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The NDDC ‘masterplan’
The Niger
Delta Development Commission, NDDC, is the federal government agency created
purposely to redress the several years of neglect of the Niger Delta, the same
region that has been responsible for the generation of the wealth of the nation
but have not receive any serious developmental attention from the same
government. As the name implies, NDDC is charged with the responsibility of
reversing the lingering consequences of the prolonged underdevelopment of the
area by facilitating accelerated development in the area through the
introduction of infrastructure and basic amenities to the area. There is no
doubt that the Niger Delta manifests a gaping absence of federal government
influence in the lives of the people of the area who had had to bear the brunt
of the oil exploration activities from which the rest of the country has
benefited immensely thereby creating a situation that was akin to the reckless
killing of the goose that lays the gold egg. For all intents and purposes,
therefore, the NDDC is a welcome
intervention in this ugly situation that has the potentials of a very serous
national crisis
Given the enormity of the problems on the ground, it
is the general understanding that the Commission would proceed to solving these
problems as methodically as possible. In the nature of things, it was
imperative that a development master plan be drawn up with a view to
identifying the critical areas that need immediate attention and to also help
the Commission to priorities its operations for maximum effects. A few days
ago, it unveiled a Master Plan which contains the “vision and programmes
of the Commission”. We therefore want to commend the Commission for such
an effort.
It is very important
that we take it that what has been presented to the stakeholders merely
contains proposals as to what the Commission thinks are the needs of the
people. We believe the document, as elaborate as it may be, is only a draft
until it sufficiently reconciles its contents with the actual needs of the
people as articulated by the people themselves. No matter what the good
intentions of the Commission are, it is very important that the desires,
request and actual needs of the inhabitants of the area are taken into account,
otherwise the ‘master plan’ may just end up breeding more
dissatisfaction, misery and frustration, the very problems that it was created
to solve. For this purpose, the NDDC must listen to what the stakeholders,
namely the local authorities, governments and people of the area are saying in
the spirit of democratic consultation and in good faith.
We are giving this
advice mainly because there are already signs that many of the items that are
contained in the Master Plan and the emphasis being placed on them are at
considerable variance with the actual needs of the people and, for this
purpose, the drafters of the plan should try and relate collaboratively with
the various states and local governments and other relevant stakeholders with a
view to finding out what exactly they have in mind, what they would want the
Commission to focus on, the scale of intervention and many other issues on
which it is necessary for them to compare notes together. This way, there would
not be the much needless duplications and wasteful overlaps in the deployment
of scare resources as well as the resulting misplacement of priorities. To
proceed in the context of a “beggar having no choice” would be
missing the point altogether and, indeed, a veritable recipe for further
conflicts.
Any meaningful developmental
initiative for the Niger Delta ought to focus largely on infrastructural
development in vital areas like roads, bridges, communication electricity and
water and not on the proverbial white elephant projects which are entered into
purposely for immediate political consideration. Any serious master plan must
tackle headlong, the problems of impassable roads that liter the length and
breadth of the Niger Delta, the scarcity of portable water for the vast
majority of the people and the acute shortage of electricity supply which has
seen to it that no sustainable industrialization has been possible in the area
from which gainful employment can come for the jobless youths.
It is the plain truth that even if we have the best Master
Plan and there are no funds to implement them, it would not be worth the paper
on which it is drawn. It is therefore very important that there be adequate
funds provided to see the projects through to their successful completion. It
is a well known fact that there has never been any shortage of
“plans” on how to solve the gaping problems confronting the Niger
Delta. What has been the bane of all similar efforts over the years is their
miserly funding by the federal government that revels in making so much political
capital out of their good intentions for the area but have reneged on them at
every turn. It is therefore our hope that this Master Plan is not going to end
up a wasted effort due to poor funding and mismanagement of whatever is given
or just another political stunt to further hoodwink the people.
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