A Day in the Nembe Creeks

A Day in the Nembe Creeks

 Nembe River

The Nembe River, 
The checkpoint of pirates fully armed like people at war! 
And, many ships are then shot at; 
For, this river in Nigeria is another base of the pirates of West Africa. - Edward Kofi Louis http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/nembe-river/

The Nembe River is not at all like the poem  above by Kofi Louis; at least not any more. We set out from Yenagoa in very high spirits  on the Nembe   Community  Development Foundation’s  (NCDF’s) bus that takes you as far as  the  Oloibiri  jetty point where  the ferry takes you on the next leg of the journey through   a wide expanse of water known as  the “Okilo” River/Canal (?  I am not entirely sure about this). This body of water empties into the main Nembe River.

Oloibiri? Does this strike any cord on the strings of your heart as a Nigerian?  Maybe not for the majority of Nigerians born after 1970. Oloibiri is a landmark - where the first oil well was discovered in Nigeria by Shell in 1958.  Got you there; you did not know this? Well, I guess this is understandable because the discovery of oil in Nigeria means different things to different people.   For some, it is a  great opportunity to amass immeasurable wealth, by dishonest means and at the expense of all. For others, it means a loss of livelihood, poverty and even death; and for yet others, it just means fuel in their car tanks and diesel for their generators for a bit less than the global sale price. Another group entirely lies in wait for the opportunity to pounce on the national cake. Where do you belong?

The Nembe Creeks: It is quite an awesome experience. Suddenly you feel so small and insignificant in a lonely speedboat boat even if it is well built with walls and windows that shield you from the river’s endless but powerful water sprays;  and of course, from the sun and rain too!

Sitting in the relative safety and comfort of the NCDF’s ferry, I wondered how on earth others felt safe riding in the open speedboats (even when geared in bright orange life jackets). Even more dreaded was the idea of riding in locally fabricated canoes. But of course if you were born in the Creeks of Nembe, water is your home, your friend and companion. On the downside, water could become a powerful foe too. After watching the London Olympics, I thought, "Well, if things really worked well in Nigeria, we should be seeing chaps from Nembe, Creek Town (in Calabar, Cross River State) and other communities like these, topping the world swimming charts. We should be breeding stars like United State's Ryan Lochte and  Michael Phelps;  Ranomi Kromowidjojo who represented the Netherlands and China's Ye Shiwen.  Interestingly, the only African country that was represented in the swimming events was South Africa.

 

I have this habit of running ahead of myself. The building of the NCDF is quite imposing, like that of a big company.  The building, the buses and the ferry’s  (belonging to Kala Ekulema Line Ltd) are all a result of a Shell Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC) brokered General Memorandum of Understanding (GMOU) managed by the Nembe community for the community’s benefit. The Nembe community decided that one of the things they desired was a safer form of transportation to assist the indigenes and those who transact business with the community.  Who could possibly blame them for this choice given that practically all Nembe communities exist on the river!  According to Chief Joe Alagoa, the General Manager of  Kala Ekulema line, a ride to Nembe costs one thousand two hundred naira (N1,200) for both the land and water journeys.

Imagine where you live; and then you decide to visit your friend, in-law, sister, or other relative in the next suburb or town. You would normally walk out of your house and flag the next taxi, bus or “okada”. Right? In Nembe City, you would walk or take an “okada” ride to the Jetty point and hop on the next available boat for this friendly visit. If this were the situation, you would certainly want to make the transport on water as safe and comfortable as you could possibly can; even if you swam like a fish.

While on the river, we saw the open-roofed speedboats (with the passengers probably praying that it would not rain and the sun would not be scorching hot either!)  Then there was the occasional small canoe piloted by a lone woman, her legs stretched straight in front of her, totally at home on the river, so peaceful as she rowed along: Perhaps to a faraway farm? A rendezvous with a new lover or husband-to-be?  Maybe she was rowing over to her child’s new school to discuss his/her academic progress or challenges with the teacher? Hey! Imagine that you had to row yourself to your next date?

I saw the occasional boat with a mother and with her toddler firmly ensconced in the boat and sometimes with the child even standing; his/her indomitable young face peering into the horizon, with  a wizened look way too old for  his/her years. I wondered,  “What is on this child’s mind? He or she should still be playing with wooden dolls and cars not exposed to  the whims and caprices of the elements”.  Is he/she  already  like a hardened seafaring man/woman, wondering, will this lonely barge come back to berth at this jetty point? Will I see my family again at the end of this voyage? No seat belt? No safety jacket?  No policeman to flash the mother a red card for endangering the baby’s life? Nothing. That would be wishful thinking. This was after all, Nembe, lost on the creeks, far away from Yenagoa’s  blossoming GRA (pardon me, this means Government Reserved Area ) where the rich and mighty and the government officials live in huge mansions, drive brand new cars and wine and dine in posh settings.

The Nembe communities are only about two hours from the seat of government in Yenagoa, yet the people still poo into the river, their backsides exposed to all and sundry. I wonder, “Who should really cover up the nakedness of these people? Is it not the government?" I wonder as I sail along this beautiful specimen of God’s earth known as the Nembe Creeks with little or no access to electricity supply from the national grid?  I wonder aloud,  “what really is the future for the children who are deprived of quality education?  What really is the future for this people? What does the future really hold for communities like Nembe scattered all around Nigeria? What does the future really hold for Nigeria?”