Opinion
For Gains Of Amnesty To Endure
At last we are beginning to see glimpses of a blue sky over the Niger Delta region. The stormy clouds have lifted: the blinding lightening has ceased and the clattering thunder has died down. This clement condition is possible largely because of the unconditional amnesty that President Umaru Musa Yar’;Adua granted repentant militants.
It came as a big relief when the likes of Henry Okah, Ebikabowei Ben ( alias Boyloaf ), Ateke Tom. Government Ekpemupolo (a.k.a Tompolo) and other militants accepted the amnesty programme. This development is a remarkable breakthrough for the government as sceptics never gave the pacification strategy any chance of success.
Indeed. the success that the amnesty initiative has recorded so far marks a turning point in the effort of President Yar’Adua to translate one of his seven-point agenda into reality. This much was acknowledged by the Director General of the European Union. Mr. Stefano Manservisi. while disclosing that his organisation had set aside 90 million Euros to support the post-amnesty programme. He said: “’This is indeed a very important turning point and we welcome it very much. We at the EC will urge the government of Nigeria to continue the effort of sustainable rehabilitation and reintegration of the former militants”. One cannot but agree.
The President of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Mr. Ledum Mitee also captured the essence when he said that the amnesty “should be a process and not a one-off thing.” The major task now is to change the mindset of the youths who have become accustomed to using violence to achieve their goals. They must be made to appreciate the virtues of dialogue in conflict resolution. In addition, they must also recognise that there is dignity in embracing decent means of livelihood.
This cannot be achieved by giving the repentant militants red carpet reception in Aso Rock. Flying them into Abuja with presidential jets gives the impression that the government is glamourising militancy. Yes. the militants need to be appeased but it is wrong to cast them in the mould of regional role models. According to a former oil minister. Prof. Tam David-West the entire process was too razzmatazzed’ and politicised to give the profound event a real soul.
Again, we must not lose sight of the fact that amnesty is only a prelude to finding satisfactory solutions to the main cause of the crisis in the region. which is lack of’ development. It must, therefore be followed with several programmes that would rapidly and significantly transform the oil-bearing communities. The needed massive development should go alongside a well organised re-orientation. training and retraining programmes for the youths. Their bursting energies and world view should be properly channelled towards productive ventures.
The steps taken so far towards addressing the anomalous situation in the oil-rich Niger Delta seem to focus only on repentant militants or those who claim to be the ‘“kings of the creeks.” Unfortunately, this approach is defective and in fact counterproductive, as the army of unemployed youths in the rogion may be tempted to enlist into militant camps just to attract attention. Of course. they would aspire to be accorded presidential attention and royal treatment as is currently being given to the ex-militant leaders. To guard against another resurgence of militancy, there should be an all-inclusive re-orientation and empowerment of the youths irrespective of whether they were former militants or those who have always embraced the peace alternative.
Indeed, the re-orientation should not be limited to seminars and workshops in highbrow venues such as Abuja, Lagos. or other cities in the Niger Delta. To reach the youths at the grass roots, the training and re-training programmes should be taken to the schools, churches, town hall meetings and market squares in the villages and creeks. The recent post amnesty seminar organised by the Bayelsa State Government in Kaduna. though well-intentioned. took place in a wrong location. Obviously, that event was not meant for the youths of the Niger Delta. who should constitute the target audience of such a gathering. It can best be described as an ill-advised political jamboree, mainly for political heavy-weights. especially those of northern extraction. It nevertheless provided a platform for the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Mr. Dimeji Bankole to take swipes at Niger Delta political leaders. whom he accused of conspiring to squander the resources entrusted to them.
What the Niger Delta youths need now are programmes that would reshape them and make them better human beings., They should not just be trained and left to grope in the dark alleys of the unemployment market. The should he mentored to fully imbibe the habits of managing their own businesses successfully. This is very important as the President of National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria. Chief Lugard Airniuwu explains: “while training is just about knowledge, mentoring takes care of the total human being. It moulds and shapes the person’s beliefs and values. You use mentoring to lift the person to another level of confidence.”
The youths of the region should be made to see achievement-oriented and honest leaders of the region as their role models. Certainly not the militant leaders. some of who have used violent means to traumatise the nation. Yes, some of the ex-militant “generals” had good intentions when they started the struggle, which is to draw attention to the neglect of their region. Even then, they don’t have to spill the blood of fellow Niger Deltans to achieve their goal.
Credit must be given to the Non-Violence Training Programme for Youths initiated by the Niger Delta Development Commission. NDDC. in 2008. The scheme. which was introduced as part of the strategies adopted by a Think Tank on the Niger Delta is aimed at reforming the youths who may have resorted to anti-social activities as a result of unemployment.
What has been gained through the non-violence training must be sustained to ensure that the youths do not relapse into another round of violent behaviour. This can be achieved by making sure that they arc gainfully employed. There is no fulfilling the adage that the devil finds work for the idle hand.
The post-amnesty era requires a change of strategy to make sure that the gains of the struggle are sustainable so as to benefit the people in the creeks. Blowing up of pipelines inflicts more pains on the ordinary people. destroys the ecosystem and renders Niger Delta farmers and fishermen jobless as well as increase the level of diseases and other environmental hazards. It is not the kind of struggle the people bargained for. We want a struggle that will enhance the living standard of our people. a struggle that is intellectually-driven as exemplified by the late Ken Saro-Wiwa.
As has been generally acknowledged, the economic well-being of Nigeria rests squarely on the Niger Delta. President Yar’Adua puts it succinctly: “If government must succeed in its bid to secure the country, it must first secure the Niger Delta region”. And that is exactly what he has striven to do through the amnesty.
He was right when he said at a stakeholder’s forum last year that .” if the people can see that their leaders are honest they will understand, but once they see that their leaders are in power to make money. then there will be a problem·. Now. where are these Niger Delta political leaders, who can confidently and honestly thump their chests and say “1 am in government not to make money but to serve my people?
Leaders of the Niger Delta should not only talk about selfless service but should be seen by all to truly render such. That way, the youths of the region will look up to them as leaders worthy of emulation instead of regarding ex-militant leaders as their role models in the light of the special treatment they are receiving from the President.
Mr Agbu wrotes from Port Harcourt.
Ifeatu Agbu
The Niger Delta Development Commission was established by the Federal Government of Nigeria to mitigate the effects of oil exploration and exploitation activities on the oil bearing communities or States. It is worthy to clarify that some of the NDDC states are not from South-South geographical zone. NDDC is about oil producing States, irrespective of the geographical location. South – South geographical zone is made up of six states namely; Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Rivers State. As it is today, there is no regional commission called South-South Commission. Rather, what is well-known, is Niger Delta Development Commission to aid development in the oil-bearing States. NDDC is a distinct interventionist agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria to douse down tension or agitation of the people of Niger Delta region.
Agitation by the bearing community led to the establishment of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, despite being scrapped by the present administration of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu. For instance, Abia State is in South-East region and it is part of NDDC, and it will benefit from South-East Commission established by the present Federal Government of Nigeria, to fast track development of South-East Zone. So, Abia State would benefit from NDDC and South-East Commission. Abia is an oil producing state in Nigeria. In the same position, Imo State is a South-East State and also an oil producing state; which automatically makes it a member of NDDC State. And would benefit from both commissions; and no doubt, because of being an oil producing State and by location, South-East State. Automatically, by virtue of oil activities going on in the two Eastern States, they are members of Niger Delta Development Commission.
In the line of operation, Ondo State is in South-West region and by virtue of being an oil producing State, is a member of NDDC. This no doubt, makes Ondo State a beneficiary of NDDC creation. There is no question to ask why Ondo should be member of NDDC? And Ondo State is a member of South-West Development Commission, because of its geographical location as a State in that region. So, the argument that NDDC is a regional commission is out of place. Thus, NDDC is not only for States in the Niger Delta. Another question is: is there an established commission known as South-South Development Commission, that Rivers State, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa and Cross River should benefit from? The answer is capital No! So NDDC is not a regional commission because it is not only for the six states that make up the South- South. Hence, there is need for the present Federal Government of Nigeria, to urgently address the inequality and disparity created already.
This is because the six geographical zones have zonal commissions. The Federal Government should correct the equation. The misconception that NDDC is regional is not in order and is not correct. As it is today, there is no South-South Commission to help fast track development in the region. The political representatives from the South-South zone, should unite themselves and demand for South-South Development Commission as other zones have theirs. The Federal Government should put modalities in place to establish South-South Development Commission. The status quo should not be allowed to remain as it is now. Thank God, the daily quota of oil production has increased to about 2.5m barrel per day. And that is the reason why South-South should also benefit from the increase of oil activities in Nigeria.
Observationally, every region is bracing up to gain from the oil revenue of the country. And South South Zone which seems to be the hub of oil and gas is lagging behind in terms of purposeful development. NDDC should embark on an aggressive development of the member states. The Federal Government of Nigeria, should correct the negative believe that NDDC is a regional commission. Politicians of the zone should sheathe their swords of discrepancies and work together for the development of the zone. There should be a united front to convince the Federal Government to create or establish South-South Development Commission. Therefore State of the South-South zone in the Niger Delta Development Commission should be made to benefit like their counter parts from South- East and South- West in the NDDC. Thus, NDDC goes beyond regional vision. And that is why the Federal Government should establish South- South Development Commission to balance the equation of regional commission springing up in the country.
Frank Ogwuonuonu
Ogwuonuonu is a free lancer in PortHarcourt.
Last week, precisely Thursday, February 20, 2025, students in Nigeria and the diaspora, under the umbrella of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) inducted the former Chairman of Tai Local Government Council, Chief Matthew NenuBari Dike into its Hall of Fame and gave him a certificate of recognition for what they described as his “outstanding contributions to the development of education and students in Nigeria”. Presenting the award at Saakpenwan, headquarters of Tai Local Government Area, the National Vice President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Mohammed Sabo, said unequivocally that the induction into the Hall of Fame and conferment of the award on Chief Dike was essentially by merit; a product of his endeavor in building the education sector and human capital in Nigeria.
According to the National Vice President of the National Association of Nigerian Students in Nigeria and the Diaspora, the students body does not have a history of conferring frivolous and financially induced awards on people. Chief Matthew NenuBari Dike is one of fewest local government area chairmen of Nigeria that have been so recognised and honoured by students in Nigeria and the diaspora. This is a welcome development given the fact that Tai Local Government Area has not been one of the local government areas in Nigeria that has attained the social, economic and infrastructural sophistication to come to national limelight because of its rural and seeming obscure nature. However , good works and success like light cannot be suppressed, not even by enemies. Success is contagious, a force and voice that speak louder than arm-chair and callous criticism.
Looking at the antecedents of the awardee and recipient of the Nigerian students goodwill, Chief Matthew NenuBari Dike, it is not saying a new thing that he deserves the honour. Within 100 days in the saddle as chairman of Tai Local Government Area, Chief Dike had made significant achievements in driving the development of the education sector and students in Tai Local Government Area, and of course, Nigeria, a feat that marked him out for honour by the National Association of Nigerian Students. Aside recruiting 250 adhoc teachers to improve teaching and learning in Basic and Senior Secondary Schools in the Local Government Area, the former chairman has also established a Special Science School to develop manpower overtime in critical areas in the Local Government Area having noticed that in the last ten years no student of Tai Local Government Area had gained admission to read, Medicine, Engineering, Medical/Health Sciences and many other science based courses.
Chief Dike’s initiative is therefore to address a felt and critical need of the people. Through a rigorous screening process, 104 students emerged as the first set of students to begin the Special Science School at its take-off facility, Model Primary School 2, Uedume, under Mr. Tete Baridamue Osih as the Director. Speaking during the Inauguration of the School, two weeks ago, the former Chairman of Tai Local Government Area, Chief Dike affirmed his administration’s commitment to deliver a new building for the Special Science School . No doubt, the Chief Dike’s adventures in the Education sector is a novel, and capital intensive project. It is a road less taken; only Local Government Area chairmen who are selfless, sacrificial and committed to human capital development of their people can take up such gigantic project, considering the cost-implications. Establishing a fully-furnished Science School for the Local Government Area requires a modern laboratory, provision of science books, a state-of-art science library and adequate funding.
Recurrent expenditures such as payment of salaries of staff, political appointees, councillors, overhead, and other entitlements of workers combined with ongoing capital projects and empowerment programmes that the chairman of the Local Government Area is embarking on, amidst limited income source, make Chief Dike a celebrity in governance, after the like of his principal, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, the “Rivers First” Governor. Students in Nigeria and the diaspora therefore, were objective, sound in judgement and devoid of primordial sentiment when they adjuged the former chairman of Tai Local Government Area worthy to be inducted into their Hall of Fame and honoured for his contributions. The adage that the “aroma of the Fart determines the substance of the poo” finds expression in the person of Chief Dike whose exploits in the education sector aimed at developing the capacity of students to meet critical needs of the Local Government Area, is a testament that Chief Matthew Dike will do more when given higher responsibility or another term.
John C. Mason, in one of his best sellers, “Leadership Gold”, said every human organisation rises and falls on leadership. A good leader will inevitably midwife development in his sphere of influence. This corresponds with the wise saying of the Biblican King Solomon that ‘when the righteous rules, the people rejoice but when the wicked rules, the people groan”. The socio-economic situation of a people to a great extent shows who a leader really is. The works or activities of a leader in relation to the people speak volumes of leadership stuff. Chief Matthew NenuBari Dike made significant impacts in the education sector and human capital development for a greater development in Tai Local Government Area. He is determined to leave a legacy in the sands of time of that Local Government Areas by raising millionaires through his economic empowerment programme to drive self reliance and reduce the level of abject poverty the people wallow in.
If Chief Dike had to achieve such commendable feat within only 100days of 1,095 days term of office, with availability of funds or sustained financial resources, a stable economy and peace, he had the capacity to achieve ten times what he had done for the people of Tai Local Government Area. While this is the beginning of a long and tortuous journey in governance, it is necessary to join students in Nigeria and the diaspora to commend Chief Dike for his impacts in the critical areas of education, human capital development, economic development, etc. To act contrary is to live out the saying of Decimus Magnus Ausonius that “The earth produces nothing worse than an ungrateful man”.
Igbiki Benibo
Since late Prof. Dora Akunyili’s tenure as the Director General of the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the fight against fake, illegal and expired drugs seemed to be in limbo until the current raid by the agency. For over one-week NAFDAC has been in the news as it has taken the war to the door post of fake, unauthorised, expired medicine dealers across the country. From Ariaria Market, Aba to Bridgehead, Onitsha, Anambra State, to Idumota drug market, Lagos, the stories are the same. Warehouses are being raided, medicine shops are being closed, counterfeit and expired drugs are being destroyed and so on. The current Director General of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, must be commended for the reinvigorated effort towards ridding our society of poisons in the name of drugs.
Some of these drugs according to NAFDAC are expired, imported drugs which are repackaged and pushed into the markets. Some of the seized drugs were vaccines stored in dilapidated, unventilated rooms, sealed with iron sheets in highly unsanitary conditions. It is doubtful if there is any adult Nigerian that is not aware of the damage caused to the citizens and the country by fake and substandard drugs. How many times have we or someone we know taken malaria drugs, antibiotics or other medicines for a cure of an ailment and they were ineffective? How many people in the country have died because fake or relabelled expired drugs were administered to them? Experts have posited that fake, adulterated, substandard drugs fuel antimicrobial resistance, as substandard antibiotics fail to properly treat infections, leading to stronger and more resilient bacteria.
The proliferation of these harmful substances is indeed a crisis of national significance. It threatens public health, weakens trust in the healthcare system, and exacerbates Nigeria’s already fragile health sector. Local drug manufacturers who invest millions of Naira to produce genuine, quality drugs for the citizens are denied the fruits of their labour by criminal syndicates who take advantage of regulatory loopholes and weak enforcement to flood the market with dangerous substances, putting millions of lives at risk. So, by all means, they should not be spared. But the question that begs for an answer is, where were the government agencies when these fake and expired drugs entered the country and travelled to the states? Why were they not intercepted at the point of entry either via the ports or the land borders and the importers arrested and prosecuted?
According to Adeyeye, most of these poisonous drugs are brought into the country through the ports and the porous borders. Is there nothing that can be done to beef up security and checks against illegal drugs at the borders? Or is it a case of the personnel at the borders looking the other way when they must have been settled thereby allowing unhindered entry of fake and unauthorised products into the country? It is also worrisome why we have allowed drugs to be sold in the open markets in the country. For many years, the federal government has been coming up with policies to address the uncontrolled and undefined buying and selling of medicine with or without approval, all to no avail. Open drug markets continue to thrive, leading to abuse and counterfeiting.
A former National Chairman of the Association of Community Pharmacists, Mr Samuel Adekola, in a recent interview bared his mind on the issue of open drug market. He said, “We know that open drug markets are not the best for Nigeria because of how the drugs are sourced. The government has been coming up with policies to address it, but you know that nature abhors vacuum, so once there is no alternative, these markets crop up because people must use drugs. Policies of the government must support alternatives which will make the drug distribution process/system in Nigeria a regulated and sanitised one. The whole essence of this is to save society from fake and adulterated drugs because the burden of fake drugs on citizen’s health and the economy is huge. Today, 70 percent of deaths in the hospitals arise from drug misuse or fake drugs.”
Early in the week, the NAFDAC DG during a television interview announced that the Kano Coordinated Wholesale Centre for drug marketers has taken off and that that of Lagos, Aba, Onitsha and other places are in the pipeline. Hastened efforts in actualising this will go a long way in checking the menace of fake drugs. Also, in addition to Adeyeye’s request for more funding and more staff for the agency to help in manning the borders and prevent the infiltration of poisonous drugs into the country, there is the need for technology-driven solutions to the challenge. The adoption of digital tools, such as mobile verification codes on drug packaging, can help consumers verify the authenticity of their medications. Blockchain technology can also be explored to track and trace pharmaceutical products from manufacturers to end-users.
NAFDAC and other regulatory bodies should be empowered with adequate resources to crack down on counterfeiters. Policies that improve oversight, enhance drug registration processes, and promote stricter penalties for offenders are essential. The nation’s drug distribution policy which stipulates penalties for defaulters must be implemented. While Adeyeye’s proposed death penalty for fake drug peddlers may be too harsh, many years imprisonment without an option of fine will not be out of place. While commenting on the recent raids, the National Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria – Young Pharmacists Group, Tekena George showered some encomium on the NAFDAC DG, saying that beyond enforcement, her transformational policies promote local production of high-quality medicines in Nigeria, noting that by encouraging domestic manufacturing, she is not only reducing the country’s reliance on imported drugs but also strengthening the nation’s medicine security and economic resilience.
Indeed, over-reliance on imported drugs increases vulnerability to counterfeit products. Both federal and state governments should therefore encourage domestic pharmaceutical production, backed by strong quality control measures. This will ensure a safer drug supply chain. Nigeria should work closely with international agencies such as INTERPOL and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to dismantle transnational drug counterfeiting networks. Sharing intelligence and coordinating enforcement efforts will help disrupt the supply chain of fake drugs. Awareness campaigns are inevitable in dealing with the menace of fake drugs in our society. Many Nigerians remain unaware of the dangers of fake drugs. Government agencies, civil society groups, and healthcare professionals must therefore collaborate to educate the public on how to identify counterfeit drugs and report suspicious products.
Most importantly, the National Orientation Agency, religious and traditional leaders, parents, schools and other organisations must join hands in changing the “get rich at all cost” mentality of some Nigerians. As some people say, corruption, greed and selfishness are the root of all the problems in Nigeria. And unless these vices are dealt with all efforts at stemming fake drug distribution and other menace in the country will bear no positive result.
Calista Ezeaku