society
Enough Is Enough”: Elem Kalabari Rises Against Decades of Injustice, Women Stage Peaceful Protest
“Enough Is Enough”: Elem Kalabari Rises Against Decades of Injustice, Women Stage Peaceful Protest
By: Al Humphrey Onyanabo
For decades, Elem Kalabari has borne the burden of Nigeria’s oil wealth without tasting its benefits. Its rivers have carried crude oil to the Atlantic; its land has hosted pipelines, flow stations, and gas facilities; its people have inhaled fumes, watched their waters darken, and their livelihoods collapse.
Yet opportunity, justice, and inclusion have consistently flowed elsewhere. On Monday February 2, 2026, that long-suppressed pain found a powerful voice.
Defying a heavy morning downpour, hundreds of women from Elem Kalabari poured into the Cawthorne Channel 2 Jetty in what many now describe as the “Mother of All Protests.”
It was peaceful, disciplined, and resolute—but unmistakably firm.
This was not noise. It was a declaration. Placards told the story words alone could not fully carry: “We Carry the Burden, They Take the Benefits.”
“Our Sacrifice, Their Gain: When Will Elem-Kalabari See Justice?”
“Local Content Law Violated: Kalabari Demands First Right of Refusal.”At the heart of the protest lies a single, bitter truth: exclusion has become systemic.
A Broken Promise in OML 18
The immediate trigger was the recent award of the OML 18 pipeline security and surveillance contract by NNPC Eighteen Limited to Manton Engineering Limited—a company neither from Elem Kalabari, nor from Rivers State.
To the protesting women, this was not merely an administrative decision. It was another chapter in a long history of betrayal.
Under Nigeria’s Local Content Law and the Petroleum Industry Act, host communities are guaranteed the right of first refusal in contracts directly affecting their territory. Yet this right, the women insist, was ignored.
Even more troubling is the contradiction embedded in the law itself. Section 257(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act places responsibility for sabotage on host communities—yet when it comes to securing their own territory, those same communities are excluded. “How can a people be blamed for insecurity,” one protester asked, “and then denied the right to secure their own land?”
Rivers That Carry Wealth, Communities That Carry Pain
Elem Kalabari is not just another oil-bearing community. It is the export artery of OML 18.
Crude oil from Cawthorne Channels 1, 2, and 3, Awoba, and Krakrama is evacuated exclusively through Elem Kalabari waterways to the Atlantic Ocean. Without these rivers, there would be no barging route—no export. Yet the women revealed a staggering injustice: none of the vessels used in these daily operations belong to Elem Kalabari. None belong to Kalabari people. None even belong to Rivers State. No courtesy visits. No engagement with the Amanyanabo. No sense of obligation to the host community—despite operations generating millions of dollars daily.
“What flows through our waters enriches others,” said a woman leader “But when it comes to opportunity, our people are treated as strangers on their own land.”
Educated Children, Locked-Out Futures
Perhaps the most painful testimony came when the women spoke of their children. Many told stories of sacrifice—years of trading, fishing, and borrowing to send sons and daughters to universities—only for those graduates to return home unemployed, watching companies operate profitably on their ancestral land.
Those fortunate enough to secure employment fared little better.
Workers who had previously been full staff under the former operator, Eroton, were reportedly downgraded to contract staff under NNPC Eighteen Limited. Their pay dropped. Job security vanished.
Working conditions worsened.
In what the women described as the ultimate insult, workers allegedly brought in from Lagos were trained by these local employees—only for the trainees to be offered permanent roles, while the locals remained on contract.“It is not just unfair,” one woman said quietly. “It is humiliating.”
Environmental Destruction, Official Silence
While contracts and jobs disappear, pollution remains. Oil contamination has been reported repeatedly in Mbi-Ama, Moni-Kiri, Portuguese Kiri, and Jacob-Ama—areas affected by constant barging and operational discharge. Marine life has dwindled. Fishing yields have collapsed. Mangroves continue to die.
Reports have been filed. Complaints have been made. Yet regulatory agencies, mandated to investigate and sanction offenders, have taken little or no meaningful action. To the women, this silence feels like complicity. A First-Hand Account of Despair.
A First Encounter with Abandonment
My first visit to Elem Kalabari on 1st January, 2025 remains a haunting reminder of how thoroughly a people can be forgotten in the midst of plenty.
I visited in the company of The Amanyanabo of Elem Kalabari, Da Amakiri Tubo, Alhaji Mujahid Abubarkr Dokubo-Asari, Dabaye Amakiri 1. It was on January 1st 2025, the day after he received the staff of office from Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
What we met was not a community benefiting from decades of oil extraction, but a landscape of utter devastation, neglect, and grinding poverty.
Elem Kalabari was wrapped in darkness—total, suffocating darkness. There was no public electricity, no streetlights, not even basic solar lamps that have become commonplace in remote settlements across the Niger Delta. Night fell early, and with it came an overwhelming sense of isolation, as though the community had been cut off not only from development, but from national consciousness itself.
There were no schools to nurture young minds.
There were no clinics to tend to the sick, the pregnant, or the elderly.
There was no market, no organised economic space, no visible engine of local commerce.
What stood in place of social infrastructure was emptiness—broken structures, abandoned land, and a silence that spoke of long years of disappointment. This was a community sitting at the heart of Nigeria’s oil wealth, yet living as though the nation’s prosperity flowed around it, never through it.
It became painfully clear that the oil companies operating in and around Elem Kalabari had taken the people for granted for far too long. Their pipelines crisscross the land, their barges dominate the waterways, their wealth moves daily through Kalabari rivers—yet the human beings who bear the environmental cost have been left with nothing to show for it.
That visit stripped away any illusion. It revealed a truth the women of Elem Kalabari now proclaim with courage and clarity: neglect has become policy, and exclusion has been normalised. What we saw was not underdevelopment by accident, but abandonment by design.
And today, the people—especially the women—are saying with one voice: enough is enough.
At night sitting on the jetty, surrounded by mosquitoes in search of cellular network, I saw across the sea, vessels loading crude oil, I watched as others left. I saw the gas flares… It was a sight.
A Line Drawn in the Sand
The women have vowed to sustain their protest until justice is done. They have warned that if ignored, they will escalate actions, including shutting down operations at the flow station.
For Elem Kalabari, this moment marks a turning point.
After decades of neglect, the people are no longer whispering their pain. They are standing, together, and saying clearly—to government, to corporations, and to the nation:
Enough is enough.
There needs no telling. This is the first of many protests that will happen. The people have their backs to the wall and can’t take it no more. I can’t blame them, they have suffered for too long.
By: Al Humphrey Onyanabo,
The PEN
Tel: 08109975621
Email: [email protected]
*Iworo FM 96.3 Celebrates First Anniversary in Grand Style
Nigeria’s foremost indigenous radio station, Iworo FM 96.3, on Saturday, 7th February 2026, celebrated its first anniversary in grand style.
The event attracted several notable personalities from Iworo and its environs, including the traditional ruler, the Oniworo of Iworo-Awori Kingdom, Oba (Dr.) Oladele Friday Kosoko; the Chairman of Olorunda LCDA, Hon. Ajose Peter Kumayon; Oba of Apa kingdom, Christian and Muslim clerics, among others.
The glamorous event commenced with a session of thanksgiving to appreciate God for the success of the radio station since its establishment in 2025. The organisers acknowledged the challenges encountered along the way but expressed gratitude to God for His intervention and support in ensuring the station rose above all odds.
According to the Oba of Apa kingdom, the presence of Iworo FM has brought significant development to the environment. He stated that the station has introduced Iworo Kingdom to people beyond its immediate community and has largely placed it on the national map. He further noted the tremendous progress recorded in the station’s operations and commended the management for their foresight, which has benefited everyone in Iworo.
“Iworo FM is a good initiative that has attracted development to the community. It has placed Iworo Kingdom on the national map, all thanks to the amazing and laudable work of the management. Within one year, there has been tremendous progress in the operations of this radio station. I am glad to see the improvements and also congratulate the people of Iworo for having an investment like this,” he said.
Similarly, awards were presented to the management of the radio station by 1423 Communications in recognition of the station’s impact in the broadcasting industry.
The communication company presented awards for the Fastest Rising Indigenous Radio Station in the Badagry–Iworo axis and Best Radio Station in Breaking News Coverage Across the Interlands.
Speaking through its representative, the company explained that Iworo FM 96.3 has performed commendably well within a short period and truly deserves the accolades it has received.
“Iworo FM deserves all the accolades it is getting because it has done exceedingly well for the community and Lagos State as a whole. These awards are the result of careful observation of the station’s operations and activities. It is indeed marvellous,” the representative said.
While receiving the awards, Oba Oladele Friday Kosoko, who also serves as the Board Chairman, expressed appreciation to the communication company, noting that he would continue to remain committed to the growth of the radio station.
“We are very happy with this award. It shows that we are being watched, and to be considered for these laudable awards means a lot to us. I will continue to show commitment to this radio station and will do even more as we move forward in the coming years,” he said.
The event also featured raffle draws, during which participants won various items including fans, bags of rice, clothing materials, and other food items.
society
Digital Colonialism or Market Reality? Nigerian Media Demand Urgent Government Action on Global Tech Giants
Digital Colonialism or Market Reality? Nigerian Media Demand Urgent Government Action on Global Tech Giants
By George Omagbemi Sylvester
“Local publishers warn that unchecked dominance by foreign platforms threatens the survival of independent journalism and the nation’s control over its information ecosystem.”
Nigeria’s major media advocacy organisations have called on the Presidency and the National Assembly to urgently intervene in the country’s digital information space, warning that the dominance of global technology platforms could erode national sovereignty over public discourse and push local journalism toward collapse.
The appeal, made in Abuja in early February 2026, represents one of the most direct and coordinated demands yet from Nigerian media stakeholders for government action against what they describe as “foreign digital control” of the country’s information ecosystem.
According to reports from the capital, the groups argued that powerful global technology companies (primarily American-owned digital platforms) now control the channels through which most Nigerians access news, advertising and public information.
Their warning is stark: without urgent policy intervention, Nigeria risks surrendering both its media economy and its democratic information space to corporations that operate beyond the country’s regulatory reach.
What happened
The coalition of media-centred organisations issued a public call for government action, urging the Presidency and lawmakers to address what they described as the growing dominance of foreign digital platforms in Nigeria’s information environment.
They warned that the country could lose effective control over its public discourse if local media institutions continue to weaken while global technology companies expand their influence.
The intervention was framed as both an economic and national-interest concern, with the groups stressing that local publishers are increasingly dependent on platforms such as Google, Facebook and other global tech firms for audience reach and advertising revenue.
Where and when
The call was made in Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital, and reported publicly in early February 2026, following consultations among major media stakeholders.
Who is involved
The report identified a coalition of leading Nigerian media-centred organisations, though it did not list all participating groups in the initial dispatch.
However, across Nigeria’s media landscape, key organisations that have repeatedly raised similar concerns in recent years include:
Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE)
Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN)
Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON)
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in digital-rights contexts
For example, the Nigerian Guild of Editors has previously warned that financial pressures threaten the survival of news organisations, stressing that without viable media, democracy itself is weakened.
Why it happened
At the core of the dispute is the transformation of the global media economy. Over the last decade, advertising revenue (once the financial backbone of newspapers and broadcasters) has migrated to digital platforms.
These platforms now act as the primary gateways through which audiences discover news content. Yet, according to publishers, the bulk of the advertising income generated around that content flows to the platforms rather than the news organisations that produce it.
Competition inquiries in other countries illustrate the scale of the shift. In South Africa, for instance, estimates suggest that internet giants captured up to 60 percent of local advertising revenue over a decade, severely weakening traditional newsrooms.
Similarly, studies have found that platforms control over user data gives them a decisive advantage in targeted advertising, further undermining publishers’ revenue streams.
This structural imbalance, Nigerian media groups argue, is now playing out in their own country and also threatening the financial sustainability of journalism.
How the dominance works
The influence of global platforms operates through several mechanisms:
Algorithmic control:
Search engines and social media algorithms determine which news stories audiences see, often prioritising larger international outlets or sensational content over local reporting.
Advertising concentration:
Platforms collect vast amounts of user data, allowing them to dominate digital advertising markets and attract revenue that once funded newsrooms.
Traffic dependence:
Many local publishers now rely heavily on social media and search platforms for website traffic. Changes in platform policies can instantly reduce readership and income.
These dynamics, media stakeholders say, create a dependency cycle in which local journalism produces content that drives engagement on global platforms, but receives little financial return.
The Nigerian context
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has one of the continent’s largest digital audiences. Social media platforms are deeply embedded in everyday communication, commerce and politics.
Facebook alone is used by tens of millions of Nigerians, and for many small businesses and independent publishers it serves as a primary distribution channel.
This dominance has already triggered regulatory tensions. In 2024, Nigeria’s competition authorities imposed a $220 million fine on Meta over alleged anti-competitive practices and data-privacy violations.
The dispute escalated to the point where the company warned it might withdraw services rather than comply, highlighting the power imbalance between national regulators and global tech corporations.
Global precedents
Nigeria’s media groups are not alone in raising such concerns. Around the world, governments and publishers have taken steps to rebalance the relationship between news organisations and digital platforms.
Australia, Canada and parts of Europe have introduced laws requiring platforms to negotiate payments with publishers. South Africa’s competition authorities have also recommended financial compensation from platforms to local media houses.
These global developments have emboldened Nigerian media stakeholders to push for similar policies.
Voices from the field
Media leaders and scholars have long warned about the consequences of an economically weakened press.
Eze Anaba, President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, recently noted that if media organisations cannot sustain their operations, the consequences extend beyond journalism itself.
He warned: “If the media cannot keep journalists employed, it cannot inform citizens and without an informed citizenry, democracy is weakened.”
International policy experts echo similar concerns. Emily Bell, director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University, has argued that platforms have fundamentally reshaped the news economy, often without assuming the responsibilities traditionally borne by publishers.
She observed:
“The platforms have taken a significant share of advertising and attention while investing little in the production of journalism itself.”
Likewise, media economist Robert Picard has repeatedly warned that the collapse of advertising revenue threatens the viability of independent journalism worldwide.
“Without sustainable funding, news organisations cannot perform their essential democratic functions,” he wrote in his research on media economics.
What the media groups want
Although the full details of their proposals are still emerging, the Nigerian coalition is believed to be seeking:
Regulatory measures to ensure fair competition between local media and global platforms
Financial arrangements or compensation models for news content
Stronger enforcement of data-protection and competition laws
Policies that support the sustainability of local journalism
Their appeal to the Presidency and the National Assembly signals a push for legislative or regulatory intervention rather than voluntary agreements with tech companies.
The stakes for Nigeria
The outcome of this dispute could shape the future of Nigeria’s information ecosystem.
If local media continue to lose revenue and influence, the country risks:
Shrinking newsrooms and reduced investigative reporting
Greater dependence on foreign-owned information platforms
Increased vulnerability to misinformation and algorithmic bias
Weakening of democratic accountability
Conversely, heavy-handed regulation could also trigger unintended consequences, including service withdrawals, reduced investment or restrictions on digital innovation.
The broader struggle for digital sovereignty
Across Africa, governments and regulators are grappling with the challenge of asserting digital sovereignty while maintaining open internet ecosystems.
Competition authorities in several African countries have begun coordinating efforts to address the power of dominant digital platforms and ensure fair market conditions.
The Nigerian media groups’ appeal therefore reflects not just a domestic concern, but a continental and global struggle over who controls the digital public square.
The road ahead
For now, the ball lies with Nigeria’s political leadership. Whether the government chooses to pursue regulation, negotiation, or a hybrid approach will determine the trajectory of the country’s media sector.
What is clear, however, is that the traditional economic model of journalism has already been disrupted. The debate is no longer about whether global tech platforms wield enormous influence, but about how nations like Nigeria can adapt their laws and institutions to ensure that independent journalism survives in the digital age.
As the Abuja coalition warned, the issue is not merely commercial. It is existential—touching on the survival of local media, the integrity of public discourse and the future of democratic accountability in Africa’s most populous nation.
society
Senate Committee Commends Tinubu on Launch of National Halal Economy Strategy to Tap $7.7trn Global Market
*Senate Committee Commends Tinubu on Launch of National Halal Economy Strategy to Tap $7.7trn Global Market
The Senate Committee on Finance has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for launching Nigeria’s National Halal Economy Strategy, describing it as a bold and strategic move to position the country within the lucrative global halal market, estimated at $7.7 trillion.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Senator Sani Musa, the committee praised the initiative as timely and aligned with international best practices. Several countries—including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Brazil, Thailand, and Singapore—have successfully used halal frameworks to boost manufacturing, agricultural exports, financial markets, and foreign investment.
The committee highlighted Nigeria’s strong advantages for success in this space, including its vast agricultural resources, large domestic market, youthful population, growing manufacturing sector, and expanding services industry.
It noted that the strategy fits seamlessly into the Tinubu administration’s broader economic reforms, such as boosting non-oil revenue, diversifying exports, creating jobs, supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and increasing foreign exchange earnings.
President Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, officially unveiled the strategy on Thursday, February 6, 2026, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The framework, developed in collaboration with Saudi Arabia’s Halal Products Development Company (HPDC) following a bilateral agreement signed in February 2025 at the Makkah Halal Forum, aims to enhance quality standards, certification processes, and competitiveness across sectors like food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, tourism, and ethical finance.
The committee described the strategy as inclusive, market-driven, and globally oriented, while fully respecting Nigeria’s diverse and pluralistic society.
It is projected to contribute significantly to the economy, with estimates suggesting it could add around $1.5 billion to Nigeria’s GDP by 2027 and unlock billions more in domestic value over the coming decade through expanded exports and investment.
Senator Musa pledged full legislative support, oversight, and cooperation to ensure smooth implementation, regulatory clarity, and long-term fiscal sustainability in the national interest.
“This decisive step reinforces Nigeria’s readiness to adopt proven international models, unlock new economic frontiers, and establish itself as a competitive player in the evolving global economy,” the statement concluded.
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