Kali Gwegwe
 Published
September 16th, 2008
The situation in the Niger delta region has come to the point where the
economic and political institutions that support Nigeria are seriously
threatened. That is the basic reason why for the first time in the
history of the country, Nigerians; irrespective of tribe, class, and creed
have joined forces to condemn the criminal neglect of the region by
successive administrations.
In appreciating the important position the region occupies in the
economic survival of Nigeria, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua have, since
assumption of office, tried as much as possible to right the wrongs of past
administrations. Against sectional advice, the Yar’Adua administration
kick-started a process to parley with all stakeholders in the region,
including militants. This led to the withdrawal of treason charges
against the leader of Niger Delta Volunteer Force, Alhaji Asari Dokubo.
Despite government's assurance that the Niger Delta issue would be taken
seriously, some sections of the region are very suspicious sighting
past promises. One finds it very difficult to blame them because all past
intervention programmes had failed to address the problems of the
region which ranges from environmental degradation to lack of social
amenities. Added to this, there is high-level of youth unemployment and a
near-culture of corruption, both in the private and
public sectors of the economy.
The question on the lips of many Nigerians is: If OMPADEC and NDDC
cannot address the problems of the Niger Delta, will a ministry; usually
weighed down by problems of bureaucracy do? However, following the
announcement of the creation of the Niger Delta ministry last week, majority
of reactions have expressed hope in the novel idea and blamed the
managers of government's past intervention programmes as being
responsible for the underdevelopment of the region. The general opinion is that
with a better and closer supervision, government's intervention
agencies such as the NDDC will be compelled by official protocols to deliver
on government's vision for the region.
In my own opinion, while I hail the decision of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to create a ministry to oversee the development of the Niger
Delta region, it is also important to point out the need to nominate only
persons of high moral standing to head the ministry or otherwise, we
should expect nothing meaningful from the exercise.
Just as echoed in some quarters, is it true that the decision by
President Yar’Adua to create the Niger Delta ministry is derived from his
painful frustration and loss of confidence in the ability of the Niger
Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to meet the demands of his
administration's 7-point agenda concerning the Niger Delta region? On the other
hand, will it be correct to believe that the inability of the NDDC to
address the developmental challenges of the Niger Delta was partly as a
result of poor funding by government and the multi-national oil/gas
companies operating in the region?
While I do not have ready answers to these two questions, one thing is
sure: Owing to the abundant wealth buried under the swamps of the Niger
Delta region, successive Nigerian governments have refused to operate
a physical federalism. The federal constitution Nigeria operates today
exists only on paper. Surely, a physical federalism will ensure that
enough funds are derived from exploitation activities for the development
of the region. Not only that, religious, cultural, political, and
legislative institutions must be strengthened to make corruption
unattractive. Without this, no amount of money appropriated for the development of
the region will make any positive impact.
 KALI GWEGWE
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