Emma Amaize
30 July 2008
Former Federal Commissioner for Information, Chief Edwin Clark said the only sane way out of the long-drawn-out Niger-Delta crisis is for President Umaru Yar'Adua to return the country to true federalism, which was the situation in the First Republic.
The Ijaw nationalist leader in a press statement, yesterday, commending the recent call by the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organization, Afenifere on President Yar'Adua to send a bill increasing derivation on all mineral deposits throughout the states of the federation to 50 per cent to the National Assembly said the position of the Yoruba apex body has once again vindicated his belief that adherence to the rule of law and commitment by the political class to the problems afflicting the nation hold the key to the nation's prosperity and development.
In addition to the call by the Afenifere, Chief Clark urged the President to send a bill to the National Assembly, "compelling all oil companies and other prospective mineral resources industries to site their operational headquarters, either in the region on in their state of operation, in order to arrest the social problems of unemployment, stagnant economic growth and similar problems associate with industries, not nearer to their operational base."
"Mr. President should send a bill to the National Assembly, reversing all discriminatory policies of the oil companies against their host communities and make indigenes of oil communities' major stakeholders of the oil industry.
Such a bill should take into cognizance the cries of unemployment, denial of oil blocs to the citizens of the region, non consideration of major contracts to Niger-Deltans, the frequent pollution and environmental degradation that has become the trademark of oil industries.
The economic and health hazards associated with the oil industry that affects the people of the Niger-Delta should also be addressed," he said.
According to him, "These are the only realistic solution to the lingering Niger-Delta crisis; this was the situation in the First Republic when the principles of true federalism brought social and political stability in the three regions. The North had groundnut and cotton, the East had coal and palm industry and the West had cocoa, these, they used to develop their various regions at their own pace."
"For instance, in my former Western Nigeria where Chief Obafemi Awolowo was the Premier and leader, it was the most developed and progressive because of its wealth in cocoa. Through cocoa, Awolowo was able to establish the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University.
The introduction of free primary education, establishement of Odua Group of Companies, which remains the largest group of company owned by any individual or state or group of states, the establishment of a television station, which was the first in South-Africa, the Cocoa House in Ibadan, Western House, Lagos and industrial estates in Ikeja were some of the benefits of cocoa wealth.
"These benefits did not extend to the Mid-West region except for free primary education because we never contributed to cocoa wealth. These same reasons were used to deny Mid-West region equitable sharing of assets when it was created in 1963 even when I became Commissioner for Finance in 1972, all efforts to convince Gen Adeyinka Adebayo, the military Governor of Western region despite the very good relationship he had with Col. S.O. Ogbemudia, then military Governor of the Mid-West region failed", he said.
Chief Clark added, "It should be noted that the Premier of the Northern region, Sir Ahmadu Bello also used his groundnut and cotton wealth to establish the present Ahmadu Bello University, the modern city of Kaduna, which was its capital. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe could not do much because he relied on limited resources available to him, including the remaining 50 per cent that accrues to the federation, which it shared between the two regions and the central government".
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