31 Jul 2009 |
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In the words of Henry David Thoreau(1817-1862) "As for adopting the ways which the State has provided for remedying evil, the people of the Niger Delta know not of such ways. The state takes too much time, and a man's life will be gone”. No one can doubt that the 7 point agenda of President Yar’Adua has come to stay. It is the buzz word one hears everywhere you go in the country or even overseas. If you dare to reduce the seven to a smaller figure you may be branded or seen as anti government. In fact if you want to be recognised all you need do is to write a thesis on it and admire it, praise it and also hail all those associated with it and you may be recommended for National honours. When we all started learning how to count as little children, I assume we started with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and then 7 etc. We all know that point number 7 on Yar’Adua’s seven point agenda is to implement the Niger Delta master plan already developed. As it is written, this master plan is already developed. We therefore do not need to rebrand it, we do not need to set up a committee to revisit it, and we do not need a task force to go round the states to ask the people what should be done for them. We know there is a master plan which was produced through rigour and commitment to the progress of the region. We also know that President Yar’Adua has it as number 7 on his agenda to implement it period. This agenda has been used even to screen ministers. It is cardinal to the President. We have always been made to believe that Nigeria is a piecemeal country. We like to do things in piecemeal. But I must also acknowledge that we are masters of delay and hap hazardness as well as ‘fire brigade’ approach to actions. We are good at giving excuses for not doing things we have set out to do. Implementation is a word which portends danger to the Nigerian government. Sometimes it is evident that we like to give ourselves too many things to do at once so that we can say we tried in all when we have failed. I believe the plan of the President is to achieve all of the points on the agenda during his tenure(s). There is no order in which Mr President has identified he will do this. However, remembering what action the President took immediately he came into power, it appears evident that energy retained its position as number 1 on his list. One can therefore deduce that The President’s agenda is very clear. He has to follow the numbers in numerical order. There is therefore no way number 7 will come before number 1. Why should Niger Delta come before energy? Can’t we see how much we have spent in solving the issue of energy in the country? How far have we gone? We are still struggling to get a viable and sustainable energy policy not to talk about implementing anything at all. What of security at number 2, wealth creation at number 3 and education at number 4 in that order. It can be seen that half way into the President’s tenure none of the points on the agenda can raise its head above water. Well as President Obama said there is hope. Let us not give up. The only point that seems to be a raising its hand is point number 3 which states that 70% of all revenue comes from oil; and therefore we need to keep this focused and extended to other areas. This I guess is the basis of the amnesty and the desire to have peace in the Niger Delta.
Coming to Agenda number 7, when I read that the South-South governors have threatened to pull out of the amnesty process, I laughed. If I were in their shoes I will do the same thing. Look 2011 is close by. The Federal Government has a different agenda from the Niger Delta states. These governors are not implementing 7 point agenda. They have their own number of points on their own individual agenda. The amnesty is applied from the Federal level; the funds are controlled from the Federal level. But the actions will take place in the various states. And these Governors are the chief security officers of their states. Is it the case of monkey go work baboon go chop? I had written in an earlier article in which I highlighted that these states are running their own disarmament and rehabilitation programmes. They are also spending their state funds. How does the Federal Government’s disarmament, amnesty and rehabilitation programme fit into those of the states? How will the Federal government manage these militants when they go back to their villages or will all of them come to the cities and live? We know there has been utter neglect of the communities, unabated ocean encroachment, lack of medical facilities and unemployment of the youths in these oil villages. Some of these boys have no education, some have been fishermen all their lives until they got involved because their waters no longer sustain fishes and of course militancy paid more. What will happen to them and their waters? This is why I said we are a piecemeal country and always leave things to chance. It is however imperative for the Federal Government to understand that the Niger Delta issue is no longer a child’s play. The region must be developed or there may not be peace. I still believe this is a golden moment for our President to seize. This is your opportunity to write your name in gold in the hearts of the Niger Delta people. Going by the President’s mode of operation of doing everything at the same time, the questions many people have been asking are what will happen after amnesty? Why can’t the Federal government bring out a plan of activities with time table that will include infrastructure development incorporated into this amnesty? Why can’t the Federal government start the implementation of the item 7 on the 7 point agenda simultaneously with the amnesty? I believe most people are no longer deceived that development cannot take place because of militancy. It is happening in Iraq; it is happening in Afghanistan. Even the South-South governors have been building new infrastructure in their various states despite the ongoing issues. Some of these projects have even been commissioned. There is continuous lifting of oil even in the current impasse. Who will therefore blame the governors for their threat? How can we even explain the current action of the Federal Government in proposing a petroleum bill that will further impoverish the people of the region? No wonder the Niger Delta is the last item on the 7 point agenda. Shall government ever learn from past experiences? The issue of the militancy is not over yet. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." (George Santayana (1863-1952). It is therefore imperative for the Federal government to put words into action.
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