NIGERIA MASTERWEB DAILY NEWS

By Ifeatu Agbu If recent events are anything to go by, it seems that peace is beginning to return to the troubled Niger Delta. At least, for now, the guns are silent. A good number of them are being surrendered at the various collection centres set up as part of the amnesty deal between the Federal Government and the militants who are fighting for justice and equity for the oil-producing communities. It is noteworthy that the amnesty kicked off on the day President Umaru Yar’Adua inaugurated the new board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). This is significant because the interventionist agency has a crucial role to play in ensuring that the gains of the amnesty are sustained. Apparently informed by the high credibility rating of the commission in the region, the President urged the NDDC board to “fully integrate into the amnesty programme.” The President expressed implicit confidence in the ability of the NDDC which is the flagship of the central government’s intervention in the region. He knows that the only tangible evidence of federal government’s presence in the creeks and mangrove swamps are the projects executed by the commission. With numerous projects spread across the Niger Delta, the commission could be said to have performed creditably, despite being encumbered by inadequate funding. Evidence abounds of the numerous development projects of the commission, which have positively touched the lives of people in the oil-bearing communities. So far, the commission has initiated over 2,760 projects in the 185 local governments in the region. Out of these, over 1,250 have been completed while others are at various stages of completion. However, the job at hand goes beyond what one agency can effectively tackle. As the President acknowledged, "we need trust, collaboration and commitments on all sides. The Federal Government is ready; other stakeholders and the people must be ready too. It is my hope that when the history of the transformation of the Niger Delta is written, the NDDC will be remembered in letters of gold. ” He explained that the issues involved in the Niger Delta question were of such magnitude that his administration could not afford to subordinate them to political or parochial considerations. He promised that everything would be done to maintain peace and stability in the region and secure it for sustained development and economic growth. He also underlined the importance of all stakeholders to work with honesty and unity. The need for collaboration and synergy among the stakeholders can not be over-emphasized. For that is the sure way to guarantee harmony and get the best possible results. With proper coordination, as envisaged in the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan, the resources of the key stakeholders like the states and local governments, as swell as the oil companies would be fully harnessed. In recent times, the NDDC has been going into partnerships with other key players in the region with a view to building robust capacities to confront the daunting development challenges in the Niger Delta. One of such partnerships is that between the commission and Shell Petroleum Development Company [SPDC] in the construction of the Ogbia-Nembe Road. The 29-kilometre road being built at a cost of N9.6 billion, illustrates the kind of challenges confronting the Niger Delta. It cuts through the swamps with 9 bridges and 99 culverts. The terrain is such that four metres of clay soil has to be dug out and then sand-filled to provide a base for the road. It shouldn’t surprise anyone, therefore, to learn that constructing a road in such tough environment costs twice or thrice what is required in other parts of the country. The fact that Shell is partnering with the NDDC in the execution of this mega project, speaks volumes of the trust and respect which the commission enjoys even among oil companies. The new board should cash-in on this goodwill and further enlist the support and cooperation of other oil companies and international donor agencies in the arduous task of using development as a veritable instrument for aiding the amnesty process.. Of course, the NDDC board needs all the support it can get to quickly make its presence felt by Niger Deltans who are yearning for rapid socio-economic transformation of their region. Air-Vice Marshal Larry Koiyan (rtd), the chairman of the new board, is no stranger to grassroots development. His experience in the Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI) will come in handy in his new assignment .He is expected to adopt the bottom-up approach in addressing the Niger Delta problem. He has promised to carry along the nine state governments, the 185 local governments and the over 13,000 communities in the region so that all concerned would buy into the vision of Mr. President to speed up the development of the oil-rich Niger Delta. He assured the President that with a population of 30 million people to attend to; members of his board would ensure they faithfully carry out the Federal Government’s comprehensive development plan for the Niger Delta. He said that they would swing into action immediately in the discharge of this urgent assignment. While doing so, the board should place a lot of emphasis on partnership with other stakeholders to collectively move the region forward. Thank God the Koiyan-led board is coming to direct the affairs of a commission that already has a well applauded Regional Development Master Plan. The President even acknowledged the significance of the plan during the inauguration ceremony when he said: “Specifically, I do expect that serious efforts will be initiated to commence the implementation of the NDDC Master plan which, I am convinced, contains the requisite ingredients for holistically addressing the challenges of the Niger Delta.” The plan has properly been captured in the commission’s 2009 budget, which has just passed the scrutiny of the National Assembly. Everyone is now waiting for its implementation which is meant to fast-track the development of the Niger Delta. The board members must roll up their sleeves, gird their loins and jump into the trenches for serious work. This is even more so because previous boards as well as the Executive Director Finance and Administration, Pastor P Z Aginighan, who held fort as the Managing Director in the last four months, acquitted themselves creditably. Niger Deltans would, therefore, expect the new board not only to match but surpass the achievements of its predecessors. The antecedents of most of the members inspire confidence, that all things being equal, they would deliver on their mandate. As they get down to business, it is expected that President Yar’Adua would give them the necessary financial empowerment to facilitate the execution of projects already outlined in the Master Plan. This is an opportunity for the president to direct the release of all outstanding funds owed the NDDC to help the new board to achieve substantial results. Without doubt, if the whopping N326 billion owed the commission by the Federal Government is released, it would give a tremendous boost to the development of the oil-bearing communities. All said, the Federal Government needs to win back the confidence of the Niger Delta people. And this can only be seen and measured by how well the President keeps to his amnesty promise that the Federal Government would urgently attend to the genuine challenges which triggered off militancy in the Niger Delta. Thus, the Yar’Adua administration must be ready to match words with actions for the amnesty to make sense. The President even admitted while signing the Amnesty Proclamation that “previous attempts at meeting the yearnings and aspirations of the people were inadequate.” He must make the state and local governments in the region to join the NDDC in executing projects that truly touch the lives of the people. All agencies of development in the area must buy into the faithful implementation of the Master Plan. Unless the Federal Government sincerely drives the rapid development of the Niger Delta, the objectives of the amnesty would be defeated. This must not be allowed to happen. *Mr. Agbu writes from Port Harcourt