The Nation Newspaper

Category: Niger Delta

  • POWA donates shops to widows

    POWA donates shops to widows

    The Chairperson of Police Officers Wives Association (POWA), River State Command, Mrs. Chinyere Ogunsakin, has donated 36 shops to widows of policemen who died in active service.

    Mrs Ogunsakin, who inspected markets belonging to POWA after the election of new executives, said the essence of POWA is to give succour to members and to encourage the less privileged.

    Mrs. Ogunsakin, during a visit to the POWA Market at Mini Okoro, said the association is committed to give assistance to widows who are into petty trading, adding that the amount charged widows for spaces in the market should be moderate.

    She said the idea to allocate shops to widows is in consonance with her husband’s policy.

    The POWA chairperson said the new executives would collate list of genuine beneficiaries.

    Mrs ogunsakin, who encouraged the women to keep the barracks clean, said: “The market is for you not the executives.”

    She stated that during the 50th anniversary of POWA, she would encourage schools and children to participate in various talent shows which would prepare them for a better future.

    She also urged the POWA Secretariat to ensure they keep their records up to date to guide against corruption as the Commissioner of Police, Tunde Ogunsakin would not accept any excuse from anybody found wanting.

    The POWA election was attended by over 150 members . The affairs of POWA are to be directed by the new executives, which has Ngozi Anaogu as Secretary.

  • ABOVE WHISPERS: United they grieve

    ABOVE WHISPERS: United they grieve

    Some things just baffle me. One of them is how personal interest a lot of the time wrestles collective interest to the ground and makes it a candidate for the casualty ward. This has been more pronounced in my interactions with the Niger Delta. A few instances will suffice here. Since the December 2011 Bonga spill, the communities affected have not spoken with one voice. They have never agreed on anything except that there was a spill. Call it rat race and you will not be wrong. One community believes it has more right to the compensation than the other. So, there is no co-ordination of response and the oil giants have long understood this and used it to their advantage and the disadvantage of the oil-bearing communities.

    The Federal Government said it fined Shell $11.5 billion for the Bonga spill. Shell says there is no sense in this because it is not liable, “legally or otherwise.” And since the people are also battling one another, everything is on hold.

    Recently, I was part of a forum where a gas firm was discussing how to review the Masterplan of its host community with a view to financing its transformation, but instead of using the opportunity well and proving the sincerity or otherwise of the venture, the youths engaged themselves in shouting matches. It was almost degenerating into exchange of blows. The meeting had to be called off. What was the problem? There was a leadership tussle within the youth body and not even the interest of the community was enough to make them speak as one. All, as I find out, was more about who controls the body and is in a position to get the benefits from the oil giants in the area. The loser at the end is the community, which despite its richness has remained a poverty-stricken Island, with no road access to it. I will not be surprised if these youths will see in a proposed road to link the community with the upland an opportunity to make easy cash.

    I once experienced a contractor working on a road to link some communities in the Niger Delta, who lamented how youths were constantly harassing him for money. They stalled the road for a long time and who is the loser? The communities, if you ask me.

    Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, some years back, had to use ‘guerilla tactic’ to prevent a set of youths from disturbing a contractor working on a project in the state. There are instances upon instances of youths in the region seeking immediate gains.

    And that brings me to the drama in Youbebe, one of the fishing communities affected by the Bonga oil spill earlier in the week. An army of protesters were showing their displeasure over the devastating effects of the 2011 oil spill in the Bonga oil field. Since the spill, many have mounted pressure on Shell Petroleum to pay billions of dollars in reparations and clean up of the fishing areas that were wreaked by the unfortunate disaster. Till this day, Shell claims the spill never hit the Nigerian shores or damaged the fishing industry. It is another way of saying the spill happened offshore and not onshore. It says the spill from its Bonga oil field was cleaned up swiftly after the leak and it never harmed any community.

    The claims and counter-claims led to a stalemate and the stalemate was responsible for the drama in Youbebe, one of the many fishing communities devastated by the spill. A group of reporters were passing through the community on their way to an assignment elsewhere in the creeks. The protesters seized the opportunity and got the reporters off their boat and narrated their ordeals since the spill.

    As expected, they had no good stories to tell. Life, they say, has been brutish since the spill. For lives that were not particularly fantastic before given the poverty level in the region, it is understandable how hellish additional burden could cause. They have lost the fishing industry. No more fish to eat or sell. So, they and their children are ever hungry. Sickness has also become more frequent. This, they say, is not unconnected to the fact that they have been drinking polluted water.

    Shell is free to claim whatever it chooses, the people say some two million lives were devastated by the Bonga oil spill. The protesters fully utilised the presence of the reporters by leading them into their community to see what bitch of a life they are living. The community is a testimony in neglect. This community not far away Warri, the commercial heart of Delta State, has no electricity or hospital. The reporters also saw young men pulling dirty water out of a spring and they drank it to demonstrate to the reporters and photographers the reality of their existence.

    Another leg of Shell’s clam, which I believe must be investigated, is its submission that there was another spill from an unknown vessel shortly after the Bonga spill. Was there really another vessel? Who owns it? Was it there legally or illegally? These are questions that must be answered.

    During the week, the people of the communities affected by the Bonga spill decided to speak with one voice in their quest for a $5.6 billion compensate and clean up of the communities. A report quoted one of their traditional rulers, His Royal Highness Ibamugha Ojukosin as saying: “We are here as a people collectively with one voice. Let our cry be heard. Let (victims of) Bonga spill of SPDC in 20 December 2011 be adequately compensated, the communities cleaned. And let us be paid. I would want to rest my case.”

    The traditional ruler spoke at a conference in Warri, where leaders and lawyers agreed work to unite communities. Funny enough, even at that conference, some attendees, according to a report, say they believe that if Shell pays, the real beneficiaries will be the leaders. This is another issue in the region. Youths do not trust the elders and elders do not trust the youths.

    It will be good if this issue is resolved and a closure is put on it before it becomes violent. The protesters who forced reporters on an unscheduled tour of Youbebe are spoiling for war, if nothing happens. A VOA report quoted a resident as saying: “The next step we take if the protest do not succeed, SPDC will leave our lands. That’s what we’ll do. And no army man can stop us.”

    That sounds like a possible reenactment of the Ogoni treatment meted out to Shell. And when the people decide not just to be united in grief, but also speak with one voice on a matter like it, it is either their wish is done or the hell is let loose. I hope it does not get to this.

     

  • Bayelsa eyes agric, tourism to boost revenue

    Bayelsa eyes agric, tourism to boost revenue

    Its revenue has been going down in a scary manner in the last few months. Bayelsa State’s share of revenue from the Federation Account has dropped by between N4 billion and N5 billion monthly in recent time, prompting the urgent need to look inwards for alternative revenue sources. Cyril Akika, Special Adviser to the Governor on Investment, confirmed that much when he said that fluctuations in oil price as well as dwindling allocation from the Federation Account has put tremendous pressure on the state’s fiscal system hence, the resolve to drive the development of its economy by growing the SME sector in collaboration with members of the private sector.

    Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson believes the way out of the quagmire is to diversify the economy. In the last two years, he said he has devoted attention to various policies and projects aimed at diversifying the economy of the state away from oil and gas. Consequently, the state government has made deliberate interventions in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector where it is grooming a new crop of entrepreneurs to drive post-oil Bayelsa State, including other revolutionary investments in agriculture, culture/tourism, entertainment, and infrastructure development such as building roads, airport, seaport, and industrial parks.

    For instance, to underscore the shift towards the SME sector as one of the growth drivers and alternatives to oil & gas revenue, the state government, in collaboration with members of the organised private sector (OPS) is raising a N10 billion SMEs Development Trust Fund to encourage small and medium scale entrepreneurs. While the state government, according to the governor, would source for 40 per cent of the fund, members of the OPS would provide the remaining 60 per cent and also manage the fund. The Nation learnt that while the governor has supported the Trust Fund with an initial sum of N250 million, the Bayelsa State Development and Investment Corporation (BDIC) did same with the sum of N100 million. That was last year. Beneficiaries, especially land and property owners in the state with relevant Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), after presentation of their title documents, would have the opportunity to access the fund after thorough screening.

    The BDIC is a privately run state enterprise set up in August 2012 with the mandate to, among others, promote the state’s public private partnership (PPP) initiative, which seeks to create the enabling environment for the private sector to thrive; act as holding company for all the state’s assets, manage them and bring in income and dividends to the state, as well as act as catalyst for social and economic development. Apart from the critical focus on tourism and agriculture, the BDIC is also focusing on areas of comparative advantage in oil and gas, marine and logistics. The BDIC is also donating the sum of N50 million to support the 20th International Conference on SMEs scheduled to hold in Yenagoa, the state capital, between March 28 and May 1.

    To enlist the support of members of the OPS, Dickson, on March 9, led his commissioners to a pre-event luncheon with business stakeholders ahead of the 20th International Conference on SMEs. At the event, the governor called for the active participation of local and foreign investors in the economic development of the state, urging investors to take advantage of the numerous business and investment opportunities that abound in the State. He identified some of the areas of the state’s economy begging for private sector partnership with the state government to include agriculture, aqua-culture, tourism, waste management, housing and the construction of a new airport and deep seaport. The administration, as part of its sensitisation programmes, would organise a special road show within and outside the country on the deep seaport project located in Agge in Ekeremor Local Government Area of the State.

    Also, preliminary engineering works have been concluded for the construction of an airport. “We have started and we hope that in the next two years we should be able to deliver on the airport project. The area has been acquired, preliminary engineering works concluded. Bulldozers have been brought in,” the governor informed. When completed, the Bayelsa airport would create a direct link to Yenogoa, thus bringing to an end the about two kilometer drive by road from Port Harcourt Airport. “We are also working on setting up an industrial park within the vicinity of the airport,” he said, adding that the state government is also investing massively in infrastructure such as roads and bridges. “Before I came into office, it was taking us one hour from Yenogoa to Amazoma, the university community, which is almost where you are not just talking of a congenial, right investment climate, you are also talking about the presence of supporting infrastructure,” the governor said, with glee.

    He further disclosed that the state is building a tourism development school, probably one of its kind in the country, “because we want to train tourism practitioners who would service that robust economy. He said the state is leveraging the tourism sector to diversify the base of the state’s economy beyond oil and gas, which is why month after month it sponsors major local and international events in collaboration with the private sector. “If you are interested in investing in the tourism sub-sector, Bayelsa is the place to be,” he declared, assuring that investors would get a C of O within 60 days for any piece of land acquired for any tourism related investment. “The reason is that we don’t have enough hotels in Bayelsa so, we are looking for people who would take advantage of that. About a month ago, I launched the automated title certification system; it is not just for people who may be interested in the tourism and hospitality industry, but also for any other kind of investment that you can think of,” he explained.

    Another major plank of the state’s inward-looking strategy is agriculture. As the governor explained, Bayelsa State has a comparative advantage in agricultural long before the discovery of oil in commercial quantity. He recalled that the whole of the territory known as Bayelsa and its environs was originally known as the oil rivers protectorate, but because of crude oil but oil palm. He therefore, disclosed that the state government is poised to resuscitate palm oil production and several other derivatives along the entire value chain. “We shouldn’t just be focusing on producing primary products, we should be thinking of doing it down the entire value chain, which again presents several opportunities to investors,” he said, pointed out for instance, that the swampy nature of the state, “we have no business importing rice into this country when you have a place like Bayelsa. I want to see big time investors, people who would come and take over the massive farmlands that have been earmarked already for rice production.”

    The need to boost human capital development is not lost on the state government, which is why there has been emphasis on manpower training. At present, the state government is sponsoring about 150 doctor of philosophy (Ph.d) and 400 Masters Degree students in various top-notch universities across the world, according to governor Dickson. Also, about 25 model secondary boarding schools have also been built across the state. “There is no state in this country that has made the type of investment we have made in education. We are making this kind of revolutionary investments because unless you have an educated population and workforce your society and the economy have no capacity to develop; we are absolutely going to have a combustible society, the type that can blow up anytime,” he explained.

    Apparently buoyed by the structures so far put in place to unlock the enormous investment potentials in various sectors for the purpose of preparing Bayelsa for the post oil regime, the state government has set for itself the lofty ambition to become the ‘Dubai of Africa’ in terms of physical infrastructure and business opportunities. “We are already on the journey of becoming the new Dubai,” governor Dickson declared, noting that “this is why you see major international events holding in Bayelsa. In the past two years, Bayelsa has become the home of hospitality and tourism and entertainment capital of Nigeria and the entire continent.”

  • All hail UNIPORT’s ace professor

    All hail UNIPORT’s ace professor

    Academics, friends, associates, other eminent personalities, family members, relatives and students (past and present) gathered at the Ebitimi Banigo Auditorium of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) for a symposium in honour of a distinguished scholar, Prof. Ozo-mekuri Ndimele, the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, who recently clocked 50. Bisi Olaniyi in Port Harcourt writes on the memorable event, which confirms how the Professor has touched many lives.

    A doctoral student at the prestigious University of Port Harcourt’s (UNIPORT’s) Department of Linguistics and Communication Studies (LCS), Kasarachi Hayford Innocent, who also lectures in the same department, is physically challenged, but graduated with First Class in Mass Communication from the University +of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).

    Two years after graduating from UNN (in 1999) and in spite of the First Class, Innocent could not secure a job. Despite all the efforts he made, he kept roaming the streets, until he came in contact with the Dean of the UNIPORT’s Faculty of Humanities, Prof. Ozo-mekuri Ndimele, who recently clocked 50.

    Ndimele, of LCS department of the university, fondly referred to as “Unique UNIPORT,” saw the potential in the brilliant Innocent and recommended him for employment.

    In spite of his physical challenge, he (Innocent) has authored and co-authored many Mass Communication books, as well as having his academic papers published in local and international journals.

    The gifted scholar (Innocent) also presents a weekly radio programme (Standing Tall) on Love FM, Port Harcourt and he enjoys regularly saying: “Do not allow your background to keep your back on the ground.”

    One of the Masters of Ceremonies (MCs) at the symposium in honour of Ndimele at 50, Jones Ayuwo, also a lecturer in UNIPORT’s LCS department, while anchoring the programme, jokingly said in spite of Innocent’s physical challenge, he has a beautiful wife and lovely children, with everybody bursting into laughter.

    When given the opportunity to speak at UNIPORT’s Ebitimi Banigo Auditorium, during the symposium with the theme: “Language, Linguistics and Communications,” the highly-appreciative Innocent could not hide his joy, for not ending up as a beggar.

    Innocent said: “If not for God and Prof. Ndimele, I would have been on the road begging for alms. Prof. Ndimele is a man of excellence, an academic icon, very supportive, so wonderful and very caring.”

    While proposing the toast, one of the former students of the honouree, Dr. Ngozi Nwigwe, currently a lecturer at the Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri, Imo State, spoke brilliantly and glowingly about his (Ndimele’s) leadership ability.

    Nwigwe stated that: “Prof. Ndimele taught us that hard-work does not kill. He is a good mentor. He has climbed the ladder and he is showing others how to climb the ladder, without destroying the ladder. Prof. Ndimele is not a leader who will climb up and throw away the ladder.”

    Ndimele, who was born on August 13, 1963, an indigene of Umueleji, Akirika-Ogida in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State and the second son in a family of thirteen, was rather grateful to God for giving him the grace to assist people, record noteworthy educational achievements faster and at a younger age, as well as for enabling him to attain the golden age.

    The honouree, a two-time President of the Linguistic Association of Nigeria (LAN), is also an author of many Linguistics and Mass Communication books, which are vital reference materials globally, for academics, students and others.

    The prolific author, writer, publisher and editor (Ndimele) has published both locally and internationally, as well as having over fifty publications in learned journals, spanning comparative grammar, syntax, theoretical linguistics and communication theory.

    A beautifully-decorated birthday cake, prepared by an ex-student of UNIPORT’s LCS department, Miss Beauty Adeyanju, who is about leaving for the mandatory national youth service, but decided to go into entrepreneurship while still in the university and now the Chief Executive Officer of cake manufacturing/training company, was cut by Ndimele, supported by his wife, Joy, and some of the distinguished personalities in attendance.

    The President of the Faculty of Humanities Students’ Association, Joseph Inyama, also presented the honouree with an elegant plague/award of excellence.

    There was a poem on Ndimele, put together and rendered excellently by one of the brilliant students in the LCS department, Bridget Chinonyerem Agumagu, There was also cultural display, fashion show and arts exhibition by students from UNIPORT’s Faculty of Humanities.

    The Dean being celebrated did not pretend, by declaring that: “I am not sure I am a good husband and a good father. I thank my wife for her support and understanding. My wife of 14 years deserves an award for being able to manage me. When I am in my study, I do not like to be distracted. I warned my wife not to enter my study, which she has complied with. I sleep daily at 3 am, except when I have malaria, which will make me to sleep at 12 am.

    “I was the youngest Professor, when I became the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities in UNIPORT. My colleagues are saying if third term as Dean is allowed, I will be asked to continue. Four of us contested in my first tenure, with only one Etche lecturer then. The other votes put together did not come near mine. My second tenure too was by election, but nobody came out to contest against me.

    “After my two years tenure as the Head of Department of Linguistics and Communication Studies, the then Vice-chancellor directed that I should continue indefinitely and I was in office for another four years, totalling six years at the HOD.”

    The Vice-Chancellor of UNIPORT, Prof. Joseph Atubokiki Ajienka, a brilliant Petroleum Engineer, in his speech at the symposium, described Ndimele as a very fine scholar and also a very fine administrator.

    Ajienka, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, Prof. Ethelbert Nduka, said: “We are gathered here in honour of a very young Professor. We are not gathered here because he is the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities. We are gathered here because of his scholarship. Prof. Ndimele is a very fine scholar and also a very fine administrator. His ideas are very noble and brilliant.

    “We cannot leave this young and bright man (Ndimele) to end as the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, in a dynamic university as ours. I can assure you that he still has a lot of roles to play and a lot of time in the system. Fifty years is a turning point in someone’s life. You are joining the men of wisdom. We are very proud of you. Prof. Ndimele has been very wonderful.”

    The symposium was chaired by a former Vice-Chancellor of UNIPORT, Emeritus Professor Nimi Dimkpa Briggs, who recently turned 70.

    Briggs, an ex-Chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission and currently the Chairman of the Rivers State Economic Advisory Council, in his remarks, described Ndimele as a committed scholar.

    The former vice-chancellor (Briggs) stated: “We are here to celebrate 50 years of one of our great Professors. An important aspect of life in a university is the issue of tutelage. We have someone who ought to be here. Sadly, she is not here. I am referring to the late Prof. Kay Williamson (white woman), who brought up the gentleman we are celebrating.

    “I am here because I respected Kay Williamson deeply and because of that, I have extended that respect to also Ndimele, because he is a true mentee of Kay Williamson. Persons who seek after knowledge are very simple. Whatever they do, they do them seriously. They are committed. Kay was one of the most committed individuals on this campus. An academic takes his seriously.”

    One of the teachers of Ndimele at UNIPORT, Prof. Emmanuel Nolue Emenanjo, now retired, described him as a good academic and administrator.

    Emenanjo disclosed: “Ndimele was one of my students. He is very hardworking. Those of us who were trained by Prof. Kay Williamson, we had to learn hard-work. Ndimele is very cerebral and very creative. He has a very analytical mind.

    “Many things have been said about him (Ndimele), but they did not mention the fact that he is a very lively man. He is full of humour and he can be very noisy, but not without purpose. Lively people can be noisy, but with purpose. He is not noisy for the fun of it.

    “Ndimele is a good academic and administrator. He was handled by very good hands. I am not just his lecturer; I single-handedly supervised his Master’s thesis and I started with his PhD, until I left.”

    The obviously-elated wife of 14 years of the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Joy, in an interview, said she was grateful to God for keeping her husband alive.

    Joy said: “I feel so proud having him as my husband. He has been a good husband and a good father. The only problem is that he is always in his study. That does not make him a bad husband or a bad father. He is only concentrating on his job. He would come to attend to us, whenever we needed him, but not always.

    “When it is time to be in his study, you dare not see him or disturb him. There were times if I wanted to be funny, I would go to him in his study and tap his back. He would say: ‘You are disturbing me. You have made me to forget something. Can’t you see I am busy?’ I would respond by saying I tapped your back, not your brain and I would leave. He is very hardworking and always concentrates on his works. He is very caring. I wish him another 50 years, by God’s grace.”

    Ndimele’s wife also expressed gratitude to all the persons behind the grand symposium and for the eminent personalities who spared the time to honour the academic giant.

    The Chairperson of the symposium’s Local Organising Committee (LOC), Dr. Christie Omego, who is a former student of Ndimele and an ex-HOD of LCS department, noted that the scholar being celebrated had helped many persons and deserved to be so honoured.

    Omego stated that: “Prof. Ndimele has been our mentor. The symposium is put together by LCS Department and the former students of Prof. Ndimele. He has helped so many qualified people to be employed and admitted in UNIPORT. He has assisted many academic staff to publish and be promoted.

    “Prof. Ndimele is a very kind man. He is a very good person. If he teaches you and you do not understand, then something is wrong. Many of us have benefitted from him. Besides being a very dedicated lecturer, he is a good administrator. Today, our students graduate and are able to get jobs and have many things to offer, from what they have gained from the department.

    “Prof. Ndimele is very caring and has listening ears. If you have any problem, he is willing to help. He is always there for you. If you need advice, he will give you. He also helps us financially. There are people who are handicapped in one way or another, he will sponsor, even without knowing them and without knowing who their parents are. He has been helping people, both staff and students. We, his former students, are happy celebrating the academic icon.

    “Prof. Ndimele is a very sociable man. We call him the people’s Dean and godfather. He is a good man and very wonderful. He is resourceful, diligent and dedicated as ever. Since he took over as Dean, we have witnessed a lot of great things in the Faculty. There is now a new format for computing results of students.”

    The LOC chairperson also stressed that everybody was looking forward to when Ndimele would have higher position, which she said would make him to be appreciated the more, describing him as “an academic colossus of our generation.”

    The honouree (Ndimele), in an interview after the event, stated that his heart was filled with joy and quite happy that his colleagues and students felt he had done something good and were honouring him.

    He pointed out that God had kept him going and was especially grateful to the Almighty for being alive, stating that it is essential for people to know who they are, know themselves early enough and pursue their dreams.

    Ndimele said: “I am happy that people have said that I am doing well. I keep forging ahead. Determination is my driving force. I have no godfather. I am my own godfather. God is my helper.

    “Prof. Kay Williamson was a very hardworking scholar, a rare gift to humanity. She was not a Nigerian, but she lived in Nigeria for over fifty years. The last part of her stay in UNIPORT, I stayed with her in the same house. We lived together for 14 years. To live with a white woman for 14 years is not easy.

    “She (Williamson) called me and said I could not stay in the hostel anymore and asked me to stay with her and pursue my PhD programme and said she saw some goodness and hard-work in me. She offered me her books and her library free of charge. Imagine a white woman giving me her books and her library to use at will. That is why I rose very fast to become a Professor before my colleagues. I miss her dearly.”

     

     

     

  • A mother’s death unites Ijaw youths

    A mother’s death unites Ijaw youths

    It was a burial, but one with a difference. It had a touch of youthful class. It further consolidated the hard-earned unity among the Ijaw and Niger Delta youths. Most of the reconciled aspirants who initially protested the emergence of Mr. Udens Eradiri, as the President of the Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC), including the key players in the crisis such as Jonathan Lokpobiri and Elvis Donkemezuo were in attendance.

    They all came to commiserate with Eradiri whose mother, Catherine Douye Opukiri, died at 56. Opukiri’s death was remarkable. She was the backbone of Eradiri during the post-electoral crisis that tore the Ijaw youths apart. Having observed the uncommon determination of her son to retain the presidency of IYC, Opukiri had no choice but to support her radical son.

    But at the climax of the controversy, Opukiri who was scared of her son’s life could no longer bear it. She died. So, she was fondly but painfully referred to as the heroine of the existing peace among the youths in the region. No wonder her funeral attracted all the youths that played active part in the crisis.

    It was, however, regrettable that Opukiri could not live to see the end of the debacle and enjoy the reign of her son as the President of IYC. Though she died as a young woman, she achieved what many people who lived over 100 years could not boast of. Udens acknowledged the quality of life of her mother at the interdenominational service he organised before the interment at the Cultural Centre, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

    “It is not the number of years one lives on this earth that matters. It is the quality of life that counts. Some people lived up to 100 years but achieved nothing. Sometimes, people even pray for such people to die”, he said.

    Udens was right. Her mother was significant figure in the state and the region. She was a graduate of Economics Education from the University of Port Harcourt. Despite marginalization of women and sometimes lack of interest in education by women, Opukiri stood out.

    She rose above her peers to acquire degrees and demonstrated her passion for education by making teaching her first profession. Her doggedness paid off. She was employed in the Rivers State Ministry of Education and later transferred her service to the Bayelsa Ministry of Education after the creation of the state.

    She rose from the ranks to become a Director, Secondary School Education, Bayelsa State. At a point, Opukiri became the Secretary, Hand Over to Civil Rule Committee (HOCRC); Director, Inspectorate Department, Ministry of Education and Acting Chairman, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

    The late Opukiri who was born in Odoni community in Sagbama local government area, was also a Fellow, Certified Institute of Administration, Ghana. She died as a Grade 17 Director in the stage Ministry of Education.

    Udens was, however, elated that her mother saw her five children through education which he said had opened a vista of opportunities for them. He said his brothers and sisters were doing well in their chosen professions and advised parents to give their children best education. Opukiri was a proud grand mother to six children.

    Also, the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, poured encomiums on the late Opukiri. He described her glowing tones.

    He said: “Mama, you lived a highly fulfilled and enduring joyous life. You gave kids of value (apparently referring to Eradiri who is himself an engineer) to mother earth”.

    But the Commissioner for Culture and Ijaw National Affairs, Dr. Felix Tuodolor, who attended the reception after the funeral described the death of Opukiri as a great loss.

    But one of the sympathisers who identified herself as Fortune Dorgu seized the opportunity of the funeral to appeal to the government to pay retirement benefits to promptly. She condemned the prevailing situation of paying gratuities posthumously to retired employees.

    “We know that Mama did not have problems with money before she died. All l am saying is that the government should strive to pay people when they are still alive to enable them enjoy their hard work”, she said.

    Though Mrs. Opukiri’s death was painful, the IYC President danced the pains away. Eradiri took over the floor in a celebration that entertained the guests.

    “I lost her but I am dancing because of her uncommon achievements. People should imitate her resilience, resourcefulness, kindness and honesty,” he said.

     

  • Dying businesses of Cross River

    Dying businesses of Cross River

    Calabar, the Cross River State capital, and other towns around are witnessing a lull in business. The multi-billion naira Tinapa Business and Lesure Resort is not left out of the bad times, reports NICHOLAS KALU, Calabar 

    A few weeks ago, the new Area Comptroller of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in charge of Akwa Ibom, Cross River and the Calabar Free Trade Zone Command, Bamidele Akande, visited the Cross River State Security Adviser. The visit was to familiarise the leadership of the command with the state government and seek ways of collaboration for the benefit of the people.

    Akande pointed out something that appears a lot of people will rather sweep under the carpet. He said businesses were dying in the state.

    He expressed concern over the lull in economic activities. He said with a viable seaport, businesses should be booming. He urged the state government to do something about the situation.

    The Tinapa Resort, he pointed out, is also suffering, adding that due to the situation, some investors were already making plans to move elsewhere.

    Several reasons have been adduced for the situation, but topping the list are the shallow Calabar channel and the terrible condition of link roads, especially the Calabar-Itu federal highway.

    Akande said: “We have identified some key factors in the lull in economic activities in the state. The bad road is one of them. We have seen that the government is doing very well in terms of providing good roads within the city, but the problem is the road linking the state to other states is the main problem. They are very bad sections and this is really affecting economic activities in the state adversely.

    “The road is a serious problem as we have been in touch with business men in Abia and the neighbouring states but they complain that they cannot come here to do business because of the bad road.

    “Another problem here is the dredging of the Calabar Channel. This is another cause for concern and something should be done about it urgently.”

    A top official of the Calabar Free Trade Zone, who pleaded for anonymity, said the zone felt highly challenged because of the constraints against the proper kick-off of economic activities in the state.

    The official said goods destined for the zone as well as Tinapa have to berth in Onne in Rivers State for onward movement to Calabar, a situation, he said, has created several logistic problems for business.

    He said: “Calabar Free Trade Zone feels highly challenged because the roads leading from Onne, which is the nearest port to Calabar, is something that needs urgent attention. It causes great discomfort for our people to bring in their goods or take out their goods. The Calabar Port that is among the oldest ports in Nigeria, which has got a lot of history behind and it is attractive to shipping lines. We have been told of so many reasons why it is still not working, but we are still unable to understand.”

    He also identified electricity as another major challenge. He said: “After road and port another major infrastructure challenge is the availability of electricity. We hope that with the privatisation of the discos maybe we would now start solving the problem. We want to say that Calabar as a growing industrial city should receive priority in terms of allocation by the transmission companies. If we have electricity there would be enough to encourage people to come and settle. The problem is the investors would say they would not come because no power. The power companies would say well there are no people who are consuming. We have to start from somewhere. We have people who are interested in coming here to establish and generate their own power, but also we have limitations in terms of the gas supply.”

    The chairman of the Cross River/Akwa Ibom states branch of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Elder Iniobong Jackson, decried the situation in an interaction with reporters recently. He urged the federal and state governments to engage the private sector in repairing the deplorable Calabar-Itu Highway.

    He believes the road requires a complete overhaul and government needs the input of the private sector in this regard.

    Jackson, who is also a Calabar industrialist and Chief Executive Officer of Jackson Devos Enterprise, said it would not be out of place for the government to re-introduce toll gates on the highway, so far as its proceeds are used to maintain the road. He said the road is very important to the state’s economy and should be prioritised by the state government.

    He also rued the Federal Government’s failure to dredge the Calabar Sea Port even when others in the country are frequently being dredged.

    Describing the state of the Calabar port as pathetic, he said: “Most of us in the Free Trade Zone usually have our goods coming either through Lagos or Rivers State ports.

    “No shipping line is effectively operating this route because they say there is no adequate traffic, and this makes the cost of production higher.”

    Elvis Masor, the Managing Director of the Ugonabo Trading and Logistics in Tinapa, told Niger Delta Report that he would leave Clabar as soon as the goods he has are sold out. According to him, there was no need continuing to stay and incurring losses as economic activities were not moving as expected.

    He said: “You can see there is no traffic. You can stay from morning till night. Virtually we don’t make sales again. Basically it is actually the major problem we are having because what really do is importation and this is known to be a free zone and most of our customers who come from other countries when they come they get some embarrassment from customs discouraging them from coming in to buy. Our mode of importation that we feel could be addressed in future. We are expecting that the Calabar seaport should work, because during our importation, we bring in from Onne in Rivers meanwhile Calabar is the final destination. Goods coming in from Rivers would still be on transit to Tinapa. Had it been the Calabar Port is working, it would have also gone a long way to salvage most of the problems we have as a free zone.

    “If the business is flowing we would recoup the expenses we have made but now it is not moving, we have been affected. The road is the only means and it has been another factor affecting us. Most of those goods are not insured. They use to fall on the road and once they fall, then some of them get damaged. All boils down to the fact that if this seaport is working, it would go a long way to help us salvage the problem.”

    For Kingsley Ihenacho, the General Manager of Ecomarine (ECM) terminals concessioned to manage the Calabar Port for 25 years, the non-completion of the dredging of the channel to the advertised draft of 9.4m meters is the biggest threat to the development of the port with adverse effect on their financial projection and cargo throughput which was predicated on the completion of the dredging as assured during the concession exercise.

    “The drop in performance in general cargo and container volumes shown above are purely affected by non-completion of dredging and pull-out of container services from Calabar(by Maersk line). This is in spite of ECMT’s huge investment in this sector of our operation (in terms of equipment purchase). Also, with the withdrawal of Baco Liner services in Nigeria, Calabar port is completely without a container service. At the moment, all the cocoa exporters are trucking to Lagos for consolidation and export at the expense of the government of Cross River State in terms of revenue and to the port in terms of cargo traffic,” he said.

    Also commenting on the road, he said: “There is an urgent need to fix the bad roads leading out of Calabar. On completion of the dredging, the envisaged increase in container business may not be realised as the bad road will still prevent the importers from the South-East and North-Central states from bringing in their cargo through Calabar which was built to service the importers/exporters from these areas. We request the Federal Government to assist in addressing this impediment.”

    The net effect of the constraints, he said, has led to the non-calling of container ships to Calabar and has affected negatively forecasted cargo volumes upon which their development plan was hinged on.

    “Hence the company is basically thriving on low hanging fruits while hanging on awaiting the Capital Dredging of the Calabar River Channel. Negligible import container and general cargo volume due to the non-calling of the Container vessels to Calabar Port has consistently depleted our revenue base thereby impacting on our desire for backward integration.

    “Our major clients, such as Flour mills, Unicem and Dangote etc do not presently enjoy the economy of scale in their vessel nominations to Calabar due to the fact that their full load arriving vessel has to lighter off some cargo tonnage in Lagos before calling Calabar Port due to draft limitations. Hence, a cargo ship load that could have come at once per voyage ends up being conveyed down to Calabar Port in two or three voyages. This increases their operating cost and by extension cost of the end product from the end-users position. It also leads to capital flight out of Nigeria. This makes these companies less competitive.

    We have equally lost several business prospects like a fertilizer Company- Nargajuna and several Ro-Ro. Shipping companies that could have been plying their trade in Calabar Port due to the restriction of approach draft limitation. It is ironical that the even draft alongside quay at Calabar Port is 10m whereas the Calabar river approach draft is 6.4m on high water. All these have had limiting and stunting effects on the growth efforts of the various Free Trade Zones in Calabar(CFTZ and TFTZ) and has largely made them unable to realize their basic potentials. The FTZ are all struggling presently due to the non-dredging of the Calabar river channel. Based on all of the above, the going-concern status of ECM Terminals Calabar is threatened,” he said.

    But must wait for the dredging of the Calabar channel, which has almost become politicized, continue for economic activities to kick start at the port? Stakeholders do not think so.

    Akande said even as the channel is some vessels can still come in he said vessels can still come in with bulk consignments. There is high tonnage. “The kind of tonnage they can bring in is still enough to make a lot of difference around here,” he said.

    The CFTZ official also agrees with this. “We have always been told that the port needs to be dredged and the channel needs to be dredged but for me as a person, I would love a situation where we encourage smaller vessels to ply the route and channel to make the port busy so that business find it attractive and then continue to use it and then build up skill which would then make it possible for government to say okay lets dredge it and allow bigger vessels. But if we keep saying we would not use the port until the channel is dredged for bigger vessels, if bigger vessels cannot find the volume of business to come here, then we would always remain in that situation. We would not use the port until it is dredged. The commercial shipping lines would not come because there is no volume and because it is not dredged.

    “If investors in the zone could guarantee something like 50 containers a month, if we put heads together all the people around Calabar, the business community under the chamber of commerce, under MAN, and the investors in Tinapa, by the time we put our heads together we can make at least a hundred containers a month.

    “Why it has not happened, I don’t know. If we do this we should be able to attract business. When a ship gets to Onne, we transload it and bring it to Calabar. If we start with a small number of containers and it is regular, we would get the port working. From there we would move to the next level.

    “It would get to a point where everybody would see the port working and would now divert his goods to the port and we would be able to manage it. That would reduce the pressure on the road itself, particularly the Itu road. Anytime there is breakage, think of the trouble, the trauma, the delay. So we are saying let us reduce that. Let us have a vessel that would be bring in containers directly from Onne to the Calabar port.

    Jackson also said the situation does not stop economic activities in the zone.

    “It does not make it impossible for ship to come. At the moment, ships are coming but they are mostly dedicated ones. It only reduces the volume of ships that can come at a given time”.

    Many stakeholders point out that Cross River generally is not an industrial state but with its potential for being an investors’ haven, it could possible beat other economic destinations in no time.

    However, they believe this cannot be achieved if the problems highlighted are not adequately taken care.

    A stakeholder said: “When you look at the traditional industrial areas of the nation whether it is Lagos, as economic hub, Kano as trading hub, Kaduna as manufacturing hub or Port Harcourt for oil and gas, you notice that each of these areas is either full and saturated. So we believe Cross River State and in particular Calabar has become the investment destination of today and tomorrow. Because it is a territory coming out of the doldrums and once we address the challenges of infrastructure, they will beat Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kaduna or any other place. But first they have to address the obvious challenges which are hampering economic activities or they would go nowhere.”

     

  • 2015: Rivers Ijaw seek support to produce Amaechi’s successor

    2015: Rivers Ijaw seek support to produce Amaechi’s successor

    It was tagged a sensitisation symposium. But, its theme “The Eastern Delta in the Political Development of Rivers State: Past, Present and Future” shows that this event organised by the Eastern Delta People’s Association (EDPA) is about the future of Rivers State. Any doubt about this was erased when speakers began to mount the podium at the Atlantic Hall of the Hotel Presidential Port Harcourt. The riverine communities of Rivers State, at the symposium, demanded to produce the successor to Governor Rotimi Amaechi in 2015.The event, which attracted persons across party lines, had in attendance the cream of Rivers Ijaws from all walks of life, including traditional rulers, elder statesmen, political office holders, religious leaders, women, youths and students. Interestingly, despite the political crisis in Rivers State, which has divided the people along party lines, the political elite still came under one roof to demand that riverside communities must produce the next governor.

    Since 1999, this part of the state has been unable to produce the governor, despite its huge economic contributions to the state and country. The Eastern Delta people spread across the coastlines in the over ten local government areas of Andoni, Opobo-Nkoro, Bonny, Okrika, Ogu-Bolo, Port Harcourt (South), Asari-Toru, Degema, Akuku-Toru and Abua-Odual and so on agreed at the event that the time had come to discard parochial interests to agitate for the state’s number one seat.

    The Chairman of the Steering Committee of the EDPA, Deacon Lawrence Jumbo, said the Eastern Delta People’s Association is a non-aligned socio-political group that seeks to promote unity, peace and progress among the people of all Ijaw- speaking communities in Rivers State and set the agenda for human and infrastructural development of the Ijaw communities of Rivers State and the state at large. He said the group also pursues the protection and preservation of the ideals of equity, fairness and justice as it relates to the Ijaw speaking people of the Eastern Delta. He said the symposium was the first step in a series of socio-political actions to actualise these objectives. Jumbo added that there was an urgent need for the people of the Eastern Delta to have a platform to articulate their interest ahead of the next political era. He said nature had so made it that the Upland/Riverine dichotomy in Rivers State was undeniable, adding that it would only be fair and just for both distinct geographical and cultural groups to produce the governor of the state successively. Jumbo added that the symposium provided a veritable and non-aligned platform for Rivers Ijaws to articulate and realise their dream of leading the state after a long wait of sixteen years.

    He said: “This long wait is gradually affecting the collective psyche of the riverine people of the state to the extent that their place in the polity and the socio-economic development of the rather challenging coastline areas of the state is not sufficiently guaranteed.”The Chairman of the occasion, Ambassador S. M. K. Taribo, the Co-Chairman, Rear Admiral O. P. Fingesi, the keynote speaker, His Highness , Alabo Dagogo Fubara, who is also a professor, and the two paper presenters, Faye Dikio (SAN) and Dr. Okere Iragunima, called for unity among Rivers Ijaws and bridge building with their neighbours and brothers in order for the dream to be realised. They expressed dismay at the dwindling educational and economic fortunes of the Eastern Delta, despite the educational strides and economic advancements in times gone by due to early contact with the Europeans. They, therefore, called for all people of goodwill and means in the Eastern Delta to both initiate and/or support any effort that would bring back the glorious days of excellence in education and commerce. Former Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Sir Gabriel Toby, a former Commissioner in Rivers State, Alabo Paworiso Samuel Horsfall, and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, all spoke extensively on the need for equity, fairness and inclusiveness in the governance of Rivers State.

    Rivers State Commissioner for Information Mrs. Ibim Semenitari and a member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Dawari George, also buttressed the need for unity among the Ijaw clans of Rivers State, noting that that all Rivers Ijaw sons and daughters irrespective of their political affiliations should embrace every effort to address the challenges of the coastal communities and the state.

    Toby stressed that care must be taken to ensure that the effort of uniting the people of the Eastern Delta behind a common agenda was not truncated as was the case in the past.

    Sara-Igbe called on the political class in the state not to renege on the unwritten code of rotation of power between the upland and riverine peoples of the state. Alabo Paworiso called for the unity of all Rivers Ijaws and stressed that they must uphold the tenets of politics without bitterness and the ‘pulling down syndrome’.

    Mrs. Seminitari also chronicled the achievements of the administration of Amaechi, such as the ongoing construction of the Andoni-Opobo Unity Road,Okrika ring road, Bolo bridge, shore protection of Egbomung Andoni, the award of the Trans-Kalabari Road and the land reclamation project at Opobo Town, numerous model primary schools and health centres spread in Ijaw communities of Rivers State and challenged all Rivers Ijaws to give their support to only eminently qualified men and women who have a good grasp of the development challenges of the coastlines and are committed to ensuring even development across all communities in Rivers State.

    In another breadth, Dr. George challenged the people of the Eastern Delta not to allow oil economics and boundary matters to divide them as justice and truth must be the foundation for addressing such matters. At the end of deliberations, the session adopted a seven- point communiqué, which emphasized the unity of all Rivers Ijaws towards the security and development of the coastline areas and the demand for the chance to produce the next governor of Rivers State. The session was, however, careful to note that the aspiration of the Eastern Delta can only be actualised through the support and goodwill of other ethnic nationalities of the state. They thus appealed for the understanding and cooperation of all ethnic nationalities for a chance to lead the state.

     

  • Before guns boom again in Niger Delta

    Before guns boom again in Niger Delta

    The creeks are calm now. Chirping of birds could be heard from the mangroves of the Niger Delta. No more reckless booming of guns. The warriors are out of their notorious camps where they commanded guerrilla fighters.

    From the trenches, they have become millionaires. The ex-militant commanders own mansions, drive exotic cars and have damsels at their beck and call. They appear to have forgotten resource control, development, equity and fairness which they claimed were the reasons they took up arms against the Federal Government.

    But it is not yet uhuru in the Niger Delta. Apart from widespread and intractable menace of economic sabotage such as pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft, violence looms. The amnesty granted the creek warriors by former President Umaru Yar’Adua has only succeeded in making a few millionaires to the detriment of the region.

     

    he region has remained largely underdeveloped. There is rising frustration among the teeming population of unemployed youths. Their anger is like a keg of gunpowder waiting to explode. Their unhappiness is worsened by their inability to derive tangible benefits from the Presidency which is occupied by their kinsman, President Goodluck Jonathan.

    In 2011, Jonathan and chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) traversed their poverty-stricken communities and promised them development, job opportunities and empowerment. They spoke of modular refineries, coastal roads, East-West roads, training programmes and other juicy dividends of democracy.

    The Association of Non-Violence in Niger Delta (ANVND) implored the government to address all issues of empowerment and development of the region before 2015. The Coordinator of the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Mr. Kennedy Tonyo-West observed high level of unemployment in the system.

    He noted that many factories and industries had gone moribund in the region and asked the government to intensify efforts in reviving them. He asked both state and federal governments to look for and recover underutilized opportunities.

    For a violent-free 2015 general elections, he asked the PDP-led government to explore all sectors in the Niger Delta region so as to create needed opportunities for the youths.

    Specifically, he called on interventionist agencies in the region, such as the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Ministry of the Niger Delta Affairs and the SURE-P Programme to build 100 sports centres in 100 communities in the region.

    Describing the youths in the region as skillful and talented, Tonyo-West said it was regrettable that facilities were not in the region to enable the youths hone their skills. He said Olympians and award winners in sports would emerge from the region if facilities to develop such skills were built.

    “The skills are dormant because the facilities are not there. If Samuel Peter had remained in the Niger Delta region, he wouldn’t have been a good boxer. But he found himself in an environment with facilities he needed to become an excellent boxer”, he said.

    Apart from sports facilities, he called for commencement of work on the Bonny and Brass Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) projects. If completed he said the projects would offer many job opportunities to the unemployed especially ex-militants who had undergone technical training. He said the two projects, when completed, would serve as a “positive distraction” for the youths of the Niger Delta.

    Tonyo-West insisted that the government must muster required political will to assist the youths. For instance, he said the federal government should turn the technical school in Bonny to an oil and gas university. This, he said, would provide needed empowerment for the youths to become employable in the oil and gas sector.

    He said: “We also want the Federal Government to urgently rehabilitate Bonny Technical College in Rivers State and upgrade it to Oil and Gas University.

    “The facilities the students can learn from are already there. We are pleading with President Goodluck Jonathan to upgrade the BTC as a matter of urgency.”

    Besides, he called the attention of the Bayelsa State Government to the moribund Hyndai project which was initially conceived by the past administration of Governor Timipre Sylva to attract investors and create over 2000 jobs.

    “This project is designed to mop up unemployment. The government should look into the matter and address the issues. He implored the Senate to immediately pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law.

    He said the Niger Delta region would base its voting decision in 2015 on the passage of the PIB.

    He said the the bill was essential for the growth and development of the country’s petroleum sector.

    He said: “We call on the Senate President to make a firm decision on PIB still lying in the Senate without being passed. We do not want to believe that members of the upper legislative chamber have been induced to withhold passage of the bill into law.

    MAY we, therefore, call on the Senate to give express passage of the PIB into law for the benefit of the country and the citizens. We are against all the delays that have characterized the passage of the PIB.”

    Tonjo-West also called on Jonathan and the National Assembly to pass the Nigeria Merchant Navy Security and Safety Corps (NMNSSC). He said NMNSSC would no doubt contribute to the reduction of pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta.

    “The Nigeria Merchant Navy Security and Safety Corps will create safety on our waterways. Besides, it will be a good outlet for employment creation as well as securing lives of seafarers,” he said.

    He commended the establishment of Youth Development Centre (YDC) in Bayelsa State. He, however, appealed to Governor Seriake Dickson, to appropriate funds needed for the centre to take off.

    The NGO was not happy that most of the programmes and projects formulated in the past to benefit the youths were abandoned on the way by the government. For instance, he observed that two expensive trawlers acquired for commercial fishing in Bayelsa State had been abandoned to rot at Ogbia waterside.

    The trawlers, MV Patience Jonathan and MV Margret Alameiseigha, were acquired under the agricultural programme of Sylva. They only went fishing in the sea once. Since then they were anchored and forgotten at the Ogbia waterside. But Tonyo-West appealed to the government to revive and put them to use.panies like Okomu and others.

  • Life is now beautiful for Edo’s ‘cursed’ communities

    Life is now beautiful for Edo’s ‘cursed’ communities

    For many years, people living in communities, such as l Anenegbette, Udaba, Okpekpe, Imiegba and Imiakubu, in Edo State were told a ‘terrible lie’. The lie was that it was difficult or perhaps impossible to construct access roads to their communities. They were labeled ‘cursed’ for living in areas difficult to attract developmental projects. The people had to accept their fate waiting for a miracle.

    For those at Anegbette and environs in Estako Central, their prayers is for the rains not to fall at all because they will be cut-off by flood. The road to their communities was swampy with local two local bridges constructed on two rivers. They usually had to wait for the dry season before they take their dead ones home for burial.

    Okpekpe, Imiegba and Imiakubu are located on mountainous terrain. Rich individuals from the communities choose to rather build houses at Auchi, headquarters of Estako West because they could not get to their communities. It was in fact not possible to drive through communities in the three Estako local government areas.

    Little wonder the villagers who were returning from farms brought out their drums to celebrate the unscheduled visit of Governor Adams Oshiomhole who was inspecting some completed and on-going road projects across the three local government areas of Etsako West, Etsako East and Etsako Central.

    In Estako West, the governor inspected Council Road, Iyofa Road, Okotokwe Road, Iyekhe Road and Jattu-Elele Road. Most of the roads were completed with side drains to help fight erosion in Auchi. Oshiomhole took time to educate the people on why they should not dump debris in the drains.

    He told the jubilant crowd that he was in the area to see work progress on the projects, adding, “People can see what we are doing on the major roads but can’t see what we are doing in the villages and traditional areas where there were no roads. We decided that to fight erosion in Auchi, any road we are doing must include drainage so that water can flow in a coordinated manner”.

    A woman who gave her name as Aminatu Aliu said they didn’t knew the Okotokwe road could be made accessible.

    Governor Oshiomhole was at Etsako East where he inspected the Ayogwiri- Apana-Imiegba-Imiakebu road and the Apana-Okpekpe road. The roads are complete with bridges and water was flowing from one the rocks through which the road cuts through.

    The residents of Imiakubu ran out of their houses when they saw the governor’s convoy to welcome him to their community. Women sang songs of praises which the governor danced to.

    Zunetu Usman said: “Look at our Imiegba. Our village is now a town. The governor has turn it to London. What we need now is water. You are a good governor and we have not seen a man like. Others said the road was impossible but now it has been done. Our people can now come home without stopping at Auchi.”

    A local musician at Imiakubu, who gave his name as Anthony Omokheki, urged the governor to prepare to go Abuja to extend the good work to the rest of the country. He urged the governor to extend the road construction to Okpella, a neighbouring community adding that what they need now is water.

    An elated Oshiomhole who directed the construction of a roundabout at the end of the Okpekpe road promised to sink a borehole in Okpekpe so that the people may have access to clean, potable water.

    He said: “I came here to assess the extent of work. When we started the road construction, people thought it will not be completed. Any good thing in man’s heart, God has a way of starting and bringing it to an end.

    “Today, I am glad that the road project has been completed on schedule. You can see the quality of the road, so by the grace of God, we will bring more development.”

    The Onwuwueko of Okpekpe, His Royal Highness Peter Osigbemhe, thanked the Governor for cutting rocks to construct road to their communities.

    He said “We are happy that you are in Okpekpe today for the road construction which has been realised and the renovation of schools which is also on–going. We thank you because you have done so well. This road has been a problem for long as past government shied away from constructing it due to the difficult terrain, but you have come and conquered this difficulty and we are indeed grateful to you that we can drive to our homes on smooth, motorable roads.”

    At Etsako Central, Oshiomhole inspected the Ugbekpe-Ekperi-Udaba-Anegbete Road said the road was redesigned and reconstructed following the overflow of the River Niger that caused flooding in the area.

    Oshiomhole told the people the road was redesigned to withstand flooding.

    The Clan Head of Anegbette town, HRH Ogbodaga Yakubu, thanked the Governor for the infrastructural development in Edo North and his effort at alleviating the plight of the rain storm victims in Aniegbette and its environs.

    He noted that people of the area are elated that they can drive to their communities and that already a factory has been sited in the community as a result of the good road.

  • New dawn for Ebendo indigenes

    New dawn for Ebendo indigenes

    Unlike in many communities in the Niger-Delta where violent conflicts arise between communities hosting oil facilities and oil multinational companies, Energia/Oando JV, operator of the Ebendo/Obodeti marginal field, OML 56 enjoys cordial relationship with its host, Emu-Ebendo.

    The community, in the last few years, has witnessed rapid infrastructure development making it the envy of neighbouring communities. Emu-Ebendo boasts of a health centre, ultra-modern market, water bore hole to ensure provision of clean potable water and a host of other projects.

    Emu Ebendo community is made up of five clans including Emu-Ebendo, Emu Unor, Emu Ebeoma, Emu Iyasele and Emu Obodeti. It is a rustic, agrarian community in the Ukwuani heartland in Ndokwa West L.G.A.

    Penultimate week, it celebrated its annual Ebendo Day with fanfare. The epicenter of celebrations was at sacred Aboshi tree in the village square .It towered in the village square where a large crowd had gathered to celebrate. Gaily dressed women sat under long rows of canopies on the 5.72 km walkways along the tarred axial road.

    The atmosphere was electrifying as music from the bandstand filled the air, punctuated intermittently, by tuneful songs from cultural troupes as each tried to outdo the other in intricate dance steps and songs.

    Masquerades danced the length of the village square to the admiration of the crowd, sometimes scaring children who had come out to enjoy the occasion.

    Crème-de-la-crème of  Ukwuani society were in attendance, including  Okpala-Uku –in-council , palace chiefs , President-General Ndokwa Neku Union , Paul Enebeli , Chief Godswill Obielum , Friday Osanebi , member representing Ndokwa West in the State’s legislature ,traditional rulers and  kiths and kin from Onicha-Ukwuani, Ezionum ,Aradhe, Ellu and Ovrede communities.

    In an address by Chairman, Ebendo Community Development Association (ECDA), Samuel Osademe , urged Ebendo indigenes to be proud ambassadors of the community.

    He commended indigenes which constitute ESCOM, a body of volunteers that render freely their professional service to realize Ebendo development plan, while also appreciating Energia/Oando JV for actualizing a host of projects commissioned in the community since 2011.

    According to him, the bonds of friendship will be further strengthened with neighbouring communities which had turn up en masse for the celebration.

    His words: “Ebendo Day have successfully brought together all the Emu communities and their brother communities-in the likes of Onicha Ukwuani, Ezionum, Aradhe, Ellu and Ovrede. This in turn has helped to create awareness on the blood relationship among these communities thereby strengthening their peaceful co-existence”.

    The highpoint of the occasion was the inauguration of the N144 million 2.86 km asphalt axial road project that bisects the community by the President General Ndokwa Neku Union (NNU), Paul Enebeli.

    Osademe expressed happiness at the celebration of Ebendo Day, adding that this year’s event turn out of notable people has proved that the annual event has come to stay.

    On the rapid development witnessed in the community, Osademe said funding for all projects in the community was from the 1.25 per cent accruals adumbrated in the MoU signed between the community and Energia/Oando JV.

    He said the money was entrusted in the care of the Board of Trustees, adding that Escom initiates projects jointly with elders and ECDA that would be beneficial to the community following which funds are released by the marginal field operators.

    Osademe said the secret behind the peace and unity experienced in the community was the result of a determination by the community to deal fairly and equitably to all and enjoy the benefits of oil exploitation.

    He said members of the BOT are screened before they are appointed, so as to ensure that members are above board in their dealings with financial matters.

    According to ESCOM, the road project had suffered  a few setbacks ranging from late release of funds to protracted rains, adding that these constraints extended the completion period from nine months to two years.

    Although the project is almost completed there still remain two access roads that is currently on-going.

    Osademe said the community has benefitted a lot from peaceful co-existence between it and the oil company, adding that all basic amenities have been provided including a health centre, market, roads, water projects and schools.

    He appealed to government to ensure that electrification of the community is prioritised, so as to enhance the welfare of the people and arrest rural urban drift.