Ministry of Niger-Delta

AMIDST rumble in the Niger Delta, with the oil war exerting centrifugal forces on the nation, President Yar-Adua, has put in place, yet another experiment which he hopes will deliver government’s agenda for the socio-economic development of the region.

THE creation of the Ministry of Niger Delta, is the Federal government’s latest effort to minimise the frightening upsurge of youth restiveness, hostage takings, oil pipeline bombings and other untoward acts that have to a very large extent, slowed down economic activities in the region.

THE birth of this new Ministry, is no doubt an inevitable admission of failed efforts by a plethora of government intervention agencies to address and actualise lasting solution to the Niger-Delta debacle.

BESIDES the Willink Commission which put forth far reaching policy peace options for the region, there was the OMPADEC and now NDDC with the mandate to redress the socio-economic quagmire that has made the Niger-Delta a near hell on earth.

PRESIDENT Yar Adua has assured that the new Ministry would oversee the implementation of measures and policies evolved to resolve the peculiar problems of the Niger-Delta Region.

THE Ministry is also expected to coordinate efforts to tackle the challenges of infrastructural development, environmental protection and youth empowerment in the region. While assuring that measures were being taken by the government to deal with the security aspect of the problems in Niger Delta, President Yar’Adua has expressed his appreciation to the British Government to assist Nigeria with the development of “a greater institutional and human capacity.”

DESPITE the sigh of relief engendered by Yar’Adua new formula, the Movement For The Emancipation of the Niger-Delta, (MEND) has dismissed the creation of the Niger-Delta Ministry as one of the numerous distractions of government and called for meaningful effort at redressing neglect that the region has suffered in the past.

“CREATING a Ministry of Niger Delta, MEND insists, “is not the coming of the much awaited messiah. Nigeria has in existence, 40 ministries over 40 years old which have not positively impacted on the people, it will be yet another avenue for corruption and political favouritism.”

OF a truth, when viewed against the dismal and outrageously epileptic performance of some older ministries, like that of Energy, MEND’s fears may not be altogether groundless.,

HOWEVER, at a time like this, when oil war in the Niger-Delta is daily sending out signals of conflagration, the need to give the Yar’Adua pill a trial, becomes compelling.

THE region has suffered too much of destruction and environmental degradation both in the hands of oil prospecting companies and militants that the time has really come for the windows and doors of peace to be open so that the people can enjoy some ventilation.,

THE NIGERIAN OBSERVER advises that the new Ministry should not just be like any other ministry. Its status as a creation of socio-economic circumstances should be notified in the legal documents establishing it.

AND of course, it should enjoy a special status in the comity of other ministries and heavily empowered so as to be able to execute its mandate.

A major advantage of this Ministry is that it would enable the presidency to have first hand and raw information in the Niger-Delta, though what the president does with such information is a different ball game entirely.

IT is for this reason that we are expecting a ministry that would actually live up to its fundamental function, rather than an exercise in rhethorics, which would only serve to confirm the fear of cynics.

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