One of the most glorious moments of the Bayelsa State government came on 22 April 2004, when the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Steve Azaiki, hosted a formal presentation of his first book entitled Inequities In Nigerian Politics at the Shehu Yar”Adua Conference Center, Abuja. The occasion was attended by President Olusegun Obasanjo, Ernest Shonekan, a former Head of State, a host of National Assembly members, Ministers and an impressive array of dignitaries.
The delegation from Bayelsa State was well-chosen, and Governor of Bayelsa, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, was the star attraction because the subject under consideration was at the heart of his government. Alamieyeseigha gave a good account of himself that day. His reputation as an advocate of resource control and self-determination was at its height, and this would be the first time that the Federal Government would identify with the agitation, and give a salutary pledge of support, on the condition that peace would reign in the Niger Delta.
Alamieyeseigha had a lot to say that day. He felt honoured to be the chief host of the event, to start with, and he found it even more remarkable that the event was taking place in a historic venue dedicated to a man who was widely considered to have done his best to reconcile the nation.
He could only hope that the occasion would step beyond the formality of a book presentation ceremony to heal existing wounds, bridge fundamental gaps of misunderstanding, and cement the bonds holding disparate peoples into one great nation with a single destiny.
On his part, Azaiki’s credentials as a patriot of distinction were on the rise. He was seen as a visionary young man who believed in tapping the potentials within him to advance the greater interest of the larger society. As President of the World Environmental Movement for Africa, Azaiki had done well to canvass the importance of applying the resources of the Niger Delta to the very best interest of the people.
In many respects, Azaiki’s life provided a role model for the youth, especially those who sincerely wished to climb the ladder of success to the summit of fulfillment. The fact that his book had drawn such a distinguished audience confirmed Alamieyeseigha’s honest assessment of his SSG as a practical-minded goal-getter.
At the time in question, a large volume of literature was coming out of the Niger Delta. The area had been the principal focus of national and international agencies, on account of the fact that oil and gas, the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, derived from there.
Oil and gas revenue from the Niger Delta region accounted for ninety percent of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and by implication, more than ninety percent of the national income. Without doubt, the Niger Delta region was of great strategic importance to the global economy and, in particular, to the Nigerian state. As the sixth largest oil exporter among the major players on the chessboard of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, Nigeria had a global reckoning.
Professor G.G. Darah, reviewer of the book, gave a revealing insight into the content of the book, and received a resounding ovation for his efforts. Suffice it to say that the complexity of the Niger Delta problem was compounded by deliberate falsehood emanating even from well-informed sources seeking to subvert the truth about the region and her people.
Only a few decades ago, the inhabitants of the Niger Delta were willing and happy to sacrifice their lives and resources for the sustainable development of the country. In times of emergency, when everyone else retreated into their ethnic and tribal shells, the minorities, particularly those in the Niger Delta, constituted the still small voice that preached restraint, understanding and peaceful co-existence.
Alamieyeseigha insisted that, if such a group of people was now believed to be violent in an era of relative peace, then there must be a reason because, as Chinua Achebe put it ‘a toad does not run in the daytime for nothing’. If indeed there was some measure of truth in the allegation of perennial violence, it also amounted to an indictment on the collective conscience.
‘Let me state categorically’, said Alamieyeseigha, ‘that the constant agitation, the struggle for a better deal in the Niger Delta, is the manifestation of accumulated anger. It is the suffocating accretion from many years of neglect, oppression, and arbitrary appropriation of the region’s hydrocarbon resources through unjustifiable laws enacted by the Nigerian state’.
This was a defining moment, and Alamieyeseigha took advantage of it. The time was ripe to spell out the truth. Youth unrest, pipeline vandalization, threats of secession, oil bunkering and seizure of oil platforms – to mention but a few factors which tend to attract concern – were the direct fallout from a disenchanted society whose dreams of development were repeatedly nullified by state conspiracy.
The exploration and exploitation of oil, whether onshore or offshore, posed grave danger to the environment. Destruction of aquatic life and farm lands, loss of primary occupation, the effect of acid rain on the health of the people, all these constituted evidence of a widespread malaise.
As responsible and law-abiding citizens, the people of the Niger Delta knew that they owed themselves a duty to preserve and nurture the environment because it was their own collective inheritance for future generations. While they desired progress and welcomed investors to dwell amongst them and cultivate their natural endowments, they equally expected that industrial and economic concerns should be undertaken in such a manner that would be upheld as ecologically responsible.
The laws of the land, after all, are there to protect the citizens from the machinations of profit-driven multi-nationals. In the case of the Niger Delta, the laws were specifically contrived to worsen the material condition of the people, and Alamieyeseigha reiterated this with appropriate emphasis.
‘In the honest view of the people’, he said, ‘the integrity of the environment must be defended against inhuman laws that impinge on our fundamental human rights, particularly in a democratic dispensation which upholds the rule of law as the basis for equity and justice’.
The concept of resource control, he maintained, could only be understood within this framework. He went on to spell out the fact that the call for economic self-determination was not exclusive to the Niger Delta, nor was it limited to oil and gas alone. His point was that every part of this country where mineral resources are exploited, deserve to be adequately rewarded.
It stands to reason that those in whose areas minerals of economic value are exploited are morally and rightly beholden to determine the uses to which the proceeds from these resources are put. It was only proper for them to raise questions when they ventured onto the slippery slopes of doubt and insecurity. The degraded environment and its people deserve adequate compensation large enough to assuage any feelings of marginalisation.
‘Even though the majority ethnic groups in Nigeria continue to have their way on how the proceeds from the resources of this country are distributed or allocated, the minority must have their say’, said Alamieyeseigha. ‘Our say is to have increased revenue commensurate enough to atone for our long-running sacrifice. We demand sufficient recompense that will translate into enhanced living standards and improved infrastructure for our people’.
That proclamation received a shower of applause all around the hall. Alamieyeseigha paused, took a deep breath and said, with every ounce of responsibility, that every policy or programme that conspired to deny his people of their God-given resources was ungodly and should be discarded forthwith. Such legislations had proved incapable of enthroning peace and order in the region. It was dangerous to continue with them, if the corporate identity of the nation must be preserved.
And so saying, the Governor-General of the Izon nation put forward a number of suggestions that could be considered as a way of attaining peace in the Niger Delta. For him, to start with, the much-needed political will should be cultivated to develop the Niger Delta region. The draconian laws concerning oil and gas and land use should either be abrogated outright or amended to foster accelerated development in the area. At the moment, all types of Decrees which had transformed into Acts appeared to justify the federation called Nigeria, while the nation ripped off the resources of one given region. The 1999 Constitution, the Land Use Act; the Oil Mineral Act; among others, merely prevented dialogue among the various peoples of Nigeria.
Alamieyeseigha was also of the opinion that oil and gas matters should be removed from the exclusive legislative list and placed on the concurrent legislative list. This would enhance improved relationship between oil and gas companies and their oil-bearing host communities which were largely being manipulated and short-changed. The oil and gas companies should, either alone or in collaboration with the oil-producing communities, embark on small and medium scale industries. Such industries should be based on raw materials sourced from the local area.
Alamieyeseigha declared that there should be massive skills acquisition programmes by the multi-national companies as well as by local, state and federal governments. The large-scale oil and gas based industries such as refineries, gas plant and the oil and gas companies themselves should have indigenes of the areas in which they operate to serve on their boards, and should enjoy twenty-five percent of the equity structure. Furthermore, eighty percent of unskilled labour needed by these industries and companies should be drawn from the catchment areas. At the management cadre, at least forty percent should be reserved for indigenes.
Besides, the oil and gas companies should ensure the integrity of their pipelines and, in times of spillage, the best industry technology should be employed to undertake and effect urgent removal of widespread toxic waste in the Niger Delta. The oil and gas companies should equally implement the forty-five percent local content proposed for the industry, while the federal, state and local governments should pay appropriate attention to the development of the communities responsible for wealth generation.
Even as Alamieyeseigha would advise indigenes of host communities to avoid greed and fractionalization in their ranks so as not to fall easy prey to those who were out to exploit them, he would dutifully call upon the Federal Government to establish a Niger Delta Development Bank, just like the Bank of Industry, with oil and gas producing states and communities participating in the equity structure of such a bank.
He would equally enjoin federal and state governments as well as private investors, foreign and local, to set up industries around commodities and raw materials obtainable in the region such as rice, fish, sharp sand, etc. Of particular interest to him were the potential rice fields of Peremabiri and Isampou in Bayelsa State which could satisfy the needs of the entire West African sub-region, if cultivated.
In addressing the environmental challenges facing the Niger Delta region, Alamieyeseigha would start from the rural communities which constitute over seventy percent of the region’s total population and harbours most of the oil wells. All the problems associated with oil and gas exploration, ranging from loss of farmland to destruction of marine life, were directly borne by the rural dwellers. It was, therefore, necessary that basic amenities be provided for them with some degree of urgency.
Ultimately, it was up to the Niger Delta states to pull their resources together for regional development. Investments in mutually beneficial infrastructure such as railways, communications, agro-allied industry with special emphasis on fishing, farming and manufacturing would be ideal investment ventures.
Above all, beyond the palliative measures offered through the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Alamieyeseigha called on the Federal Government to evolve more realistic strategies that could guarantee the sustainable development of the Niger Delta. He was convinced that these suggestions would certainly bring a glimmer of hope and raise the standard of living among the people. Put succinctly, the challenge of developing the Niger Delta was complex but not insurmountable.
‘We need peace in the Niger Delta to recover lost ground’, said he. ‘We need peace to create job opportunities for our able-bodied youths. Government owes a moral obligation to the Niger Delta people to create an enabling environment for peace, progress and sustainable development in the region.
‘Specifically, we need to see federalism in action rather than being a mere phrase to describe our lopsided union. I believe that if the states are allowed under clear federal principles to harness the resources within their territories and to nurture their individual economies according to their individual strengths, the Nigerian nation would then be truly bound by freedom, peace and unity’.
This was a turning point for Nigeria, a crucial point to face the stark reality of its lopsided existence. It was also a big push for the nation to grow toward dreams of greatness. It was time to erase the several inequities in the body politic and re-launch Nigeria as a free and fair society where justice, peace and equity would reign supreme.
Alamieyeseigha went on to commend Dr Steve Azaiki for recording the sins of omission and commission inherent in Nigerian politics which, over time, had rudely conspired to stultify the desire to forge a nation-state. He saluted Azaiki’s courage for bringing the evident inadequacies of the Niger Delta before the collective jury of conscience.
Tied to the public presentation of the book was the concept of establishing the first public library in the Niger Delta. This was a noble dream, a great initiative that could come only from a man who was sensitive to the plight of his kith and kin. Ultimately, this occasion proved to be the launching pad for that dream.
Given the forbidden cost of construction in the marshy Niger Delta region, Alamieyeseigha felt compelled to call for support to this vision. The abiding faith of the Bayelsa State Government was already committed to educational development in many respects. The Governor, therefore, set the ball rolling with a donation of fifty million naira to launch the book and ensure land preparation for the library project. That was how the Azaiki Public Library came to be.
