Interrogating the senator with 300 NDDC’s contracts

For young Mr. Williams, a 22-year-old Nigerian who was born and brought up in New York City, United States of America, the only thing that will ever make him to again visit Nigeria, his ancestral country of origin, is when the high level of corruption that has eaten deep into every segment of Nigeria is reduced to the barest minimum. Williams was sobbing profusely over the high spate of corruption in Nigeria as he narrated his predicaments when he visited Nigeria, to journalists that boarded the same Emirate flight with him on his return trip to New York. For Williams, the Nigeria security apparatus needed total overhaul in view of their non-professionalism which turned him into Automated Teller Machine (ATM) anytime he plies Nigerian roads. He also believes political leaders in Nigeria are the worst enemies of the country. He described them as a clog on the wheel of progress of Nigeria. Williams’ observation about the high level of corruption in Nigeria is just one of hundreds of thousands of Nigerians across the globe, who as a result of high level of corruption, vowed never to return to Nigeria, their father land.

Well, some analysts believe corruption is a global phenomenon. Nevertheless, they feel Nigeria’s level of corruption is a menace that if not tackled head on, will in future cripple the existence of the country. A critical look at the observations of some of these analysts may not be far from the truth, for the fact that corruption boils down to every human way of life which in turn manifests into the generality of the society. Corruption is a monster that every reasonable citizen of Nigeria that believes in the corporate existence of the country should collectively fight. The earlier, the better, else the aftermath effect of it would no doubt be very calamitous. By and large, I shall not in this context dwell so much on the menace of corruption but shall in totality condemn the recent news that is making waves in all the media platforms in Nigeria and even at the international media platform on how a single individual who claimed to be a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, illegally awarded to himself 300 contract projects at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) simply because, he sees every other indigene of Niger Delta region as moron and therefore, feels he has the overall power as a demi-god to cart away such large amount of contract projects and nobody dared ask him why?  What an irony and wickedness of the highest order being meted to the highly civilised and educated people of Niger Delta. We live in a lawless country where those who are well known for their criminal lifestyles are the ones piloting the affairs of the country while those that are well equipped with enormous intellectual prowess and earthshaking dreams and visions are left as bystanders because, they have no capacity to match evil for evil.

I am in particular referring to the news on how a single senator from Niger Delta region who had used and even till now still using his position as the senate chairman of one of the juicy senate committees both in the 8th and 9th assembly, to illegally allocate to himself 300 contract projects with over 120 out of these number being fully paid by the management of NDDC to the said senator even when there is nothing tangible on the site of the 120 projects, which were fully paid for!

Imagine the blatant mindlessness and outright wickedness this monster of a senator is displaying and yet, no one dare call him to order? Well, thank God for the lion heartedness of Hon. Cairo Ajuigbo, who in his fearlessness and boldness decided to blow open the whole secret while some elements as a result of the stipends they are getting from the senator in question decided to keep quiet or for the fear of being killed by some clueless youths that are highly bewitched by the satanic lifestyles of the said senator.  Honestly corruption and those who see it as a profession to be corrupt are over wicked. Imagine a single person allocating to himself 300 contract projects while many others are looking for just a single contract to execute even at a very minimal cost in order to meet their necessary needs? Come to think of it, what can he alone do with the profit of billions of naira from those contracts? Honestly it’s laughable and unimaginable.

Meanwhile, many people keep blaming the army of unemployed youths in Nigeria for crimes and other social vices, especially in the Niger Delta where this particular senator hails from. I want to specially use this medium to appeal to all the citizens of the Niger Delta that the federal government in their magnanimity decided to establish Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to carter for their basic needs in view of the fact that the major source of the country’s source of income is deposited on their land. I urge you all to rise against this evil senator. Hold him accountable for the non-execution of those 300 projects. I urge you to give all the necessary support to Hon Ajuigbo to come out boldly with the true result of the forensic audit of NDDC which the senator is already paying the hungry and clueless army of youths to scuttle. Come to think of it,  aperson with a long history of criminality should not even be in the hallowed chamber of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to represent highly educated people of Delta state! By now, he ought to have been recalled from the senate to face the wrath of the law!

I call on the EFCC, ICPC, NFIU and Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to get him arrested immediately to account for the 300 contracts. Enough is enough. How can a single senator pocket the destiny of millions of well-educated people of Niger Delta Region and the entire Nigeria, while most of the rural communities the said projects were designed and awarded for, keep wallowing in abject poverty with no social amenities like potable water, good roads, modern hospitals, affordable and well equipped schools in sight?

I call on all citizens of the Niger Delta to rise and support Senator Godswill Akpabio, Hon Cairo Ajuigbo and every other son and daughter of the region that are insisting on the forensic audit of the NDDC! They should be given all the necessary support to succeed else, development will continue to elude the Niger Delta region in this 21st Century that people are turning hamlets into cities via intellectual prowess and natural resources deposited in such environment.

Comrade Oswanga writes from Delta state

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