For two days last week, thousands of youths from across the nine Niger Delta states converged on the PTI Conference Centre, Effurun, Delta State for the ‘IYC World Summit’, organised by the Ijaw Youth Council, led by Comrade Udengs Eradiri.
The spokesperson of the IYC Worldwide, Mr Eric Omare, said the summit that has “Partnering for Prosperity and Sustainable Development” as theme, was convened to tackle some of the challenges facing, not just the Ijaw, but all ethnic nationalities.
He said the initiative of the IYC was informed by the group’s desire to play a leading role in bringing together other ethnic bodies to fight a common cause for the development of the region.
He said: “In the post-amnesty era, one of the biggest challenges now facing the Niger-Delta Region just like other parts of the Country is lack of engagement for both skilled and unskilled youths despite the acquisition of various skills through the Presidential Amnesty programme and other medium of training.
“This summit seeks to set a new agenda by redirecting the focus of the youths of the Niger Delta on agriculture, job creation, promoting small and medium scale enterprises (SME), empowering, educating and enlightening the young minds to take advantage of the opportunities available in the agro and allied sector to create better livelihood for themselves and the society,” he added.
In spite of a no-show by President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Dame Patience, who were expected to declare the summit open, as well as the absence of Chief Edwin Clark, Ijaw national leader and leader of the South/south, and some governors of the region, the summit gradually gathered steam and lived up to its billing. Only the host, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan and his Bayelsa state counterparts sent representatives.
Uduaghan, who was represented by Mr Frank Omare, Commissioner for Environment, tasked attendees to adopt peaceful means in conflict resolution, revealing that the government had through its 3-Point agenda, bettered the lives of its people.
Speaking with newsmen at the summit, IYC President, Udengs Eradiri emphasized the need for Niger Delta youths to unite and shun the antics of those who seek to divide them for political gain. He particularly lamented the ten
He said: “Today we have an EPZ (Export Processing Zone) that is coming to Delta State. There has been so much argument between the Ijaw and Itsekiri that are neighbours. They have a project that will add so much value to this region and the land that has been lying fallow for donkey years without producing any kobo on the table is the cause of strife.”
He advised the bickering Ijaw and Itsekiri groups to bury their hatchets, remarking that if the projects kicks off there would be jobs for everybody in the region. “Yet, politicians have started deceiving our young people by fighting themselves.”
He said the summit would set machinery in motion to unite the various interests so that they project could kick off. He advised that a sharing formula should be agreed by both sides to build trust and unity, stressing that the project could hold the key to the region and Nigeria’s industrialization.
“There is an auto policy and if this project kicks off most of the auto companies like Toyota, Mercedes and MBW will come and set up plants here in Delta state because it is close to the ocean. If they are producing with a cheaper price they can export from Nigeria to other parts of the world. This will create jobs and by that process open our environment. Businesses will spring up, there would be hotels etc. People must see the idea of bringing an EPZ to this environment and forget all our difference,” he added.
Eradiri also canvassed for a generational change, stressing that young people must rethink their relationship with ‘elders’ whose times have passed.
He said: “They must step aside and allow us decide our future. All the conflicts are about sustaining political interest of other people.”
To this end, he urged the president revealed his plans for the youths of the region as it affects their future. “Much as he has done some things in the Niger Delta, we are not satisfied; we have no jobs, our roads are not completed and things are not happening as they should in the Niger Delta.
“In as much as we are happy about what the amnesty is doing, there are just about 30,000 captured. We have over 10 million young people in the Niger Delta. Look at the ratio of 10m Niger Delta youths and 30,000 amnesty beneficiaries. The amnesty is just one area, what are they going to do for education, economy, and job creation? Those are the things we expected the president to come here today and highlight,” he said.
Nevertheless, the IYC president appealed to the opposition All Progressive Congress and other political parties to follow the example of the Peoples Democratic Party and adopt President Goodluck Jonathan for the 2015 election. He said such move would help build unity, peace and avert crisis resulting from protracted electioneering campaign.
In his goodwill message, the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Hon Kingsley Kuku, thumbed-up the amnesty programme, describing it as a huge success. “This programme has succeeded in ushering unprecedented peace in the Niger Delta as well as astronomical increase in oil production and revenue for our country.
“With the Amnesty Programme now in its reintegration phase, the challenge that stares us in the face is how to positively and profoundly engaged the thousands of youths that have been trained.”
Kuku expressed the expectation that the summit would provide opportunity for stakeholders to proffer practical steps towards engaging majority of the youths, especially those who have acquired vocational skills.”
The summit attracted youth leaders from the Ikwerre, Itsekiri, Urhobo, Ogoni, Isoko and Yorubas, among others. The highpoint was the release of a communiqye on Friday, October 10, by IYC spokesperson, Mr Eric Omare, a lawyer.
The document expressed concern about the growing unemployment in the region. It noted that the development was more worrisome considering that substantial number of the unemployed youths had acquired various skills.
Therefore, he disclosed that “It was resolved that there should be massive development of the agriculture and allied industries sector in the Niger Delta to provide jobs for the teeming unemployed youths and make them self-reliant. Henceforth, government efforts towards the economic empowerment of the youths of the Niger Delta should be geared towards making them self-reliant,” the document added.
The communique lamented that although the President Good luck Jonathan administration has recorded remarkable strides in agricultural sector, the benefits are not felt in the Niger Delta because such monies were spent in the northern parts of the country.It urged the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the National Assembly to take conscious steps to address the perceived imbalance in the nation’s agricultural policy.
Similarly, the youths expressed concern over the perceived nonchalant attitude of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practice Commission towards discharge of their duties.