By Obiabin Onukwugha
Executive Director, Spaces for Change, S4C, Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, has stated that communities resilience have continued to shape development narrative in the Niger Delta region.
Ibezim-Ohaeri, stated this at an event to mark the 65th anniversary of Ford Foundation, themed, “The Host Communities’ Appreciation Day”, convened by Ford Foundation’s Nigerian grantees, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Wednesday.
Ibezim-Ohaeri in her address noted that for over six decades, the Ford Foundation stood as a beacon of justice, equity, inclusion and has demonstrated unwavering commitment to advancing social justice, and strengthening community resilience.
“Today, we gather not only to commemorate a milestone in the life of one of the world’s most impactful philanthropic institutions, but also to celebrate the lived experiences, resilience, and voices of host communities across Nigeria’s oil-rich regions,” she said.
She mentioned that the occasion brings together not just institutions, stakeholders from government and professionals, but the very heartbeat of our work, the women, men, youth, traditional leaders, persons living with disabilities and grassroots advocates from Nigeria’s oil-bearing communities, whose lived experiences continue to inspire and shape our collective mission.
“For over six decades, the Ford Foundation has stood as a beacon of justice, equity, inclusion and has demonstrated unwavering commitment to advancing social justice, and strengthening community resilience.
“Its support has enabled organizations like ours to amplify the voices of marginalized population across West Africa, challenge entrenched inequalities, and drive systemic change.
“Through Ford’s investments, countless initiatives have flourished, strengthened civic participation, advanced environmental justice, natural resource governance, climate justice, promoted gender equity and safeguarded the rights of vulnerable population ensuring that communities are not left behind as the world moves toward cleaner and more sustainable energy futures.
“Here in Nigeria, Ford Foundation’s partnership has been transformative. Together, we have worked with host and impacted communities to confront the challenges of extractive industries, environmental degradation, and economic exclusion. We have seen firsthand how Ford’s support has empowered communities to demand accountability, to organize collectively, and to reimagine pathways to sustainable development,” she said.
Ibezim-Ohaeri further stated: “At Spaces for Chang S4C, Ford Foundation’s investment has enabled us to record tremendous achievements, including: The development of the Imo State Climate Change Policy: A major breakthrough led through our collaborative work with government, experts and communities.
“This policy now serves as a blueprint for climate governance in the state, an achievement made possible because Ford believed in evidence based advocacy and community driven solutions.
“The Technical Sessions on the Implementation of the 3% OPEX for Host Community Development Trusts (HCDTs): These sessions organized in partnership with the House of Representatives Committee on Host Communities, brought government, oil companies, community leaders and regulators to the same table.
“The technical dialogues have helped clarify grey areas in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, strengthened understanding of community rights, and laid a framework for transparent and accountable disbursement of HCDT funds across the Niger Delta.
“The National Extractives Dialogue (NED): An annual convening that provides a national platform for natural resource rich and oil-producing communities, traditional rulers, regulators, CSOs within Nigeria and West Africa, companies and lawmakers to debate policy reforms, share lived experiences, and shape extractive governance. Through NED, stories of resilience from host communities reach national and global decision making spaces.”
She added that these achievements reflect Ford Foundation’s belief in building systems, policies, processes, institutions that outlive individual projects and continue to empower communities long after the funding cycle ends.
“Across West Africa, Ford’s partnership has strengthened our ability to: deepen inclusive natural resource governance, support communities navigating the energy transition, strengthen climate governance at state and grassroots levels, promote community rights and environmental accountability and empower women and youth to participate meaningfully in decisions that affect their lives.
“These achievements are not ours alone. They are the fruits of sustained partnership among Ford Foundation, fellow grantees, stakeholders in government, civil society actors, and most importantly, the host communities themselves, whose courage, resilience and clarity of voice continue to shape the development narrative in the Niger Delta and beyond.
“Your legacy in Nigeria’s oil-rich regions is profound, and today, we celebrate not just 65 years of existence, but 65 years of meaningful impact across human rights, community development and natural resource governance,” she stated.
Program Officer, Natural Resources and Climate Justice, Ford Foundation, Emmanuel Koyole, emphasised the importance of the event, pointed out that in the 65 years, of its existence, the West Africa office of the foundation has awarded more than 2,700 grants
to over 1,008 partners across West Africa, totalling over half a billion dollars in resources to support the work.
He pointed out that through the years, Ford Foundation has shifted from one area to the other depending on the context at the time.
“In the 1960s, when the office was opened, the focus was really to support the leadership and development, the capacity building of the newly born independent states
so that the countries would be able to take charge of their destinies.
“So a lot of the work at that time
was scholarships to support public servants. And also supporting the establishment and capacity building of local universities like the University of Ibadan in Nigeria,
the University of Ghana, etc, including the establishment of the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture in Nigeria, which is a landmark investment in Nigeria,” he said.
He added that the last five years the support of Ford Foundation has shifted to issues of resources governance and gender-based violence.
He called on grantees to build legacy, going forward, where the communities will speaking for themselves and not through representatives and telling their own stories and connecting issues to the national and global levels.
The Ibenanaowei of Ekpetiama Kingdom in Bayelsa State, King Bubaraye Dakolo, stated that the stolen wealth from the African continent is worth about US$400billion and what comes back, including what Ford Foundation is bringing to support communities amounts to about US$50billion.
“Which means what goes to the Europe and America as stolen goods is about US$350billion. And so for sixty five years you can guess how much has been lost. No wonder despite your interventions we are still far from our destinations,” he said.
Dakolo, who stated that he was born in Otiabagi, in Bayelsa State, where oil was first struck in commercial quantity, said his story and that of the entire Niger Delta region is that of survival. I’m here as a proud survivor, a proud representative of the communities in my part of the world, the Niger Delta,” he said.
He thanked Ford Foundation and all thw grantees who have helped to push Ford Foundation’s agenda
towards climate justice, women rights, and environmental justice.
The event representatives of frontline communities and beneficiaries of grantees to tell their stories of resilience build by the support from Ford Foundation.