RE-ENGINEERING THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS STRATEGIES OF THE UPSTREAM OIL INDUSTRY FOR OPTIMAL RESULT IN HOST COMMUNITIES IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The  culture of love and hate relationship between the upstream oil industry and its host communities in Nigeria  especially in Rivers State calls for public concern and investigation because of its negative effects on the socio-economic lives of both the former and the latter. Thus, this study aimed to re-engineer the community relations strategies of the upstream oil industry in its host communities in Rivers State. The study is hinged on  attribution theory and the iron law of responsibility theory because of their relevance to this work. The paper adopted mixed research design: descriptive and survey research design using questionnaire as its research instrument for data gathering. The study sampled one hundred persons using the census sampling technique. Consequently, the study found that the upstream oil industry in Rivers State is adopting the divide-and- rule and seasonal community relations strategies. The study also found that the public expects the community relations strategies of the upstream oil industry to stimulate a sustainable symbiotic relationship with its host communities and diminishes hostility in its operation in the oil bearing communities in Rivers State. The study also found that the needed community relations strategies for stimulating a sustainable harmonious relationship between the upstream oil industry and its host communities in the state under study are the proactive and community-people-participatory community relations strategies rather than the seasonal, divide-and-rule, gunboat-diplomacy, laissez faire, reactive and militarization community relations strategies which the multinationals are adopting currently. To this end, the following recommendations are made among others: the upstream oil industry especially Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Agip Oil Company Limited and Total Exploration and Production Company Limited should rejig and re-engineer their community relations policies and strategies to give room for the adoption of proactive and community-people-participatory community relations strategies. The formulators and handlers of community relations policies and strategies of the upstream oil industry should also see the adoption and application of the ten commandments of corporate social responsibility as an indispensable community relations tool and recipe for building a sustainable symbiotic relationship with its host communities in Nigeria generally.