Newsfront Online …Telling the Public as it is
Established in 1939 and geared towards breeding of improved oil palm, provision of food and raw materials for confectionary industries, provision of employment opportunities for a large sector of the country and rural communities, provision of support through research and employment to the entire palm industries in the country and improvement of standard of living of the people in the area where it is established.
Nigeria Institute of Oil Palm Research (NIFOR); It is like the purpose for its establishment had followed the colonial masters down to Europe. Particularly, NIFOR situated in Abak Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom State. In any State or Local Government Area where an industry or institution like NIFOR is cited, whether by government or an individual, when the stipulated purposes are strictly carried out and social responsibilities maintained, there will be a flow of cooperation between the establishment and people in the community. Where the essence of the institution is neglected, social responsibilities deprived from the people, the gods become angry. And mutiny becomes the order of the day. One wonders how the staff of the Nigeria Institute Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) Benin headquarters used to feel when they left the headquarters to the substation in Abak. The top officers who were based in Benin should have the human heart to draw the attention of the federal government to the suffering of the people who live in the communities where the renowned institution is established. The inter-communal roads including the ones connected NIFOR substation to the entire world is dangerous, at times making the dwellers in these communities sick when going out on motorcycles and legs to the town. If one is told, this is one of the roads leading to NIFOR which is owned by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, such as may argue to dead, but this is true.
When I was young especially during my primary school years, old men and women were the people maintaining these community roads by sweeping, using brooms and palm front leaves and during this period, the roads were very good for anybody to use, later, the old men and women felt cheated, how can they be sweeping the roads for government to transport their palm fruits from one point to another and finally to where the mill is located using tractors and other heavy machines which supposed to be one of the social responsibilities which the organisation should discharge at least for the people to feel the impact of establishing the institute in their community.
Some of these roads which link one village to another had been broken down, including the ones which the villagers use for their local market and for fetching water from the stream. It is painful for such a famous institution owed by the Federal Government to operate in these communities and neglect these intercommunity roads which they are using to convey the harvested palm fruits, coconuts, etc from the bush to the mill and research centre.
Provision of employment opportunities is what industries and other institutions like NIFOR should fulfill to the communities of their establishment in tandem with the agenda of the government. Providing employment for the youth in the communities will enhance goodwill between the research institution and the people, thereby creating a peaceful atmosphere for both the staff and the people but government has fail in this aspect to providing employment for youth in the area.
Apart from engaging the youth through employment, It is also painful when the small numbers of youths employed in these communities are working as labourers for fifteen to seventeen years without staffing them, irrespective of their levels of education and expertise. Some of them after working for such number of years will be rewarded with retrenchment which leads to frustration and trauma.
In a situation like this, youths in these communities embark on aggressive tendencies, heat up and break the peaceful atmosphere and goodwill between them and the establishment. If the management of NIFOR is employs and staffs indigenes of the communities where it is situated, how many of these indigenes have enjoyed the promotion to managerial position among others to serve in any of its substation or headquarters. NIFOR Abak is the fastest growing substation in Nigeria since its establishment in 1939 by the colonial masters, because of its excellent terrain. Does it mean since that time till now, there is no one in the three communities where these institute is located that is educationally qualified to attain such position. When palm oil was booming as one of the nation‘s exports, NIFOR Abak is managed, controlled and supervised by people from diaspora. This is to say 75 years running, the indigenes of these communities can only be working as labourers for many years without staffing and promoted when due; at last frustrated through retrenchment. When few indigenes are retired, it is done under the position of a junior staff and this is oppression and victimization on the part of the indigenes. Moreover water is deprived from the people of the communities, meaning that government is very far from them in this area, yet their institute is established here. The roads use by the old, young men and women to fetch water for themselves from the stream had been broken down by tractors and heavy machines used by NIFOR to convey their harvest from the interior part to the bush to the mill and research office. This has escalated problems of water in these communities.
In any area where electricity is evenly distributed, it can minimize the problems of unemployment since the youths will make use of it for their small scale businesses like barbing salon, dry cleaning, electronics repair, welding, football watching centres etc. In these provinces, the reverse is the case electricity is not evenly provided and has increase the number of unemployed youth in these areas.
The purpose of Nigeria institute of Oil Palm Research was not only to export palm oil to accrue money for government but also to provide employment opportunities for the teaming youths in the communities where it is located. Electricity should evenly provided throughout the communities, construction of good roads must be made a senequanon to enable dwellers in these communities to heave a sigh of relieve when moving out form the rural to the urban areas and to enable staff convey their harvested palm fruit from the bush to the mill. Youths should be employed, staffed and promoted when due. Certain members of staff from these communities should be selected and promoted to the rank among the senior management so that they can take part and have a voice whenever the management is converging for a meeting about NIFOR internationally, nationally and locally. Good water should be provided for each to the community where NIFOR has used their land. When this is done, the gods and the aggrieved youths shall be appease, regarded, compensated, good will established and sustained standard of living improved among the people in the communities and the oil palm research institute and finally social responsibilities actualized.
