The Nation Newspaper

Category: Niger Delta

  • Amazing tales from Rivers’ nonagenarian

    Amazing tales from Rivers’ nonagenarian

    Ninety-two-year-old Chief Emmanuel Omuodu Amadi looks strong and healthy. He does almost every chore himself. Life for this man who retired in 1995 as Chief Accountant in the Rivers State Ministry of Finance is filled with amazing tales. PRECIOUS DIKEWOHA met him.

    Tell us your life pattern and how God has been able to keep you.

    My parents were Christians. My father’s name was Jacob Amadi.  I was very young when I saw him worshipping God. He was a very strong Christian and he raised me in that direction. Some of my father’s children died, including the first and the second and when I was born, my parent said: “This one will not die”.  That was the reason why they called me Omuodu , meaning “I will not die”  but  unfortunately  my father  died when I was very small.  But I will not forget that I only knew him when he was serving God as a church usher.   When my father was dying, he called my mother and said to her  “if you don’t train Emmanuel, I will kill you”. That was why my mother decided under suffering to train me by grinding and selling garri at the  Ojukwu market. Then, when I was in standard four at Saint Cyprain in 1943, we used to carry garri from my village to town  and after then, I would  go to school. Before I went to Cambridge in 1951, life was too tough for me. I suffered so much to get to where I am today.

     The style now is dating a lady before marriage, was it the same thing during your time?  

    No, in our own time, when you saw a girl you like, somebody would recommend her to you. In my case, someone recommended my wife   to me and   I went there and saw the girl. We negotiated; then in 1962, she joined me in Lagos. In 1963, we got married.  Our first issue was born in 1965. We got the second one before the Biafra war broke out in 1967. My wife is still alive but she divorced me during the Biafran war. She left me in the refugee camp, where I had to choose another wife. By the time I went back  to see my wife if she was alive or not, another person had married her.

      You didn’t bother to fight and  reconnect with your wife

    No, it is because during the war when we were running away, as a chairman of Christian Association in 1966  when I returned home, we realised  that  Nigerian soldiers had taken over the town  and  all Igbo residents in Port Harcourt sent their wives home to defend Port Harcourt. They came to stay in my village.  In settling in my village what they did was to loot everything in the village but we as Christian Association,  we harboured them in the school, gave them all they needed. But when Nigeria entered to liberate Ogboboro community, the natives just came to my house and searched for me,  but  they  didn’t see me. What they did was to burn my house.  In which case, if I had not left, they would have killed me. By that time, my mother had crossed to Ogbakiri, one of the communities in Rivers. I had left my son, my wife and my small sister in Isiokpo in Ikwerre Local Government before  I crossed over to Iba. We were there as refugees. Incidentally, when my mother in-law, who was staying with my wife  died, then  my mother came and carried my wife. As they were there, they found out in  the night that my wife was no more there. So, the following morning, before I got there, they had buried my mother in- law. Then their family said I should pay 10 pounds to bury my mother-in-law. But my mother had given them five pounds. I borrowed 5 pounds and gave to them. I told them I had no other money as refugee.  Because of that, they seized my wife. I was there negotiating with them on one Sunday night to release my wife,  when Nigeria  soldiers entered. As I was running away,  my wife refused to follow me.

    How did you remarry?

    Yes, I remarried. That was the best option to take care of my children. I could not come home because my house was burnt. I stayed in the refugee camp from 1969 to 1974. I was there struggling for life.  The war continued until 1970. From 1968 to 1970, I was struggling as a refugee. Fighting and struggling and fortunately for me, God blessed me; I became very rich there through some businesses I was doing and people who could not do or struggle like I was struggling became jealous of my progress and success.

     When said you were very rich, does that mean you were driving expensive car and living in a mansion?

    Nobody was living large.  Everybody was the same. Everyone was a refugee. Nobody was driving a car and that time because of my hardwork, I was getting more money to train my children and to feed them. They regarded me as lord, even the natives started to envy me because I was selling plantain. They arrested me and locked me in. But God being with me, I was rescued; then I  went back again trading.  Fortunately, when I stopped trading, I started selling kai kai. I went to Abua to buy drums of kai kai to supply to soldiers. So, I stopped that of plantain, it was not lucrative as that of kai kai, and I was heavily patronised by soldiers.

    What is the secret behind your strong look?

    The secret is that I was not lazy. I was hardworking. I was carrying plantain from Umudioga to sell at Port Harcourt. What gave me the impetus, being a refugee I used Biafran money to buy two ridges of cassava in the bush. And immediately my wife paid that money we went to her place. After they started running back, I asked my landlady: “did my wife pay that money for the ridges?” She said “yes”. I had to go and ask the woman to use me to uproot the cassava; she collected the cassava and made it into garri in order to get Nigerian money. By the time we finished three ridges, they sold it and I collected the  money to trade. I used that money to  buy plantain at Elele. By trading with plantain, I was successful. What I meant is that suffering in the area of working hard and not staying idol would make you strong because that is  constant exercise. It is better than staying at home.  I was hardworking, I was trading, the condition had made me to trade. Trading under suffering because I had to go to far distance by trekking or riding bicycle made me strong at this age.

    At a certain age, you must study your system. Like now, I can’t eat what you eat.

     I want you to just recall one thing you can never forget in your life

    I have a lot of them but I will pick one.  There are so many in the past and present. When I was in the service, I was Chief Accountant under civil service commission. The last testimony I had, the driver of my commissioner sent some bills for me to pay them. He made some bills for me to pay them for the repair of his master’s car. I paid him with the documents and  I filed it. Another week he brought another one again, I compared that with the previous one and they were both identical. Because of the forgery,  I gave him a query to give reason why he  should not be disciplined for fraudulent behavior. So, he gave that letter to his commissioner and the commissioner was not happy with me. We went to a meeting, because of anger he insulted me. I said “why do you insult me before everybody? Are you not stupid to insult me because I gave your driver query? Did I query you?” Because of that, they gave me a query. I used it to petition them before the secretary. Fortunately for me, the day I submitted that document the secretary and the military governor traveled to Bayelsa for the last visit before he retired. So, the secretary could not take any action. However, the secretary was a man who deceived me when there was opportunity in the ministry. What happened is that   instead of taking my son he used his own brother and sent him to Abuja. Then because he did not give my son what belonged to him, his own brother went to Abuja; on reaching there, they disqualified him. Before he came back, the secretary died. He could not treat my letter. So, the chairman replaced me with another person because I petitioned them. The money I used to give them I refused to give them because the money was too much. So what he did was to bring another person and that person gave him the amount he wanted to travel to Lagos and on reaching Lagos he climbed upstairs and fell down and died.  And before he died, he refused to give me my letter of retirement. I had applied for retirement because of the mess and corruption that was going on and they refused to give me my letter. But when he died, the following Monday they brought another commissioner and that commissioner gave me the letter of retirement.

    names, so my cashier was operating and looting the money and I never knew. When the commissioner got the information the cashier was arrested. They asked him, “Is your master   aware of this thing?” He said “no”. So they disciplined. They called me and asked, “Do you know that your department is fraudulent?” I said “no, there is no fraud in my department because I am a Christian”. I said “I am paying according to what was handed over to me”. All my handover notes were all with me; so all the voucher which I received according to hand over notes   were all with me. So we brought  those hand over notes  and the voucher on which we paid. We started to tick them one by one. Fortunately for me,  I was not involved in any ghost name. So what they did was to discipline that man after checking. They said “Mr Amadi you can go, you are a good man.”

    Again  I was  transferred to Eche Local Government  as sub treasurer. On reaching there, they sent me N400,000 to pay  teachers. That amount in those days, how much was teachers salary? Very small. When I started to pay, I saw a lot of money, surplus and  people were delegated to supervise the payment. I collected the surplus money and sent it to the bank. Then I knew some people who had not received their pay but  I paid them to the bank. So the people who came to supervise said “Mr Amadi why did you send that money to the bank? Do you mean  you  have no problem in your family?” I said  “Even if  I have family problem is it stolen  money that  I will use to  solve the problem?” That was in  1986.

  • Delta Govt. pledges commitment to rights of women, children

    Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa on Wednesday expressed the state government’s commitment to protect the rights of women and children in the state.

    Okowa made the remarks when he received the President of Women Arise for Change Initiative, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, who paid him a courtesy visit in Asaba.

    He said the Child Rights Act was domesticated in Delta in 2009 and that as a state, the Act would be diligently implemented.

    He added that “we intend to implement the Act diligently, if anybody is involved in the abuse of women and children, the person must stop, because we will take such issue up and the person will be prosecuted.

    “We must do what we can to safeguard the future of our children because it appears that many families have forgotten their roles right from the family level; it seems that values are lost.

    “As you carry on with your social advocacy, a lot needs to be done for families to play their roles of bringing up well trained children.”

    The governor, however, lamented situations where children grow up without feeling pains or not afraid of inflicting pains on others.

    He cautioned against any form of violence on children, women and less privileged in the society, adding that parents should ensure proper upbringing of their children and wards.

    He assured that government would take up any issue that concerned gender based violence and child abuse.

    He commended Okei-Odumakin for her organisation’s intervention to reduce violence against children, women and the less privileged in the society.

    Mrs Okei-Odumakin, who did a presentation on gender-based violence in the country, called on the governor to establish centres to handle such cases in the state.

    She, however, disclosed that her team was in the state to present policy guidelines on gender-based violence on young persons in Nigeria and to get the state to key into the programme.

  • Corps members donate foodstuff to orphanage

    Some members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) yesterday in Calabar donated foodstuff and toiletries worth N100, 000 to the Uwanse Orphanage Home.

    The items include three bags of rice, seven packets of Maggi cubes, six cartoons indomie noodles, groundnut oil, detergent and soap.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the corps members under the aegis of Community Development Service Group on Charity made the donation.

    The President of the group, Mrs Ann Ubi, said the donation was part of the group’s objective to show love and care to the underprivileged.

    She said the children needed the support, love and care of members of the public for integration and purposeful living.

    ”We have to make this donation because children in this home need support and care from members of the public. We had to tax ourselves for this humanitarian service, ’’she said.

    Another member of the group, Mr Philip Abani, promised that the group would continue to identify with the home in all its activities.

    Mr Ogban Ogban, an NYSC official, who accompanied the corps members, encouraged the children to be hopeful with a determination to success in life.

    Receiving the items on behalf of the home, Mrs Felicia Oti, thanked the group for the gesture.

    Oti said the gifts would go a long way to take care of the needs of the children.

    “We seize this opportunity to call on well-meaning individuals, philanthropists and corporate organisations to emulate the corps members’ gesture.

  • Weeping Bayelsa child

    I have struggled to understand it. I guess it is too much for my 12-year-old brain to comprehend. But, what is clear to me is that there is something wrong with my family. My father, Diepriye, is a civil servant. My mother, Patience, is also a civil servant. Dad works at the Niger Delta University. Mum works at the Governors’ Office.

    Until some months back, paying my fees at the private school I attend in Yenagoa was no problem to dad. I am their only child and got all the attention I craved. Some days back, I was sent away from school because Dad has been unable to pay my fees and mum cannot help either.

    Both of them told me they have not received salaries – not to talk of allowances—for months. They say Governor Seriake Dickson claim there is no money to pay them, yet admits billions came to the state in one year. And here lies my dilemma.

    It can make some sense to me in this era of dwindling oil fortune – as my teacher described it – when Ekiti or Osun claim not to have money to meet their obligations to workers. But Bayelsa? I can’t get it. We are a small state, the smallest in the country.

    In terms of population, local government areas and number of workforce, we are small. But, in terms of what we get from the Federation Account, we are not small. We receive one of the largest allocations from the Federation Account every month because we are a leading oil-producing state. We even not long ago got some oil wells which used to belong to Rivers State. Edo State takes less cash from the Federation Account, has more workforce yet it has increased salaries. Cross River, which lost oil wells to Akwa Ibom following a Supreme Court judgment, paid May salary of workers on the first day on May Day.

    My teacher once said we could afford to buy Ekiti and Osun. I can’t remember the figure he put to it but, to my little brain, being able to buy two states mean we should be rich. So, why are we suffering? Why am I at home when I should be in school? Why is poverty walking on all fours in our dear state? Does it have anything to do with the fact that ghost workers so far discovered in Bayelsa have proved to be the worst in the entire country since economic crunch compelled my governor to check for leakages in the treasury?

    Is there any correlation between our sorry state and the fact that my governor prefers the late DSP Alamieyeseigha as a role model and true hero when we have the likes of Gabriel Okara of the “I hear the call of River Nun” fame?

    I doubt if I will ever forget these words from dad: “We have not been paid for over five months. The local government workers have not been paid for about 13 months and the governor who is supposed to feel our pains and find solutions to our plight is the one still threatening us with no work no pay.”

    In my quest for answers, I have been following the news of late. One day I came across a story titled “Dickson admits receiving N95bn from FAC in one year”. It had a sub-title: “Governor threatens journalists”. He spoke at a forum to give account of how our money has been sent.

    My first reaction on seeing the headline was: So, why can’t he pay dad and mum so that I can return to school?

    Then, I decided to read it. Governor Dickson said of the N95bn from the Federation Account (FAAC) in one year, N12bn went to the eight local government areas in the state. N83b went to the state government.

    I chose to read further. The governor said N14.89b was used to service bond repayments taken by the Timipre Sylva administration. Salaries of workers, he said, consumed N32.38b.

    Bank loans, according to His Excellency, gulped about N15b.  Local debts, including inherited debts and overdraft, cost N24.6b, the governor said.

    Overhead costs for running the three arms of government gulped N3.9b and N20.9b went to projects’ execution.

    My governor did not forget to add that if not for his administration’s prudent management of resources, the state would have collapsed. He added that though Bayelsa is an oil-rich state, Nigeria has not been fair to the state. Yet for some six years, a son of the soil and ex-governor was President of the same Nigeria that my governor said has not been fair to our dear state.

    His Excellency accused state correspondents of hiding under press freedom to work with criminal syndicates, thieves and cult leaders. He did not stop without telling them not to take his hospitality for granted.

    My governor confirmed a report that the state has become a spy when he said his administration was monitoring text messages and telephone conversations between journalists and their paymasters. When I got to this stage while reading the report, my reaction was: His Excellency is wasting the money he should have paid my dad and mum on spy software?

    His Excellency’s words: “So, when some young men are sent to the state, they call themselves different names operating in different guises with criminal syndicates, not working to advance the course of democracy and what is good for the country and even for their profession, they come here and connive with criminals, thieves, cult leaders.

    “The press, they know the cult leaders. They come here not to advance the course of the state. They come here not to assist in developing democracy in our country. They hide under the guise of press freedom and work with criminal syndicates.

    “Sometimes, we know the text messages, their conversations and those who give them money just to run down the state. You Bayelsans should know that there are people who don’t want a strong clear-headed leadership, a focused leadership from Bayelsa State.

    “There are those who want Bayelsa to be a weeping child of the Niger Delta. For our friends who enjoy the hospitality of our state; in our government, no one kills anybody. No one attacks anybody.

    “It doesn’t happen in their own state but they will come misrepresent Bayelsa, paint Bayelsa bad, government of Bayelsa bad when in their own states they don’t have leaders that will stand up to 10 per cent of what we represent.

    “They know that you people delight in running down the government. So, this is a warning to all those who are here. You have the right to be here, enjoy our hospitality but don’t run down the state.

    “Don’t instigate civil unrest because you only know how it starts but you don’t know how it will end up. In some of their states, their governments have not paid salaries for 15 months; those boys that are writing nonsense, in their own state. Yet they come here, instigate our people and misrepresent things.”

    The governor’s rant did not provide the answers I want. Rather it made me weep for my state and myself. It generated more questions, such as: Are Dr Goodluck Jonathan and the late Alemieyeseigha among his predecessors he accused of accumulating humungous debts which has made him unable to pay some six months salaries? Are they part of those he claims he cannot see what they did with all the money they borrowed?

    Governance, my teacher taught me, is about finding solutions to the problems facing the society and the people. It is not about giving excuses. It is not about threatening reporters and accusing them of crimes. What my small brain tells me is that if His Excellency has a case against these reporters, he should give the security agents the evidence he has against them and let them face the music.

    I remain the weeping Bayelsa child. Your Excellency, it is time I returned to school.

     

  • Niger Delta: Challenges, prospects and future

    Niger Delta: Challenges, prospects and future

    The Federal Government in 2008 created the Federal Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to coordinate its efforts aimed at promoting infrastructural development, environment protection and youth empowerment in the region.

    The oil-rich region historically comprises Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers and they largely occupy the mangrove creeks around the River Niger tributaries towards the Atlantic Ocean coast line.

    But in 2000, Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Cross River, Edo, Imo and Ondo State became part of the region that has been the centre of international controversy over pollution and underdevelopment.

    In the light of this, from the onset of the establishment of the ministry, the Federal Government has insisted that the ministry is responsible for direct response to the myriad of challenges in the region.

    Concerned citizens, therefore, suggest that the ministry should urgently work towards the delivery of a virile development plan as prescribed by the Niger Delta Master Plan.

    They note that although the master plan has been applauded since its scripting in 2006, previous administrations have not met the expectations of the people in the region.

    They observe that amorphous militant groups, including the Niger Delta Avengers, have sprung up, destroying oil facilities because of the feelings among the people that their expectations have not been met.

    They also note that dreadful cult groups are rampart among the youth, posing a great threat to the peace and development of the region.

    They maintain that although Amnesty Programme and disarmament process on the militants, particularly among the members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta are commendable, they failed to address challenges of lack of empowerment and socio-economic underdevelopment of the region.

    This development, perhaps, informs the recent decision of the Federal Government to inaugurate the clean-up of Ogoniland as a lead up to tangible development of the region.

    The government expresses concern that the militants are creating worse environmental health disasters by the rate they destroy oil facilities in the region.

    Apart from this, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Usani Usani, has assured the people in the region that the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari will create an enduring partnership for the socio-economic and industrial development of the region.

    The minister said the ministry had not and would not abandon any of its ongoing projects in the nine oil producing states of the Niger Delta.

    Receiving the community leaders of the nine oil producing states who paid a courtesy visit on him recently in Abuja, the minister said that the ministry was eager to fast-track the development of the region.

    The minister said: “previous efforts created monsters that were bigger than the communities; the new efforts will cut down these monsters and cause them to submit to their communities.

    “Previous efforts were characterised by corruption and bribery of government officials, the new approach will bring all stakeholders into a transparent commitment to the development of the Niger Delta region.

    “Previous efforts paid more attention to mega projects like roads and huge buildings which were celebrated but not fully implemented, the new approach will pay considerable attention to projects that will truly empower the people by training, skill acquisition and ethical reorientation.’’

    The minister has also said that there were plans of the ministry to send 100 Niger Delta youths to abroad for training in various skills.

    He also said that the ministry had entered into many training agreements with various European and United Kingdom training institutions to train the youths in strategic areas.

    According to him, such partnerships involve Ministry of Niger Delta with S.T Georges and Ministry of Youth and Sports to train Niger Delta youths on a programme tagged “Train and Engage.’’

    He said the trainees would be absorbed and constructively engaged in existing oil and gas industries as soon as they finished their training.

    The minister said the Local Content Office of the Africa House in UK, Africa Business Forum and the Ministry of Niger Delta had also entered into a collaboration to engage Niger Delta youths on a special programme along the NVQ model design.

    He said the NVQ model “is designed to train the youths in oil and gas based on industry need basis.’’

    He also warned that the era of getting paid for what had not been done had gone, insisting that “those who take up jobs as contractors must deliver quality jobs to justify the tax payers money paid for such jobs.

    “Contractors who appear to have abandoned their projects are advised to go back to site to complete them.

    “If they have found themselves incompetent to deliver, government should be made to know on time in order to re-award the contract to a more competent company.’’

    The minister urged the people of the region against complicating the current environmental challenge of the region by engaging in vandalism of oil and gas pipelines which cause oil spillage and pollution.

    “The government will compel oil spilling organisations to do the necessary clean-up because the government is on the side of the people to checking oil spillage.

    “Already the Federal Government has taken the lead in this direction as it has inaugurated the clean-up of Ogoni-land,’’ he said.

    In spite of all these, observers insist that the plans and goals for the development of the region can only be possible or feasible in an atmosphere of peace.

    They note that it is necessary for all parties to maintain peace and work together for the rapid development of the region.

    “We can achieve much more under an atmosphere of peace and tranquility than in an environment of confusion and chaos,’’ they insist.

    • Makanjuola is of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

     

  • NDYP to Buhari: don’t dialogue with Avengers alone

    The Niger Delta Youth Parliament, NDYP, yesterday asked the Federal Government not to dialogue with the Niger Delta Avengers NDA alone.

    The group said doing so would make other groups within the Niger Delta region carry arms against the government and demand another dialogue.

    The National Coordinator of the Group, Imoh Okoko, stated this during an interview with newsmen in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.

    Okoko urged the government look into the underlying issues and address them while consulting with the major stakeholders and interest groups across the Niger Delta states as a way of ending the issue of militancy in the Niger Delta once and for all.

    He explained that the Niger Delta Avengers may have regrouped because some parts of the amnesty granted to militants by the late President Yar’Adua were not implemented by the oil companies operating in the region.

    Okoko said: “Oil companies operating in the region have abused the process of amnesty, which I believe is what led to the regrouping of the current militant group in the Niger Delta.

    “Imagine the oil companies employing Lebanese as labour because they felt the Federal Government has given the Niger Delta militants amnesty.

    “The oil companies abandoned the youths; they refused to implement the local content law and even the local content office is not doing anything about it because of corruption, that is the problem and the Federal Government has to look into it.

    “If you go to Eastern Obolo in Akwa Ibom, you will shed tears how people are living like animals because of the operation of oil companies in their environment. They don’t have good water; they don’t have good road and access to education.”

    Okoko, who also lamented the lack of federal presence in Akwa Ibom, cautioned the Federal Government against into jumping into any discussion with any group while leaving other aggrieved groups out.

    He said: “Let me commend President Muhammadu Buhari for setting a dialogue committee. Let this extend to Akwa Ibom; Bayelsa; Delta; Rivers; Imo and Abi states. The dialogue should not be on the avengers alone.

    “If the dialogue is on the avengers alone, it will force other groups to carry arms against the federal government and demand the same dialogue. Federal Government should look at the ways of solving the root cause of the problem not just providing a solution but they look at the origin of the crises in the Niger Delta.

    “When you look at the causes of the crises and with the dialogue, you will end restiveness in the Niger Delta forever. Even if you dialogue with the people, if the root cause of the problem is not addressed, it will not work.

    “Akwa Ibom hosts over 50 oil companies. Mobil have their major operation in Akwa Ibom State but their office is located in Lagos State. They pay all the taxes to Lagos state. Lagos state as at today is the richest state in Nigeria. Why can’t Mobil relocate their headquarters from Lagos to Akwa Ibom State? At least Shell relocated their office in Lagos to Port Harcourt, Rivers State and appoints indigene of Port Harcourt as the Managing Director. So many oil companies operating in Akwa Ibom do not have Akwa Ibom person even as Directors not to even talk about Manager in their management team. They still believe in the dream of those years that says Akwa Ibom people are only good as house boys and house girls. In Mobil, for instance, we have only one director and the post is Community and Government Affairs department. They don’t even regard the community where they are getting money from as anything.”

    On his advice to the youths, he said: “My advice to the youths including the militants is that they should not carry arms against the Federal Government. They should not attack more pipelines but if government and oil companies fail us this time, we will be forced to do what we are not supposed to do.”

  • Rumbling in Ijaw Youth Council as Fed Govt searches for peace in Niger Delta

    There is no doubt that the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Worldwide, the umbrella body of all Ijaw youths in the world, has been rebranded and refocused under the leadership of its current President, Mr. Udengs Eradiri.

    Eradiri, an engineer, and the IYC Spokesman, Eric Omare, a lawyer, have increased the global appeal for the council; constantly articulated the common position of the Ijaw nationality on matters of national importance and preached non-violence as the sole approach in Ijaw agitation for true federalism and self-determination.

    Despite being the most vocal Ijaw group following the crisis rocking its parent body, the Ijaw National Congress (INC), the IYC appears to be struggling to maintain its unity of purpose. Discordant tunes are gradually emanating from within the Ijaw youth family.

    Trouble started when suddenly a document started circulating on the social media that Eradiri and its Spokesman, Mr. Eric Omare had been suspended. The document was signed by some aggrieved executive members of the council.

    They formulated some issues against Eradiri and Omare. They accused them of conducting themselves in a manner capable of causing disaffection among members of the council. They also accused them of misappropriation as well as forming and encouraging the formations of factions.

    Persons who reportedly signed the documents are the National Secretary-General, Bristol-Alagbariye Emmanuel; Director of Mobilisation, Wisdom Ikuli; Legal Adviser, Ekine Egberekro; Assistant Secretary, Deinkoro George; National Women Leader, Felicia Ngeri and Financial Sercretary, Kemepado Alfred.

    Immediately, the circulation of the document was brought to his notice, Deinkoro, who is the Assistant Secretary of the council, denied being part of the signatories. In fact, in a press statement, Deinkoro insisted that he never signed such document and never attended any of the meetings where such decision was taken against Eradiri and Omare.

    He lamented that his signature was forged and called on the Ijaw nation and the general public to disregard the document. Deinkoro further said he had briefed his legal team to take necessary steps against Ikuli and others who were behind the document.

    But others stuck to their gun. They sent the document to the IYC Mobile Parliament (IMP), which is saddled with the responsibility of sanctioning erring members of the council.

    But the parliament quickly rejected the document and declared it null and void. The parliament insisted that the document was lacking in merit and substance and scolded the originators for disrespecting and disregarding the procedures for such actions stipulated in the constitution of IYC.

    The Parliament in a resolution reached at the end of its sitting which took place at Usoku Town in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State ruled that Eradiri remained the President and Omare, the Spokesman of IYC. The resolution was signed by the Speaker of the IMP, Mkpon Ijonama and Clerk of the Parliament, Mr. Sunny Ogori.

    The IYC through a statement signed by Omare also reacted to the development. Omare condemned the activities of persons sowing seeds of discord in the council and dismissed the suspension document. He described those behind it as moles.

    Omare said IYC is a well-structured organization with a constitution which defines the power of its officers and its organs. According to him the power to suspend or remove officers of the council is the function of the IYC Mobile parliament by Article 10 (B) and (C) of the IYC Constitution after a rigorous investigation procedure.

    He said: “On Saturday the 28th of May, 2016, the IYC parliament with power to suspend or remove officers of council rejected the purported suspension and cautioned the National Secretary, Mr. Bristol Emmanuel.

    “The said letter was fraudulently prepared by only the National Secretary, Mobilization Officer and National Legal Adviser, Mr. Bristol-Alagbariya Emmanuel, Ekine Egbelekro and Wisdom Ikuli respectively with the signature of the Assistant Secretary, Mr. George Deinkoru forged. There is a case of forgery against them already before the appropriate authorities.

    “The said officers are moles in the IYC and the Ijaw Nation who are acting the script of external forces who are not comfortable with the hard and principled stand of the President of IYC, Udengs Eradiri and the Spokesman, Eric Omare in defending and protecting the Ijaw interest.

    “These two officers who the IYC constitution empowers to speak on behalf of the Council have consistently defended the Ijaw interest in the face of threat to their lives and intimidation.

    “The sponsors of these moles have decided to resort to this approach to polarize the IYC and Ijaw nation in the light of the prevailing situation in the Niger Delta region because they have failed to compromise the President and Spokesman of IYC despite several attempts”.

    But the reason behind the sudden efforts to polarise the IYC was traced to the plans by the Federal Government to find permanent solutions to the activities of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) in the region.

    Some persons in the Presidency were said to be desirous of engaging the Eradiri-led IYC to persuade the NDA to embrace dialogue and stop the ongoing destruction of pipelines and other oil installations in the region. There was a general belief that the NDA which had restricted its nefarious activities to Delta and Bayelsa states was dominated by disgruntled Ijaw youths.

    Following its closeness to the Ijaw youths, the leadership of the IYC was to be provided with logistics to move into the creeks and prevail on the avengers to surrender their weapons. But some powerful politicians from the region were against engaging the IYC leadership accusing Eradiri and most members of his council of being supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Persons against the development were said to have mounted serious opposition against Eradiri causing the division of the national executive committee of the council into political lines.

    Eradiri confirmed the development to the Niger Delta Report and urged President Buhari to be wary of some Niger Delta leaders around him.

    He admitted attending a security meeting where the issues were discussed adding that he told the conveners of the meeting the hard truth.

    He said: “A meeting I attended, I made it clear to security agencies that Niger Deltans who are around the President are the problem of President Buhari and that the President should be wary about clowns around him.

    “Didn’t you see? They were in a meeting talking about money spent for the avengers, but the following day, they blew up installations. The same way they deceived Goodluck Jonathan that they were going to negotiate with $40million but were eating fat in the process.

    “These same hawks are around President Buhari. If he wants to engage, he must reach out to stakeholders. I also told security agencies that these persons are not representing the Niger Delta.

    “You are talking to somebody who claims he is representing the region and they are blowing. Is it not an embarrassment to government? They are not happy that the truth is said because they have been deceiving the President all this while”.

    Eradiri further insisted that the IYC remained an apolitical organisation with commitment to protect and defend the Ijaw national interests.

    He said: “The IYC is an apolitical organisation but individuals have party affiliations. I have tried as much as possible to maintain an apolitical front and not allow party issues creep into the IYC.

    “But certain individuals don’t understand the positions they hold and may want to use their party to destabilise what the Ijaw nation is doing.

    “The IYC represents the Ijaw nation. When you come to the IYC you drop your political toga and deal with the issues that concern the Ijaw nation. The some political manipulations but we will do everything possible to insulate this organisation”.

    Despite all the clarifications, the anti-Eradiri group has refused to back down. Instead the went ahead, to announce the replacement of Eradiri and Omare.

    Irked by the moves to polarize the IYC, the council’s parliament, again, sat and resolved that it would no longer sit back and watch few disgruntled elements damage the reputation of the youth body.

    The parliament, the highest law-making organ of the body, also for the umpteenth rime clarified that Mr.Eradiri and Omare remained the President and Spokesman of IYC respectively.

    Passing a vote of confidence in Eradiri and Omare, it said anybody who has petitions and grudges against the duo should follow a due process of lodging their complaints in accordance with the law establishing the IYC.

    The Speaker of IYC Parliament, Mr. Mkpon Ijonama, said reports that Eardiri and Omare had been suspended were the handiwork of few misled members of the IYC executives.

    Ijonama,who was flanked by the Deputy Speaker and other principal members of the IYC Parliament said the persons bandying the suspension document failed to follow the procedures contained in Article 10 of the constitution.

    He said: “We have a procedure as an entity and if you go to Article 10  of the constitution of Ijaw Youth Council, it spelt boldly and clearly a procedure in which one can be suspended or removed from the council. Non of the procedures were met before the so-called suspension on social media”.

    He cautioned persons planning to sow a seed of discord in the council saying the Ijaw Nation would not tolerate distractions in its trying time. Ijonama alleged that some strangers were trying to use willing tools within the Ijaw land to cause division in IYC.

    Describing the IYC as the most vocal voice of the Ijaw, he said the Parliament was ready to invoke the relevant section of the IYC Article to deal with saboteurs within the ranks of the Ijaw youths.

    “We are facing a lot of challenges in our communities, the state and the Federal Government. I think there are ghost hands that are trying to cause division Ijaw Youth Council. We don’t have any faction.

    “Udengs Omare remains the President of Ijaw Youth Council. Eric Omare remains our spokesman. We are warning these persons to retrace their steps or we will invoke the necessary provision of our constitution to deal with them”, he said.

     

  • Bayelsa gets transparency website

    Bayelsa gets transparency website

    The Bayelsa State Government has launched a transparency website to help members of the public access the financial reports and other issues of revenue accruing to the state from different sources.

    The website, Bayelsa Watch, was inaugurated by Governor Seriake Dickson during the 50th edition of the state’s transparency briefing recently.The Commissioner for Information, Mr. Jonathan Obuebite said the establishment of the Transparency Watch would reduce the speculations about the government’s financial transactions.

    He also called on the people of the state to remain supportive of the policies and programmes of the government. According to him, the restoration administration had always demonstrated genuine commitment to the wellbeing of the people and the overall development of the state.

    Dickson while inaugurating the website said it would be domiciled within the ministry of Information but updated by the Ministry of Finance. The governor also confirmed that the state  received N95bn from the Federation Account (FAAC) in one year.

    Of the amount, the governor said N12bn went to the eight local government areas bringing the state government’s receipt to N83bn. The governor spoke on Monday during the 50th edition of the state’s monthly transparency briefing and the launch of transparency website, ‘Transparency Watch’ at the Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall in Yenagoa.

    But computations of all the breakdown reeled out by the governor showed a total expenditure of N111.6bn, against the N95bn receipt. He said N14.89bn was used to service bond repayments taken by the Timipre Sylva administration while salaries of workers consumed N32.38bn.

    He further added that bank loans gulped about N15bn,  local debts including inherited debts and overdraft N24.6bn,  overhead costs for running the three arms of government N3.9bn while the sum of N20.9bn went to projects.

    With the expenditure profile of about N111.7bn, the state government is in deficit of about N28bn. He said if not for his administration’s prudent management of resources, the state would have collapsed.

    Dickson decried what he described as lopsided federal system, saying that though Bayelsa is an oil-rich state, the nation has not been fair to the state.The governor commended the Federal Government for publishing the revenue that accrued to the states from the federation account.

    But he said: “For those of you, who read that report, you will see that Bayelsa is not number one on that list in the sense of who got what. We produce the bulk of the resources, but when you look at the list, Bayelsa is probably number five or six. That issue has to do with addressing the lopsided federal structure of our country, which some of us have been talking and will continue to talk about.

    “I commend the Federal government for publishing what goes to the states. That is what we have been doing here by law for the past four years and still counting. But, it will also be interesting for the Federal Ministry of Finance to publish what the Federal Government and its various agencies are getting and spending. That should also be put in the public domain.

    “We are the state that is teaching Nigeria transparency; what it means to be transparent in the running of government; what it means to show tolerance and democratic temper in the way we allow people express their views and how no one is hunted and hounded in this land.”

  • ‘We are engaging Delta youths meaningfully’

    ‘We are engaging Delta youths meaningfully’

    Kelvin Okolie, chairman, Delta State chapter of Nigeria Youth Organization, NYO speaks on his mission and the forth-coming inauguration of the state’s executive council in Asaba.

    What exactly is the mission of Nigeria Youth Organization in Delta State?

    As the name implies, we are a youth organisation that is concerned about youth empowerment through creating awareness for youths to realize themselves in the society.  I wish to state here that skill acquisition is one of the vehicles for realising these objectives. In Delta State, we are passionate about youth empowerment in the areas of sports development, agriculture, ICT and entrepreneurship. Part of our work is also to create awareness about their role as youths in public service and leadership positions. If we say that a youth of 18 can vote, why then is it difficult for that same youth of 18 not to be voted for?  There is no point stating the fact that we are not well represented in government today, this is a well known fact.

    How much of these objectives have you achieved in Delta State?

    At the moment, we are putting finishing touches to our various programmes which are intended to train 25 youths from our state’s 25 local government areas. And we will be organising a seminar where these youths would be empowered with materials to work with. As you are aware, we will inaugurate our state chairman and executive members alongside local government chairmen on July 2. As far as we are concerned, this is a big event as we will be playing host to dignitaries both within and outside the state.

    Beyond the inauguration, what else?

    We are going to organise a lecture titled: The Youth and the Challenges of Building a New Nigeria. We chose this topic in order to create the needed consciousness among youths. We feel the time has come for Nigerian youths to take their place in the society and play the expected roles. Our aim is also to get the youths off the streets by channelling their energies to more productive ventures.

    There are many youth groups in Nigeria saying almost the same thing. What distinguishes you from others?

    As you are aware, NYO is a foremost youth organization in Nigeria founded in 1980. The organisation was founded with the belief that the youth as a class have a common destiny and obligation to society. But more important, NYO serves as a catalyst for the promotion of peace and good neighbourliness among young Nigerians. Therefore, there could not have been a better time to galvanise youths in Nigeria and Delta State in particular. We know the challenges we face today as a country and as an important and vibrant group, we cannot afford to stand aloof.

    But it is regrettable that we are yet to take advantage of our number and strength in the society. Current statistics show that the youth constitute more than 65 per cent of the population in the country. Ironically, a good number of this population is idling away and this is antithetical to the fact that youths are the engine room of development in any nation. Conscious of this fact, we are therefore determined to make a difference.

    Finally, how do you intend to drive this process in order to make the needed impact in Delta State?

    As a youth organisation, our priority is to engage and motivate youths of Delta State to make positive impact. But we cannot do all we set out to do in isolation. We will need support from relevant stakeholders, particularly Delta State which should provide the enabling environment. Our approach naturally will be anchored on advocacy, mobilisation and capacity building. It is gratifying to note that we already have a youthful governor who knows the issues. This, no doubt, would go a long way because Delta State is bubbling with energetic and vibrant youths who need little motivation to achieve their objectives in live.

  • Two wrongs don’t make a right

    Two wrongs don’t make a right

    The water in the stream is dark. Very dark. It shares colour with raw oil. Joseph Kiama looks at it and feels like crying. He is 44 now and memories well up in him, memories of those days when this same stream meant everything to his people. In it, they swam. In it, they fished. In it, they got water to drink. In it, they got water to cook. In it, they also saw a medicinal juice capable of curing diseases oyinbo medicine was incapable of dealing with.

    That was then; this is now. Things have fallen apart. And the centre is not holding for anyone in Lelegege.

    Trouble started for them some 20 years ago. When the devil came looking for them, they could not recognise it as such. They thought good times were here. Oloibiri did not teach them anything.

    The devil wore a three-piece suit the day it came. He described himself as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Hell Petroleum Development Company (HPDC). He promised them heaven on earth but it soon dawned on them that they would see the so-called heaven but it would only be inhabited by workers in the company and named Residential Area—with fence so high they would not be able to scale.

    One week after the man from Hell visited them, the goodies started rolling in. Some pupils in the town were awarded scholarship to study overseas. The king’s palace was rebuilt. The first tap-borne water was inaugurated. A health centre was also constructed and equipped with what they later found out were dispensary tools.

    In no time, a town hall sprang up. And other goodies rolled in. Finally, the Messiah is back, some must have thought. If there were any Doubting Thomas, he was silenced in no time.

    With the confidence of the people bought, the Hell team began work on their facilities, such as the flow stations and the Residential Areas. It was boom time for the people. With so much construction going on, there was manual labour for many to do.

    The contractors handling the jobs came with so many skilled labourers whose wives were far away in Lagos and other big cities. From time to time, they felt like feeling the warmth of women and the young ladies in the town provided the warmth. Some even became live-in lovers or temporary wives. There were even instances of married women who had affairs with the supervisors of the projects.

    It took all of three years for the Residential Areas and other facilities to be put in place. And that was the first shock for the people. With the facilities in place, the contractors left. By then, some girls had been impregnated and were left to fend for themselves. Those who made money offering one unskilled service or the other also discovered that they had to look for other means of eking out a living. Many returned to the streams to look for fishes. Some returned to till the land.

    The first ten years were without much rancor. Not with some of their children who were educated by the Hell people being employed and some other assistance coming from the company.

    Then there was the first spill. It occurred about the 11th anniversary of these people from Hell in Lelegege. The people just woke up one day and saw many of their streams with dark patches. They could not understand it. Those who drank from the water before realising the danger in it found themselves coming down with one ailment or the other.

    The Hell people tried to find a way around it. And life seemed to return to normal after some remediation work was done. And there was no cause for alarm until another one year. In one week, there were several spills and deaths.

    The Hell people blamed it on sabotage by some youths in the community. The youths blamed it on ageing pipelines, which ought to have been replaced.

    Things got to a head when there was practically no stream that was drinkable. Deaths upon deaths. Strange diseases upon strange diseases. No one needed to tell the people of Lelegege that hell was finally here.

    Something terrible later happened. The community became divided. Some supported the Hell people. Others did not. And before long, internal fights broke out among the people. Allegations of bribery and corruption were levelled against some elders.

    Angry youths later pelted some leaders with stones and all sorts and in the process two died. The police arrested some leaders for instigating the youths against the deceased. They were tried in a kangaroo court and found guilty and killed. It did not take long before the community re-united and sent the people from Hell packing.

    Recalling how they get to where they are today brings tears to Kiama’s eyes. As he sheds tears, his friend Jacob Manager arrives the stream.

    “Why are you crying?” Manager asks.

    Kiama utters no word. He simply cries on.

    “What is your problem?” Manager asks a second time.

    Still no response. So, he keeps quiet too and sits beside him.

    After about two minutes of silence, he asks: “Are you ready to talk now?”

    Kiama looks at him and smiles.

    “I am just overwhelmed looking at this stream where we used to play as kids, where we used to fish as adults, where we got water to do so many things. Now, the water has been poisoned; the fishes are nowhere to be found and only one intent on committing suicide dare drink this water,” Kiama explains.

    Manager heaves a sigh of relief and says: “I was scared. I thought somebody had died or something like that.”

    “No one died; it is just that we all died long ago but we are yet to be buried. We died the day the people from Hell came into our lives. We died the day the first spill occurred. We died the day we became divided because of pot of porridge.”

    Manager’s countenance changes. Sadness is written all over him.

    “You know our problem in this region is our leaders. Once they get their dues from the oil majors we can go to hell. They care less about us. They care more about themselves. Or is it that they love us too much to care about us?”

    Kiama looks at the water again and shakes his head. He also looks around the environment as if he is trying to mourn the state of things.

    “Some boys are recruiting for the Avengers,” Manager chips in.

    Kiama pretends as if oblivious of his existence.

    “I say some people are recruiting for the Avengers.”

    “Ehen,” Kiama mutters,” that is a bad thing.”

    “Why did you say so?”

    “The Avengers are not fighting for us. They are just frustrated. They are bombing oil facilities and before you know it there will be oil spills everywhere and life will become more difficult. The government in Abuja will also not take it lightly. Innocent people will suffer and ultimately we will be the loser for it…”

    “I don’t agree with you. I think we should send away the oil majors from our region. We need to run our own show. Call it resource control or whatever you like but we must run our own show. Enough of using our resources to develop other lands…”

    “ I see some sense in what you are saying but what has happened to the bulk of the money that our own people who have been governors have been given? How much of it have they spent developing our land? What is the guarantee that they will not end up still wasting the money if we are allowed to control our resources? Think my brother, think…”

    “Well, let us try it first and if they fail us we will treat them as saboteurs. I am seriously considering joining the Avengers. We will launch grenades, bomb Abuja, bomb Lagos and other places where our money has been used to develop….”

    “Be careful Manager, be careful. I am sad about the turn of events and that is why I am here thinking about my life. I won’t lie to you that there has been no time when I felt like resorting to violence but I have realised that dialogue is always the way out.   I have studied the history of the world. War has never settled any quarrel. It has always ended up on the round table…”

    “I agree with you but we will use violence to get the needed attention…”

    “Two wrongs don’t make a right. That is what I want you to take to heart. Two wrongs don’t make a right. I can see a silver lining at the end of this whole dark hole. I think it is time we left for our homes.”