President of the Ijaw National Council (INC), Professor Benjamin Okaba, has accused the Nigerian federation of subjecting the oil-rich Niger Delta to what he described as an “ecological genocide,” calling for urgent equity and justice for the region’s long-suffering people.
Professor Okaba made the assertion on Wednesday in Abuja while delivering the lead paper themed “Gaps and Silences in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Economy: Appraisal of Resources Control, Security and Media Dynamics”, at the 10th Anniversary Public Lecture of GbaramatuVoice, a leading pan-Niger Delta media platform.
He lamented that despite being the economic backbone of the country for decades, the Niger Delta continues to wallow in poverty, neglect, and environmental destruction.
“Our freshwater, swamp, and mangrove forests have been mutilated by multinationals. Our rivers, once pure, now carry the toxic signature of extraction without restoration. These statistics are not just painful; they are criminal,” Okaba declared.
He further alleged that what obtains in the region is nothing short of “economic war,” with thousands of infants dying daily from toxic water, while gas flaring continues to release levels of carbon emissions that would be considered illegal in Europe.
The INC leader argued that between 1960 and 2024, Nigeria earned over $1 trillion in oil revenue, with more than 75 percent derived from the Niger Delta.
Yet, he noted, while the proceeds have built skyscrapers in Abuja and Lagos, communities in the oil-bearing states are left in shanties, with over 70 percent of the people living on less than $2 a day.
“Those who suffer degradation, those who bear the oil, those whom God has given the resource, should be the primary benefactors of the dividends of the oil industry. Anything otherwise will keep us in this trajectory of suffering, crisis, and conflict,” he warned.
Professor Okaba condemned the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), particularly the 3 percent allocation to host communities, describing it as an insult to the people of the Niger Delta.
He argued that bureaucratic bottlenecks have ensured that no community has successfully accessed the so-called community trust funds since the law was passed, reducing oil-bearing communities to “hostages in their own land.”
He also accused security agencies of complicity in oil theft, noting that institutionalised insider collusion in pipeline vandalism contributes to losses estimated at over $27 billion annually.
According to him, the divestment of international oil companies from onshore operations has further worsened the plight of the region, as marginal fields are now awarded to politically connected individuals “who cannot distinguish between palm wine and oil,” leaving host communities more impoverished.
Okaba stressed that unless justice and equity are entrenched in the governance of oil resources, Nigeria risks perpetuating a cycle of conflict and underdevelopment.
“The Niger Delta has been the goose that laid the golden egg, only to be sacrificed at every fiscal cycle. This must end. We demand justice, equity, and a future where our people are no longer slaves in their own land,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, the 10th anniversary public lecture of the media platform drew eminent dignitaries who extolled the resilience of the Niger Delta-based media outfit and its role in projecting the voice of the region to the world.
In his goodwill message, the Ovie of Idjerhe Kingdom, His Royal Majesty, King Obukohwo Monday Arthur Whiskey, Udurhie I, lamented the continued deprivation of the oil-rich Niger Delta despite being the backbone of Nigeria’s economy.
He said the region has contributed enormously to the nation’s prosperity yet remains mired in neglect.
“If you take the state of roads in the Niger Delta, if you take the employment opportunities, if you take the development yardstick, we have nothing to show for what we are producing,” the monarch said.
He added, “If you can construct a Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos, what stops you from constructing such fantastic infrastructure in the Niger Delta, where you produce these resources and galvanize the nation’s economy?”
Commending GbaramatuVoice, he described it as “our CNN,” stressing that only those who live the Niger Delta reality can tell its story with accuracy.
“They know our culture, they know our tradition, they know our people. We see them as our voice, as our CNN,” King Whiskey affirmed.
Also speaking, King Bubaraye Dakolo, Chairman of the Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council, praised the outfit for filling a gap “mainstream media has not been able to tell.”
Peace ambassador Sheriff Mulade described GbaramatuVoice as pivotal in projecting the region’s struggles and triumphs, saying it “has contributed over 70% of the popularity of Gbaramatu Kingdom.”
Representing the Chief of Army Staff, Major-General Oluremi Fadairo urged collective responsibility for security in the Niger Delta, adding: “We must say no to militancy and oil bunkering so that we can have a better Nigeria.”.
In his welcome address, Publisher and CEO of GbaramatuVoice, Jacob Brakere Abai, described the milestone as a decade of “telling stories that matter” and amplifying Niger Delta voices.
“Ten years ago, we saw a Niger Delta whose struggles were overlooked and voices muted. From a modest tabloid, we have grown into a multimedia platform with global reach,” Abai said.
He noted that GbaramatuVoice stands in Nigeria’s proud journalistic tradition, pledging to expand into a Media Institute to train future storytellers.
