Ford Foundation at 65: Host Communities’ Appreciation Day amplifies survival voices of frontline communities

By Obiabin Onukwugha

The recently held Host Communities Appreciation Day that marked Ford Foundation 65 years of opertions in Nigeria and West Africa, amplified survival voices of frontline communities, who have suffered impacts of either mining or oil extractions across Nigeria.

The communities, represented by different stakeholders, shared their experiences in the hands of companies. They also mentioned the role that Ford Foundation grantees played in positioning their communities in demanding for their rights, and what the future holds for their people.

Oba Omololu Ibitoye Afilaka, Olatorin Obatorin Ijesa, in his testimony, lamented how his community, which is rich in gold, was besieged by a Chinese company until the intervention of a civil society organization.

He said: “We were besieged by the Chinese. They came in droves. I have 26 villages, and before I knew it they already destroyed about seven or eight of my villages. Now, where do I run to, I got the police involved, I got the civil defense involved, I got the military involved, nothing was happening.

“This is where the power of what Ford Foundation is doing lies. Urban Alert, a civil society organization, that provided a training to mycommunity chiefs and people on the extractive industry and how to go about it, and introduced me to Global Rights. Through Global Rights I met BudgIT,” he narrated.

Afilaka, revealed that his community are now part owners of its resources, through the licensing of part of his land. He menrioned that the gold refinery built by the community-owened mining company is set to begin operations in the first quarter of 2026.

He mentioned the rigorous processes he went through with the Ministry of Solid Minerals to get the company registered on grounds that they don’t have the know-how. “So I went back to the drawing board, I formed a company, Ature Community Mining and Trading Company Limited. I went back to the Minister and demanded for a mining license for my community,” he said.

Afilaka, who noted that his community is the best in this part of the world, wondered why Chinese companies have continued to mine freely in Nigerian communities without restrictions or inclusion of host communities.

“Everybody comes in here to mine our gold and they come with partnerships. I realized that most of the people that want our gold (we fortunately have the best gold in this part of the world. Our gold is popping out at 23.6 carats so with a little refining you have the purest form of gold, which is 24 carats.

“I watched Chinese men all over. I had been to China some 11-12 years ago and I had issues even opening a bank account. So I wonder why the Chinese man will find it so easy to come on my ancestral land and start mining gold. And they were throwing millions of dollars. I never knew about gold.

“So we eventually got the license and we are now part owners of our gold. We are now one of the licensees and by the grace of God we will be launching our Gold Refinery in February next year, the monarch said.

Afilaka that no child from host communities, whether mining or oil producing should die of ill health because of lack of health facilities or drop out of school for lack of financial resources.

“I am already working on a trust fund for my community. I want to be remembered in another five hundred years that there was a king called Afilaka who went through my land. I don’t think that from that my little 26 villages any child should be sick that we shouldn’t be able to take care of. I don’t think any child should go to NELFUND to owe Nigeria money. I think from what God has blessed us with, I should be able to send every child of my land to school and to guaranty their health. These are the things I’ve learnt from Ford Foundation,” he said.

Turning to the Ogonis, Afilaka advised for ownership of the oil wealth rather than illegal breaking of pipelines. “With the death of the likes of Ken Saro-Wiwa, the only thing I will advise that you (Ogonis) can do in his memory is to please be part owners of that oil in Ogoni land. Any body coming to Ogoni land should be ready to set up a trust fund for Ogoni the next 250 or 500 years when we are all gone,” he stated.

His Royal Highness, Igwe Johnson Mbanelo, Igwe Kpunando Aguleri, Anambra East in Anambra State, in his testimony expressed appreciation to Spaces for Change, and their sponsors, Ford Foundation for their tireless efforts in supporting extractive communities, especially his community despite the challenges posed by our remote locations and difficult terrain.

He mentioned that Spaces for Change has consistently engaged with his community, demonstrating their commitment to their development. Mbanelo recalled their visit on in January last year, which the organization organised town hall meetings to educate the people on Community Investor Guideline (CIJ).

The CIJ is a viable tool that empower community stakeholders to negotiate with investor effectively.  The meeting provided a platform for interactive discussions, insight and experience sharing, aiming to promote transparent and accountability investment practice in our oil community.

He noted that prior to S4C intervention, the oil company in his community, Orient Petroleum Resources, used outdated Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) method, disregarding the Industrial Petroleum Act, PIA.

Smart Okpara, Chairman, Emohua HCTD, and the National Chairman of HostComm, representing all the Host Communities in Rivers State, thanked Social Democratic Network, SDN and Ford Foundation.

He called for the reduction of the influence of the setlors on the various Boards. “It’s as if power has been taken from them, they are not comfortable with that. But then any power without control is useless. But let it be that the Boards who are accountable to communities actually represent the people,” he said.

He called for a deliberate inclusion of women, children and people living with disabilities, PLDs in the various boards through a quota system.

Dr. Kenechukwu Okezie, member of the Steering Committee of Nigeria Mining Host Communities, from Ebonyi State, while relating the story of Eyigba community before the coming of Global Rights, said the people were shortchanged.

“The community is rich in Lead and Zinc. The Lead and Zinc from Ebony State is one of the best and the finest. Royal Salt Limited entered into unholy alliance with an ignorant community promising them heaven on earth and they thought that salvation has come, that development has come, that they are going to enjoy dividends of good living and they were given a paper to sign which many of them never knew the content of the agreement and which they said is community development agreement.

“So they appended their signature and this company started mining. Three years into the agreement it was a cry of woes. The community began to regret. They had no where to run to, they don’t even know who to contact.

“It was in this state of agony that Global Rights came to the rescue of this community. The first thing was a community training and advocacy on the Rights of Mining Host Communities. They were led through the content of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, and the process for developing communities.

“That was an eye opener and that was just the trigger that the community needed. At the expiration of the agreement, the community gave the company conditions if they must continue to mine. The company failed and the community went to court on the support of Global Rights and the community won the case and this company had to vacate that community,” he stated.