Ichire Imoh Okim is an Abuja-based legal practitioner and lawyer to Effi community, Okuni, in Ikom Local Government Area of Cross River State. He speaks with NSAN NDOMA-NEJI in this interview, giving insight to the controversy surrounding the establishment of wood particles production factory in Effi community and other sundry issues. Excerpts:
There is an allegation of massive wood logging described by those who are against your relationship with illegal Chinese firm whose name had remained secretive. Can you give us insight?
I think this is clearly mis- information. There is no massive logging by any Chinese firm, whether legal or illegal in Effi community. There is nothing like that, whether massive or less than that.
There is nothing like secrecy. The person who started that idea was Mr. Odey Oyama, and that is because he refused to attend the town hall meeting where negotiation between the chiefs and the firm was on-going, so the name of the company and every other things was laid bare on before the house during the town hall meeting.
Even after that, nothing stopped him from going to the chiefs to ask whatever that he wanted to know. Unfortunately, he never did that, probably because he had an issue with the chiefs. From what the chiefs told me, they had information that since Odey failed in using his boys to halt the firm from kicking-off; Odey had hatched another plan of using his international connections to mount pressure on the company to stop work. I think it’s the reason why everything is centered on name of the company.
So why didn’t you release the name of the company to him, don’t you think there was something you were hiding?
It was difficult for me to do so because of his character, why did he refuse to attend the community meeting when it was convened by the community chiefs and elder?
Is he bigger than his community; can a man be bigger than his community? Besides, the name of the company is in the agreement. Again because of fear that Oyama is out to use his international connection to mount pressure on the community I think, it’s the reason why the name was not mentioned
Can you mention the company’s name now?
It is not my place to do so, because I had finished with the task I was given to execute as a community lawyer. Let me tell you, as a lawyer, after an assignment you are barred from discussing details of a brief they gave you. Let them go and meet the chiefs. What any rational person would have done, would have been to go go to the chiefs and probably tell them, ‘chiefs, good morning, what is this or that?’ I tell you they would give you whatever explanation or whatever answers you are seeking for. But if you decide to become confrontational like what they are doing, te chiefs have a choice to close their doors. There is nothing wrong with approaching them with respect.
Why did you not disclose content of the agreement with the wood particles production firm to the protesters?
When a lawyer is acting on behalf of a group of people, out of that group, a delegation is created to interface with the lawyer on the brief. An ordinary member in the group or anybody in the group
cannot by-pass that delegation and go to the lawyer to scoop information. Once the lawyer gives all the information to the delegation, his job ends there and owes no one any liability, be it his wife, father or his friend. Know that he is acting in official capacity as a lawyer.
He is not entitled to divulge any piece of information to anyone. It’s a strong spirit of confidentiality between a lawyer and his client. It’s also extended to an agent of disclosed principal.
There’s a procedure of doing things in our villages. As a youth, whenever one is not pleased with any issue issue of public interest that is perhaps ongoing in the village, what the individual is expected to do is to go to the chiefs, first appreciate them for the work they’ve been doing, and thereafter proceed to ask them what you intend to know. You will discover that they will provide you with answers to what have been looking for without any hitch. Unfortunately, the reverse is the case in Effi community. People will stay around and be looking for me, who is living in Abuja to find out certain issues.
Why does the Chinese firm not mount sign post on their factory?
I am not holding brief for the company, what I know generally is that they are still doing construction work, they’re installing their machines and equipment, they have not yet commenced full operation. Besides, I do not see any law that says that one must put a signpost to his business before the business can kick-start. It’s just a matter of choice. Signpost is like an advertisement, if you do not advertise your business, so be it.
We have heard tales of factory workers being flogged at will by their Chinese employers in their own village, isn’t that ridiculous and criminal in the 21st century like this?
I am not aware of this. To be frank, I have never been told that someone had been flogged. There’s a big lacuna and I want the public to know this, a particular group refused to recognize the chiefs. The agreement had a clause that there’s going to be a joint management committee between the community and the Chinese men, if these people have gone to meet the chiefs, they would have set up that management committee that would have supervised this thing.
Let me inform you that the role of the committee is that once in a while, the Chinese company will throw open their doors and they will take the community all round the activity in the company to ensure that they’re not doing illegal things in the yard and to ensure that there is no maltreatment of any indigene or workers doing work for them. That’s the role to be played by the management committee.
The committee chairman ought to be an indigene to make sure that no Chinese nationals slaps anybody, in an eventuality of any any issue, the first point of call would be the chiefs. If the chiefs cannot handle the matter, they would thereafter go to the police to lodge complain. If l may ask, have they done any petition to the police regarding any of these issues which they claimed had spurred up the protest? Have they even whispered to anybody that someone was flogged? They just make-up those cases. I have not heard of any case of engaging underaged children to work in the factory.
On the issue of Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, These are the same people claiming that there was not agreement, same people are the ones seeking to sight the terms of agreement. Does that not sound funny?
There’s no place in the agreement that the people said that they’ll put streetlights. What we provided in the agreement was that there’ll be CSR, which will come in two forms, one of such is that the company will commence a project and build it from start to the end without relying on the community and the second community development project will be contributory. We also provided that there’ll be a scholarship programme for the indigents. This agreement is supposed to take off when the company starts production, they’re still building and some equipment have not even arrived.The allegation that the firm lacked Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, registration is ridiculous. Do not think that because the chiefs are illiterates they don’t know what they are doing. They cannot do without a lawyer. I cannot do an agreement at my level of practice with any company that is not registered with CAC.
I laugh because I know it is all out of malice that all these things are happening.
On the issue of one of the workers having some of his fingers chopped off with the second one having hot water burns, let me announce to you that the agreement we had with the Chinese investors was sensitively preemptive because of the stories I have had about Chinese companies. I loaded the agreement with several clauses pertaining to rules of engagement in addition to the agreement because there are two things either you do the agreement or you have a solid law. For this purpose is the agreement. On that law, while we have issues in the law is that after writing the law people go to sleep. I would have prepared how to activate those laws in the agreement.
It would have been that the joint committee would ensure that no Chinese man raises his finger against a black man; no Chinese man will allow a black man get injured without proper attention and if there’s any controversy the first point of call should be the council of chiefs and thereafter, you’ll now go to the police or to the court. Unfortunately out of malice they undermined the chiefs and because of all these confusion, they have prevented us from constituting that management committee that should have taken care of all of that.
Our community is not as big as that, that someone cannot trace the chiefs. If one person gets injured, even the chiefs will hear, my question now is that did the boy who sustained injuries go to the chiefs to complain? Again, who did he report to that he has to go the faction that hold the traditional rulers council in contempt. Those are civil cases that if you don’t want to go to the chiefs you go to the police or go get a lawyer to sue and claim damages for you. Beside, nobody knows if the boy himself was negligent and refusing to speak out.
For me, they’re creating a situation of lawlessness because the youths did not enter into an agreement with this company, they should have gone to report to their chiefs. A house that is divided against itself can it stand? The answer is no.
All these things wouldn’t have been a problem if they had respect and were working with the chiefs.
Malice is very bad because it will not allow you to see beyond your nose. How can you say a document that was signed by the chiefs is now illegal and you a young boy somewhere will now say you’ve withdrawn the power, what power do you have to withdraw a document signed by the chiefs.
Can you throw light on the issue of land lease that brought problems in the community?
I know I am not supposed to say anything concerning that issue, given the fact that the matter was pending in court. I’ll take the risk so that you won’t say I’m hiding anything just pray to God that the court will understand, otherwise it is going to be prejudice.
There are three folds to these and I will take you on both sides, the first one is that, one family just rose up one day and said that the land belongs to them, they went to court while the matter was pending in court this Chinese people came and indicated interest in the land and in the proceedings, there’s no injunction on the land and if I could remember, the only application for injunction was done by the community and not the family, because the community has been managing that land for couple of years without problems. It’s the community that the land was in their possession. It is not enough that because you went to court the people who are living in that land will run away.
The second side is that when the chiefs invited me to negotiate this agreement, I had never seen a crowd like that before in my village, due to the fact that they saw white men moving with the chiefs; so men, women and youths filled the hall, when I entered, I was even scared because of the population. When the chiefs introduced the case of the Chinese coming to lease that place, they handed it over to me to carry on with the negotiations. I called the family head and he stood up and I asked him, ‘are aware that this matter is in court?’ He responded yes and thereafter, I asked him, can we use this opportunity that the Chinese has come to lease this place to settle this matter out of court, so that we can go and tell the court that we’re settling out of court so that the family can have peace, so that the community can also enjoy and the Chinese will stay or if you don’t want to settle this matter out of court, the parties here can maintain peace and order while the matter is being litigated.
If the court at the end of the day says that the land belongs to the family I say I will join you to tell the community to handover the land to the family and all that have been paid but if the court says that the land belongs to the community the company will stay and you’ll benefit as an Okuni man.
The chiefs begged me, saying ‘Barrister, please help us; our children have become drug addicts, they don’t do anything they just stay around, this company will help them. These people have come to say that they’ll employ about 250 youths and my community alone cannot provide that number of workers; not even 40 per cent can be provided, so this job is not only for Okuni, but for the entire Ikom. We discussed this agreement for four good days so that everyone’s input would be taken. It’s so disheartening to hear that even people who took part in the negotiation have somersaulted to say that there was no negotiation that the agreement is now secret.
In 1994, when I was brought into this stuff the late chief gave me all the documents to go and study and I realized that the first chief who signed for the community comes from that family that is claiming that the land belongs to them; unfortunately from top to bottom there’s no place that his family was mentioned as either owners or beneficiaries or reference point by any measure. The village head coming from that family signed as the village head of Effi community. They had no hold on the land to say that it is their family land.
One of their illustrious sons became chairman of the town council, he now signed that agreement also as community land not family land. Today, they’re jumping up that it is their land.
This matter is a simple matter that would have been resolved by the agitators going to meet their chiefs. It is just that they’re disrespectful. They don’t want to go to the chiefs, instead, what they know best is to run me down. I only acted as a lawyer, and agent.The law is that if you act like an agent, you bear no liability, it’s the disclosed principle that will take the shot and if you look at it as a point of me being a lawyer, as a lawyer I am bound by law not to talk to a third party. The law is that if you’re a lawyer to a community and there is a delegation from that community that have come to consult you, you are answerable to that few. Some one cannot bypass the committee to get information and you give them.
The community youths out of anger sealed the premises of the factory with palm front, aren’t you afraid and doesn’t this portends danger?
Traditionally, you don’t just tie palm frond without the order of the chiefs. It’s the chiefs, after considering the case that will now order that palm fronds be tied there and let the parties come to the chiefs council.
Let’s assume we have 10 chiefs and three out of 10 decide to work with the youths to take this radical decision, won’t this decision be binding?
No chief went with them and if any chief went with them it will be those who are grumbling. The majority, the senior chief was never consulted, so the moment he heard that thing, he got his people mobilized and removed that palm fronds.
Can you put a traditional injunction in a place that is not your jurisdictions. Can you tie palm frond when people are living inside meaning they cannot come out?
We don’t have issue here, it is just that people cannot tame their ambition. Don’t allow your ambition to overrule you. Lawlessness will not help us. This thing has been excessively campaign and if we allow this thing to grow, in the nearest future, Effi community will breed radicals.
We hear, there is a voice note making the rounds that you have been making attempt to mobilize boys to stage a counter protest. What can you say about this?
I have heard the message and nothing is wrong with that.The only issue is the embarrassment of the publication.
Everyone has a right to protest. If I am talking of a counter protest, there is nothing wrong, provided it is carried out peacefully. If I canvass support for the chiefs, there is nothing wrong, if I threatened the company not to park out, there is nothing wrong, if I mention one Odey (Odey Martin) as an example of a good boy, and expressed reservations in some weak areas, there is nothing wrong. If I say they cannot lock in the factory with the Chinese inside without access, in or out, a way must be created invariably by counter protest to release the Chinese. There is nothing wrong. If I say I cannot buy the boys over with money there is nothing wrong. I can go on and on. All these are results of the campaign of calumny carried against me. I suffer all these because I said we should not desecrate our traditional institutions by challenging the chiefs with impunity.
How can someone say the chiefs should apologize to him by writing? And when he failed to get his way to bring the chiefs to their knees, he turns round to say it is Ichire Okim who is giving them support because he is a lawyer and Ichire’s reputation must be dragged in the mud.
This is why the allegations had been unending. In some occasions he will say Ichire stole community money, in another instance, he will alleged Ichire had sold the community forest. The allegation will be Ichire brought Chinese company, he sold the previous company for N2 billion. All these seems to be right in the eyes of those supporting him.
