Iju — Following the embracement of the amnesty offer by majority of the Niger-Delta militants, after years of hostility and destruction of oil facilities, the Federal Government has entered into various deals with the militants. Offer of money has been the major attraction for the militants who have submitted a major part of the massive arsenals in their possession.
The Federal Government packaged the amnesty programme for the militants of the Niger-Delta who surrendered their arms after agreeing to pay for the arms and monthly allowances for them during rehabilitation.
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With the existence of numerous militant leaders in the Niger-Delta, with thousands of followers armed with sophisticated and assorted weapons and large cache of ammunition, the embracement of amnesty was a significant achievement by President Umaru Yar'Adua; if properly managed and administered. Before the embracement of amnesty by the militants, Nigeria's economy was in a precarious state, the nation's oil production, the major source of our foreign exchange earnings, had gone down to about 1.2million barrels per day, which is about half of OPEC'S quota of 2.4million b/d, and now 3million b/d looks realizable.
Therefore amnesty has restored hope for the recovery of the economy. But that seems to be the end of the interesting story and unless care is taken through the careful management of the post-amnesty situation, this nation might battle with more serious consequences.
Following the billions of naira paid to the militants as compensation for their arms and ammunition, which they submitted in the spirit of amnesty, the failure or lateness of the Federal Government to pay the N65,000.00 monthly allowances for the thousands of militants has caused the unruly behaviour of some militants, about seven thousands, quartered in Aluu camp. The occupants of this camp have invaded the nearby campus of the University of Port Harcourt, where rape, looting and vandalisation of properties had taken place.
The Federal Government is yet to determine what jobs would be offered these militants after undergoing their rehabilitation and re-orientation.
In furtherance of its determination to end the agitation and compensate the aggrieved in the Niger-Delta, the Federal Government has decided to fast track the approval of a Petroleum Industry Bill in 2010 by which 10 per cent Equity share of oil proceeds would accrue to oil producing communities in the Niger-Delta, in an effort to please and pacify them.
The agitation for appropriate reward, otherwise known as resource control, being the goose that lays the golden egg, following years of petroleum and gas production resulting in environmental degradation, has been on for a long time. Can the Petroleum Industry Bill meant to access 10 per cent equity share of the oil proceeds to the communities do the trick? The details of the procedures and process for managing the funds are yet to be spelt out, it is only when the bill is passed that these can be known.
Since there are some major and numerous small communities in the Niger-Delta, how do you fund each of them? As these communities are not homogenous, many of them have been at logger-heads as far as land ownership is concerned, how easy would it be to share the proposed funds for the development of these communities?
Would the development of essential infrastructural facilities for the needs of the communities, and the reversal of the pollution of the environment with the provision of employment opportunities not be more beneficial to them than sharing money to them? The purpose of this write-up is to examine the avenues through which funds have been earmarked for the development of the Niger-Delta since decades past, with-out corresponding amelioration of the poverty-stricken conditions of the people.
Would the proposed funds targeted at the Niger-Delta Communities through the Petroleum Industry Bill meet the needs of the people or compare more favourably to what the other tiers of government have been doing for the communities? How competent are the illiterate communities in the management of the proposed 10 per cent Equity funds meant to ameliorate their conditions? Why have all the existing channels of development, viz the three tiers of governments particularly the Federal, States and Local Government annual budgetary provisions and the intervention through the projects of the Millennium Development Goals; NDDC, Niger-Delta Affairs Ministry, NAPEP, NOA, the periodic intervention by the oil companies; failed to placate the rancorous communities in the Niger-Delta?
There is no doubt that the totality of the investments of these bodies over the decades would amount to trillions of naira, yet the communities still continue to swim in abject poverty. The reasons for the ineffectiveness of such investments lie in absolute corruption and failure to prepare a comprehensive development master plan to guide all these bodies in their total investments. When a comprehensive master plan is prepared, it is easier to monitor every investment against the proposals that are made in the development master plans. Such comprehensive development plans are meant to guide every developer in the area.
From the records in the books, particularly annual budgetary provisions to guide every tier of government and other development agencies there is very little on the ground to reflect the financial investments made to improve the welfare of the poverty-ravaged inhabitants of the communities in the Niger-Delta.
For decades, the past Federal Governments have always pontificated on its desire to bring forward the development of the Niger-Delta to the front burner with a view to compensating the inhabitants of the area whose environment have been polluted by petroleum spillage and gas flaring, but the promise to provide infrastructural services, functional transportation networks, water, employment facilities for the unemployed youth, has not been met. There is no doubt that the states in the Niger-Delta were better funded than all the others in Nigeria, a reflection of their status as oil producing states, yet the people continue to ravage in absolute poverty.
What do we say of the Niger-Delta Development Commission created to offer another l channel for solving the problems of under-development and infrastructural decay in this zone, as the agitation of the communities soars higher? Another fall-out of the Amnesty deals was the creation of the Niger-Delta affairs Ministry by President Yar'Adua, as an interventionist agency to implement 73 on-going projects across the nine oil-producing states, with a budget of about N51 billion out of which N28 billion is meant for roads.
The Federal Government tends to have a change of mind over all amnesty development programmers which have been transferred to the Ministry of Defence. To congest the grounds further with development bodies, through the proposed Petroleum Industry Bill of 2010, 10 per cent Equity funds would be managed by the communities of the Niger-Delta.
The point being made is that the Niger-Delta looks congested with development bodies with nothing to show for this. As the saying goes, too many cooks seems to spoil the broth. Although the Niger-Delta looks congested with development agencies, yet solutions to the existing problems are not being found. Should the Federal Governments not then prepare a comprehensive master plan that will guide every developer in the management of its resources? Are the Niger-Delta communities capable of handling the proposed 10 per cent Equity funds being proposed for their upliftment?
How can the Federal Government fast-track the provision of employment opportunities for the repented militants? The Federal Government can not continue to throw money into the Niger-Delta region without ensuring that such funds are judiciously expended to attain the desired targets so that the welfare of the communities are improved upon.
This can only be achieved through the preparation of comprehensive Development master plans, where roles are assigned to bodies that can implement them. As things are today the Niger-Delta landscape seems to be congested with agencies assigned with development roles, but the communities who are expected to be the beneficiaries have little or nothing to show for it.
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