As the Special Adviser on Security to the Chairman of Bonny Local Government Area and a former Youth Leader of the Konibo Ye Awanta Tobin House of Finima in Bonny Kingdom, Idamina Tobin has contributed to the development of his community in no small measures.

Tobin, who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology degree from the University of Port Harcourt, Choba, Port Harcourt, spoke to the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Kristina Reports, Godswill Jumbo in Port Harcourt, where he highlighted the commendable strides of the Amanyanabo of Bonny Kingdom, His Majesty, King Edward William Dappa Pepple III, Perekule XI, CON in entrenching a seamless interface between the community and companies coming to do business in Bonny Local Government Area, ensuring that all relevant stakeholders are captured in this interactions, and focusing on bringing the goods home to his people. Enjoy the excerpts:

Kristina Reports: There have been issues coming up about the Freedom-To-Operate Committee set up by the Amanyanabo of Bonny kingdom and we have been following their activities. What is your take on how this committee has been operating?

Idamina Tobin: For me, from the word go, when I heard that His Majesty set up a committee of this kind I was so pleased in the sense that train 1 to 6 came and there wasn’t anything reasonable that one could point to that a Bonny son had achieved courtesy of these trains 1 to 6 that have come and gone. And today, His Majesty, being our royal father and father of all, having seen and based on experience, deemed it most expedient to constitute a committee that would guide these companies to ensure that they bring things to our doorstep that our youths and wards will benefit. It is a laudable step and we need to encourage and support him in whatever strides he has taken. For me, I want to urge everybody, without sentiment, to give His Majesty that due support that is needed to achieve more because if you check – I have been part of this system for over 20 years – the juicy contracts are being sent to Lagos and Abuja. The people that do these jobs don’t even know the shores of Bonny but they stay far away from Bonny and they send their invoices via DHL to these companies. Meanwhile, we that are resident here there is nothing to show. What we get are peanuts. It is appalling.

So, in your opinion, the Amanyanabo of Bonny setting up the Freedom-To-Operate Committee and the Bonny Kingdom Local Content Monitoring Committee, and other bodies like that to monitor the activities of these companies and how they impact on Bonny community, you think it is in the right direction?

It is in the right direction and geared towards the appropriate point, and this is without mincing words because our dear King, having seen what transpired during trains 1 to 6, knew by his own wisdom that if such a thing is put in place it will put these companies in check so that our people can benefit. And he swung into action by setting up these committees. I think we need to encourage him, we need to give him the support that he needs to achieve more for all of us. It takes only a good father to think for his people.

Read also: Bonny Youths protested because Evomec slighted our King – LG Chairman’s Aide

Coming to the companies operating in Bonny Kingdom, we understand that there are questions about whether they are on Brown House land or they are in Finima land. What is your take on that?

For a company to operate in a village where it is evident that we have three entities namely: Tobin, Attoni and Brown; and that company is desirous to solely deal with one family, well, that company knows what they are looking for. Obviously, as they say, he who goes to the bush to fetch firewood that is infested with ants, of course, should expect lizards in his home. So, for a company, having known that this is the structure of this community, yet find it fit to deal with one family because they want to circumvent the process, they know what they want. At the fullness of time, the long arm of the law will catch up with such company. In fact, this time around, we don’t want to wait, we intend to take the bull by the horn. If such thing is being orchestrated we will go and stop the job.

Looking at what you are saying now, the issue of how some of these companies treat the representatives of the community by way of CLOs, and then job requisitions, how they are managed, the employment process and several other things, some people think that, by way of how these companies act, they are not showing enough respect for the community and the Amanyanabo of Bonny. What do you think about these?

Well, during the train 1 to 6 project, I know too well that it is only the centre, when I say the centre, the Amanyanabo and his Chiefs, when a company comes that is the first bus stop for them. They will come and tell the Kingdom – the Chiefs Council and the Amanyanabo in Council – their purpose of coming to Bonny and what they have come to do. At that juncture, the Amanyanabo in conjunction with his Chiefs, gives them officers to work with them. It has been like that. Though, of course, I know today my community, Finima, solely, the Brown House, also gives companies officer’s position such as personnel, safety, CLO and all that. I mean, you are just being antagonistic to the monarch and we don’t encourage it, we don’t welcome it. Whatever we want to do, we should route through the centre. I think there is a proper channel of communication. And that is what I stand for.

So, you think that if this is done, some of these misbehaviour by some of these companies will be curbed?

Definitely, and you know, of course, based on that the Amanyanabo in Council, in his own God-given wisdom, has deemed it fit to ensure that whatever he is doing in terms of committee he does his best to integrate people from Finima to also be a voice in that committee. But yet some pseudo persons that wants to grab as much as they could are still not finding this entire process funny. So, they want to cause mayhem – the Karl Marx theory – to achieve as much as they could. That is what they are after. And we, at this time, having known, having seen, having heard, we can never allow such to happen. We will accost them by any means.