Ijaws Consult UN, Prepare For Self Determination

Leaders of Ijaw extraction have met to brainstorm on the lingering hardship occasioned by the inhuman policies of the present federal government as well as the depletion of crude oil in the Niger Delta and the plans by oil majors to leave the region, after years of exploration and the attendant destruction of the environment.

They have reached out to the United Nations in unwavering moves to achieve self determination and secure a better future for the Niger Delta. President of the Ijaw National Congress, INC, Professor Benjamin Ogele Okaba gave the hint at a stakeholders meeting as part of preparations for the maiden edition of the Pan-Ijaw Economic Summit scheduled to hold in December this year.

Okaba said while other major ethnic groups and regions already had blueprints for their economic progress in the spirit of self determinaiton, Ijaw people, with a population of 40 million, and the main producers of oil and gas revenues, appeared  unorganized.

He said the INC under his leadership had submitted a comprehensive map of Ijaw territory, to the United Nations in New York, adding that Ijaw lands and peoples would not be annexed by any group with a cession dream.

“We have lamented and criticized for too long amidst abundant natural and human resources. God who gave us crude oil, genuinely blessed us. Let us not see it as a curse or be inferior to other nations. It is time to discuss the way forward and apply the solutions practically”, Okaba said.

The INC president said although the Ijaws were at the moment not talking about breaking away from Nigeria, but to join hands to address the lingering problems of environmental degradation, infrastructure, lack and economic underdevelopment in Ijaw lands, which make up a large part of the Niger Delta region.

At the pre-summit interactive session which held at the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan Conference Hall in the Azaiki Public Library, Yenagoa, various speakers spoke on the possible solutions to the Niger Delta question.

Many of the speakers decried the over six decades of environmental damage caused by oil and gas exploration activities in the region and called on Ijaws to look inwards with a view to taking their destiny in their hands.

While appreciating the limitations imposed by the 1999 constitution and other federal laws with regards to self-determination, they however underscored the need for development-oriented leadership on the part of the Ijaws.

Speaking on the issue of the sale of major multinational oil firms that operate in the Niger Delta, Alaowei Indiamowei and Ms Ann-Kio Brigg said least 20 per cent equity shareholding in the new companies should be concessioned to oil bearing communities in place of their natural resources.

Omoni Festus Sodaguwo who spoke on behalf of the forum of former House of Representatives members said that Ijaws and Niger Deltans should be appointed into the management board of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited,NNPCL, to protect the people’s interest in allocation of oil mining licenses.

In her contribution, Dr Faith Izibeanua, Commissioner for Marine and Blue Economy, who was represented by a director from the ministry, hinted of Bayelsa State Government’s policies to explore the rich sector, adding that the on-coming Pan-Ijaw Economic Summit was in line with the aspirations of the new ministry.

In his speech, the convener, Professor Steve Azaiki, represented by Dr. (Barr.) Godric Tam Deinduomo, said the theme of the main summit, to be preceded with a pre-summit conference in Yenagoa on September 17, will focus on environmental regeneration and economic sustainability in Ijaw.

According to him, the interactive sessions were meant to present the ideas to stakeholders, and gather more input into nine sub-themes covering key sectoral issues, subject to harmonisation of diverse views for final resolutions at the grand summit  in December.