REFOCUSING NDDC FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

By Jonah Okah

The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has been in the eye of the storm for some time now, it is generally perceived with misgivings as being more of a curse than a blessing to the people of the Niger Delta region.

The intervention agency created by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration in 2000 is meant to address the infrastructure deficit in the region which contributes 90 percent to the nation’s foreign exchange earnings.

The creation of the agency came as a huge relief to oil producing communities, coming on the heel of the age long marginalization of the region since the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities at Oloibiri Ogbia in 1956 in Bayelsa State.

Unfortunately, rather than changing the region’s sad tale of marginalization, the NDDC as an intervention agency has become even more pathetic ; characterized by waste of fund, non compliance with the agency’s development master plan and the lack of political will.

The saddest of it all is the high-wire corruption indices and several abandoned projects littering the entire landscape of the region.
The forensic report on the activities of successive managements of the agency and the role of the briefcase carrying politicians is quite revealing and mind boggling. Happily, there is a light in the tunnel since the Dr. Samuel Ogbuku-led Management of the NDDC took over.

The Samuel Ogbuku-led management is working conscientiously, leaving no stone unturned to reverse the negative narratives about the commission by setting the tone for value reorientation in service delivery.

This is in line with the NDDC mandate, “To facilitate the sustainable, even and rapid development of the Niger Delta into a region that is socially stable, politically peaceful, economically, prosperous and ecologically regenerative.

To this end, the management held a four-day retreat at the Ibom Icon Hotels and Golf Resort in Uyo,Akwa-Ibom State.

The message at the retreat, which was instructive, centred around the fact that it would be no longer business as usual. It marked the launching pad for setting priorities right.

The agency with the new sheriff in charge, engaged the services of KMPMG, a globally certified organisation in professional services in auditing to design governance system for the commission.

This is in line with the new vision and value reorientation to inaugurate a regime of transparency, accountability and open corporate governance.

This was followed by the stakeholders’ summit, with the theme – Renewed Hope for Sustainable Development of the Niger Delta.

This is indeed a paradigm shift from the past with the cardinal objective of entrenching an all inclusive approach of Needs Assessment.
The summit which was the first of its kind brought together critical stakeholders across the nine states that make up the oil producing region, where each state seized the opportunity to identify and captured their various needs in the execution of projects.

Apart from identifying projects according to the needs and aspirations of oil producing communities, it provided an opportunity for the first time in fostering unity of purpose to fast track the task of confronting the development challenges in the Niger Delta.
Already, the dividends of such uncommon approach in laying the foundation for sustainable development is yielding bountiful results across the region.

For instance, the nine Niger Delta States have become a construction site in the massive execution of road projects connecting oil producing communities in the hinterland to the urban areas.

Within the short period the management took over, it has executed the construction of 5,141 kilometer of roads across a region that is environmentally unfriendly and terrain difficulties with swamps and rivers. As a matter of fact, against all odds, the Dr. Ogbuku-led management of the NDDC has put broad smile on the faces of many oil producing communities which have been connected by road and are beginning keep behind them their days of lamentation when travelling was a difficulties task because the use of river crafts and boats was the only means of transportation thereby making commercialand social life difficult.

Though, when the management took over, the situation seemed insurmountable.
Today, with the application of the political will in confronting the challenges in the region, the narrative is positively soaring to greater heights.

Apart from completing and inaugurating the independent power project in Edo State to fast track industrial take-off, there are concerted efforts in promoting large scale investment in agro-allied businesses and social welfare programmes.

The broad vision of the agro-allied businesses is to take off the street the army of unemployed youths for meaningful engagements.

The multiplier benefits of this proactive initiative is not only to stem the time bomb of young stars resorting to militancy, terrorism and armed insurrection, but also to empower, engage and equip them with entrepreneurial skills for self-reliance.

Intestinally, since the Dr Ogbuku mounted the saddle, it is not an overstatement to state that the nagging problem of youth restlessness in the Niger Delta has dropped drastically.

This is the direct result of the various empowerment schemes rolled out for the overall benefit of the people of Niger Delta.
In addition to that, human capital development is a prominent priority in the development agenda of the current management. Several scholarships have been awarded to both undergraduate and postgraduate students .

Some of the beneficiaries of the programme today have turned out to be worthy ambassadors in promoting peace and entrepreneurial skills among youths in the region.

This is indeed how things should be. Just as the Holy Bible says, “when the righteous rule, the people rejoice”. This is the new song on the lips of the people of Niger Delta.

In the same vein, the management is not only distributing educational facilities to schools in the nooks and crannies of the Niger Delta for functional educational system; it has also provided medical outreaches to serve the primary health needs of the rural communities to enhance their access to medical treatments.

Those who have suffered lack of access to medical evaluation and treatment are applauding the management for the unusual sense of human face, honest and innovative leadership it has brought to bear on the leadership of the NDDC, with several testimonies to that effect.

According to Mr. Sunday Odion from Edo State; “I had eye problem for years, I had no money to treat it. Today, I am relieved as one Ogbuku of NDDC has sent his medical team to my village in Edo like God sent angel to treat my eyes and others suffering various sicknesses. May God bless him and we pray President Bola Tinubu continue to keep him there to do this good work.”

Again, just as the Bible recorded in the book of Genesis where God declared, “Let there be light and there was light.” The new management of the NDDC has become synonymous with the generation of light as it has provided Solar lights virtually every where in the region, depicting Dr. Ogbuku as a “Man of Light” who has brought what they described as “Operation Light up Niger Delta.”

This is a quantum leap from the past when people rather saw the NDDC as a political cash cow.
The management has effectively changed the narrative from the transactional mentality to that of transformation road map for the overall benefit of all.

The management deserves a part on the back for charting the new path of Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinibu which centres around the people.

They have aptly demonstrated to the whole world as agents of transformational leadership.

This is where President Tinubu needs to ignore the nay sayers who revel in the campaign of calumny against the management and allow them to serve out their four-year mandate.

The benefits of stability of any organisation cannot be over-emphasized, and saying that the people of Niger Delta are happy with the current management is not an overstatement.

This is where the federal government needs to also increase the funding of the NDDC as an intervention agency to make the desired impact as such increase is critical to the peace and development in the Niger Delta.

The multi-national oil companies should equally do the needful by paying up the statutory funding provided in the Act establishing the commission to avoid unnecessary restlessness in the region.

The NDDC management on its part should not rest on its oars, by keeping alive the shining testimony of their people-oriented projects being executed across the Niger Delta region, which the people are already appreciating.

History will surely be kind to Ogbuku-led management, as the people of Niger Delta look forward to more prosperous era .

……A public Affairs Analyst based in Yenagoa Bayelsa state