SIR: The Nigeria’s Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was a creation of emergent restiveness by vibrant youths who became overwhelmed by the tyranny of the federal government rule and seizure of the region’s oil and gas resources through obnoxious petroleum and land laws, and the wilful appropriation and misappropriation of the proceeds of these resources.
To a large extent, Niger Deltans have themselves to blame because from the inception of the NDDC up until now, whether administrations that are constituted constitutionally or by presidential fiat, their sons and daughters have been in the commanding heights of these administrations.
So, why is the region crying for lack of development or the semblance of it? Why is 95% of the region still in a parlous state in terms of development apart from a few towns like Asaba, Port Harcourt, Warri, Akure and lately, Yenagoa?
The mostly riverine Niger Delta, her people and their difficult deltaic terrain remain rural, rustic and with no modern development architecture! Are the gods to blame? Or is it not time we face the fact that, we as Niger Deltans, also have a share of the blame for our underdevelopment, our inability to stand up to the authorities who control the administrative and project procurement and implementation profile of the commission?
Why are our democratically elected governors under BRACED Commission i.e. Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Cross-River, Edo and Delta, not risen to the evil that has befallen the NDDC for so long? Why can’t our governors with the enormous political and economic powers at their disposal not been able to interrogate these excesses in the NDDC and the Ministry of Niger Delta over the poor state of affairs in the commission?
Read Also: NDDC Peace Cup gets sub-committees
As a corollary, have our respected kings, traditional rulers, elders and leaders of thought, home and abroad summoned up the courage to interrogate the failed and failing administrators of the commission? Is it beyond their power to call these erring administrators and their collaborators to order and to check their excesses? Has the inactivity in carrying out their fatherly and advisory role in times like these not contributed partly to the unimpressive project implementation performance bond of the NNDC with the region over the years?
Agreed that the pitiable state of stunted growth and development in the region is compounded by overbearing power brokers from Abuja and their condescending stooges at home; should our sons and daughters allow themselves to be used as errand tools?
Is it now rocket science for a Governing Board to be constituted to run the affairs of the commission? The much talked about marathon “Forensic Audit” exercise has long been concluded, and its findings submitted to Mr. President at Aso Rock since September 2, 2021.
It is common knowledge that the NDDC under various illegal administrators have been used for purposes other than the advancement of the commission. It is, indeed, a sad commentary on the All Progressives Congress (APC) government which rode seamlessly to political power on the wings of the fight against corruption and commitment to the peace and security of the Nigerian state.
There is no doubt that violation of established rules angered President Muhammadu Buhari enough to have instituted the forensic audit panel to investigate wrong doings in the NNDC with a view to reviving the commission and get it to work for the good of the Niger Delta and the people.
I suggest that Niger Deltans rise up to this affront by a cabal that is anti-Niger Delta. The way to go is to confront this ‘EVIL’ that has stalled development efforts of the NDDC for so long. How to start? Niger Delta governors can and should brace up under ‘BRACED’, and in unity of purpose, together with critical stakeholders in the region, start serious talks with the Presidency and the National Assembly with a view to restoring the agency to its intended purpose. This matter is of utmost importance and urgency. There is too much stench oozing out there, making us to wear forced face masks perpetually to prevent us from being contaminated by the heap of mounting maladministration and its consequent unpleasant fall-outs; corruption, stunted socio-economic and infrastructural growth and development of the region.
The NDDC and her workers, including its planned developmental framework are being held hostage by a self-seeking cabal. We cannot afford to wait and watch while Niger Delta and her resources are being haemorrhaged. Now is the time to act.
- Braeyi Ekiye,
Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.