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Tag: indigenes

  • Lawmaker to indigenes: preserve culture 

    Lawmaker to indigenes: preserve culture 

    The lawmaker representing Badagry Federal Constituency, Mr. Sesi Whingan, has urged indigenes to preserve their culture and tradition.

    He spoke at the grand finale of the second edition of the relaunched Jeke Dance Annual Festival in Ikoga-Zebbe, Badagry.

    Whingan said: “We should not allow borrowed or foreign culture to subdue ours.

    “We need to project and appreciate what we have. By so doing, our children will emulate us.”

    Head of Department of Sociology at Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, Prof. Oluranti Segbeyon, said civilisation had made Ogu people to forget their culture and tradition.

    Read Also: Akeredolu spoke truth to power, say Akure NBA, Cross River indigenes

    “Ogu language is a language of its own, not a dialect of any language. When you leave your language, you have no identity,” he said.

    Dr Tony Dansu, a lecturer at LASU and an indigene of Ikoga-Zebbe, said the objective of the festival included resuscitation of one of the cultural heritages of the town.

    Aholu De-Ovitotode Toyi 1, Aholu Sano of Ikoga-Zebbe Kingdom, said Jeke is an Ogu sociocultural dance engaged in by men and women of any age.

  • Indigenes allege land grabbers sack Ogun villages

    Indigenes of eight communities in Oko-Makun, Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State on Monday protested at Oke-Mosan Governor’s Office, Abeokuta, calling on Governor Dapo Abiodun to protect them from land grabbers.

    They alleged that the land grabbers have evicted them from their ancestral land, destroying farm crops and fishponds.

    The villagers lamented the loss of their means of livelihood totalling millions of naira to the routine raid on their farms and homes by the land grabbers.

    According to them, the land grabbers have foisted a traditional ruler (Baale) on them.

    Leaders and representatives of the eight communities – Ewu Oje, Ewu Lisa, Kaniyi, Ewu Losi, Dodogiri, Amiteku, Ajagun and Gushenmedo  – appealed to the governor to protect and defend them.

    The placard-carrying villagers alleged that the land grabbers led by Otunba Kamorudeen Lamina, popularly called Sir K. Oluwo, have been destroying their farm produce and encroaching on their lands since 2014.

    Some of the inscriptions on the placards read: “Governor Dapo Abiodun please save us from Sir K”, “Save our souls from Otunba Sir K. Oluwo is ruining our heritage at Makun Sagamu” and “Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun save us from this notorious land grabber called Sir K. Oluwo”.

    The secretary of the affected villages, Mr. Lanre Olusanya Dada, spoke on behalf of the villagers while addressing the governor’s representatives led by the Chief of Staff, Salisu Shuaibu.

    He  alleged that Kamorudeen in connivance with other land grabbers and hoodlums have been invading their villages, savaging farmlands, crops and fish ponds.

    Dada said the wife of the Oditan Pataraku family head at Ewu Oje village while fleeing from land grabbers during one of their raids, fell on her chest and died.

    He noted that the communities have written many petitions to police formations, former Governor Ibikunle Amosun and 8th Ogun State House of Assembly without respite.

    Read Also: Monarch, chiefs flay confusion, disaffection in Ogun community

    According to him, their oppressors have ways of using the police to gain upper hands against them.

    He said: “The land grabbers have heavily occupied the entire land of the six communities, having invaded and sent packing all the land owners, farmers, villagers, thereby depriving them of the ownership of their properties and inheritance. Governor Dapo Abiodun should please help us and deliver us from this notorious land grabber “.

    Also speaking, Captain Michael Adesonubi, a serving marine officer, said the communities, through their lawyer, Wale Ayodele, petitioned the Deputy Commissioner of Police and the Inspector- General of Police Monitoring Unit at the Force headquarters, Abuja on the matter, who invited them.

    He said they went to Abuja three times but all to no avail.

    Captain Adesonubi said in the fourth time, they were kidnapped at Kabba, Kogi State on September 14, 2017, by kidnappers on their way to Abuja, lamenting that while four people, including himself, were kidnapped on that day, their captors freed only three after paying N5 million ransom and spending two weeks in the bush.

    He said the fourth person, Tajudeen Otesile, alias Baba Ibeji, was taken to a different location and has since not been found since 2017.

    He urged the government to act fast to save the communities from the land grabbers.

    Shuaibu, who addressed the protesters on behalf of the governor, lauded them for conducting themselves peacefully despite provocations.

    The Chief of Staff, who appealed to them to exercise patience with the assurance that the governor would look into the matter, reminded the villagers that there is already an existing anti-land grabbing law in the state.

    Shuaibu maintained that the new government would implement it to it fullest.

  • Indigenes form association for town development

    Some elites in Igbaye, a prominent town in Odo-Otin Local Government Area of Osun State, have formed a group for the purpose of executing developmental projects in their community.

    Operating under the umbrella of Igbaye Development Vanguard (IDV), which membership cuts across all professions and spread across the world, the elites’ major objective is to giving back to their community for impacting positively in their lives.

    Speaking with the press, two of the IDV conveners, Dr. Sunday Alayemi and Mr. Rafiu Adeoye Popoola said the association will rekindle the lost lustre and interpersonal relationship among themselves.

    Alayemi said: “Our immediate areas of concentration will be renovation of public properties like schools, health centres, town hall, public utilities like toilets, post office among others.

    “Beside the renovation of a few dilapidated facilities in the town, building of new ones like e-library, Recreation Centres and Event Halls is also in the pipeline.”

    Popoola added that the renovation of Igbaye Community High School (ICHS), which is being jointly financed by the IDV members and Old students of the school, is in progress.

    “After its completion, notification will be made following which school affairs including its maintenance would be delegated to the old students and the Parent Teachers Association (PTA), while the Vanguard will face other projects,” he said.

    The cost of putting the block of classrooms in order, according to him, is about N5 million.

  • Udiroko: Ewi rallies indigenes for Ado-Ekiti development

    The Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe, Aladesanmi III, has urged his subjects to join hands together to develop their hometown.

    The monarch spoke yesterday at a media briefing to herald this year’s Udiroko Festival at his palace in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital.

    He noted that Udiroko, which marks the beginning of Ado-Ekiti traditional calendar, had contributed to the socio-economic development of the city.

    Oba Adejugbe said Udiroko had become an international festival which yearly attracts not only indigenes but also tourists from other parts of Nigeria and outside the country.

    This year’s Udiroko will be chaired by the Founder of Afe Babalola University in Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, and will be used to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the community.

    A keep-fit session was held on Monday to kick-start activities for the weeklong event.

    It was followed by a special prayer session yesterday, led by the Dean of the Cathedral Church of Emmanuel at Okesa, Ado-Ekiti, Very Reverend Francis Bankole.

    According to him, other activities lined up to mark the festival include a Public Lecture also on Tuesday, Health Talk on Wednesday, Ewi Cup Final on Thursday, Night of Princes and Princesses on Thursday, Jumat Service on Friday, Youth Carnival on Monday and Grand Finale at Palace Square on Tuesday.

    The grand finale on Tuesday will see the Ewi receiving homage from traditional chiefs, palace queens, honorary chiefs and other interest groups.

    The Ewi explained that Udiroko, a festival which is as old as Ado-Ekiti, is an event held annually to thank God and plan on ways to move the city forward.

    He listed the projects that had been attracted to the city through the festival as the Faculty of Law building of Ekiti State University, the Palace Amphitheatre, ultramodern palace hall and the new Erekesan Market, among others.

    The royal father said Udiroko is a one-week event.

    The Ewi also debunked beliefs in some quarters that Udiroko is a festival for idol-worshipping, insisting that there is nothing fetish about the festival.

    He said: “Udiroko is not for idol worshipping or doing anything that is fetish. We are not worshipping any tree. It is our own New Year Day to give thanks to God.

    “Ado indigenes look forward to Udiroko every year and the festival has added value to Ado-Ekiti. We start Udiroko every year with prayers and we end it with prayers. We meet every year to thank God and to plan for the development of Ado.

    “It was during Udiroko Festival we agreed to build more structures in the palace and people have been saying this palace is beautiful.”

  • Offa robbery: Indigenes in diaspora lament lack of govt presence

    A socio-cultural group, Offa Descen-dants Union in North America (ODUNA), an organisation of indigenes from Offa area of Kwara State in the Diaspora based in the United States, has lamented what it described as the worrisome absence of government presence in the town several years after the return to democracy, saying the failure of the state government to extend its much touted security programmes to the area led to the wanton killing that resulted from last week’s robbery incidents in the town.

    In a statement made available to our correspondent and signed by president of the union, Dr. Gboyega Abdulkadir, the concerned indigenes said they are “deeply worried about the avoidable loss of human lives during the unfortunate incidents that went on for nearly an hour without police reinforcement, thereby exposing the good people of Offa to wanton killings and robberies while the government looked on.

    “It is, however, a reflection of what is wrong with our government. The people of Offa and indeed the people of Kwara State deserve better. There is lack of truthfulness, responsibility, leadership, foresight and above all love for our people by our leaders.  And until we care for ourselves and love our neighbours; recognise and appreciate hard work; reward truthfulness and punish wrongs, darkness will always prevail in the land.”

    While calling on the authorities to live up to expectation by providing security for the people of the town and ensuring that the perpetrators of the dastardly acts are punished, ODUNA urged the people of the state to stand up and demand good governance from those elected into authority. “University graduates cannot find job, no wonder some of them took to armed robbery. All our infrastructures have been destroyed or in terrible states of disrepair. We do not have good, reliable water supply and no reliable electricity.

    “Unfortunately, our people also continue to worship them. Our problems are deep and until we as a people change, we cannot organise ourselves to demand the required change from our leadership. We must take steps to force change, we must encourage good sons and daughters of Nigeria to take up leadership and force the barbarians out of power. It is going to be difficult but it is doable. Examples abound around the word. Those who would not allow peaceful change are guaranteed the inevitable,” it said.

  • Ibadan indigenes endorse chieftaincy reforms

    Ibadan indigenes endorse chieftaincy reforms

    No matter what you do, no matter who you are, take notice that tomorrow is on the way. No matter your profession, social standing or belief, take notice that change is bound to happen and happen again. This tends to shine the light on the review of the Obaship at Ibadan.” That was the remark of Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi  during the crowing of 33 Obas in Ibadan on August 27. He added: “Today’s innovations are tomorrow’s traditions.” There is no area of life, immune to innovation.”

    Without innovation, the human race would actually be retrogressing. That is why the Governor’s position on the reform is apt. No one can win an argument against innovation, particularly given the common knowledge that for over 30 years leaders of thoughts and many interested parties in Ibadan have consistently called for the review of the traditional institution of their Oba, the Olubadan, currently occupied by Oba Saliu Adetunji.

    Ibadan is made up of 11 local government areas, more than the whole of Bayelsa State, which has just eight local government areas.

    Traditional administration of the ancient city is very unique, commencing from the Mogajis and Baales, who function as family heads to the Olubadan who is the paramount ruler, ruling with the Oluban-in-Council.

    Even with the minor reform, ascension to the Olubadan throne remains by seniority among the 11 High Chiefs that constitute the Olubadan-in-Council, though they now wear beaded crowns. Ibadan has about the most peaceful and orderly ascension to the throne in Yorubaland and probably the entire Nigeria, as the next Olubadan already knows himself up to the next six in line.

    It is instructive to state that despite the well-structured path to the throne of Olubadan, members of Olubadan-in-Council have to wait until the transition of a reigning Oba to ascend to the throne. This accounts for why in most cases only the advanced in age become the Olubadan, most of them were crowned at well above 80 years. This is also the reason why most Olubadan do not reign for long.

    It is important to note that the chieftaincy laws in Oyo State provide that a Governor can call for a review of existing Declarations. In the exercise of this power, the Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, himself an Ibadan indigene hearkened to citizens and stakeholders persistent clamour for a review the traditional governance structure in Ibadan to make way for better administration and elevate the current status of the Olubadan stool.

    To this end, the Governor set up a Review Panel headed by retired Justice Akintunde Boade. Chief Lanre Jaiyeola served as Secretary to the Panel. The panel on completion of its assignment after receiving Memoranda and submissions from various stakeholder-groups, including Baales recommended that the 11 High Chiefs be elevated to Oba status while still maintaining their line of ascension to the Olubadan while the Olubadan becomes an Imperial Majesty and Paramount Ruler. Similarly, 22 Baales who had always cried for an upgrade of their status were also elevated to Obas.

    Since the inauguration of the new structure and Obas, the current Olubadan, Oba Saliu Akanmu Adetunji has not hidden his disdain and resentment to the new arrangement which he considered a personal affront and a reduction of his power. He has a former Governor of the State, Senator Rasheed Ladoja who is also one of the upgraded High Chiefs in his camp. With Ladoja in the fray, the matter has assumed a political dimension, with many alleging that the former Governor wants to fuel the issue to gain political mileage and currency.

    This stance tends to gain support from Ladoja himself, when he alleged last week that the attack on the Olubadan Palace during a meeting was targeted at him and blamed the state government for masterminding it. The Oyo State government has long denied any involvement in the attack.

    Speaking on the matter, the Oyo State Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Bimbo Kolade said that the reform carried out in the Ibadan Traditional leadership structure will only enhance the status of Olubadan and deepen traditional governance in the ancient city.

    The Commissioner maintains that the Governor of the state, Senator Ajimobi responded to the call of prominent Ibadan elders, Chiefs, Baales and leaders of thoughts who have consistently called for the review of the Ibadan Chieftaincy Law over the years.

    Kolade noted that rather than diminish the status of the Olubadan throne and the current occupant, Oba Saliu Akanmu Adetunji, the elevation of the 11 High Chiefs to Obas will enhance the status of Olubadan as the Paramount Ruler while the order of ascension to the Olubadan throne remains the same.

    “For almost 30 years, there have been calls and agitations for the review of Ibadan chieftaincy law. In fact one of the notable Ibadan indigenes, Chief T. A. Akinyele wrote a book in which he posited the need for the Ibadan chieftaincy law to be reviewed. There have been several other books also written by Ibadan indigenes on the need to review the Ibadan chieftaincy law. Between 1974 – 76, and as recent as 2003, there were several commissions of enquiry set up by government to look into chieftaincy matters in the state, during which there were constant calls for a review of the Ibadan chieftaincy law. During the Adio Commission of 2003, some 33 Baales in Ibadan made a request through the respected lawyer Niyi Akintola, (SAN) for them to start wearing beaded crowns. “Out of the 33 Baales then, I think the Commission recommended 16 of them for the title of Obas,” he said.

  • Asaba indigenes plan 50-yr civil war memorial

    The people of Asaba and environs in Delta State, under the Asaba October 7 Memorial Group, have concluded plans to celebrate a major event in the history of the town, and Nigeria, which occurred 50 years ago.

    According to the group’s chairman, Mr Alban Ofili-Okonkwo, in a statement, October 2017 “marks the 50th anniversary of the killing of unarmed and defenceless indigenes in Asaba, one of the ugliest episodes of the civil war, which attracted international condemnation. The victims were Nigerians, who had trooped out to welcome Nigerian soldiers that reclaimed Asaba in Midwestern Nigeria, from Biafran troops in October 1967.”

    Ofili-Okonkwo added that the programme will span four days, with the theme: “Remembrance & Forgiveness.

    He said the group will sensitise people to forget their tragic past and march into a promising future.

    “It also aims at galvanising Asaba people towards rebirth and healing,”he said.

    Activities will begin on October 5, with a one-minute silence for Asaba martyrs at noon, followed by a media briefing, canon shots heralding burial rites for the dead.

    Also planned are service of songs and candle light procession to Ogbeosawa grave site for tributes, inter-denominational service, exhibition of artefacts, documentary and presentation of awards.

    There will also be a book presentation, titled: The Asaba Massacre — Trauma, Memories, and the Nigerian Civil War, by Anthropologist Prof. S. Elizabeth Bird and Historian Prof. Fraser M. Ottanelli, both of University of South Florida.

    The presentation will be preceded by a colloquium on the Asaba Massacre, with the theme: “In Pursuit of Rebirth”.

    Eminent scholars, statesmen, renowned industrialists and distinguished citizens of the world are expected to attend the activities.

    The activities will end on October 8, with a thanksgiving in world churches.

  • NASME seeks opportunities for indigenes in Bayelsa economy

    NASME seeks opportunities for indigenes in Bayelsa economy

    Bayelsa State is poised to play a key role in small and medium business sub-sector. The state has realized that its economy will continue to lag behind without getting its indigenes to tap from the potential of small and medium enterprises.

    Recently, the state’s chapter of the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) held its second General Meeting in Yenagoa, the state capital.  The meeting came a few weeks after NASME, for the first time in the history of the state, was inaugurated and got an acting Executive Committee in Bayelsa.

    In the maiden general meeting on February 23, 2017, the South-South President of NASME, Dr. E.D. Oko-Jaja, inaugurated the executive committee with a seasoned entrepreneur and politician, Chief Thompson Okorotie emerging as an interim state Chairman of the group.

    The first meeting was attended by almost all the stakeholders in the sub-sector. The Commissioner for Trade, investment and industry, Mr. Kemela Okara and the Director-General, Bayelsa State Micro-Finance and Enterprises Development Agency (BYMEDA, Mr. Jasper Eradiri.

    Others were Bala Hassan, Regional Head, Bank of Industry, south-south; Ayakeme Mass, Rector, Bayelsa State Institute of Entrepreneurship; A.A Ifidi, Head, Corporate Development, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Bayelsa state and Nengi Rufus-Spiff, Managing Director, Izon-ibe Micro Finance bank Ltd.

    Discussions from the maiden stakeholders’ meeting identified challenges militating against the growth of small businesses in the state. The discussants listed lack of capital, lack of managerial skills and the culture of not repaying loans as impediments to business in the state.

    But the stakeholders asked Okorotie and his team to use their acting capacities to reposition the growth and development of small businesses in the state. Therefore, the stakeholders gathered recently for their second general meeting. They evaluated the activities of the Okorotie interim leadership of NASME and gave him kudos.

    Prior to the passage of confidence vote, Okorotie gave an account of the committee’s stewardship. He said the committee engaged sub-sector operators and relevant ministries, departments and agencies to formulate strategies of reducing the impediments facing small businesses in the state.

    Within a short period of time, he said the executive committee met seven times and embarked on concrete actions to tackle the deficiencies.

    He said: “I am pleased to report that the interactions have been very productive. For example, your state chapter has been frequently consulted and involved in all matters concerning MSMEs programs by government agencies.

    “Secondly, a few members of the chapter have benefitted from loans on the Anchor Borrowers platform which is a partnership between the State Government and CBN.

    “We are looking forward to a more robust participation in the next tranche of the programme that is expected to come on stream in October / November, 2017”.

    He said during their interactions, he said they observed that the Ministry of Trade, Investment and Industry; BYMEDA and the Izon-Ibe Micro-Finance were working tirelessly to empower indigenous entrepreneurs to make them drivers of the local economy.

    He said: “We commend H.E. Governor Henry Seriake Dickson and the State Government for establishing and funding the various institutions and implementing a collaborative framework with Federal MDAs for development of the MSME sub-sector in Bayelsa State.

    “Furthermore, as a result of such efforts, we are witnesses to a gradual emergence of local content through the creative and innovative talents of Bayelsans who are producing Made in Bayelsa State products and services.

    “As a result of this realization, the State Executive Committee has decided to organize the first Bayelsa State SME conference. I expect all of us to play greater roles in our membership of NASME because many opportunities abound.

    “I am not pleased about the slow appreciation of the potentials of  the micro, small and medium enterprises development in Bayelsa state. Some entrepreneurs remain lukewarm and feign unawareness of the possibilities of this vital sub-sector”.

    Okorotie also told the stakeholders that they had received various invitations from China, Italy, UK and the Bank of Industry through the National Secretariat for capacity building, exhibition of locally-made goods and participation in International Conferences.

    But he said: “We have not been able to benefit from these available opportunities. So I look forward to a more committed membership while I call on more  Bayelsans to register with NASME so that we can take advantage of the numerous national and international opportunities available to members.

    “Let us develop our managerial capacity to run our companies better and successfully. Let those of us who are beneficiaries of loans regularly service them so that more Bayelsans can benefit”.

    He thanked members of his committee for their hard work and and contributions. The committee members are Chief Lambert S. Otot, Mr. Freedom Prefa, Mr. Franklin Egbegule, Princess Tina Amagbar, Mrs. Phyllis Fafi, Mr. Randy Zimugha and Mrs Maria Enogha

    Others are Dr. Godson Omubo-Dede, Mr. Dan Igrubia, Mr. S.D.W. Ajimmy, Mr. Godgift Abaribote, Bishop Tari Okorotie and Mrs.Faith Samuel.

    Okorotie appealed to the stakeholders to either orally confirm them and make them substantive executive members or set up a committee in the next weeks to conduct an election to fill the vacant positions on the committee.

    Impressed with their performance, the stakeholders in unanimous voice votes gave the committee a permanent status. The chairman unveiled future plans of his committee and express optimism that the plans would reinvigorate small businesses in the state.

    First, he said the committee would meet with Governor Dickson to brief him and appeal for assistance to ensure growth of NASME, in the interest of local economy.

    He said the committee would develop media partners by visiting all media houses in the state to create awareness of NASME and its benefits.

    Okorotie noted that the state would organize the the first state conference and exhibition on NASMEs bring indigenous business people, the banks and government officials together with a view to achieving a coordinated development of MSMEs in Bayelsa state.

    He further said the state would participate in the Federal Government SME clinic scheduled for the South-South zone from 28th-30th September, 2017 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

    In an interview, the Secretary NASME, said the committee would work to ensure that Bayelsans occupy the top ladder of the state’s economy.

    “It is crucial because except you are in control of your environment, you will not benefit from what nature itself has provided. Now the blueprint of NASME is to work properly with the state government, the Federal MDAs that are directly involved in small and medium businesses.

    “Our ambition is to ensure that NASME members benefit from the various opportunities such as the invitation from China for which NASME wasn’t ready.

    “With that invitation, Nigerian goods particularly Bayelsa goods would have been taken to China to open International marketing opportunities”, he said.

  • ‘Niger Delta indigenes need bailout for modular refineries’

    ‘Niger Delta indigenes need bailout for modular refineries’

    Ijaw Youth Council President, Pereotubo Roland Oweilaemi, is a lawyer. In this interview with AKINOLA AJIBADE, he speaks on conditions for peace in the Niger Delta region, restructuring and the need for a bailout for the region’s indigenes interested in owning modular refineries and marginal fields, among others.

    Two years into President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, what is your take on peace in the Niger Delta?

    Peace in the Niger Delta is inevitable and must be achieved irrespective of who is at the helm of affairs. It is important and we are working tirelessly to ensure that there is peace in the Niger Delta and Ijaw territories, and the government at the centre is trying to settle down to attend to some of our demands. It is expected that we give them some time to dress the table and attend to the problems of the Niger Delta people

    Do you buy into the modular refineries programme, especially in view of the criticism that they are not profitable?

    With due respect, I don’t want to agree that modular refineries if properly handled are not viable. I don’t agree with the proponents of that ideology. Modular refinery is a good gesture by the Federal Government. It is just to move away from oil theft, to move away from illegal oil bunkering. but the worry is that the people, who are supposed to be empowered to do this are not the ones in charge. I mean the Niger Delta people,  the Ijaw people, who are involved in one form or the other, but are not doing the oil business properly. This is the essence of modular refineries. We find out that the government is not giving the sons and daughters of the Niger Delta the opportunity to own and operate modular refineries because the conditions to get them are very stringent.The financial involvement is very huge and we do not have that kind of money. So, we are calling on the Federal Government to relax these conditions to enable us also own and operate modular refineries, so that the peace we expect will continue to be part of the Niger Delta region.

    Are you aware that DPR has reduced the initial deposit from $1million to $150,000?

    Yes, I am aware and that’s still too much? It’s too much, we want further reduction. We have the oil, but we have not been managing this oil. We don’t have a stake in it so it should be relaxed. It should be brought down that we might also participate as equal owners in the project.

    Do you have colleagues in the Niger Delta, who have applied to  the DPR , because it said it was waiting for people to submit applications?

    How can you apply for something that you knew from the onset that you cannot start? You know the requirements, you have been given the requirements and from the word go, you know that you can’t do it. There is no miracle, conditions are stringent. We can’t apply and get it concluded logically, that is why we are saying that they should relax the conditions for us to be co-owners. You can’t say that the process is open and they expect people from Niger Delta, people from Ijaw extraction, to apply. How will they apply for something that they know that they won’t get at the end of the day? You already know the condition. The involvement, the logistics to put together to get a modular refinery is huge, that is why we are saying they should bring it down please.

    Do you expect a bailout or something similar for Niger Delta indigenes?

    That is what we expect. As a matter of fact, we are calling on the government to give us a time frame of about five to 10years, to get the modular refineries set up for a group of youths in the Niger Delta and say that from a particular time of the year, pay a certain amount to the Federal Government and at the end of the payment, you will become the owner of the refinery. That is palliative.

    So, what are you doing to reach out to those in authority concerning this particular issue?

    Yes, we were talking to them. I was with my elder brother, the Special Adviser on Amnesty, and we had fruitful discussions on how we will ensure that there is peace in the Niger Delta region. Of course, you will agree with me that where there is no peace, you can’t  attract  development, so, it is our responsibility to ensure, as youth leaders, that there is peace in the Niger Delta. That is the only panacea for development in the Niger Delta and we expect the government at different strata to do some basic things for us to get this peace we are looking for.

    Ogoni cleanup, do you see the project ongoing?

    It is unfortunate that we don’t seem to see what should be happening  now on site. The process is slow and we are not pleased about it. Ogoni is not the only place, it is peculiar, but it is not the only place that requires cleanup in the Niger Delta. There are so many places that are bastardised, our farmlands are gone, our aquatic life is gone, everything is gone. Our mothers cannot farm, they cannot fish. So, we need cleanup in almost every place in the Niger Delta, but you must start it from somewhere and that is why the government has decided to start from Ogoni. However, the speed we expected is not the speed we see on ground. I am calling on the government to ensure that Ogoni cleanup exercise is given priority attention.

    Federal Government plans marginal  fields bid round before the end of this year. How prepared are the Niger Delta youths to take advantage of this opportunity?

    We are very ready and capable to own and operate marginal fields, but the problem is that some people say we are not capable. We have gone through a lot of skills acquisition. We are being trained. We have Ijaw sons and daughters, people from the Niger Delta that can own marginal fields and operate it successfully.

  • Ita-Giwa urges resettlement of Bakassi indigenes

    Ita-Giwa urges resettlement of Bakassi indigenes

    Bakassi leader in Cross River State, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, has described as unfortunate reports of maltreatment of Bakassi indigenes in the ceded peninsula in Cameroon, saying it is a wake up call for the urgent and proper resettlement of displaced persons in Dayspring.

    The former presidential adviser stressed that “all the Bakassi people need to do is to be united in our demand for where our people should come and be resettled.”

    Speaking with The Nation in Calabar yesterday, Ita-Giwa said it was regrettable that the Green Tree Agreement, a treaty by the Nigerian and Cameroonian governments, had not been adhered to.

    Last week hundreds of Bakassi indigenes who still lived in the ceded Bakassi landed Ikang jetty in Cross River alleged that almost 100 of them had been killed by gendarmes following incessant harassment by Cameroonian authorities.

    Ita-Giwa said: “That is very unfortunate. For years I have been saying that that the Green Tree Agreement has not been adhered to and in fact that for many years we have been crying that if Nigeria had developed Dayspring then these people would not have waited there long enough to be maltreated by the Cameroon government. They all would have come back. We are just saying they should just develop that land for the people because it is convenient for their way of life, which is fishing.”