Niger Delta Update 2016

My Letter To Niger Delta Avengers And Their Supporters. .

By Sapele Olofofo

. Before I start I have a few questions for you supporters. . 1. Where did the Niger Delta Struggle go to in the last 6 years' . 2. Why is there so much vandalization of oil facilities off late' . 3. Is it true you don't want Tompolo arrested . 4. Is the allegations leveled on Tompolo true' If no, why has he not honoured the invitation and if yes, then the so called development money you are looking for was outrightly swallowed by him. . Thank you, permit me to roll in my mind on the issue on ground. . Before the emergence of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan as president, the likes of Ankio Briggs, Asari Dokubo, OpunaboNkot 'Tariah, Ledum Metee, Edwin Clark etc were always on Television telling Nigerians and the world how the South-South has been marginalized by the North and the West despiteher oil. .

By divine and metaphysical error, Goodluck Jonathan from the South-South, the presumed Nazareth of Nigeria became the president of Nigeria after President Umaru Yaradua's death in 2009.His emergence came as a joyous daybreak to end our age-long marginalization . . There was a beacon light of hope for my region. Immediately, the Niger Delta struggle stumbled and died or gone Comatose. . The Niger Delta activists mentioned above became Jonathan's spokespersons and abandoned the struggle. In 2011, Nigerians, Hausa,Yoruba, Igbo, Edo, Christians and Muslims voted massively for Jonathan. Thereafter, administrative thieves were appointed Ministers and head of federal institutions,- Convicted criminals received presidential pardon.- Militants were given contracts running into billions of Naira.- Impunity and corruption became the norm. .

All these and many more replaced the Niger Delta struggle for resource control. The need for constant electricity, portable water, good health facilities, good road network, massive manpower development etc went into oblivion. Even the recent Ogoni UNEP report that would have changed the live of an average Ogoni man was not implemented by their regional brother - president. Recall that NDDC was established by Olusegun Obasanjo a Yoruba man. Ministry of Niger and Amnesty Office was established by Late,President Umaru Musa Yaradua, a Northerner. Regrettably, this two federal agencies including NIMASA and NNPC became conduit pipes for Jonathan's Wife, Nyesom Wike, Deziani Allison, Godswill Apkabio and many cronies of Jonathan to Molest and siphon funds meant for the development of the Niger Delta region. . Credibility died. Equity died. Competence died. Due process died. Conscience died. .

And the Niger Delta struggle died in their son's hand. . Former Governor Rotimi Amaechi, knowing that the South - South may not have the opportunity of Producing the President of Nigeria again cried out and they called him a betrayer. They fought him with federal might and pushed him out of PDP, a replicate of what Joseph's brothers did when they sold him to the Ishmelites. . But today Amaechi is laughing because they pushed him to stardom. . Even the East/ West road that was awarded by former President Obasanjo and inherited by Yaradua and later Jonathan is still not completed. . Bayelsa State today does not have an airport or a strong federal government institution that can generate employment opportunities for Bayelsa youths. Few months to the Presidential election, Ankio Briggs, Asari Dokubo, Edwin Clark, Nyesom Wike, Tompolo Government, Kingsley Kuku, etc awaken the Niger Delta struggle. .

What a shame, What an irony' . For five years nobody heard them because they were swimming and sleeping on money. When Goodluck Ebele Jonathan eventually contested and lost the 2015 Presidential election to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of the APC,the House of Assembly of all South-South states became a compensation point for militants ( Former and Active).Everything was done with the police and INEC to ensure that cronies of Jonathan and his wife were declared winners of the governorship and House of Assembly elections in the South-South especially Rivers State and Bayelsa. . And if Jonathan had won the last election and ruled for another ten years, there won't be any hope for the actualization of the Niger Delta Struggle. . Go to Oloibiri and other villages in Ijaw land and see the level of environmental degradation yet their son was president of Nigeria for six years. . People are living a stone-age life over there, no land to build a house, no pipe burn water, no hospital, no school and no road yet some people will seat in Abuja and Portharcourt collecting billions of Naira as Champions of the Niger Delta struggle. . I read some few days ago that the President has directed the release of the funds meant for the clean up of Ogoni Land. What their own son was reluctant to implement after spending a whole six years in office, but here is a man in less than 1 year set up a committee to look into the delay and now they are ripe to implement. . Who is fooling who? Are they fighting for the cause of Niger Delta or their pockets? .

When you bomb an oil installation, you put your own people at risk health wise. . Your waters in the village is contaminated . You reduce the federal allocation to the state . You reduce power supply capacity. . Buhari does not stay in your village, he does not need water to drink from your village, the power supply any where he is will not blink a second even if you decide to bomb your whole village. This is a compendium og foolishness. . The people who will suffer from the mental selfish exercise were not empowered the last 6 years, those who benefited from the loots have squandered the loots on women, drinks and landed property if not why has Tompolo even after his bank account was frozen and some of his property sealed by the federal government, he still choose to be in hiding. . Niger Deltans Be Wise! . What Good luck could not give to them in the last 6 years, they now want Buhari to give them in 1 year, madness indeed.

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TO HELL WITH THE NIGER DELTA (SC)AVENGERS: WHO NEEDS OIL TO SURVIVE?

By Iyore Agho

Ever since the creation of the Nigerian State by the British Colonial Adventurers and Empire Builders, two unfortunate things truncated our march to greatness: Discovery of Crude Oil (in 1956 in Oloibiri) In the Niger Delta region and the transition to Civilian Rule in 1999 (Which brought the‪#‎Oloriburuku‬ ‪#‎Masanfani‬ PDP to power).

Before the discovery and exploration of oil, Nigeria was renowned for her agrarian economy which saw cash crops like: palm oil and Kernel, groundnut, cocoa, timber and rubber, etc being exported to other countries around the globe. In fact, at some point, Malaysia, one of the fastest growing economies of the world today was said to be one of the major buyers of Nigeria's oil palm seedlings. Ironically, Malaysia today is ranked as the world's largest producer of palm oil! The Agricultural sector back then offered employment opportunities to over 70% of the total Nigerian labour force, and that's aside from the fact that it provided sufficient food crops for local consumption as well as raw materials for local industries.

Unfortunately, the past as they say is history, as immediately after oil was discovered and explored, successive administrations in the country looked away from Agriculture and all attention was focused on oil. Today, 60 years later, Nigeria cannot in all honesty claim to be the best economy in West Africa, let alone in the whole African continent. The pyramids (of food crops) of the North as well as Cocoa farms in the Southwest all vanished one after the other. In 2003, Nigeria, the once upon a time exporter of agricultural produce to Asian countries (Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore) became the largest importer of rice! Isn't that ironic? The biggest mistake our leaders made was to "kill the goose that was laying the golden eggs".

Agriculture is the bedrock of any meaningful economic development because of its sustainability and relative predictability. While it is true that during the years of oil boom, oil contributed over 80% of our foreign exchange earnings, as at 2014, statistics showed that the Petroleum Industry only contributes about 14% to the economy. And with crude prices being determined by International Markets, Nigeria risks falling into recession should crude oil fall any further. What this simply implies is that it is time for Government to move beyond the usual "We shall diversify the economy" stage to making huge investments in the Agricultural sector. Government at all levels must move beyond advancing loans to farmers to making the Agricultural sector one of the largest and most lucrative sectors in the country.

With multi billion dollars investment in Agriculture and an effective ban on rice and other commodities that can be produced locally, before Buhari finishes his second term (hopefully), our nation will be reinstated back to its rightful position, not only in Africa but also in the world at large. The only reason why ‪#‎idiots‬ and products of baby factories in the Niger Delta region are holding us to ransom with their agitation for the sovereign state of ‪#‎Biafra‬ is because of our over dependence on oil. Once the government decides to look away from oil, that will be the beginning of the end of their agitation. I am sure that President Buhari is thinking in that direction. He is capable (with God's permission) to change the direction of this country from that perilous path to the path of greatness. We cannot continue to live in extreme want and abject poverty in the midst of abundance. Nigeria is abundantly blessed with natural resources and we must explore and utilized them for our collective good. If before oil was discovered, we survived and lived I have no iota of doubt that we can still survive without oil. Unfortunately, are we ready to take that bold step?