Got it Wrong
resources of the commission can be made to account for them. The laws of the land are sufficient to prosecute them.
With several major and rural roads constructed to interlink various communities; thousands of water projects in several communities; several health programmes carried out to treat the aged and the weak in the region, and several rural electrification projects in all nine states, mass transit programmes, plus an avalanche of educational programmes and projects which has seen many scholarships awarded to deserving sons and daughters of the region, and the over eight big hostels built in various institutions of higher learning in the region which is currently accommodating over 16,000 students etc., it is preposterous to declare that nothing has been achieved.
It must also be clarified that contrary to the misleading opinion of the editorial that the Ministry of Niger Delta was created out of the frustration of the NDDC, let it be said that the late President Yar’Adua created the ministry to complement and accelerate the development needs of the region.
It will also interest the newspaper to know that contrary to the impression that the “Niger Delta leaders” are behind the failure of contracts, that contractors in the commission are spread across the country, including even the northern regions.
While agreeing that the commission could have achieved more, I will rather see its contributions as being swallowed by the depth of decay and neglect which the region had suffered over the years.
Yet, it is even more damaging and mischievous to suggest that because neither the ministry nor the commission has met the full aspiration of the people, they should be scrapped. If scrapping of institutions is the next logical step when they fail, then there would be no Nigeria itself. Pray, how many communities have access to potable water in Nigeria, despite the fact that the Ministry of Water Resources has existed for over 40 years in this country? Has Daily Trust called for the scrapping of that ministry?
I believe that the suggestion of scrapping both the commission and the ministry is likened to administering a drug that will kill both the disease and the patient.
If the newspaper understands the background of the creation of the interventionist agency/ministry, scrapping them can never be a solution.
Indeed, such totalitarian suggestion is hardly a product of commendable mental rigour on crisis resolution.
Yes, the commission needs a re-jig, as is being witnessed now by the Mrs Ibim Seminitari-led administration, but all monies owed the commission by the federal government and the oil companies must be released so the resources to radically develop the region are made available, knowing that the commission is responsible for the development of nine states across three geo-political regions of the country.