Daily Independent (Lagos)
Daniel Kanu
9 January 2009
National President of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Fredrick Fasehun, has accused the Federal Government of insincerity and lack of commitment to provide the needed solution for the Niger-Delta problem.
Also, he identified the military intervention in politics as the point the country veered into the ugly situation it has suffered till date.
Fasehun informed Daily Independent that government was not sincere in tackling the Niger-Delta issue, as it has failed to release the necessary funds needed for the development of the region.
"People must be sincere in proffering solutions to the Niger-Delta problem. Government must also be sincere, but the government in all honesty has not been sincere in its promise.
"I was in the Niger-Delta about five days ago and I listened to the complaints and the major complaint is that government is insincere in its decisions. Government wants the Niger-Delta to develop as much as other areas of this country, yet, government is withholding over N250 billion from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), so, where is the sincerity in that?' Fasehun asked.
He disclosed further: "Government wanted a ministry of the Niger Delta and was suggesting a name of somebody who has a negative impression of the Niger Delta and its people. Where is the sincerity in that? So the government must be sincere and be seen to be sincere.
"That is the only thing, sincerity of purpose. We don't lack suggestions to improve the Niger Delta. There have been various conferences, various meetings, mention it, but this suggestions are always left or forgotten on the shelf to gather dust. That's why I said the other time that we don't need another conference. Let us put together the previous suggestions, collate them and make good use of them.
The OPC leader said Nigeria deviated from developing democratic ethos with the intervention of the military in 1966.
'We got it wrong when the military took over the six-year democratic governance at the beginning and that was in 1966, that was when we got it wrong and Nigerians have consistently failed to correct the situation," he stressed.
Explaining further, he said, "A few people have been crying in the wilderness for us to have the right perspective, right leadership, democracy, civil governance etc, but even when the military left, they left a standard where money is everything and honour does not matter any longer.
"So there is no benchmark for the Nigerian people; if you can steal so much from our common wealth and get away with it, why shouldn't somebody else steal from our common wealth and also try to get away with it. So money, primitive acquisition of money, corrupt wealth, has become the standard'" he lamented.
"Nigeria will continue to fail until a leader comes in to say, 'look, let there be a revolution'. A revolution doesn't necessarily mean a bloody insurgency, but a revolution of conscience, a revolution typified by change' he asserted.
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