any such industrial dispute.

What PENGASSAN has alleged as injustice against members by the police, political thugs and the Vam Onne Nigeria Limited are issues that are criminal and industrial in nature. Those of criminal nature should be channeled to the courts through the police and those of industrial nature should follow spelt-out guidelines and peak at the Industrial Arbitration Court and not for the workers to take laws into their own hands, just because PENGASSAN can, and perhaps successfully force the nation to her knees. This also is not right.

Trade Unions must realise that Nigeria is a constitutional entity with rules and laws. And that no single group enjoys the monopoly of abusing the rule or law at will, in this country. Their right to call strikes must be weighed against the rights of all others and be exercised only as a last resort. This, does not appear to be so in this case.

The other day, a Tanker Driver had a brush with some police escorts, and the next day, tanker drivers went on strike. Yesterday, some Tankers Drivers were allegedly arrested, along with others carrying out illegal bunkering, and tanker drivers called a strike which at once, shut up prices of petroleum products.

Today, it is a threat by PENGASSAN to shut-down oil and gas production in Rivers zone, covering as many as 10 states over, wait! The lock-out of 27 Vam Onne Nig Limited staff. Where is this country headed? A union without laws?

PENGASSAN must be told in unambiguous terms that their reasons for the threat to shut-down oil and gas operations seem an over-kill, or at best too flimsy and should be reconsidered.

Besides, there are laid-out legal and industrial steps by which their grievances could be addressed, without necessarily threatening total shut-down.

My Agony is that PENGASSAN has elected to be the complainant and judge, at the same time, in its own case, and appears bent on doing any and every thing to achieve that toga, with or without the Industrial Arbitration Court, the police or all other courts of competent jurisdiction.

This amounts to a vote for the fallacy of two wrongs making one right. It needs not be so.

Soye Wilson Jamabo