I am disheartened with the Niger Delta Avengers’ activities which may jeopardize Nigerian economy if it is treated with kid gloves. I am also confident that the Avengers were not born when the oil was discovered in their region and don’t know how its discovery and drilling had been also financed.
Before this oil, the North had successfully sustained the Nigerian economy through agriculture. The Nigerian oil industry was developed with money from the North.
Bad governance and militancy of the Niger Delta region has worsened as a result of parochialism, bad leadership and greed of their elite. Till date, the maximum percentage of monthly allocation of the region remains in the pockets of their leaders.
It is unfair to blame President Muhammadu Buhari for the region’s extreme poverty, inhuman and desolate living conditions because 13 percent of the Federal Government monthly allocation goes to the region. But unfortunately, the poor people of the region have been undergoing hardship and misery for many decades.
Fortunately, some Niger Delta elders have realized the truth and have blamed the crisis in the region on poor leadership and mismanagement of the resources allocated to it by successive governments. They spoke recently at a lecture, entitled: “The Niger Delta Question and Imperative of Visionary Leadership”, organized in honour of Chief Mike Loyibo at Tuomo, Bodadi area of Bayelsa state. During the programme, the guest lecturer, Prof. Benjamin Okoba, of the Delta state University (DELSU), said: ”What have we done with the little we have got? Let us look at the issues of leadership. We have 13 percent derivation; we have appointees. But what have we done with them?
“The agitation is unreasonable. Our attitude to our people must change. The problems and concerns of the Niger Delta region is a product of our collective negligence. While we ask for more resources, we should be mindful of what we have. Let us elect people with vision and passion even at the community level. If people could divert 13 percent, they will also divert it when it is increased to 50 and 100 percent. So, we must hold our leaders accountable”.
Mustapha Baba Azare,
Bauchi
