29th May, 2023 Handover: Expectations of the People Of The Niger Delta

There is a popular aphorism which states that uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. And so there is so much expectations on the governments that will be taking over the reins of power come May 29, 2023 both at the federal and state levels.
The Niger Delta more than any other geopolitical region in Nigeria deserves great attention because of its enormous contribution to the economic well-being and unity of the nation.
An objective analysis of the peaceful situation in oil-rich region will return a verdict of an uneasy calm that has traversed the oil rich but highly fragmented region.
One thing the people of the region are yearning for is good governance, accountability and transparency as well as an electoral process that would produce public officers that are truly the choice of the people. These they cannot compromised because of the huge sacrifice the people of the region are making with their resources, environment and livelihoods for the prosperity and stability of Nigeria. So they cannot afford to have a system that throws up incompetent and unresponsive elected officers.
For one to aver that variegated irregularities and crooked schemes were deployed by the ruling class to perpetuate themselves in power is for one to belabour the obvious. Even international observers have confirmed without fear or favour that recent elections at the federal and state level were basically a charade.
However, it is heartwarming to note that aggrieved gubernatorial candidates have elected to ventilate their outrage and grievance at the entire fraud-laden electoral process by taking their reservations to court. We urged them to adopt this democratic way of seeking redress..
The baseline reality of the people of the Niger Delta states is one of massive youth unemployment that is threatening to destroy the teeming youths of the region. Coupled to this unpleasant state of affairs is the palpable insecurity in the land, which was midwived by the official government policy of playing politics with poverty.
The frenzied and uncoordinated manner in which some Niger Delta state governors claimed to be fighting illegal siphoning of crude oil (our common heritage) is mind-boggling and suspicious to say the least. The governors must face up to the reality of checking oil theft and illicit destruction of the environment through illicit petroleum refineries.
One very worrisome trend blighting the corporate existence of these littoral states is the unbridled proclivity of these Niger Delta governors to fritter away vital financial resources of their respective states without any iota of fiscal responsibility.
Another galling and nauseating trend is the propensity of Niger Delta governors to taxonomize governance in terms of bricks and mortar. They tend to forget that they have a sacred duty of offering service to the people of the region. So they must check their tendency to forget that service to the people is their first duty call and ensure that the people do not go to bed on empty stomachs with their families. It is rather ironical that Niger Delta governors would elect to build all manner of bridges and flyovers at the expense of their citizens dying in dozens. What a shame!
As the plot thickens to inaugurate another substantive government that is expected to run the course of four years, many issues are resonating on the lips of the Niger Delta person on the street. Uppermost on the agenda is the compelling need for inclusive governance that would accommodate the youths, women, persons with disabilities and those living on the fringes of society.
One obvious truism in these not too comfortable times, is the compelling necessity for people to stand up and fight for their rights demanding nothing short of good governance. It is widely expected that civil society groups, pressure groups, people in the Diaspora and the ordinary man on the street should take the bull by the horns, come out of their cocoon and demand good governance which has proven to be elusive for the people of the Niger Delta.
Incoming governments both at the federal and state levels must give teeth to the Petroleum Industry Act, empower the people of the region through greater participation in the oil industry and delivery of essential infrastructure in the region like the East-West Road, the deep sea ports, the Brass LNG project, release of funds to interventionist agencies like the NDDC and the local content board. The completion of ongoing rehabilitation of the refineries in Warri and Port Harcourt must be achieved to empower and energise the local economies.
We hope that it is not mere wishful thinking that the incoming new administration would usher in a new beginning, punctuated by a sharp departure from the past which was interfaced and bespectacled by nauseating frittering away of our resources at the local, state and federal levels.