My blessing, my curse, says Vex Darkly-the poet. This phrase clearly depicts the current predicament that has befallen the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. A gift purposed to be a blessing to all and sundry has now become a pain in the neck.
Gold they say is not mined in palaces but in caves and rocks so also is crude oil not found in Nigeria’s choice places but in swamps and slums.
The Niger Delta region spits out one of the very best crude oils in the world yet its current state cannot attest to that affirmation. The state of its states is nothing to write home about compared to its counterparts in the rest of the world.
It is also a palm oil rich region but this fact seems to have been swept under the rug. History tells of the Palm oil boom in the 1870s but all of that is now only studied in schools at theoretical level. There was a paradigm shift in the 1950s and 60s with the discovery of “the liquid gold”.
But now, fifty something years after the discovery, the mistaken main stay of Nigeria’s economy is being burnt down by its own heir. Year after year, dispensation after dispensation, the clamour for the development of this region have overshadowed every other outcry. Different governmental regimes from independence have in one way or the other listened to this cry and made attempts to at least extend its developmental strides to this region. Yes! so much have been stolen from this region without adequate compensation; but also so much have been given to this region and its people without proper utilisation and appropriation. Mistakes have been made by some former heads of states. Other mistakes have been made by the leaders chosen by the people of this region.
Do not dwell on the mistakes of others says the wise man but learn from them. Various groups have emerged advocating for the supposed emancipation and DE marginalisation of the Niger delta. But the truth is they all have one thing in common: Greed. Every one of them came to fight for his own pocket and not what they vocally emphasized. A popular musician and song writer from the Niger Delta wrote and I quote: “Tribal war, dem don dey take am dey make money; crises e don turn to business”. Let us call a spade a spade. Barrister Smooth as this singer is popularly called has said it all. The conflicts and crises in this region are all scripted and their purpose like every movie acted is to make money for themselves.
Everyone wants a share of the national cake. Thugs, traditional rulers, chiefs, ward councillors, Local government chairmen, Youth heads, Governors and others too numerous to mention are only there to get the money.
‘Thuggery’ is celebrated and even the educated elites are been influenced. Every fund disbursed for reasonable projects is first of all shared to these individuals before getting to the contractors. Then the final outcome is the ‘Abandoned projects’ that graces the ears of its population or better still projects executed with substandard materials that cannot stand the climatic condition of this region.
The Musa Yaradua administration made an applaudable move to putting an end to these calamities by granting the ‘Tools’ used by the ‘Big Bosses’ amnesty. Thanks to the influence of his vice-“The Son Of The Soil”. Everyone thought this would be the end to the said struggle but it was once again converted in to a money making scheme or rather agenda. I like calling it a script meant to fool us. Every project allocated to this region with the intention of speedily developing it met these big bosses who for their greed would not let go. Stomach infrastructure was used to win elections and the post-election tales cannot be told exhaustively by any journalist for fear of been tailed, maimed and eliminated. Those who know the truth would not dare say it. At the end of President Goodluck administration very little development could be written of.
Presently the “son of the soil” is no more at the helm of affairs. Quite a pity though. He too was tired of the influences of the Big Bosses of Nigeria and its oil rich Niger delta. The price of crude oil is declining.
At this point in time when power has changed hands rose another of the big Bosses Grand Tool. With a name that sounds like it has come from the pages of a superhero comic book, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) is the latest militant group to emerge in Nigeria - attacking oil installations in a campaign which threatens the economy of Africa's most populous state.
"We are a group of educated and well-travelled individuals that are poised to take the Niger Delta struggle to new heights that has never been seen in this nation before," the NDA proclaimed in one of their first statement's on their website in April.
"We have well-equipped human resources to meet this goal."
It was not an idle threat. The NDA has carried out a barrage of attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta region, causing a huge decline in oil production, which is the mainstay of the West African state's economy.
"The renewed activities of the militants in the Niger Delta is seriously affecting our oil production," Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun admitted on state-owned NTA television.
My question is when will these young become wise and know its real enemies?
For how long will they continue like this? Even if all the money in Nigeria is given to you, Niger Delta will still remain the way it is until the big bosses are eliminated and a grand funeral for Mr Greed is conducted.
Look at Akwa Ibom and Calabar who have manage to successfully deal with most of its internal problems but not all. Check them oh Niger Delta.
In GOD I TRUST
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