‘We don’t need dialogue to solve Niger Delta problems’
Chief Mike Loyibo was on the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) delegation that visited President Muhammadu Buhari last November. In this interview, he says dialogue is not needed to solve the problems of the region.
What is the implication of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s recent visit to Niger Delta?
The visit of the presidency to the heart of the problem, that’s the core Niger Delta area, was the best way to be able to assess the situation first hand. What are the problems? How do we get out of it? For us as leaders, it shows that the presidency is actually committed and genuinely concerned in addressing in a very holistic manner the age-long neglect of the Niger Delta.
When the vice president went there, he said, Niger Delta is a special zone and it needs to be treated that way and that’s why he announced that by September, the academic activities of the Maritime University will kick off and that’s one of the news we have been expecting as a people. So, for us, that visit was timely. After all, the problem is not Osinbajo’s problem. It is not Buhari’s problem. The problem was caused by us, the Niger-Delta people. We have not asked questions about our 13 percent derivation money; what do the governors do with the money? So, every day, we run to the centre, saying you have not done this and that, we have not been able to ask questions among ourselves.
So, there is a leadership problem in our area. As far as I am concerned, the problem is not a Buhari problem. It was caused by us, the Niger Delta people. Have we also asked questions? Our son and brother was there for years, what was the take home achievement? You see, we keep on blaming the government. After all, the MD of the NDDC, is he a Hausa man?
Does it mean the visit has taken care of the demands of PANDEF and NDPC that visited the Presidency last year?
In all of them, I played a key role and the second visit was by the Niger Delta People’s Congress (NDPC). We went to re-emphasize and expand the visit of PANDEF. And again, in our second visit, we made it very clear to the presidency that he must come over to see things himself and that will boost confidence. That is what they have done, so, it’s the right step and I know that Rome was not built in a day. The destruction is an agelong destruction. You need time to address the issues and the problems of the people. So, for me, it is a gradual process and I believe in the leader we have. There is no corruption in his DNA and he’s genuinely concerned about the problems not just in the Niger Delta, but the entire problem of Nigeria. I will continue to ask that we all support him so that he can succeed.
Has the visit helped close ranks among all the agitators in the region?
It is a continuous thing. The problem is more in Delta State. It is over 70 percent there. Like in Rivers State, you don’t see pipeline destructions. Even in Bayelsa, the governor has been able to set up his own outfit to contain militancy. So, there are no divisions. The agitators and the aggrieved people have given us the mandate to interface for them and ensure they bring development to our people.
Chief Edwin Clark is one of the leaders of the Niger Delta; how does he feel about the visit?
He was excited. Nobody is saying that Chief Clark is not a prominent leader in the region but there are also other leaders: you have the Amaechis, the Diette Spiff, the Tabais, so many of them. You have prominent traditional rulers. Yes, he’s one of the leaders of the Niger Delta. Chief Clarke feels happy with the visit of the Vice President and his view is that the visit is not a substitute for dialogue. I don’t believe that you need dialogue to solve the problems of the Niger Delta.
So, what do you need?
The problems are known to the presidency. One of our demands when we came on November 1st and 15th, last year was the Maritime University. You are aware that we made that demand and the president has addressed that. Do you need dialogue and negotiation to get that? No. And so, there are a lot of issues. We want development of the Niger Delta and the Vice President said, yes, it is a special area. We need a master plan. So, if the problems are known to them, you don’t need dialogue. Whether there is dialogue or not, provided they attend to the issues of the Niger Delta, we are okay.