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| Charles Brown, Chairman, Finima Youth Congress |
Charles Brown is the Chairman, Finima Youth Congress (FYC) and a Pentecostal pastor. Since he was recently elected to lead the youths of Finima community he has been making deft moves to translate his electoral promises into reality. Somehow, fate had a date with him on Friday, December 14, 2018. On that fateful day, tragedy was averted when he rushed down to the entrance gate of Evomec General Services Limited (EGSL) at the Nigeria LNG plant site in Bonny Island.
Two groups of youths from Bonny Town and Finima community engaged themselves in free-for-all over employment related issues with the company. In this telephone interview with Kristina Reports publisher/editor-in-chief, Godswill Jumbo, the FYC Chairman gave a blow-by-blow account of what transpired that day. Enjoy the excerpts:
Kristina Reports: You were being accused of leading thugs to go disrupt a peaceful protest at Evomec site is this true?
Charles Brown: We got information yesterday that some youths from Finima, specifically from Tobin House were grouping together with some cultists. I called the leader of the group, my uncle, my very own friend, Idamina. What is the matter? He said that Evomec came into site and they have not come to see Finima community. And I said, but they have come to see the palace. He said the palace; is the Brown House palace the only house in Finima? I said okay, let me go there myself. I went there with my Vice, Ene Tobin, and the driver; just three of us. Okay, including my director of empowerment, just four of us. was there pleading with Idamina, let them stop this action. When we got there, they said they were from the palace that His Majesty sent them to come and block the gate. I know, very well, that His Majesty cannot do such a thing. So, immediately I called Chief Abel (Attoni) to confirm because I know His Majesty will never do that kind of thing. He called back and confirmed to me that His Majesty did not give such order. They said oh!, they are not employing Tobin House people. The CLO was there and brought out a list of Tobin House people that they have employed. So, the three reasons, the three allegations for which you went and shut down the gate has been proven to you to be false. Why would lock the gate? I had to go call Simeon, youth federation leader. Of course, he wasn’t in town. I called and asked him, are you aware about this. He said nothing. He personally sent his executive to come and show solidarity with me because we are all together in this thing. No one individual, no matter what you call yourself, has the right to and disrupt a company’s operations, naming names of His Majesty or whatsoever to lie, just because you want to achieve your own aim. It’s wrong, totally wrong. I had to kneel in the public there. In Ibani tradition, by the time you kneel down and hold somebody’s leg to beg the person, it shows respect. I held my brother’s leg, his two legs in public, I held him and begged him and said ‘uncle, I beg you, stop this thing you are doing because the perception in Finima community would be that Tobin House and Brown House want to start having issues. I called the Tobin House leadership, the youth chairman of Tobin House. He told me that even as the youth chairman of Tobin House he is not even aware that this kind of thing is taking place. And by the way, he does not support this kind of action. Idamina does not represent Tobin House. So, on which front is he doing this? We were talking, before I know; as we were just there, me and others. As we were trying to beg, the Brown House boys now came with some Tobin boys who were aggrieved with what Idamina was doing because you cannot use the house to do some wrong things. Carry some people that will help you to do your biddings. And I thank God for one thing, there is one independent film shot that was being done by the military when they came. As the Brown House people with some Tobin boys came the fight started you people don’t have right, you people should open the gate. Then the boys that Idamina brought stood by the gate and said they will not open the gate. That was where the fight broke out.
KR: But we are learning that two lists from the palace was the crux of this matter that day…the first list was sent by Chief Abel Attoni which Evomec honoured, coming in the name of the king; then the second list from Bleggy came which conflicted with the previous list and that the king asked Evomec to stand down the first list and honour the second one that the first one was done in error. Can you confirm this?
CB: No, I cannot. But let me tell you what I know about the list. Watch my word; I cannot because I was not there when the king said what he said. I wasn’t there when Bleggy or whoever submitted the list. But this is what I know and you can also fact-check if I am correct. Normally, lists come out from the palace signed by the palace secretary with the official stamp of the palace. And every company honours that list. All the lists that have come out from the palace are always signed by Chief Abel and stamped and every company has honoured that list. You can verify that. now, the same happened when the list was sent from the normal source, signed by the palace, stamped by the palace and the company accepted that list. If you are the company, you would never have rejected that list. That is the normal thing. Now, when the second list came, it was like a conflict. His Majesty has sent a second list. If I am Evomec I would find it difficult to accept. I accept the first list and a second list from the same palace. Companies are not Father Christmas. They are there to make money and profit. But for the purpose of peace, the company decided that they are going to honour the second list and pay them completely. That they will pay them what they are entitled to, all of them.
KR: So, are you saying that the cause of the conflict at Evomec site was not about these lists but about other issues…
CB: See, these issues have been resolved about three weeks ago. So, it’s not about that list. When they come to lie in His Majesty’s name, it is crazy. Would somebody come use that name as a caricature?
KR: Now, in the given circumstance, as the youth leader of Finima community, what would you advise Bonny youths, especially, with the growing perception of dichotomy between Bonny and Finima? What would you advise?
CB: My number one advice, like yesterday, I give all the glory to God; I am a pastor and I thank God that I was there because if I was not there, there would have been a lot of bloodshed. You can ask even the people that came from Bonny I was the person holding them and holding my people, begging, trying to stop them from the mayhem that was happening. Holding both sides, I can never support anyone that is doing the wrong but when they are doing the right thing I will stand by them. If the Bonny people are doing the right thing I will equally stand by them. Finima is part of Bonny. We are under one Kingdom, we are under one LGA, we are brothers and sisters. We don’t need to fight ourselves. We should our energies to do something constructive. So, my major advice is let us keep the peace. Let us respect constituted authorities. If the people who went to shut down the gate had told the Bonny Youth Federation, the recognized body that represents the youths we would have known how to resolve the issue peacefully. For just one person to wake up one morning and based one lies go and shut down the company’s gates is uncalled for. Even the military also were upset. We have recognized institutions, the police also, they are there. Follow the right channel. I know for sure that His Majesty would never do that kind of thing. Now, on Facebook they are writing, well on Facebook you can write anything that they want to write. But God is my witness, my conscience is clean. So, it is peace that we want. Channel your energies to do something constructive. Let our boys not be used to do the wrong things because some of the Bonny boys that were brought there never knew the reason why Idamina went and carried them. Now, why would somebody wake you up to go and block gate? For what reason? What do you stand to gain? The youth leader is not aware. The kingdom is not aware. Finima community is not aware. Just because somebody woke you to go and block gate.
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