Yenagoa — Tuesday, July 20, 2004 would forever remain fresh in the minds of these expatriates: Messrs Laurent Banteigny, Jean Mestephe, Frederic Champagnac, Gallard Jean-Francois, Michael Baleze, Jean Bounifassi, Yanick Monty, Joe Chavez and Davor Milic - six French nationals, an American, a Croat and a Nigerien.
It was a day they would not want to forget in a hurry after nearly three days of being kept incommunicado at the Sangana Pride North Dakota platform, located off the Atlantic coast of Brass in the Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State by the protesting workers of Forasol Drilling operating at the oil field owned by Conoil Limited. They regained their freedom following the intervention of Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.
The news of the alleged kidnap of the expatriates at the platform not only caused panic in the oil industry and the presidency but also jolted occupants of Creek Haven, the Bayelsa State seat of power, as well as the security agencies and other well-meaning Bayelsans.
The fear of Bayelsans was understandable following reports that recent pronouncements by the Federal Government indicate that government has lost patience with the attack on oil installations and kidnap of expatriate oil workers operating in the troubled Niger Delta.
Tension further heightened in the capital city when one of the national dailies reported that the expatriates were held by irate Ijaw youths who incidentally had nothing to do with the crisis at the oil facility described as an internal affair between the workers and management.
With the Federal Government not ready to tolerate any action that would hinder the free flow of crude oil to the international market as well as being under increasing pressure to deploy United States marines whose frigates are presently stationed in the Gulf of Guinea, the Bayelsa State government had no choice but to wade into the trade dispute with a view to saving the state and the entire country the embarrassment of being tagged terrorist haven by the international community.
The detention of the expatriates, Vanguard learnt was the height of the bitter face-off between Nigeria workers and management of Forasol Drilling, which dates back some years.
The protesting oil workers whose drilling contract would expire in September had in the past made representations to the management to improve their severance pay-off but were allegedly rebuffed.
Angered by the nonchalant attitude of the management to their demand, the aggrieved workers orchestrated a protest by embarking on work to rule action which eventually led to the detention of the foreign nationals to press home their demand.
For a state still grappling to shake off the bitter experience of youth restiveness that characterized the early days of the present administration and the image problem caused the people before the international community, the stage was set for the state government intervention.
However giving the often tricky and volatile nature of oil workers' protest on platforms, not many people gave the state government the chance to broker a speedy resolution of the conflict and subsequent release of the foreign nationals.
Governor Alamieyeseigha who was on a trip to the United Kingdom on the entourage of Vice President Atiku Abubakar had to cut short his journey to spearhead efforts to secure the release of the expatriates thereby proving to all doubting Thomases that his previous exploit in trouble shooting on behalf of his people and the oil industry were no fluke.
Although the protesting oil workers were not armed, seizing the expatriates on the platform and sealing off the oil facility to prevent helicopters from landing and taking off was enough to cause anxiety. The governor had to defy a security report of the tense atmosphere by taking the risky option of riding on the high sea in an open boat from Brass to get to the captives.
For Alamieyeseigha, his previous effort at negotiating for the release of kidnapped expatriates and Texaco helicopter at Okoloba in Delta State again came into play as he was able to win the confidence of protesting workers. He promised to convene a meeting with their management before they agreed to release their captives who were then flown to Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital.
Parading the released expatriates to reporters in Yenagoa, Chief Alamieyeseigha who said he had to use an open boat on the rough and turbulent sea to get to the oil facility expressed happiness that the expatriates have fully regained their freedom.
A visibly angry lamieyeseigha who could not hide his pain for the word “kidnap” as used in the media said the protesting workers only confined and restricted the expatriates to their rooms.
Although the governor decried the poor condition of blacks working in the company saying they have every reason to be angry. He, however, condemned the method they adopted, which according to him, was not justifiable in modern conflict practice.
Alamieyeseigha who was soaked by the rain and the surging wave noted that such situation would continue to manifest in the nation's oil industry until the operators of the sector stopped the inhuman treatment of Nigerian oil workers some of whom he said were better and more experienced than the expatriates.
Corroborating the position of the Governor, his Deputy Dr Goodluck Jonathan who was also lifted to the platform with a crane to meet the foreign nationals said “they (Nigerian workers) have been working for the oil-serving firm for two years yet with no letter of employment and staff identity card with their terminal benefits unnecessarily delayed.
“That is why they down tools and barricaded the helipad to prevent any helicopter from landing or taking off."
The elated but distraught expatriates all clad in blue shirts and denim jeans commended the state government for its timely intervention, saying they would eternally remain grateful to the governor who personally took charge of their rescue mission.
Secretary to the State Government, Dr Steve Azaiki, who was also part of the rescue team commended the action of governor saying his military background must have embolden him to stick out his life to ensure the release of the expatriates.
