*Says South, M-Belt must wage war against bill by all lawful means

By Dapo Akinrefon

A self-determination group, United Indigenous People of Africa, UNIPA, on Friday, described the newly re-introduced Water Resources Bill seeking to place the control of all resources accrued through water on the surface or in the ground under the control of the Central Government as an exhibition of wickedness and mockery of the country’s already quasi-federal principles.

UNIPA insisted that the bill is an attempt to further weaken the States and Local Government Areas who are already in bankruptcy due to usurpation of their functions by the Federal Government.

UNIPA, with chapters in 28 African countries and United Kingdom, has its Headquarters based in the United States of America.

In a statement by a Co-Convener of the group, Ms Jean May from New York, UNIPA described the moves by the Federal Government to take over the control of all water banks, including its streams and all resources therein as an attempt to completely take over assets of the already oppressed indigenous people in the country.

The statement reads: “We have studied the Water Resources Bill and we found no sense in it. Our Country Representative in Nigeria reported that this is a facade and a complete hijack of the assets of Indigenous People, especially, in the South and Middle-Belt parts of the country.

“For the sake of ordinary people, who may not understand the danger ahead, the implications of the Water Resources Bill is that Osun-Osogbo River, Erin-Ijesha Water Fall, Asejire Water and others which are Tourist Sites that generate millions of naira monthly to Osun State Government will now be administered by the Central Government. Specifically, It means that the administration of Osun-Osogbo Festival will now be determined by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources in Abuja. 

“The implication of the Water Resources Bill is that the administration and control of Ipole/Iloro Water Fall, Ikogosi Warms Spring, Ado-Ekiti Water Works, Ero River, Ogidigbi Stream, Iyemero Water all in Ekiti State now belongs to the Central Government of Nigeria. 

“The Federal Government of Nigeria already hijacked the resources of the States and council areas by pocketing 53% of the entire revenue accrued to the Federation Account. Now, the same government is extending its penchant for asset grabbing by attempting to hijack, for instance, Oguta Lake from the people of Oguta in Imo State, Awhum Waterfall and Cave from the people of Amaugwe village of Awhum town in Enugu State, Enemabia Warm Spring from the people of Benue State, Agbokim Waterfalls from the government of Cross Rivers State, among others.”

The body, however, stated that by placing the management and control of all river Blbanks under the control of the Federal Government, the state governments of Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Delta, Bayelsa, Akwa-Ibom, Rivers and Cross-Rivers can no longer collect revenue from anyone or corporate entities doing businesses at the bank of Atlantic Coastal Lines neither can the Lagos State Waterways Agency operate its Boat Services at the bank of Lagos Lagoon without the express approval of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources in Abuja.

It stated: “For the fact that the Water Resources Bill places both surface and underground water Resources under the administration of the Federal Government, the Federal Ministry of Water Resources now control the boreholes in the homes of ordinary people who have no access to pipe-borne water.

“Water is very much in the South and Middle-Belt parts of Nigeria unlike in the North Western and Eastern Nigeria. Knowing the antecedent of the Nigerian Government, we view this bill with suspicion and concluded that it is part of the agenda by some oligarchies in the country to extend their hegemony and control over the South and Middle-Belt people of Nigeria.

“Nigeria claims to be a Federation but it is simply aUnitary State in practice with 75% of the Federation Resources and Powers concentrated in the hands of the central government, including sharing functions like conduct of marriage, management of primary health center and primary education, etc with States and Local Councils. 

“The new bill, if it succeeds, will further make a mockery of the country’s federal structure, hijack more revenues from the smallest federating units and make the indigenous people poorer and wallow in more squalor than they are at the moment with poverty at a world topping 100 million people.

“Our message to the indigenous people, especially, in the South and Middle-Belt of Nigeria is to rise up, unite, and curtail this anti-people bill from seeing the light of the day. “They should vigorously engage all their political representatives, especially those in the National Assembly and the Governors, to demand that this bill is killed once and for all and never introduced again. We are willing to assist all Self-determination Activists in Nigeria to ensure that the obnoxious water Resources bill does not see the light of the day by all lawful means necessary.”