By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
On June 7, a royal delegation from the Delta region of Nigeria visited the Port of Los Angeles followed by a boat tour of the harbor the next day.
The delegation, led by the king of the Warri kingdom in the Delta state of Nigeria, Ogiame Atuwatse III, and the top members of the African Diaspora Foundation and Aivlys LLC met with Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka. The port director explained that the topics of discussion were trade relationships and friendship.
“As trade is shifting, the world looks very different from a ports perspective and the supply chain, and it’s been the has those who have helped bring us together,” Seroka said. “We talked about ideas and concepts in business and protocols in investment. But again, it’s the friendship and the relationship that bonds.”
Joe Gatlin, the CEO of Gatlin Enterprises and chair of the US section of the African Diaspora Foundation, is a key figure in linking the port director and the Nigerian royal delegation. During the tour of the harbor, Gatlin spoke broadly about the conversations taking place regarding future trading relationships with the nation of Nigeria.
“We’re here for one reason only … to show off our community, but the King came for trade,” Gatlin said.”
Gatlin noted that trade will make a difference not only on the African continent but here in the Los Angeles harbor.
“The imports from the continent will mean more job opportunities for our community. It’ll bring millions to our port,” Gatlin said. “One of the reasons I’m so excited about this, [is that] this will help our entire community. So I’m also asking all of you to get the word out … to get ready for this input. It will happen soon. We’re on the clock. Believe me, this will happen very soon and it will impact all our communities.”
In attendance at the boat tour with Olu Atuwatse III, were retired congresswoman Diane Watson, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen franchise owner Ed Rice, and a cadre of other leaders in business, politics and nonprofit fields.
Gatlin let loose a tidbit of information that went unmentioned at the press conference later in the day. He had noted that at one time, Nigeria was the number one producer of farmed fish and fed nearly half of the continent.
“It was huge,” Gatlin said. “It went down over the years. Now, they’re going to revive it.”
Gatlin connected that story to San Pedro’s place in history as a fishing town.
“As we all know San Pedro is a fishing town. But all of Southern California lost a lot of that when Starkist and Chicken of the Sea and all those left. But it’s going to come back…For that fishing industry now coming back to San Pedro.”
Gatlin conveyed visions of port-related unions expanding their members because of the work that would be generated due to the new trade links with Nigeria.
Gatlin’s excitement was palpable.
“Every Union on the waterfront will increase its membership. Sometimes even double their membership. So I want to make sure our people are ready for that. They’re trained for that. They go to school to become welders, whatever is needed. This is going to have a huge impact on our community.”
Since his elevation nearly three years ago, the 40-year-old monarch has been the subject of a great deal of excitement due to his pedigree, education, his stances on ensuring women’s access to education, and the divestment of oil infrastructure responsibly. Atuwatse is also a serial entrepreneur. He founded Noble Nigeria and Coral Curator and is the Chairman of Ocean Marine Security and a director at the Gulf of Guinea and Vessellink Nig.
The monarch obtained a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Political Science from Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, Ohio, USA in 2006 and a Master of Science degree in Management from the same university in 2007.
In 2008, Atuwatse returned to Nigeria for the mandatory National Youth Service Corps and served in the public affairs department of National Petroleum Investment Management Services or NAPIMS. After NYSC, he worked as an officer at the Shell Nigeria Closed Pension Fund Administrator or SNCFPA and Sahara Energy between 2010 and 2012.
This past January, Shell Oil controversially announced it was selling its Nigerian onshore subsidiary, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited or SPDC to Renaissance, a consortium of five companies comprising four exploration and production companies based in Nigeria and an international energy group for $2.4 billion. Critics have blasted the sale for allowing the oil company to shirk its responsibility for cleaning up the petroleum-contaminated rivers and streams and large areas of polluted land that have impacted the lives and livelihoods of the people living in the Niger Delta region.
Atuwatse made no mention of potential oil exports or the ongoing criticism of the sale during the press conference at Terranea Resort on June 8. In an interview with Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Foundation posted to YouTube a few days before he visited the port, his majesty articulated a hope that Shell would do right by the people of the Delta region and address the damage caused by its oil infrastructure.
Shell has blamed oil spills on sabotage, including theft of oil and interference with pipelines. However, Amnesty International and CEHRD have reported that Shell has made false statements about the extent of oil spills caused by illegal activity.
At the boat tour around the Los Angeles harbor and the press conference later in the day, the only thing discussed openly was friendship between the Port of Los Angeles and Nigeria and the possibilities of trade in strengthening that relationship.
Port director Seroka, tempered the excitement without extinguishing it by noting that the friendship that was started with this visit was only the beginning.