Briga News Nigeria
I make bold to say anywhere and everywhere that one of the greatest things Almighty God did for me is making me an Ijaw man.
Like the Jews (Israelites) in the Bible, Ijaws are a chosen race which is the reason the Ijaw Nation is blessed with abundant human and natural resources.
As expected, the enormous blessings have attracted unimaginable envy, jealousy and hatred against Ijaws.
Sadly and unfortunately too, beside the external hatred and bitterness, internally Ijaws overtime have remained problems to themselves. As a matter of fact Ijaws are fast becoming the worst enemies to themselves.
The above sad development is responsible for the gross underdevelopment of the Ijaw Nation despite her immeasurable contributions to the peace, security, unity and progress of the Nigerian State.
I cannot be faulted if I argue that no ethnic group or tribe among the over 350 distinct groups and tribes in Nigeria has made the kind of sacrifices that the Ijaw Nation has made and it is still making to the overall growth and development of the country.
In the geographic Niger Delta region that covers Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross Rivers, Delta, Edo and Rivers states, Ijaw that is the dominant tribe has continued to play the ‘big brother’ role even though without commensurate rewards and recognition.
What we have as intervention agencies in Nigeria beginning with the Niger Delta Development Authority (Board) to OMPADEC and now NDDC are all the brain child of Ijaws. The above is applicable to the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) that was established by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
It is a generally known fact that both NDDC and PAP are the direct sweat and blood of Ijaw people. Many Ijaws died during the agitation for the establishment of NDDC by the Chief Olusegun Obafemi and Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua administrations respectively.
It is important to state that Ijaws have also benefitted from the both establishments. For instance, the Presidential Amnesty Programme has helped to give hundreds if not thousands of Ijaws scholarships to school home and abroad. Today, through the Amnesty program, we have multitudes of Bachelor and Master degree holders from some of the best schools both home and abroad. The program has also produced some Ph.D holders. PAP has helped to train and empower thousands of Ijaws and many who were hitherto tagged as useless and hopeless people are now reformed and transformed and they have become responsible citizens.
As a matter of fact, it is near impossibility to quantify the positive impacts of the Presidential Amnesty Programme on Ijaws in particular.
The success story of PAP particularly it’s positive impacts on Ijaws is remarkable because Ijaws have been driving the process. It would have been a bitter story if the reverse was the case because Ijaws would have been shut out like in other systems.
A good example is that of the NDDC whose management is rotated among the major oil producing states of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States. Ijaws know the bitter experiences and encounters whenever an Ijaw person is not the Head/MD of the Commission.
The most recent example was during the leadership of Barr. Akwa where Ijaws were treated as trash, less than second class citizens in NDDC which is the direct sweat and blood of Ijaws. It is a known fact that half of the workers (workforce) in NDDC are from Akwa Ibom state and majority of them were employed the Isima Ekere and Barr. Akwa leaderships of the Commission.
Ijaws can attest to how it was extremely difficult for them to access the Commission before talking about securing any contract or any other form of help at the Commission.
But the above has changed since the appointment of Chief Samuel Ogbuku Ph.D as the Managing Director/CEO of the Commission. Ijaws do not only have high senses of belonging, they are getting things/opportunities that rightly belongs to them. Many Ijaws have benefited from the foreign and domestic Scholarship schemes of the commission. Multitudes of Ijaws have benefited from several projects embarked upon by the commission. The same cheering news applies to other empowerment programs. Today, multitudes of Ijaws have access to the commission without hindrances.
Surprisingly, some Ijaws are in the habit of writing petitions and protesting for the sack/removal of their fellow Ijaws from public offices just on flimsy excuses. Findings show that most of the renowned petitioners who are in the business of pulling down their fellow Ijaw people are major beneficiaries of the benevolence and goodwill of the same persons they antagonize and fight to remove from office. Their actions are largely influenced by insatiable, untameable greed.
Moving forward, it is important to look beyond the occupants of strategic positions, rather the attention should be on harnessing and maximizing available opportunities. When and where there are issues, it is good to settle such internally instead of resorting to petitions and protests. While it is a plus whenever an Ijaw person is appointed into any public offices due to the multiplier effects, the opposite is the case in the event of sack.
May we always fight for the peace, unity, security, growth and development of our great people instead of working to pull them down.
~~~ Most Senior Comrade Wisdom Oniekpar Ikuli aka Mirror and Conscience of Society.
