By Fidelis Egugbo
For more than 40 years, Nigerian Agip Oil Company has been operating in the area, the area generates more 450 megawatts of electricity into the national grid through the Independent Power Plant (IPP). Several oil companies are engaged in oil and gas exploration and exploitation activities in the area. In short, the area is one of the greatest contributors to the socio-economic life of Nigeria as a nation, but, do you know what? Despite the wealth of this area, they don’t have access road and still makes use of Pontoon to cross a less than 1 kilometre river, the Ase Creek.
Yes! The people of Okpai in Ndokwa East local government area of Delta State have pathetic stories to tell. Their shorelines are not protected, so, the kingdom is threatened by the surge of the River Niger and if they have no access roads to their community, you can better imagine the state of infrastructure in the area.
It was therefore, a great relief when the Governor of Delta State, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa stated, “we cannot continue to wait for oil companies, we have to construct the bridge and the road.”
The people of Okpai Kingdom led by their King, the Igwe of Okpai, HRM Ugbomah Enebeli II had led his subjects to pay a courtesy call on the governor at Government House, Asaba where they commended the governor for his administration’s giant strides in the provision of infrastructure across the state.
Ndokwa East is a peculiar local government area where the use of Pontoon to ferry vehicles, humans and goods across rivers was becoming fashionable.
Apart from the pontoon at Ase Creek, Kwale which has been in use for more than four decades, a philanthropist who always packed his vehicle at Oloa-Ossissa and use canoe to cross a stream to get to Aballa Kingdom donated a pontoon to his community. With the Pontoon, the challenge was how to open the road for vehicles to pass through and the then traditional ruler of the Kingdom mobilised his subjects and was able to open up the road to the community. Such feat was celebrated that a car drove into the community for the first time. Many communities abounds in Ndokwa East where their indigenes leave their vehicles at hotels in Kwale and find their ways either through motor bike (Okada) or by foot to their communities, due to lack of motorable roads in the area.
The request by the Igwe was a great relief as it will attract attention of the world to an area that is so rich, developing world economies while the people lives in poverty because, they are peaceful and accommodating.
Apparently happy that despite their plight, the people were not ready to use violence to attract attention or disturb economic activities going on in their area, Governor Okowa said, “we appeal to the people of Okpai to remain peaceful because, in peace, you will continue to thrive. We shall not continue to wait for the oil companies to construct the bridge across the Ase Creek, Okpai is blessed with oil and gas, and the Independent Power Plant in the community is an asset to the country.
“I feel very sorry that for so many years, we are using pontoon to cross the Ase Creek, we will certainly take actions on that,” Governor Okowa stated.
While disclosing that his administration was making several efforts to develop all the communities in the state, especially, the oil producing communities, Governor Okowa observed that with the assets and economic activities going on in Okpai community, the area deserves a Police Station, adding that citing of a modular refinery in the area can only be decided by private investors.
The Igwe of Okpai had in an address presented by Mr Amaechi Asugwuni profusely thanked the governor for his administration’s efforts to transform the state, and appealed for such gesture to get to his kingdom. He disclosed that erosion is fast eating into his kingdom as shore protection contract awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) have been abandoned.
Governor Okowa has performed creditable well and the assurance that the people of Ndokwa East will continue to benefit from his numerous development programmes is soothing. This is because, the whole of Ndokwa East requires attention, not only from the Delta State government but, the Federal Government and the international communities that have benefited from the oil and gas in the area. One cannot forget in haste that one of the oldest kingdoms in Nigeria, Aboh Kingdom is also in the area.
The question is, why is the area so under-developed despite its huge resources? It is time that the people of the area look beyond personal affluence to collective wealth, it is time the few privileged individuals from the area stop looking at showing off or living life of affluence to looking at How to improve on the living conditions of their people. Of what use is spending millions of naira to buy a car that you cannot drive to your village? Of what use boasting of affluence and the number of personalities you have access to when your people cannot drink water from a bore-hole and have no means of getting access to primary healthcare facilities?
Agreed that the oil companies are not doing enough from what is visible to outsiders, but, can one comfortably say some indigenes of the communities have not collected contracts or money to the detriment of the generality of the people?
It is time that one should not look up to government for the provision of all amenities. In negotiating with the oil prospecting companies, it should not be about self first but, the welfare of the people. Okpai, Aboh, Aballa and other riverine communities in Delta State are strategically located that if the indigenes are committed to their development, especially in the area of tourism, the socio-economic lives of the people will be the envy of all.
While Governor Okowa’s administration is committed to work for the welfare of the people, it is time the people also carry out negotiations to the benefits of their communities. How many times have the representatives of the people from the Senate to the Councillorship positions attracted development to their people? It is not about buying ostentatious vehicles for those who have no means of maintaining such because they are jobless praise-singers but, attracting developments that can stand the test of time.
Someone ones said that lawmakers have little to do in terms of execution of projects and yours sincerely made it known to the person that the act of law making includes appropriation-approval of budgets. Of course, they are known for executing constituency projects despite the fact that one cannot really say to whose interests such projects are executed, but, they understand the plight of their people and are in position to include such development projects in the budget.
It is retrogressively appalling that the people of Aballa, Okpai and others are still making use of the Pontoon in this 21st century when the local government area is contributing a great chunk to the socio-economic development of Nigeria. Former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida was in Okpai to commission the Gas Plant and he went there with an helicopter, decades later, former President Olusegun Obasanjo was there to commission the IPP project and again, he was there with a helicopter.
Another IPP project is being executed in the area, that is why it is heart-warming that Governor Okowa’s bid to construct road to the kingdom will make the people have the feeling that they are not abandoned, because, to event watchers, it was as if the Federal Government in collaboration with the oil companies made it a point of duty not to engage in the infrastructure development of the area.
While one cannot forget that the people of the area – the Ndokwa people have been advocating to have electricity as they are in darkness despite generating more than 430 megawatts of electricity into the national grid, one can only join Governor Okowa in appealing for calm as it is a new dawn of infrastructure development in the state.
God bless Delta State.
Source:The Pointer Newspaper
