Reawakening of Niger-Delta militancy: Addressing  communal welfare and development to avert threats

Some standing matters of stormy potentials which have been treated negligently, apparently have systematically manifested in the background to grow wings of disturbances that constitute threats to the Nigerian Federation. The nonchalance which is a typical character of the political culture in the Country, is one big problem which has led manageable challenges to degenerate into stormy problems of national impacts. One of such matters, which over the years has been practically held with levity, is the upkeep of the Niger Delta region.

The subject appears to be one elaborate discourse with categorical phenomena of concerns which continue to validate and revalidate themselves. Recalibrating the moving lines of the waving and roving character of agitations from the region is one thought-evoking subject. The rising and falling tune of agitation themselves are in the light of deep thoughts, an offshoot of wings of perceptual consideration bearing strings of categorical phenomena. While several modalities in form of amnesty to pacify agitating camps have been devised over time, the conspiracies, dishonesty, betrayal and corruption that have ridden such measures have been distasteful. The profile of the maladministration of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with records of high profile corruption and mismanagement of funds meant for the development of the region, is a painful sour not only in eyes of the right beneficiaries but on the entire Federation.

The effects of any disruption of operations in the Niger Delta region is a clear expression of disturbances to national state of affairs, since the region is the honeypot of Nigeria’s monolithic economy, largely dependent on oil. The story of the saddening tale of the underdevelopment of the Niger Delta region which largely houses the resource of the Country’s mainstream economic impetus, is a diet of bitter herbs. The natives of this regions who have apparently been left at a disadvantage in their lands and waters due to oil exploration will feel nothing but injustice if the wealth of the Federation tapped largely from their regions is used to finance the entire Federation, while their own region is left underdeveloped in the face of gross environmental degradation and physical impacts. The drumbeat of the reawakening of the agitations of the Niger-Delta militants is resurfacing once again with threats recently issued to break the period of silence with resumption of attacks.

The need to address the rising wind of disturbances responsively is not an affair that should be held with laxity. Looking towards the foundations of the faults in the working patterns of the existing modalities drafted to address the critical subjects of the development of the region and those bordering on amnesty must be directed along the lines of rejigging the structural deficiencies which have left large gaps, positioning the system as irresponsive to the situations it is meant to address.

On Wednesday, it was disclosed that the Federal Executive Council approved a sum of N6billion for the provision of potable water for the four local governments of Ogoniland, Gokana, Khana, Eleme and Tai in Rivers State. The Council also said that the government has so far facilitated the clean-up of a total of 15 oil-polluted sites in Ogoniland. The Minister of the Environment, Muhammad Mahmoud, disclosing this while fielding questions from State House correspondents at the end of the weekly virtual Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja was quoted: “The mandate of the project is not just cleaning up the contaminated areas by oil pollution, but also to provide drinking water and three to also provide alternative livelihood for the people of that area. This is a project that previous governments have tried to do, but it just turned out to be just talk. But President Buhari, in 2015 when he promised, this thing started in 2016 and currently, there will be six water projects that will be provided in this for local governments of Ogoniland and this has just been approved and work will start immediately. They are at different prices and also different completion periods, I think ranging from six months all the way to nine months, depending on the atmosphere. It’s rehabilitation and construction and some of these will link with the River State government’s water system. But this is a project that you want to take time to do and do it well. We are talking about the livelihood of people, contaminated soil by hydrocarbons, these are cancer-causing chemicals, or we call them carcinogens. So, one has to make sure that when we’re trying to speed up, we also have been careful to make sure it’s clean to the standard of the World Health Organisation and the standard set also by UNEP. So, the project is going on, and one of the things is this provision of water. Some of the delays even that you are talking about, yes; this is the first time that a project of this size and this magnitude is being undertaken.”

It is important to inject the elements of proper administrative firmness to the process of the execution of this project in question. Developing a working framework within which the project and every other similar development project for the region would be structured for guidance unto perfecting results of the intended objectives, is key. The prevailing approach fraught with deficient character of working patterns that defeat the essence of appreciable execution towards development course, should be addressed forcefully and strategically. Any disturbance arising as products of grievances from the region is undesirable for the Federation amidst the complexities of present turbulence bewildering the Country. It is therefore imperative for the Government to act swiftly in addressing matters of concern on the welfare of the people of the region and the development of their homelands.