Niger Delta : Can Yar’Adua become the hero?
By Oke Epia
From indications in the last one month, it appears President Umaru Yar’Adua has the interest of the Niger Delta, Nigeria’s resource-rich wetland, at heart.
The other day, national lawmakers nearly fell over themselves in a bid to outdo one another in pouring accolades on the President for achieving the commendable feat of what is now perceived to be an end to militancy in the region.
Militants responded in their thousands to the call to embrace Federal Government’s amnesty. From the creeks, they came in droves, surrendering very intimidating cache of arms and ammunition that made the country’s security forces green with envy.
The haul was overwhelming, so much so that the Commander-in-Chief readily availed himself for presidential handshake with militant kingpins and regaled in photo sessions with them in the hallowed halls of Aso Rock.
The satisfied grin on the President’s face as captured by State House paparazzi in those awkward outings confirmed one thing: The man was pleased with himself. Just as many others were pleased with him.
The federal legislators were simply catching on the wave of praise-singing for the Yar’Adua administration over the successful implementation of the amnesty for repentant militants. Commendation has come for the President from among others, governors of states in the battered Delta that had once threatened to derail the amnesty programme; leaders of thought from the South-South; Northern leaders; sections of the international community; and even the armed youths that renounced militancy. There is no question about President Yar’Adua deserving the accolades. He has indeed earned it, for now.
But the challenge has only just begun. The true test of his sincerity in tackling the Niger Delta conundrum is just about unfolding. There is no doubt that he is stepping on the threshold of history; but whether or not he can fully seize the moment is the question to which an answer is of paramount interest.
The post-amnesty deal is what will ultimately unravel the true test of the President’s character as far as the Niger Delta is concerned. It will either consolidate or erode completely the gains of the amnesty and throw the region, nay the country, into a worse crisis than she is smarting from. But some steps (read intentions) so far taken have been quite encouraging, especially if it is preferred to see the glass as half full rather than half empty.
One is the proposed concession of 10 per cent equity holding to oil bearing communities of the Niger Delta. Though details of how this proposal would work are yet to be laid bare, the mere disclosure of the intention alone has added a layer of soothing balm on the battered nerves of the Niger Delta.
If this step is implemented without any iota of deceit and manipulation, the joy of the region would be unprecedented and the President would have written his name in gold. It should not be another NDDC allocation that is said to have ‘lapsed’ and therefore returned to treasury. Neither should it be managed in such manner that would not benefit the ordinary Niger Deltan on the creeks of Nembe or the contoured bend of Beniboye.
This measure would at least temporarily make up for the ding-dong affair the clamour for an increase of derivation revenue from 13 percent has become. Imagine what 10 per cent of government’s equity stake in the oil industry would do for the people and environment of the Niger Delta!
Another significant development from the amnesty programme is the announcement by the Federal Government that it has set aside about N200 billion for the development of the region. Rising from the a Federal Executive Council meeting a forthnight ago, the Yar’Adua administration told the world that the sum would be shared to constituent states of the Niger Delta for rapid development of the area.
In a similar manner, the President sent a supplementary appropriation bill to the National Assembly to address funding requirements for his post-amnesty programme. This cheering piece of news should, however, be matched with immediate action to consolidate on the renewed goodwill from the region towards the government at the centre.
One empirical way of doing this is to mobilise contractors to site immediately. Let the region become one huge construction site with reputable companies engaged to build roads, bridges, houses, schools, hospitals and other social infrastructure that have been lacking for decades.
Good a thing, there is already a masterplan designed for the development of the area and at this point in time, it should matter less whether or not it is NDDC master plan or another plan by the Ministry of Niger Delta.
An urgent, holistic and sustained buzzing of bulldozers and all the works is what is now needed. It will not be wrong to say that if the airport road from Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport to Abuja city gate is receiving rapid attention (increase in lanes) as soon as the contract was approved by the Federal Executive Council, then the case of the Niger Delta deserves equal if not more attention.
