By Emma Amaize, Regional Editor, South-South, Sam Oyadongha, Emma Una, Akpokona Omafuaire, Chioma Onuegbu, Ozioruva Aliu, and Ochuko Akuopha
STAKEHOLDERS of the South-South region are at odds over theleadership that elected Governors have provided the oil-rich region since the Fourth Republic. An elder state leader and Convener of the South-South Reawakening Group (SSRG), Joseph Ambakederimo, leading some participants, said the governors had failed the region.
However, the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council and the Ibenanaowei of Ekpetiama Kingdom, HRM King Bubaraye Dakolo, and others argued that the governors were not to blame.
Unfortunate affair – Ambakederimo
Ambakederimo told Saturday Vanguard: “Until we have people who are business inclined in leadership positions as governors or we have people who are prepared to learn and listen to productive advice, nothing tangible will suffice in the region. I say this with all sense of responsibility because I am speaking from a vantage position of knowing the depth of emptiness of some of those who have become governors since 1999 in the region. Again, how can you expect anything tangible from many of them when these persons have not had the opportunity to manage any business of their own before they goaded them to become governors of their various states?
“The question to ask again is have you seen any action plan of any governor during campaigns that got implemented after winning the elections, even if they had any? All they do is more of ad-hoc governance on spontaneous impulse. Have you not wondered what is happening in the region despite the humongous resources earned from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) every month?
Misplaced priority is the order of the day, from statistics revealed by sources, none of the states in the region has attracted as little as $10,000 in investment into their states for the last 20 years. This explains the level of disjointedness and lack of coordination in governance.
“Today we are all shouting hunger in the land everywhere, and you do not ask what the governors are doing to improve food security for their people, rather, we all look at the direction of the Federal Government. We have arable land and soil good for cultivation of crops, and swathes of soil good for rice cultivation from Edo to Cross River States, yet we cannot feed ourselves in the region until we get food from the northern part of the country, it is a shame.
“If we know what we are doing, we would have nothing to do with unemployment and poverty in the region. The petroleum we have in abundance is what they should tap into to develop the by-products of crude oil. Industries to refine some of these by-products are lacking in the region, insecurity has plagued the region and blighted investors’ thought process of even looking towards the area. Have you not wondered why the governors have not seen it profitable to invest in a refinery in which our youths have near perfection in the fabrication of modular refineries? Why should the states not collaborate and put these people through formal training and build human capital from this field to grow, and create wealth? What else do we want the federal government to do for the states in the region? It is a question that should not be contemplated in the first instance. I say this because if you do the mathematics of the cumulative amount of resources that are coming into the region, it is about one-quarter of the annual budget of the country, yet nothing of commensurate development is seen.
“Now, we have 13 percent derivation, we have the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Ministry of Niger Delta Development, Amnesty Program, and Ecological fund, and internally generated revenue, but our states borrow in the billions. The federal government has reformed the electricity sector which will empower states to generate and distribute electricity, yet nothing is seen or heard from our governors in this direction.
“The renewable energy rave has not been keyed into by the states, same for the CNG development, and lack of interest to establish Free Trade Zones /Special Economic Zones, which catalyzes industrial development. The ongoing oil block bid round by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NURPC) has been closed without the states participating to acquire oil acreage. As a consultant in this field, we made representation to the states, to ask for the Right of First Refusal from the President, but none of the states woke up to our advice. It is a sad development. Therefore, the federal government has given the states the leverage to key into these reforms and make life much better for their people.”
Govs not the problem – HRM Dakolo
HRM Dakolo said with the vast influence of the central government on security, fiscal policies, and many more, it was difficult for the governors to achieve anything meaningful “because there is a center that is not allowing them a space to breathe no matter how well intended they may be. They (governors) are like people locked in a toilet and someone is holding the key. So, people have cunningly ensured that certain people and places have more legislators in the center so that if you want certain things, you cannot get the majority to achieve them. Let us look at the seaport, why do you think there is no seaport working in the South-South? It is a deliberate federal government policy to ensure they do not work. If you are blinded to the realities, you will blame your cousins and brothers for their inability to achieve those things.
“Ordinarily, if it were a true federation, Port Harcourt Port would have been working well, Warri Port would have been working well. It is just a policy deliberately done long ago so that only Tin Can Island Port will be working even though it is overwhelmed by activities. If you do not understand these challenges, you will miss it because it is like someone who locked his daughter in a room and expects her to go and buy you a cigarette, how will she go out to buy it? First and foremost, the door must be opened. So, if you do not open the door, she cannot. So, the emphasis should be on dismantling these cancerous structures, once this is done, things will move forward but without doing those first, things will not work. Right now, your resources are taken to the center, and cut into several bits, and you get just a little fraction of it. As long as that remains; and major policy areas like I just mentioned are not resolved, things will continue the way they programmed them.
“A functional port in Bayelsa state owned by the state government can make the blue economy what is truly blue economy, but with the federal government being in charge of such thing and also breathing down on those who want to act right, you will see that it is difficult for these governors to move ahead and do what is supposed to be done. Look at the East-West Road, it has been on the drawing board and being executed for several decades and it is a federal government project. It is like from the onset it was designed not to work. As long as these structures remain the way they are, even if you have the best intention, it is difficult.”
People should place demands on govs, LG chairmen – Prof Brown, ex-ASUU leader
The former zonal coordinator of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Calabar zone, Professor Aniekan Brown, identified ignorance as a living challenge common to the South-South states. He said, “To me, ignorance is the problem. Ignorance in the sense that we do not seem to know what to do to force those leading us to take responsibility. It follows also that if people are educated on what is happening, they will devolve means to get what they want. The problem with the followership is ignorance of what is needful. Our people do not know that the states and local governments today are far richer than before the declaration of the withdrawal of fuel subsidy. The state government is at least three times richer than it used to be. All levels of government are richer today, but out of ignorance, most eyes are on the presidency. I am saying that the governors and local government chairmen now have enhanced financial capacity to do more, but people do not place demands on them. It also follows that if people are not ignorant, they will challenge the government
“When I say education, I do not mean people going to school to obtain a Ph D, but people becoming aware of what is happening, what should be done, and how to do what should be done. But as we speak now, out of ignorance, people are not placing demands on the governors and local government chairmen. The masses will hardly want to confront the governors and local government chairmen on what they are doing. There is no pressure on the governors. The followers are supposed to do that.
How govs can do better – Clarkson, ex-MOSIEND spokesperson
Former spokesman of Movement for the Survival of Ijaw Ethnic Nationality, MOSIEND, Amaebi Clarkson, said: “The South-South governors can turn things around if they invest in energy. They have gas within their domain, so they can partner with the oil majors and build several gas turbines for either domestic or regional consumption or even sell to neighboring states. Our governors have no reason whatsoever not to invest in the power sector to improve the living standard of the citizenry, especially now that power is now domiciled in the concurrent sphere. Another sector the governors can massively invest in is the ‘blue economy’. Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Akwa-Ibom states are naturally endowed with a vast coastline that is begging to be harnessed. Our beaches are even more beautiful than that of the Caribbean islands. The governors can adopt the Lagos model of partnering with the host communities on security where these beaches are situated. The amount of revenue Lagos State makes from coastal tourism is mind-blowing. The glass industry is another area that the South-South states can make a fortune. We have abundant sharp sand – the raw material all over our coastline. The governments can collaborate with the private sector to establish glass industries to employ people in the region. However, a South-South economic integration is a must to improve the living standard of the people in the area
