President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Olisa Agbakoba and former presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Professor Pat Utomi have decried the inability of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to fully perform and affect the lives of the common man in the region, since its establishment.
In a chat with The Tide yesterday at a three-day conference on Law, Peace and Development in the Niger Delta organised by the NDDC and the NBA in Port Harcourt, both Agbakoba and Utomi said most of the blueprint implemented by the commission were yet to affect the lives of the people of the region.
Agbakoba said the often touted master plan still does not have the force of law to translate into a workable document.
In addition, he pointed out that most of the funds that accrued to the agency had either been siphoned or were still to be efficiently utilised for the common good.
His words: �I think over the years there was a lack of political will by the federal government to develop the area. Unfortunately the old governors had a role to play, because if you look at the money that came in here, it was a lot of money. You have to ask yourself, the resources we have seen come into the Niger Delta region, where can we see them?�
According to Agbakoba, there must be a willing effort both by the commission and the people to evolve the kind of development that would affect them.
The NBA helmsman said the Niger Delta militancy problem was fueled by a deliberate policy of alienation and stagnation caused by the federal government allowing the multinationals to dominate the oil sector.
�You can�t blame these boys. Those are the side effects. I feel sorry for them because that is not the problem. The problem is that the Niger Delta equation wouldn�t have gone to this level if the oil and gas services benefit the people here. That is the challenge,� Agbakoba noted.
Similarly, Prof Utomi averred that most of the problems arose because of the inability to mobilise commitment to advancing the common good of the region. �Until we translate what comes out of the conference like this into legislative agenda that everybody buys into, the commission would be ineffective,� he added.
The Pan African University professor said the NDDC�s master-plan would still be a mirage until measures are taken to make it a working document. �It becomes a working document, when we take ownership of it. It is meaningful to our lives, our self interest in advancing its implementation.�
Proffering solution to the Niger Delta crisis, Utomi stated that the people should be ready to unite in a most positive and creative way to solve the problem. Noting that the future of the region was in the hands of the people.
He called on the government to mobilise commitment to creating ways and advancing the common good of the Niger Delta people.
Meanwhile, a Senior Research Fellow of the Centre for Advanced Social Science, Port Harcourt and a resource person at the conference, Dr. Sofiri Peterside has described the NDDC�s workshop as a �jamboree�.
Dr. Peterside in a chat observed that several talk shops organised by the commission were yet to be translated into meaningful development.
He surmised that the NDDC needed to be proactive in its approach to solve the human, physical and social needs of the region, which he said were in dire need of transformation.