Ahamefula Ogbu
18 November 2008
interview
Lagos — The Niger Delta Crises
Please may we know you sir? My name is Alfred, King of Twon Brass, the last son of Chief Amange and Princess Serah Ann Diette Amange, nee Alagoa Olale Okiah. I schooled in Nembe and also in the Cameroun, Sasse. I Wrote my WAEC, then Cambridge exam in 1960 in the centenary class. Then I went to the Britannia Royal Naval College, Portsmouth in 1962 and was commissioned as an officer into the Royal Nigerian navy in 1965. I also trained as a diver, a pilot, a weather observer or forecaster if you like and I became a gunnery expert and a sub marine fighter.
I joined the Britannia Motor club and later became the President of the Lagos Motor Club. I took command of various naval ships before I was made governor at the age of 24 going to 25 in 1967. I was governor for eight years plus. As first military governor of Rivers State we were able to lay the foundation for the establishment and development of Rivers State.
Since I have gone into business from August 1975 and I trade under the name of Bereton Nigeria. I established the Bereton group of schools and also the Bere Niger Marine Services. I was the President of the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce for five years and also the President of the Golf Union of Nigeria between1984 and 1985.
We build boats in fiber glass, Aluminum and woods and I am a chartered mediator, conciliator and arbitrator. I am an Ambassador of peace of the international Federation of World peace. I am a member of Golfmans club of London, elected.
What do you think led to this Niger Delta crisis?
General Abacha in his wisdom or lack of it invited the youths to Abuja for a million man march and then the Niger Delta youths who had always been wondering why they are in this state of penury found that all their money or the money that would have been used to develop the Niger Delta from where the oil comes from had been used to build Lagos with all the third Mainland bridges and all the court ways and now Abuja and that burst blood vessels in their brains and they swore that something has to be done or else they will ensure that something is done to stop the cheating.
The Kaiama declaration came up and even before then, Ken Saro Wiwa had pointed out clearly that the amount of oil taken from Ogoni land to rebuild the rest of the country to the complete neglect of this area has to stop and it stopped. Shell has not collected one pint of oil since that decision was taken and they are not likely to collect and they know that. Of course the youths on the western flank also declared that until the region is developed, nobody can collect the oil in peace.
I know there has been a lot of discussions at the federal level and the federal government under President Yar'Adua has offered us Olive branch and also with our own son Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as the Vice President, a lot of meetings have taken place and even as we speak the Technical Committee is compiling and collating all the reports that had been given for the development of the Niger Delta before now with a view of an early and lasting sustainable development of the Niger Delta. So there is hope that the crises will soon be a thing of the past.
Was this problem there at the time you were military governor?
No. There were community crises but nothing in the present mould. The worst of community crises were those of Ibaa, Emuoha, Edok; which are still flying at one another's throats but we were able to contain it by inviting the leadership and explaining to them the need for them to keep the peace.
The others also had their own differences, Ogonis and the Andonis, the Okrikas and the Elemes the Tuponujus and Lokonujus, all those things were going on. It took a little bit of dexterity to handle all those things. We were not only able to contain the peace but also to get the communities to sign unions and pacts not to attack each other and it seemed to work.
One of the things is that you do not only need to develop group advancement or progress but there is need for people to have personal wealth as well as group development and of course education which is one form of wealth because an educated man is equipped to take care of himself.
As you know, my government tried to give scholarships and even what we called special scholarships in other specialized areas and under special circumstances. You have also to put money legitimately in people's pockets not just because you want to give me support or sing my praise but because it is better for all concerned.
In advanced countries they even have welfare packages because when people are hungry and they see others living in affluence they will also likely have blood vessels bursting in their brains and they will do what ordinarily they would not have done except in this case of temporary insanity. Poverty is a disease and it needs to be reduced or needs to be eradicated or cured.
But if you believe in the Bible when Christ said 'the poor you will always have with you', that means we can reduce but cannot cure it. So if you remember the case of the woman who came with an alabaster to Christ, then you know that He knew what He was talking about.
What are the specific things that should be done to stop the crisis?
There should be development. There is no need for the road awarded for Yenogoa to Brass not yet in place 30 years after. You awarded a road to be built from Bomu to Bonny, 33 years later the road is not yet in place and you awarded a contract to build a road from Yenogoa to the Atlantic Seabed, is it Ikulama to open up the fishing areas to the rest of the state but the whole thing was cancelled though taken over by the federal government and nothing is happening.
By the time of the PTF (defunct Petroleum Trust Fund) the whole thing was given to General Buhari as ongoing projects of the federal government and nothing was done and we know roads that were built and the areas they were built. So when something happens the first time we say it is an accident but if it happens the second time it is coincidence but the Russians say if it happens the third time, it becomes enemy action. As the Cameroun man would say, "this people mean us bad."
When the nation is cheating and conspiring and cheating us over the years so we who are reasonable and understanding will swallow the trash but the youth said enough is enough, they do not want any big talk, you either develop our area and take the oil or no more oil but I think that there is hope in the horizon, all these things are being addressed now squarely as is clear from the action of the federal government.
Clear promises have been made and from the establishment of the Technical committee to review other reports on the region, I think the next stage would be to roll the bulldozers and start doing the job and it will make light of swaying the youths so that they can gainfully employ themselves and channel their energies to productive ventures. I think the point has been made and there is no need for anybody to overdo things.
What advice you have for the youths that have resorted to arms?
I had said that. I have already given it. But you see that though the point has been made, almost all the projects in the region have been stopped due to these youths who kidnap and threaten people. The projects have been stopped because of the work of the Technical Committee, when the Committee submits its report, the federal government will take it to the National Assembly which will enact a law and then money appropriated for release and the work will start.
Did they tell you they will stop the work?
What you have is the criminal elements are at the back streets trying to make ends meet in the way they know best. Once the recommendation is accepted and the action is authorized, then the youths themselves will stop while the criminal elements would be found out and will be stopped. Not this bundling of everybody as criminals.
What would you tell the Amaechi administration in Rivers State on his classing all armed groups as criminals?
Nobody should bear arms. Most of these arms were brought in by politicians for political purposes, so nobody endorses people bearing arms and terrorizing people just like that.
Do you think the governor should dialogue with them or not?
Amaechi has said return your arms and be rehabilitated and he gave a time frame for that which has elapsed so anybody still bearing arms is seen as trying to push him down from the seat.
How soon do you think peace will return to the Niger Delta?
As soon as the report of the Technical Committee is submitted and made into law and money approved after due process and the fund voted for the development of the Niger Delta released. Look at Abuja; did they set up a Commission before Abuja was built? They set up a Ministry and the Federal Capital Development Authority.
But we now have Niger Delta Ministry and Technical Committee and when they submit their work, they should mobilise and things will go on simultaneously as well as the efforts of the state and local governments. Whatever derivation is coming, minimum of 13 percent which should not be the same forever will also go into the effort.
The Committee should at least recommend 35 percent; nothing says it has to be 13. When I was governor it was 50 percent. When Nigeria was born, it was 100 percent but reduced to 50 during the war and after the war it was supposed to go back to 100 percent but the military just came in and took everything and they slowly gave it at 1.5, 3 per cent and now 13 percent, what is so fantastic about 13 per cent?
During the national conference, we recommended that it should go back to 50 percent, so this was to be scaled; if you start with 25 percent then you increase it by five percent every five years. I am sure the Committee will be able to highlight those parts of the recommendations of the national conference.
Once the Committee finishes its report, the President will send it to the national Assembly which will make the law and things will start working. Everybody should give the federal government a chance to prove its sincerity in bringing succour to the Niger Delta.
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