Seminar: Chief Emami speaks on burning National, Niger Delta issues

BEING HIGHPOINTS OF A TRUE TALK  BY THE AKULAGBA OF WARRI, CHIEF AYIRIMI EMAMI ON THE OCCASION OF A ONE-DAY SEMINAR TITLED “PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI CHANGE AGENDA AND THE NIGER DELTA STRUGGLE FOR DEVELOPMENT,” HELD TUESDAY JUNE 2, 2015 AT TRANSCORP HILTON, ABUJA

Permit me to start by noting that struggle or agitation for justice, equity and development should not be misconstrued to be perpetrating violence.

The erroneous impression that the best way to agitate for development of the Niger Delta is through violence, was occasioned by the infamous Warri crisis which snowballed into the Niger Delta struggle.

But available evidences and records show that genuine development is achieved through intellectual struggle, wide range consultation, interfacing and networking in the most civilized manner in conformity with modern dictates of the rule of law and mutual respect.

I must note emphatically that genuine struggle for the development of the Niger Delta dates back to decades and as such, nobody branding his or herself as ‘General’ should take credit for what our heroic fathers initiated.

As the entire Nation, most especially people of the Oil and Gas as well as Agro Allied-rich Niger Delta crystallize varying opinions, with a view to setting achievable agenda for the socio-economic and agricultural development of the region by the President Muhammadu Buhari/ Prof. Osinbajo administration, it is expedient on us to redirect our focus and shun agitations capable of taking us back to the dark days of violence.

We should be burdened with the task of working in collaboration with the Buhari administration to ensure the enthronement of true federalism (fiscal federalism) that will encourage indigenous people to build their capacity, develop and explore their God-given natural resources (oil, gas, solid minerals and agriculture) to the optimum with a view to paying tax to the Federal as well as State Governments.

Apart from offering real infrastructural development to the communities, it will reduce over-dependence on both the Federal and State Governments, with the ultimate aim of increasing government source of revenue and giving better focus to the teething challenge of insecurity.

I beg to emphasize at this juncture that despite genuine efforts by the immediate past administration to tackle crude oil theft via the engagement of selected Niger Deltans, incidences of crude oil theft and illegal bunkering is at a frightening level in the history of Our Country.

 It is therefore my candid opinion that the Buhari/Osinbajo APC led administration should strictly implement the Rule of Law, especially in the North-East and Niger Delta, no matter the personalities and groups involved, to save Our Nation from its current insecurity and socio-economic woes.

The new administration in pursuant to the Local Content Act should as a matter of urgency address the long years of anomaly in the award of Oil Mining Lease, OML/ Oil Blocs, so as to give people of the Niger Delta, not just a section of one ethnic Nationality a greater sense of belonging/ownership.

The Buhari administration should endeavor to also create the necessary platform to enable Niger Delta indigenes have major stake in the $16 billion Export Processing Zone, EPZ cum Delta Industrial Gas City, Brass LNG, Olokola Gas Project spanning between parts of Ondo and Ogun States and the other multibillion dollar projects in the region. It must be noted that if people of the Niger Delta are given genuine stake in these projects, it will create thousands of employment opportunities, build the capacity of indigenous contractors and principally re-orientate the people as well as making violent agitations history.

Simply put, the time for people of the Niger Delta, I mean all ethnic Nationalities in the region to shun violence and lay emphasis on intellectual struggle is now. Bursting of oil and gas pipelines by unprogressive elements within our region should stop forthwith, in order for the federal government to channel resources used for the repair of vandalized pipelines into visible infrastructural development.

I must also stress that the Niger Delta should not be likened to a company owned by an individual or mistaken to be solely occupied by one tribe. If we encourage violence in the guise of agitation, it will make the new Buhari/Osinbajo administration to ignore its developmental obligation to Niger Delta.

Chief Ayirimi Emami

The Akulagba of Warri

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