Briga News Nigeria
The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) was presented to Nigerians as a reform aimed at addressing the historical injustices faced by oil-producing communities. For Niger Delta youths, it was touted as a promise of inclusion, opportunity, and development. However, the reality on the ground tells a different story.
What we are witnessing is not reform—it is tokenism institutionalized by law.
A Percentage That Insults Our Reality
For decades, Niger Delta youths have demanded a minimum of 10% participation or benefit from oil operations in their ancestral lands. Unfortunately, the PIA allocated a figure that is not only paltry but also cleverly structured to reduce its real value.
This allocation is calculated from operating expenses, not profits—meaning the more companies manipulate costs, the less communities receive. This is unacceptable in a region where rivers are polluted, farmlands destroyed, and youth unemployment remains alarmingly high.
A law that claims to promote justice but offers crumbs cannot satisfy a generation that understands its rights.
Benefits Without Transparency, Empowerment Without Control
The PIA speaks of scholarships, skill acquisition, and development projects. However, on the ground, Niger Delta youths know the truth:
Scholarship opportunities are hidden and inaccessible
Selection processes are opaque and selective
Benefits are captured by elites and company-favoured individuals
The youth—the group most affected by environmental degradation and economic exclusion—remain largely sidelined. Development is being done for us, without us, and controlled far away from our communities.
This is not empowerment.
It is managed dependency.
Environmental Destruction, Legalized Silence
Gas flaring, oil spills, and polluted waters continue across the Niger Delta, yet accountability remains weak. The PIA prioritizes investor confidence over environmental justice, leaving host communities to live with poisoned land, health risks, and deepening poverty.
A future built on pollution is not a future at all.
Criminalizing Youth Anger Instead of Addressing It
One of the most dangerous aspects of the PIA is the provision that allows entire communities to lose benefits due to vandalism—often carried out by unknown actors or external criminal networks.
Rather than addressing the real causes of youth restiveness—unemployment, exclusion, and broken promises—the law chooses to criminalize frustration. This approach deepens alienation and reinforces the idea that Niger Delta youths must suffer in silence.
Our Call as Niger Delta Youths
We refuse to accept a law that:
Extracts wealth from our land without fairness
Determines our future without our voice
Offers “development” without transparency
The PIA must be reviewed, not worshipped. Niger Delta youths demand:
A fair and realistic percentage for host communities
Transparent management of scholarships and development funds
Direct youth representation in Host Community Development Trusts
Stronger and enforceable environmental protections
Conclusion: Silence Is No Longer an Option
The Niger Delta youth cannot afford apathy. History teaches us that progress only comes when young people organize, speak out, and insist on justice.
The PIA, as it stands, is not our victory.
It is a reminder that rights are never given—they are demanded.
The struggle continues, and this generation must lead it.
By Comr. Gift Tamaraupreye Eyetonghan, President, National Association of Ogulagha Clan Students, NAOCS.
