The Nation Newspaper

Category: Niger Delta

  • Food for thought

    Food for thought

    It was for the good of the people. A cottage hospital, equipped, furnished and ready for use. It should call for celebration. But some persons had a different view of the facility at Eteo community in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State. They fell in love with it. They loved it so much that they stripped it of everything good: the roofing sheets, windows, railings, water closets and all. The impression one is likely to have is that the love they have for it is to see it naked and dejected.

    Let’s leave Eteo alone. Please accompany me to the 3.65-kilometre Okrika-Borokiri Road with three bridges at Kolabi, Abotoru and Okpoka creeks in Okrika Local Government Area. The project, a Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) project, like the cottage hospital, is to connect the islands in Okrika to Borokiri in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. The site is dormant, with no concrete reason from the contractor.   There are even no tools on site to show that the contractor has any plan to resume work anytime soon.

    So, this project meant to ease traffic on the East-West Road and connect several communities in two local government areas has become a victim of man’s nonchalant attitude to things that are important. Now, the dream of taking traffic off Aba Road and getting people living in Okrika, Akpajo, Eleme, Gokana and Khana commuting to Port Harcourt through the road has to wait longer before becoming reality. Those working in the Port Harcourt Refining Company also have to wait longer to see that day when they can drive to Port Harcourt in 10 minutes.

    The NDDC team, which inspected these projects last week, was disappointed by these projects. I was too on reading the report. My disappointment made me drop a tale I started last week.

    Rivers is also home to another vital project, which for the past twelve years, is yet to be completed. This project, the Bodo/Bonny road, has the capacity to open up these two communities and link them with Port Harcourt. Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration started the project but it was stalled for all the years that Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was in power. His excuse was that there were major lapses in the first procurement of the Bodo/ Bonny road, such as lack of proper design, lack of proper costing and so on. He never fixed the lapses before leaving office.

    The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited, with its base in Finima, Bonny Island, has offered to pay 50 per cent (N60b) of the cost of completing the road. This is on the condition that the Federal Government will drop its counterpart funding of the project so that it will not end up being abandoned for lack of fund. The offer made February3, last year is yet to be accepted by the government and the project remains abandoned and the people the worst for it. The road will change the fortune of the people living in Ogoni, Okrika, Eleme, Andoni and environs.

    Bonny is also home to some other abandoned federal projects. Roll call: Federal Housing Estate, Bonny Ring road and the Federal Polytechnic of Oil and Gas, which is 90 per cent completed but wasting away. Of what good will a polytechnic be for a community only accessible by water? Chances are that only indigenes will attend.

    Pardon me if I am taking you on too many trips; once more accompany me to Okerenkoko, Gbaramatu Kingdom in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State. There is a cottage hospital in this community, which used to serve even people from Edo and Ondo states. It was built by the NDDC in 2008 and handed over to the Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (DESOPADEC). For some reasons, DESOPADEC, with all the resources at its disposal, could not run it. Tompolo Foundation took it over but its fortune dwindled when a military raid on the town led to its destruction. Now, it is wasting.  Delta State Commissioner for Health Dr. Nicholas Azinge said this would soon become a thing of the past, as the state government would take it over. He must walk the talk.

    Let’s get back on the road. This time around we are cruising around Delta, a land littered with abandoned projects. Some of them abandoned since two decades. Billions of Naira are just wasting away in the form of white elephant projects ranging from hospital complexes, roads, industrial parks, markets, stadia and  airports.

    During a mid-term ministerial project status overview in 2013, ex-Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan revealed how his predecessor ex-Governor James Ibori abandoned 418 road projects valued at N133 billion. The projects, said Uduaghan, include 1,372 kilometre of roads and 744 kilometre of drains.

    Top on the list of abandoned project in this state is the N35.2 billion Delta Independent Power Project in Oghara, Ibori’s home town. The last House of Assembly constituted a five-member committee led by its majority leader Tim Owhefere to investigate the IPP project. The level of rot in Oghara amazed the lawmakers but they abandoned the probe midway over alleged undue influence from powerful politicians. They were said to have found nothing to justify the amount expended on the project. Over N19 billion had gone into the project, according to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

    Now, Deltans cannot see the 128 megawatts of electricity that it was meant to generate and their N19 billion seems to have gone down the drain.

    Effurun is also mourning another project, which was initially abandoned but has now been dismantled: the N6 billion Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Lane Project. Its take-off point was Effurun Roundabout, Uwvie Local Government Area and termination point was at the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), Warri South. Okowa has since dismantled the project. It is not clear if the state is still pursuing its effort to recover its funds from the contractor. Painfully, additional funds were spent to dismantle the failed project.

    There is another sore thumb called Warri Industrial Park at Edjeba, Warri South Local Government Area. It sits on approximately 329 hectares. It was conceptualised to boost the commercial activities in the oil city. As at 2011, over N9 billion had been sunk on the project. More money is suspected to have also been pumped in. But waste it lies in its splendor. It shares its infamy with the Asaba Airport, which despite billions expended on it, is considered by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) as unsafe because the government failed to fix key infrastructure, such as perimeter fencing and drainages.

    Please you need to go with me to the much-hyped $250m Delta Leisure and Theme Park, Oleri in Udu Local Government Area. The project is abandoned and overrun by weeds. The dream of having a water park, cultural centre, amusement rides, hotels and retail outlets in it is dead, and I am afraid, buried.  Yet, N800m was spent on the construction and beautification of the median of the Delta Steel Company (DSC) expressway leading from Osubi airport to Oleri, the project’s site.

    My final take: Rivers and Delta are not the only ones with elephant or abandoned projects. They are everywhere in the Niger Delta and elsewhere in the country. These are just the ones that got me thinking about the culture of waste in our clime. We need to change our ways if this country is to go anywhere. Continuing like this means our tomorrow is dead on arrival.

  • Amaechi’s passion for good governance

    Good governance involves well-intentioned people who bring their ideas, experience, professionalism and preferences and other human strengths and short comings to the policy–making table. When those who championed and enthroned democracy speak one would not but nod in the affirmative.

    The forgoing assertions have become imperative to consider when one reflects on the leadership style of Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi as the then Rivers State Governor and his present activities as a Transportation Minister.

    A case study of the scenario of good governance can be best cited when Amaechi served as the Rivers State Governor from 2007 to 2015.

    The monumental achievements were unprecedented. Such passion for building massive infrastructures and manpower development within eight years in the twenty three local government areas of the state was ‘magical’ and uncommon among men in Nigeria political circle.

    It is a public knowledge that before Amaechi ascended to the position of the Governor in Rivers State, development was at its lowest ebb. Amaechi came on board and without delay rebuilt a new Rivers State before he left office in 2015.

    One will not forget in a hurry how Infrastructural development in terms of construction of roads, building of schools, hospitals etc became visible in all parts of the state in Amaechi’s era.

    As at the time his administration ended in May 2015, Rivers people were satisfied that Amaechi revolutionised the state from mess to glory.

    Amaechi’s intervention in the health sector was prompted due to the high level of mortality and maternity rates. Amaechi embarked on what he code named, “project 60-60-60”, meaning that the Government under him would hand over sixty completed and equipped ultra modern health centres to sixty communities in sixty days.

    These health centres had Resident Doctors and Matrons each in addition to other supporting health workers. Each of Amaechi’s Health Centres had furnished Doctors and Matrons’ quarters including pharmaceutical departments, stand by ambulances as well as other relevant sections just for the purpose of providing optimal health care delivery system.

    Amaechi’s Dental and Maxillofacial hospital standing tall around the Garrison junction of Port Harcourt was built to solve problems related with the tooth, mouth and other parts of the face.

    The hospital is well equipped and rated as the best in Africa in the category of Dental and Maxillofacial hospitals. The edifice is a must see for all including tourists. The foregoing is just a tip of the ice- berg in Amaechi’s health revolution and good governance in his home, Rivers State.

    The project “60-60-60” was also deployed in the education sector where Sixty Model Primary Schools were handed over to Sixty Communities in Sixty days.

    Amaechi targeted building 750 Model Primary Schools; he completed about five hundred of it and equipped them to standard. Each of the Schools had twenty classrooms equipped with ICT facilities, Modern Library, Science Lab, Football Pitch and Basketball Pitch as well as Volley Ball and Nursery play grounds.

    Amaechi’s Model Primary Schools were built to International standard of United Nations recommendation obtainable in developed world. The same was for Model Secondary Schools which were likened to Universities.

    The model secondary schools have recreational and boarding facilities including housing for teachers. The abysmal state of education in the state also propelled Amaechi to declare state of emergency in the sector.

    The successes recorded in the education sector left Amaechi’s education commissioner, Dame Alice Lawrence Nemi with a ThisDay Newspaper award as the best education commissioner in the country.The award is just one of the numerous awards won by the smart, simple, intelligent, incorruptible and most friendly commissioner at the time.

    Amaechi also tackled the hydra-headed problem of gangsterism, cultism, armed robbery and kidnapping  as orchestrated by enemies of the state. These crimes were completely brought under stern control within his first one hundred days in office.

    In all, Amaechi successfully restored glory and breath of fresh air all over the state.The State was later nicknamed Rivers of Possibilities in Amaechi’s tenure.

    Amaechi’s passion for enthroning good governance dates back history as the then Speaker of the State House of Assembly. Amaechi loves delivering good governance in style just like he speaks about good governance with passion wherever he goes,Amaechi loves doing good.

    In a lecture he delivered last week at the Osun College of Education, titled “Good Governance and Sustainability of Democracy in Nigeria; Panacea for Nation Building”, Amaechi picked good governance and sustainable democracy as essentials and pre-conditions for nation building.

    Amaechi believes that for a nation foundation to be solid, good governance and sustainable democracy must be in place.

    For Amaechi, nation building is all about building a political entity, based on generally accepted rules, norms and principles. He believes that good governance is also about development and strengthening of independent state institutions like the Security agencies, Judiciary etc.

    Amaechi explained that effort must be made to ensure that Government institutions function properly and optimally with or without the human actor.

    According to Amaechi, “When government institutions are firmly established and devoid of political control and manipulation they guarantee the regularity of human conduct and how the system will respond in a given situation”.

    Amaechi identified some characteristics of good governance namely; participatory, consensus oriented, accountability, transparency, effectiveness, efficiency, equality, responsiveness and the rule of law.

    “Good governance is responsive to the present and future needs of the nation, exercises prudence in policy-setting and decision-making,and above all puts the best interests of all stakeholders into consideration”.

    For Amaechi, when Democracy which is the Government of the people, for the people and by the people is truly practiced in a nation and sustained, all the sectors of the nation varying from economic, political, social etc will appreciate and the nation would definitely grow.

    • Okpara, an aide of the transportation minister, sent this piece from Abuja
  • NSCDC intercepts sacks of illegally refined oil in Bayelsa

    NSCDC intercepts sacks of illegally refined oil in Bayelsa

    Ordinarily, they look like bags of rice or processed cassava popularly known as garri. But they are sacks of illegally-refined petroleum products. It has become a new strategy adopted by economic saboteurs to transport their stolen products to their chosen destinations.

    The bags of illegally-refined products were loaded in over five vehicles to deceive security operatives. But luck ran out on their owners when they could not escape the prying eyes of operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Bayelsa State command.

    The suspected vandals deliberately removed the plate numbers of some of the vehicles. Most of the vehicles used in the illegal business had tinted windscreens with their trunks and back seats stuffed with the sacks.

    It was amazing how the operatives knew that the vehicles were carrying suspected proceeds of theft and sabotage. Of particular interest were two Hilux vans. One of them had its trunk loaded with the petroleum sacks and covered to look as it was carrying nothing. The other was a customized Hilux van locally built for the purpose of conveying such products.

    The products were first bagged in polythene material by the suspects, who later stored them in sacks making them look like bags of cereals.

    The state’s NSCDC Commandant, Mr. Desmond Agu, said  bagging of stolen oil was the newest tactics adopted by vandals to evade arrest. He said that each sack contained 50 litres of illegally-refined product adding that the seized vehicles were carrying many of such sacks.

    Agu, who paraded 11 suspects arrested in connection with illegal bunkering at the corps headquarters in Yenagoa, said they would be charged to court after further interrogations and investigations.

    He gave the names of the suspects as Nelly E, Woyengimiebi B, Lucky T, Anomotimifagha O, Michael W, Michael B, Mathias T, Ngozi S, Mathew T, Peter A and Sam A.

    He said they were nabbed in line with the mandate of NSCDC to ensure zero tolerance to vandalism, sabotage of public facilities especially critical national assets such as pipelines and other oil installations.

    Agu further said that following some special operations, the command destroyed 29 illegal refineries located mostly in communities in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.

    He said: “Specifically, the illegal refineries were located at Otuo, Oyeregbene, Igbomatoru, Azuzuama, Korokorosie and Ukapartubu.

    “In our efforts to deter people from crimes and keeping faith with the rule of law, we have been pursuing many cases against suspects in court.

    “We have so far secured 19 convictions while we are pursuing 17 more cases at various stages in court. We hope to secure more convictions”.

    Agu also appealed to members of the public to assist the corps in stamping out illegal oil bunkering, pipeline vandalism and sabotage of public infrastructure by providing timely and useful information.

    “We will treat the information with the highest level of confidentiality. We will not stand on out oars until we reduce to the barest minimum crimes against public peace and economic sabotage within our mandate.

    “Apart from impacting negatively on the revenue of Bayelsa and the commonwealth of the nation, illegal oil bunkering and vandalism destroy the ecosystem and the health of the nation”, he said.

    While thanking the Commandant-General, Abdullahi Muhammadu and the Minister of Interior for providing required logistics, he said the command needed more gunboats and other equipment to discharge its responsibility.

    But some of the suspects admitted committing the offence. One of them identified as Sam Alayebimo, said she started the illegal trade following the government’s failures to engage them in meaningful employment.

    Alayebimo said she was conveying the illegally-refined product from Okaki to the Bayelsa Palm in Yenagoa when she was caught.

    She said: “Initially, I hated this business. But because I couldn’t get any other job to do and I have children to feed and pay their school fees, I started doing it. The government cannot give us job. They only employ their family members. I have to do this job to survive”.

    Also another suspect, Emmanuel, said the anti-vandal taskforce in their community in Southern Ijaw asked them to destroy all their illegal refineries in exchange of some benefits.

    He said: “We destroyed all the refineries as requested by the taskforce. They documented PIR names but refused to pay us. I decided to stop. But one of my colleagues in school asked me to assist him in conveying some of the products from Azuzuama to Korokorosie. It was in the process that I was caught.”

  • Betsy Obaseki… A woman of vision

    Less than a month ago, Mrs Betsy Obaseki, wife of Edo State Governor, was in the eye of a media storm. News making the rounds at the time had it that her job at the Bank of Industry (BOI) was threatened and she was only being greedy to have kept her job at the BOI after becoming First Lady.

    John Mayaki, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Obaseki and himself a journalist was having none of that. In a few articles, he quite took the fight to every negative account of Mrs Obaseki’s job such that by the time he was done, I would like to think he had convinced everyone that the negative reports were the sort of claptrap that could only have been born out of malice. He was also able to, I believe, convince his readers of the First Lady’s candour as far as her Job at the BOI related to her position as First Lady of Edo state.

    As it stands, he was right. Using her influence as the Managing Director (MD) at the Bank of Industry Trust Company (BOITC), she has been making moves to empower the women of Edo State, particularly the widows.

    In less than a month, she concluded plans to empower some 500 widows through animal husbandry, and carried this out during the recently concluded International Women’s Day celebration. This empowerment initiative was a huge statement from Mrs Obaseki in more ways than one.

    Apart from the fact that it took those who had erstwhile accused her to the pillory and exposed them as myopic and ignorant, it also actualised part of the governor’s campaign promises during electioneering.

    During his campaign, Governor Obaseki had referred to his grandmother, Madam Sarah Elabor, as one of the most important people in his life as a child. He noted that he spent some time with her and so knew what women are capable of if given the chance to excel and therefore promised to empower women even as he promised after the election that 35% of his political appointments would be women.

    He also promised to select some 100 widows and give them monthly stipend for the next four years, but she decided to take the plan a step further and develop the empowerment project for the widows by collaborating with Bank of Industry.

    Added to the fact that the initiative would go in tandem with the governor’s plans for women empowerment, there is also the aspect of agriculture, which the empowerment programme has the potential to affect.

    In executing the programme, each of the 500 widows were given 40 chickens comprising 20 layers and 20 broilers of a special breed. They will also be given the required feed for three months, and she assured them of a ready market for the produce from the chickens.

    Not to be forgotten is the potential this programme has to curb food shortage in the state. Basic things such as egg and chicken would flood the market and cause the prices of these items to drop in the market, while still serving as a steady source of revenue and food to these women and their children.

    In a word, the First Lady has handed the 500 widows steady means to an income on a silver platter. They would not only have the means to an income, they would also have an employment to keep them busy and since it is animal husbandry, they could even combine it with another job if they wanted.

    She did not plan to leave them ignorant after giving them the money. Is it not often said that a fool and his gold are soon parted? She therefore organised a 1-day training programme on poultry production for the 500 widows in the state.

    The widows were trained on how to rear birds and that the empowerment would give the widows monthly stipends and boost the production of rural women, to tackle food shortages and poverty. Notably, she did not make it a partisan affair. Mrs Obaseki revealed that the programme was for everybody, irrespective of whatever political leanings they may have. She later revealed that the programme would be extended to 1000 women in the future.

    Those who have benefitted from the programme so far are thoroughly grateful for it and see that it could offer them a new lease of life as far as their finances are concerned. They described the gesture as a good omen in their lives because it would make them self-sufficient as feeds were also given to them.

    One of the widows, who gave her name as Juliet Aibangbee, said she preferred the birds to money, as she would now be engaged in a productive venture. She said they were promised during the training programme that a ready market would be provided for their products.

    Another beneficiary, who simply gave her name as Mrs. Glory, said the women were told the High breed birds do not die easily and were capable of laying five to six eggs daily.

    Meanwhile, Mrs Obaseki did not stop her empowerment initiatives with agriculture. She additionally appealed to the Edo State House of Assembly to pass two pending bills on gender violence elimination speedily.

    This appeal was timed to mark the International Women’s day celebration in Benin. The bills – Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill 2016 and Law to Eliminate Violence in Private and Public Place – have the potential to bridge the existing gap in gender issues.

    Mrs Obaseki has proven that she is not given to the frivolities, unnecessary ceremony and pomp that hang around as temptations to those occupying the office of the First Lady.

    She genuinely intends to help the women in the state and her background in finance and economics is helping her do it in such a way that not only the women, but also the state’s exchequer can potentially benefit from it.

    She showed great initiative to realise that the economic and financial challenges of the women, especially the widows in the state, could not be remedied by monetary empowerment but by granting them access to a livelihood.

    Coupled with her husband’s managerial ingenuity, Edo State may soon come into an economic and agricultural boon. This is something the people have deserved for so long. They must however sustain this tempo for it to last.

    • Oviosun, PhD, sent this piece from Benin City
  • Edo to partner herbal institute

    Edo to partner herbal institute

    Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has said his administration is ready to collaborate with the Pax Herbal Clinic and Research Laboratories to produce and package ginger and sesame for export.

    The governor gave this assurance when he received a delegation from the herbal research centre at the Government House in Benin on Wednesday.

    He expressed delight over the agribusiness initiative of the centre which was producing herbal drugs and crops like as ginger and sesame.

    “I am interested in your agriculture and agribusiness initiative because we are considering different models of ventures that can work for us.

    “We want to treat agriculture as a business; we are looking at how people can make money out of it and how government can assist the citizens to enable them to participate meaningfully and profitably in agriculture.

    “We will like to partner you on ginger and sesame production because this is one area which the Nigerian Export Promotion Council has been seeking increased production for exports,’’ he said.

    Obaseki said that the creation of “agro-preneurs’’ was the hallmark of his agribusiness initiative, aimed at ensuring gainful employment for all.

    He said his administration would also collaborate with the centre in the area of human capacity development.

    The Director of the centre, Rev. Amslem Adodo, said that the centre, which had 120 workers, was involved in the scientific cultivation, identification, utilisation and promotion of African herbal medicines.

    Adodo said the centre, which was established about 20 years ago, cultivated its own herbs directly with the help of more than 200 farmers in its host community.

    He said the centre was ready to partner with the state government in poverty and unemployment eradication efforts.

    He solicited the government’s support in speeding up the process of obtaining regulatory clearance for the herbal malaria drug which the research centre had produced.

  • Tensions brews between Delta communities over man’s disappearance

    There was heavy apprehension yesterday in Aladja community, Udu Council Area of Delta State, following the disappearance of a 40-year-old plumber, Kingsley Paya, who had gone to work on his farm.

    Leaders of the community alleged that the father of four might have been killed or kidnapped by some yet-to-be-identified armed men, suspected to have come from the neighbouring Isaba community, Warri South-West Council Area. Both communities have adversarial relationship for years.

    Aladja is an Urhobo community. Isaba is an Ijaw community. It denied the allegation, describing it as a lie and yet another ploy of Aladja to escalate trouble.

    The Youths President of Aladja, Wisdom Onatomre, said  Paya went to his farm to collect his harvested plantains.

    “One of our sons, Kingsley, went into his farm early this morning and the only thing we heard from that area were gunshots. All these happened around 5 to 6am. So, when it was day break, we strolled to the area and that was when the army there told us that the guy parked his car and rolled a wheelbarrow into the farm; that’s all we know and up till now we have not seen him.

    “We could not go into the bush; so, we couldn’t ascertain how the place he went to look like; whether there was blood or see any clue.”

    However, the Youths President of Isaba, Moses Ogugu, in a telephone conversation on Wednesday, said there was no way an Isaba person would traveled about 10 kilometres to either kill or kidnap anybody, especially with soldiers on guard.

    Ogugu said: “There’s nothing like that. They are lying. I called the Aladja youths president, Mr Wisdom, this morning when I heard about the story and he said the man parked his car at the army checkpoint of Aladja and went into his farm there. That place is about 10 kilometres away from Isaba and there’s no way an Isaba person will go that far to kill or kidnap someone.

    “Do they have a witness? They are just looking for trouble. That’s how they came to Isaba on February 6 to behead one of our sons and up till date government has not done anything about that. Anytime they come up with lies like this, you will know that they want to start another problem.

    “My take is since government has provided security on that road, both in Isaba and in Aladja, they should go to both ends to ask the security men what they saw, not just pointing fingers at innocent people.”

    Delta Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Andrew Aniamaka, told The Nation that a case of a missing person had been reported by Aladja people, adding that there was no report of shooting

    “We have a case of missing person in Ovwian/Aladja area. Actually, a young man, an Ovwian/Aladja person, went to his farm  and of course you will expect that since his people didn’t see him, they have every cause to be apprehensive

    “For now, we are treating it as a case of a missing person. What we have is that he went to his farm and has not come back, the natural apprehension will be ‘what could have happened’. We have no report of any gunshot,” he said.

  • Kinsmen battle to clear Jonathan of alleged favourtism, non-performance

    Kinsmen battle to clear Jonathan of alleged favourtism, non-performance

    It has been a disturbing week for Ogbia, the Local Government Area of former President Goodluck Jonathan in Bayelsa State. The council is angry over scathing remarks against Jonathan.

    Though many of them are angry with and disappointed in Jonathan for failing to use his former position as number one citizen in the country to transform Ogbia, they would not stand at akimbo and watch people rain insults on Jonathan. To them, it is synonymous to robbing salt in an injury.

    So, the kinsmen of Jonathan are boiling over a recent verbal attack on their brother by Chief Richard Kpodo, an indigene of Ofoni, Sagbama Local Government Area, Bayelsa State. Apart from Jonathan, Kpodo derided other high profile individuals and men of affluence from the council.

    Kpodo, a former Security Adviser and former interim Chairman of the state’s chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) claimed in his statement that Jonathan presided over a worst administration in Nigeria. He further accused the former President of empowering only his Ogbia kinsmen while sidelining people from other local government areas in the state.

    Kpodo said: “I challenge Dr. Jonathan to point at one individual in BayelsaState and even in Ijaw land in particular, that he can boldly claim to have empowered throughout his tenure outside his Ogbia enclave.

    “This selfish tendency is not part of an Ijaw man, who today, is being recorded as having taken a slot at the Presidency and even being called names as his kinsmen. What an irony of fate!”

    But the Ogbia has risen in Defence of Jonathan. Leading the Ogbia voice is Chief Samuel Ogbuku, a former Chief of Staff to former Governor Timipre Sylva and chieftain of the APC.

    Ogbuku, on behalf of the Ogbia people insisted that Jonathan meritoriously served the nation as president to all  and never acted as a sectional leader. He described the accusation of non-performance against Jonathan as misleading, unacceptable and a blackmail.

    Ogbuku, a Deputy Paramount Ruler of Ayakoro community said Kpodo’s spurious claims were designed to cause commotion in Ijawland. Specifically, he said Kpodo wanted to pit the Ijaw against one another following his imputations that the former President favoured only his Ogbia people.

    According to him Kpodo’s claims were wicked and sponsored by moneybags on a mission to pull down the personality of their brother.

    He said: “We need to remind Kpodo and those beating the shameless drum for him to dance that President Jonathan was a President to all Nigerians and not a president of Ogbia or Bayelsa State.

    “He is a symbol of pride to the Ijaw people and the entire Nation. Could Kpodo have forgotten this early that President Jonathan got accolades for his feat in office both here in Nigeria and from the international community?

    “Perekeme Richard Kpodo, in the said publication mischievously sought to portray the Ogbia people as the only beneficiaries of the Jonathan’s administration in the Niger Delta and supporting his warped argument with the few names of Ogbia sons currently going through an ordeal  in the hands of anti-corruption agents.

    “Firstly, I may not be a friend to those he mentioned, but I can’t remember any court of law finding any of these Ogbia sons guilty since the law says an accused person is innocent until he is found guilty.

    “So, for now, nobody has the right to pass judgement on them. Moreso, some of the persons the author mentioned are not under any kind of investigation, so why blackmail successful and purpose-oriented businessmen like Dr. Eruani Azibapu.’’

    Ogbuku, further called on every true sons and daughters of Ogbia to speak up and set records straight to protect the collective image of the kingdom.  He said Jonathan remained a celebrated national and international leader, adding that any attempt to denigrate him must be resisted by the people of the Niger Delta irrespective of party affiliations.

    He added: “I believe the Bayelsa people and Ijaw nation at large know the author better and we should be careful with divisive characters who tend to pitch one part of Ijaw against the other.

    “People are free to criticize, as long as it is done constructively and not in a manner that tends to demonise others. I wish to state that I have nothing personal against the author even if some people would want me to align with his submissions just because the people being attacked are members of the People’s Democratic Party.

    “On this matter, politics should not be an excuse to peddle lies and baseless allegations against hardworking Ogbia leaders and entrepreneurs. As an Ogbia Chief, I cannot hide under partisanship to allow unscrupulous characters to needlessly insult our people and heritage.

    “In a democracy, the author has the right to talk about any subject or criticise and express his views. What is not acceptable is deliberately portraying Ogbia in bad light”.

  • Amaechi and the Transportation University

    Amaechi and the Transportation University

    ike never before a lot of development is fast spreading in the transportation sector. The idea is to improve on the living standard of Nigerians and boost the economy generally. Another good news is that Nigeria will soon be one of the ranking countries in terms of affordable, efficient and quality transportation system.

    From the provision of modern rail to smooth and uninterrupted marine transport to smooth take-off and safe landing at the airports are daily priorities championed by the transportation Minister, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. Aside from providing the desired comfort in transportation these laudable projects will create a lot of employment for the teeming unemployed youths across the country.

    For instance, the rail projects when completed are expected to employ over five thousand Nigerians. This will to an extent reduce crime and violence in the land. In this light however, questions concerning the maintenance of these rail projects by government have been raised considering that government over the years is not known for maintenance culture.

    This question which has raised a lot of concern in the polity has propelled Amaechi and his team of experts in the sector to propose for a Transportation University. The Transportation University is expected to groom prospective students and possibly run Diploma Programmes for those already in the sector on the repair and maintenance of the rail projects. The whole idea according to Amaechi, is to jettison reliance on expertrates when the need for repair and maintenance is required.

    The call by prominent Nigerians for the Senate to approve the borrowing plan that would require the Ministry of Transportation to access the required loans from the Chinese government is essentially needed to complete all ongoing projects in the sector.

    To this end, the Ministry of Transportation is in talks with experts in the rail sector to build a University of Transportation for Nigeria. Amaechi is optimistic that the emergence of the Transportation University would put Nigeria on the right part in terms of quality, efficient and reliable transportation delivery.

    In line with the present administration’s plan of encouraging local content, Amaechi is on course to see that maintenance, operation and repair of the entire rail system is not depended on the Chinese but Nigerians themselves.

    According to Amaechi “The truth is that we lack the skill for the maintenance and operation of the railway system in Nigeria. Over a long period of time the manpower eroded. What we are doing now is that we have agreed with General Electric (GE) or whichever company that wins the concession or the Chinese company that is going to do the Lagos-Kano railway to build the University of Transportation. In this University you have Aviation, Maritime and Railway.It is not every time that anything goes wrong you run to call the Chinese or the Americans to come and fix it. That is what is currently going on. If you go to the railway in Lagos or Ebute -Metta you will see all sorts of things they bought under Abacha that are not in use, this we want to stop,” he said.

    As a means of having the facility to improve and enhance local content in Railway Engineering the Ministry requires some experts in this regard. The Transportation University, if established, may be the first to offer courses in Railway Engineering in the country. The importance placed on Railway by the present administration is a welcome development.

    The need to establish a Transportation University is borne out of the fact that the rail infrastructures need to be improved upon and maintained adequately, this is so as railway has become a major back bone of the Nigeria economy.

    Corroborating Amaechi’s statement is Baba Kobi, the Director Rail Services in the Ministry. He said:“ As a means of having the facility to improve on capacity and enhance local content in Railway Engineering, you need to produce the required level of experts. I don’t know if there is any Nigerian university that is offering it as a course. We have recognised railway as a very important infrastructure to improve on our economy, which is also the desire of Nigerians at this point in time. Railway has become a major back bone of our economy, so it follows logically that we must have the local content in terms of knowledge and capacity to plan, build and operate the railway and that is where the idea and concept of Transportation University came about.

    “We have looked at the possibility of engaging the interested investors in the sector to add to their content, support for local capacity building in form of Transportation University. This is primarily the issue. It means that we may not have to bring the resources for this purpose, may be just to provide the support in terms of legislature and regulatory. From the need assessment, the little we have done is that the catchment area for students should be just like any conventional university in Nigeria, (i.e) go through the necessary procedure for admission.”

    Kobi went on: “This does not mean that the University cannot organise short courses for people to enhance their knowledge and capacity. Therefore, like any other conventional university they can develop diploma courses, especially for railway engineering. As far as we are concern in the transportation sector, we are making sure that we pay our own counterpart funding that will now give us access to borrow based on the borrowing plan, we will have the opportunity to realise the establishment of the university. For instance, all the projects that is coming under the CCECC, they are handling two major rail modernization projects for us which is the Lagos-Kano and Lagos-Calabar projects. These two projects, we have an understanding that they will establish a Transportation University for Nigeria,”he explained.

    • Okpara, an aide of the Transportaion minister, sent this piece from Abuja
  • Agony of Port Harcourt Mile 1 Market traders

    Agony of Port Harcourt Mile 1 Market traders

    Traders who were relocated from  the Mile 1 main market in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital,  to the extension of old Obi-Wali Cultural Centre on Silverbird/Abonema Wharf road in Port Harcourt are grieving, Precious Dikewoha reports.

    Mr. James Idafe, Kenneth Eze and Innocent Chibueze are not happy these days. They all belong to the Mile 1 Market Traders Association in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. The source of their sadness is Rivers State government’s demolition of their market.

    They were relocated a few years ago from the Mile 1 main market to the extension of old Obi-Wali Cultural Centre on Silverbird/Abonema Wharf road in Port Harcourt after their shops and goods.

    On hearing about the directive to demolish their shops, the traders Thursday last week protested to the Government House to complain to Governor Nyesom Wike.

    Idafe, in an interview with this reporter, said:“ The government had on Thursday last week notified the traders in the market that it would carry out a demolition exercise on the market. They claimed that we are illegally occupying the space. Some Task Force members escorted by heavily armed security men had around 5a.m visited the market on alleged order of the state government and smashed our shops and goods.”

    But  the state government said the Mile 1 market extension was a hideout for criminals.

    The Special Adviser to Governor Nyesom Wike on Lands and Survey, Mr. Anugbum Onuoha, said the government did not in any way evict trades in the popular Mile 1 Market, Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers State.

    A statement  by his media aide, Prince Uwaifo Oviawe, quoted Onuoha as saying the area has been acquired by the government for meaningful projects.

    Eze, who chairs the association, questioned the kind of democratic government operated by the Rivers State government, adding that the government refused to listen to them.

    He said: “I received a call from a security in the market around 5am that police and other security and unknown faces have destroyed main gate with caterpillar, they have arrested some persons. After the arrests they started destroying the whole place and nobody removed any of his belongings.

    “When we received this information, we marched peacefully to Government House to inform the government of what we heard. The message we are receiving from them is what we are seeing now.

    “Is this the democracy we are talking about; a government that cannot listen to the voice and pleas of the masses? We did not come here illegally; we have papers that backed us to be here given to us by the past government.”

    As far as Chibueze is concerned, an act of inhumanity has been visited on traders.

    He said:“What we are seeing is an act of inhumanity. This is the administration we all fought for but they are treating us like this. We suffered for them without benefit. Now they have scattered and destroyed our goods.

    “If they had asked us to leave here, we would have done it without this level of losses. Our goods got burnt in the old market in 2013, we came to this place empty handed, building ourselves up again and after our effort to stand the state government came and destroyed everything.

    “Nobody removed even a pin from his shop everything was matched with the bulldozer. We don’t know what to do. We are watching. We hope in God. Last time the market burnt we did not die even this one, we will survive.”

    Another trader, Mr. Miracle Harry said:“After the fire that razed the old market, the government gave us this site temporarily till the market is rebuilt and to that effect there was documentation, we are not illegal occupants.

    “It is barbaric, I don’t think this kind of  thing would happen. If the governor is involved in this, it means that he was not properly informed. He should have come down here to ascertain things for himself. We are helpless in a democratic state.”

    Onuoha said  criminals were using the uncompleted buildings and makeshift apartments in the area as the safe haven, adding that the demolition was to curb crime.

    The statement reads: “The Rivers State government has dispelled the allegations surrounding the eviction of occupants and demolition of the makeshift shops occupied by Mile 1 traders along Silverbird/Abonema Wharf road in the Port Harcourt metropolis.

    “Several reports show that those makeshift shops and the uncompleted building serve as a hide out for criminals. The land which has been acquired by the state government and compensation fully paid has to be secured for meaningful projects.”

    Onuoha dismissed speculations that the Ministry of Lands and Survey was aware of an agreement reached between the traders and the Port Harcourt City Local Government Council for the space to be used.

    In December 17, 2013,  Mile 1 market was gutted by an early morning fire  which destroyed properties and goods worth billion  of naira. This prompted the relocation of the affected traders to an extension of Obi-Wali Cultural Centre where they were allocated space to construct wooden shops.

    However, that was not the first time the market would be gutted by fire. In 2004,  the  market was gutted by fire. The then governor of the state,  Dr. Peter Odili, visited the market and promised  to build a befitting market  for the traders, but he did not.

    The next governor, Celestine Omehia, awarded the contract for construction of a modern market for the traders. Construction   in the market was ongoing when Omehia was removed from office by the Supreme Court of Nigeria  and Rotimi  Amaechi came on board.

    On assumption of office, Amaechi continued with the project. The first phase of the market was completed in 2011 and stores allocated to some traders. The second phase would have been continued, but there were administrative lapses which led to the abandonment of the project.

  • I’m Dazini Madumere (1)

    My story ordinarily should be a simple one. Born with a silver spoon, raised in a fantastic ambience and educated in some of the best schools in the world. Rich and famous. Brilliant and beautiful. My paths were laced with opportunities. I have had almost the best that this world could offer: good upbringing, good education, good jobs and the best of political appointments available in my country.

    From an early age, I was not confused about what I wanted to be. A particular event helped shape me. My father, Ignatius Amama, was a Big Boy with Shell Petroleum Development Company. And we were living in Shell Camp in Port Harcourt, a picturesque city, a city of promise, a city flowing with milk and honey, a city where dreams came alive and a city where great minds found the room to flourish and flower.

    Like Lagos, it was some form of convergence for races. Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Kanuri, Ibibio and others saw in Port Harcourt a home away from home.

    Port Harcourt of yore was not a city where fear walked on all fours. The Port Harcourt I grew up in was a city where people loved their neigbours like themselves. It was a beautiful city. So beautiful they rechristened it Garden City because of the choreographed embrace between its well-laid road networks and flowers lining them.

    In it, oil giants made money and were not afraid. Their gates were not manned by stern-looking soldiers or riot policemen. Neither were their key figures escorted everywhere by gun-toting security men.

    The Nigerian civil war was the first blow on Port Harcourt. Igbo who saw the Rivers State capital as home put their all into it. They built houses, industries and so on there. Then came the war and their properties were confiscated all in the name of abandoned properties. Their attempts to reclaim their toils after the war were resisted. Though some got back their due with time, not a few lost their properties forever.

    After the war, Port Harcourt seemed to get its groove back. But the return to democracy in 1999 marked another twist. Politicians — out to show strength —  armed young and jobless youths with rifles and machine guns. Opponents were taken down with ease. Key political figures, such as Chief Marshal Harry, were killed and the culprits never found not to talk of being brought to justice.

    I still ask myself how did I get into this pitiable state? It all started when a long-standing family friend, Dr. Luck Than, accidentally found himself in power as the president and pulled me out of what I thought was a well-paying job. First, I was put in-charge of the Ministry of Works. My first major assignment was a tour of the Lagos-Benin Expressway. The road was a death trap. There were craters almost on every one kilometre. Some of the craters were big enough to swallow a danfo. I was shocked at my discovery and wept and the cameras caught me and I appeared on the front pages of many a newspaper.

    Before then, I was used to flying around and outside the country. Any road trip beyond two hours, I flew. SPDC had enough money to charter helicopter to take me around. So, on becoming a minister and having to do a road tour, I was shocked by the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and could not but cry.

    At the end, I could not fix the road before I was moved to another ministry, where I was off the public radar for some time. Then what appeared to be my breakthrough, which time soon turned to be my doom, was my movement to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

    By this time, I had become the golden fish and there was no hidden place for me. Men courted my friendship. Women were not left out. Black and white people and even albinos fell over one another to be in my good books. Bank executives, oil sheiks and politicians either prayed to find myfavour or get some juju to make me see things their way. Marabouts must have been employed to get me to play ball.

    My face became an everyday feature in the media. The blogs scooped around for gossips about me. Twitter, facebook and what have you heard about my grace and could not but join in telling my story, real or imagined.

    It seemed like a roller coaster. But like life itself, everything has an end. Dr Than was defeated in an election that many thought might end in bloodshed.

    Some may think that was the beginning of my trouble. But it really began some months before while I was having my bath.  It really all started one day while I was having my bath. This was about one year before my boss, Dr. Than, was defeated and we had to leave offices.

    I felt something like a lump in my left breast. I was shocked. I had read about cancer in glossy Western magazines during my days as a university student, and assumed then that it was a white person’s disease. After university and having seen many black women went down with it, I knew it was a serious matter. So, fear enveloped me when I felt the lump.

    What would I do without my breasts? To me, they were not mere appendages and mastectomy was something I did not want to think about. I never wanted to lose a breast. I just wished whatever was ailing it should just vanish.

    My thought went to my kids, the four of them, who needed their mother very much. For a month, I lived in denial. I kept telling myself that it couldn’t be. I kept telling myself that maybe it would disappear. So at first I kept the discovery of the lump to myself. I did not tell my husband, and I did not go see a specialist.I just felt one day I would discover it had dissolved and went to where it came from.

    While still deceiving myself, I chanced on a television programme, which featured a breast cancer survivor identified as Carol Baldwin. She was on the show with her sons. The text scrolling across the screen was motivational. I read: “THIS PROGRAMME CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE.”

    After the programme, I felt it was time I went to check out what was wrong. I found hope and my spirit was lifted.

    I also read a lot about cancer that day. I remembered coming across a quote by another survivor: “The human cells are the basic building blocks that make up the tissue. There are tissues in the breast and other parts of the body. Cells regenerate; they grow and die so new cells will be formed. So every now and then, some bricks break down and are rebuilt almost immediately. However, there may be this cell, or brick, which refuses to regenerate and just keeps growing and growing, taking up space that belongs to other cells, to other bricks. These cells can spread quickly.”

    The day after, I visited a tertiary hospital, where the lump was confirmed to be breast cancer after a thorough examination.

    I was sufficiently informed enough to ask the right questions: “Is it benign? Is it malignant?”

    I was told it was not malignant and that my chances of surviving it were high. I was overjoyed and followed all the instructions and did all I was told to do. I even took a casual leave so that I could treat myself properly. All this while, I did not mention anything to my husband or children. I felt there was no need getting them worried for nothing sake.

    For the next few weeks after the treatment, I monitored the lump and I felt it was disappearing. I was happy and even went to a church to donate some money as my own way of thanking God for rescuing me. It was at this stage that I told my husband and my children. They were happy it was all over, but they also blamed me for not telling them so that they could be there for me. I sought their forgiveness and they all willingly gave it.

    I went back to work. It was not long after that we perfected the deal on some oil blocs that were outstanding. I was also kept busy by marketers and other players in the industry who wanted one thing or the other. I was also busy with issues surrounding the elections. The opposition was really becoming a pain in the neck and we felt all hands must be on the deck. We held meetings after meetings, many late into the night. The bottom line was how I would arrange money for us to oil the electioneering wheel. I was more than willing to help because I knew the trouble we would all be in for if we allowed the opposition to get into power.

    Outside power, they were making so much noise about so-called corruption in the oil sector, which I was in charge of and it was not lost on me that if these guys found their way into power, I would be a major target of whatever probe they were going to carry out. The fear of the opposition was thus the beginning of wisdom for me.

    • Excerpts from a novel in the making