Since it is not too late, Governor Timipre Sylva-Sam has a golden opportunity to do what the previous governors did not do. He should regard himself as the builder of the Ijaw nation just as Roman Emperors regarded themselves as the builders of Rome by developing a strategic plan that could be used to develop Bayelsa State and other parts of the Ijawnation. The following would be highly recommended to the governor and town/urban planners:

a. Treat Yenagoa as the first prototype of Ijaw modern cities. In this regard, make sure that the expansion of Yenagoa follows a plan which includes four-lane avenues or boulevards, thoroughly zone the city so that there is commercial, recreational, residential, and industrial districts. Make sure that houses are not built too close to the roads. This is to avoid cars crashing into houses as well as to allow for road repairs and expansions. The roads should include walkways or walk paths to allow pedestrians and bicycle riders to go by without competing with cars. The development of Yenagoa must include a plan for unimpeded water delivery and sewage management systems.

b. It is not necessary to rely exclusively on the Federal Government to build an airport. As part of the effort to create an urban area around Yenagoa, build an airport with a view of turning it into an international flight zone. The airport should be located in an area that is accessible from all corners of the ethnic nation. Ijawland is a major center of international oil exploration. This means that the area needs a reliable airport so that oil company workers can fly directly into Ijawland. Similarly, Ijaw citizens too should be able to fly out of their area without always having to travel far before boarding a plane. Build the airport and later charge the Federal Government for payment. If the Federal Government refuses to pay, let the Ijawnation own it and use it to generate income for the people.

c. Stadium: Ijawnation also needs an ultramodern stadium, not those makeshift arenas called stadiums in Nigeria. If an ultramodern stadium were to be built in Ijawland, it would become a major center of sport activities in Nigeria and throughout the West African region. A stadium in Ijawland would help to generate economic activities in the land as people provide goods and services to those who will come to watch soccer, wrestling mathces etc. Such a stadium must include facilities for swimming, lawn tennis, soccer, basket ball etc.

When a major airport is combined with a major stadium, a locality is immediately turned into an urban area. In addition, related economic activities would crop up to provide goods and services that people need.

d. Development of Local Government Headquarters: All local government headquarters in Ijawland should be developed as if they are small cities. This means turning them into development zones with streets, business, residential, recreational, and government districts. It is unfortunate that for the past seven years, local government chairpersons did not do anything to develop their local government headquarters. Most of them simply embezzled the funds allocated to their districts, thereby, failing to contribute to the modernization of Ijawland.

It should be noted that during the colonial era, the British made efforts to modernize their local government headquarters. As a result, places like Degema, Brass, Patani etc. were quite lovely and habitable. Under the PDP system, massive corruption has made it impossible to develop local government headquarters. In any case, from now on, one of the criteria for determining the effectiveness of any local government chairperson should include the level of development of the LGA headquarters. Thus, LGA chairpersons must make it a duty to build government centers, medical clinics, district planning units, training centers, libraries etc.
Apart from building the infrastructure, LGAs should hire workers who will cut the grasses, plant and take care of the flowers, fix the roads and structures, paint the structures, and maintain the infrastructures so that they do not decay.

e. Towns and Villages: Just as the state government is trying to develop the state and the LGAs try to build infrastructures, towns and villages too should develop town plans. To do so, the kings, queens, chiefs, and town leaders should set up Town Development Committees that would study and set aside areas for modern development. The areas set aside for modern development should include well mapped out streets, commercial, residential, school, and recreational zones.

In the set aside areas, only modern houses should be allowed to be built. The houses should be built based on street plans. The areas should also include modern town halls/convention centers, manicured gardens, recreational parks where soccer fields, tennis courts, wrestling grounds are instituted. Eventually, the set aside areas would become the centers of the towns as people move from the old part of the town to the developed part of the town.

3. Ecotourism: Apart from urban development planning, it is also necessary to plan
for the development of the forest areas and turn the Niger Delta basin into a major ecotourism center of the world. A well planned ecotourism would enable nature watchers and tourists to take boat trips traveling from Andoni through Opobo to Bonny and connecting to Okrika and passing through Kalabariland into Abua and Nembe and cutting through Ogbia to Akassa, passing through Ekowe and heading through the River Nun into the Niger River and passing through Patani to Bumodi and by way of Escravos to Arogboland. Trips could be taken from Yenagoa to Zion passing through Ukubie, Lobia, Furupagha and Southern Gbaran. Another excursion could be taken starting from Kalabariland cutting through Kula to Odiama and passing through Nembe to Okpoama, Twon etc. Ecotourism would help to boost local economies as villagers and town dwellers provide excursion leaders and traders.

Ecotourism should include a plan to rehabilitate animals that are disappearing from Ijawland. One wonders whether hippopotamus and manatee (emein) still exist in Ijawland. It appears that even the monkeys, while pigs, ducks etc are rarely seen these days. It is responsibility of the Ijawnation to try to rehabilitate these creatures and make Ijawk and rich in flora and fauna.

4. Resorts: The third leg of development should involve the development of resorts in strategically located waterfronts near the ocean, around lakes and other bodies of water. For instance, Bayelsa State government can negotiate to build resorts around Bonny, Brass, Akassa, Koluama, and Gbaramatu/Escravos. To do so easily, it is necessary to create a state development bank that can sponsor the development of real estate in strategic locations around Ijawnation. So far, Cross River State is leading the nation in resort development. Ijawland has more space for ocean front development than any other part of Nigeria. Ijawland also has more land for building special island resorts than any other part of the country. The only problem is that Ijaw political leaders do not seem to know what to do with their blessed land. They are content to just sit and wait for the Federal Government to tell them what to do.

5. Building and Rehabilitating Schools: The fourth leg of development involves modernizing and rehabilitating crumbling school buildings. It is sad to say that Ijaw elders and parents seem satisfied with the ugly sites called school compounds in Ijawland. Most of the facilities look like hurriedly set up refugee centers. Even Bishop Dimeari Grammar School (BDGS) and the St. Jude Secondary School, Amarata (Amarata Girls) located in Yenagoa are so ramshackled. It is indeed difficult to tell that some of the most prominent Ijaw elites attended schools such as St. Brendans College, Bumodi, The Ijaw Teacher Training College, Bumodi, Teacher training College Joinkrama, BDGS, Yenagoa, Nembe National Grammar School, Nembe, Southern Ijaw Secondary School, Oporoma, Kalabari National College, Buguma, Okrika Grammar School, Okrika, St Scholastica Secondary School, Bakana etc. and are not doing anything to improve the facilities. There is no doubt that almost all the schools in Ijawland are in a very poor state infrastructurally.

One wonders whether Ijaw leaders do not know that there is a relationship between the quality of school and the development of self confidence among youths. For young people to go to schools in facilities that look like refugee centers on daily basis is sufficient enough to destroy their self esteem. When self esteem is destroyed, lack of self confidence immediately takes over. In a country where interethnic competition for supremacy is fierce, it does not make any sense for Ijaw leaders to allow Ijaw youths to go to schools that have no facilities, laboratories, and libraries. No wonder, the youths are extremely agitated by what is going on in their midst.

In this regard, it is necessary for the Bayelsa State government to set up a special fund or program for building and rehabilitating schools. Similarly, Ijaw groups in Akwa Ibom, Delta, Edo, Ondo and Rivers States must join forces with other ethnic groups to demand infrastructural rehabilitation of all primary and secondary schools. In particular, all secondary schools in Ijawland should have dormitories so that self-discipline and academic excellence can be achieved.

All what you stated are secondary issues. Superfluity of nothingness. If the basic amenities of life are not provided to its citizenry, you are wasting your time on secondary issues. Nigerians not the Ijaws, need food, shelter, good clothing, jobs, electricity, good pipe borne water not stadiums etc.

@vikiviko. Nice thread.

You also need to thing seriously on Industrialization.

Age 0 - 20 Man is trained in schools
Age 20 - 60 Man works in one capacity or the other contributing to the standard of living of his society.
Age 60 - ? Man continues working in a more advisory way most of the time.

Thus for every 1 school you need at least 3 places of employment of sorts.

What are the major sources of employment that Ijaw Land has economic advantage on.
What are major demand areas. e.g. the swampy nature needs lots of bridges, canals etc. You need a boat / over craft manufacturing industry to enjoy nature in this region.

I was in Nembe (Bassambiri) for the coronation of the HRM (Dr) R M Iwowari (JP) Mein VII, the Amanyanabo of Nembe (Bassambiri). Silva was there, Ebibi was there, Alamsco was there and hailed seriously when he arrived. Looking at the terrain in Nembe it is challenging. Road to Nembe, Road to Brass, Plenty of Oil and Gas. Include in your plan plenty of thoughts on how to create a high standard of living by their being plenty of industries and internal capacity to build bridges capacity etc as cheaply and efficiently as possible. Can write more but will stop here for now.

Hausa/Fulani people said they are ready to lend Ijaw Nation some money to help them build and develop the Ijawland.

Nigeria is sustained by the Ijaw wealth of Oil and gas, which accounts for about ninety (90%) of Nigeria’s revenue. Paradoxically, the Nigerian government refuses to provide roads, electricity, drinkable water, healthcare or quality education for the Ijaws while it provides such necessities for other Nigerians with proceeds from the Ijaw Oil Wealth. Furthermore, the Ijaws have been effectively robbed of their petroleum resources as the Nigerian State has given the ownership and control of the Ijaw resources to other Nigerians on a platter of gold to the total exclusion of the Ijaws by its brazenly unfair Oil Industry Privatization Scheme. While other Nigerians have become millionaires and billionaires by looting the proceeds from our Oil Wealth, we live in abject poverty

Save our Soul

@ vikiviko
Pls read your own posting at:
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-102811.0.html

vikiviko:

Furthermore, the Ijaws have been effectively robbed of their petroleum resources as the Nigerian State has given the ownership and control of the Ijaw resources to other Nigerians on a platter of gold to the total exclusion of the Ijaws by its brazenly unfair Oil Industry Privatization Scheme. While other Nigerians have become millionaires and billionaires by looting the proceeds from our Oil Wealth, we live in abject poverty
Save our Soul

Not all Nigerians robbed the Ijaws of their resources. The only people who robbed and impoverish the Ijaw people are Fulani/Hausa/Yoruba.

The political economy of oil business in Nigeria has proved that the oil-producing states can never have adequate volume of financial surplus to support their development. Even if a benevolent member of the Nigerian ruling class becomes president, the oil states cannot expect to have more than a marginal increase in the derivation percentage. That means that the bulk of the income from the oil will continue to be diverted to develop areas outside of the oil region. This is due to the iron logic of internal colonialism.


Bayelsa State is lavishly endowed to embark on a green gold programme. Many people think that Bayelsa is good for only crude oil and gas. The State hosts the largest portion of the 9,000 square kilometres of mangrove forest in Nigeria, the largest in the world. The mangrove tree is suitable for 70 industrial products, including adhesive, industrial gum, grease, and shoes and footwear. Bayelsa also has some of the biggest groves of bitter cola in Africa, and the fruit is a raw material for social and medicinal products, especially anti-inflammation drugs and respiratory/heart problems. In 1961, the Niger Delta Development Board started an all-purpose rice farm in Peremabiri which was later abandoned when the Board collapsed. Without crude oil, Bayelsa can run a robust economy on rice production

Governor Timipre Sylva-Sam has a golden opportunity to do what the previous governors did not do. He should regard himself as the builder of the Ijaw nation just as Roman Emperors regarded themselves as the builders of Rome by developing a strategic plan that could be used to develop Bayelsa State and other parts of the Ijawnation.

Support the cause to build the Ijaw nation.

While there's no doubt that Ijaw land constitute a large portion of the Niger Delta, let us not lose sight of the fact that there are other ethnic groups in the Niger Delta who are daily being improverished by the activities of oil exploiters. These people - the Urhobos, Isokos, Itsekiris, Kwales, Ikwerres, Ogonis, Akwa, etc have a stake in the delta too.

You should turn your topic to ''Building the Niger Delta'' and let reasonable people contribute.

sorry, Ijawland does not constitute most part of the Niger delta. It is about 20 %. Check your fact.

http://NigeriaPlanet.tk

vikiviko:

Nigeria is sustained by the Ijaw wealth of Oil and gas, which accounts for about ninety (90%) of Nigeria’s revenue. Paradoxically, the Nigerian government refuses to provide roads, electricity, drinkable water, healthcare or quality education for the Ijaws while it provides such necessities for other Nigerians with proceeds from the Ijaw Oil Wealth. Furthermore, the Ijaws have been effectively robbed of their petroleum resources as the Nigerian State has given the ownership and control of the Ijaw resources to other Nigerians on a platter of gold to the total exclusion of the Ijaws by its brazenly unfair Oil Industry Privatization Scheme. While other Nigerians have become millionaires and billionaires by looting the proceeds from our Oil Wealth, we live in abject poverty

Save our Soul

Ask your Governors what they did with the 'Ijaw Oil Wealth'

willy*2:

Not all Nigerians robbed the Ijaws of their resources. The only people who robbed and impoverish the Ijaw people are Fulani/Hausa/Yoruba.

Nice. I never knew that Alams that stole at least N50bn of Ijaw wealth was a Yoruba man. . .So much for 'Governor-General of ijaw nation'

nigeria1:

sorry, Ijawland does not constitute most part of the Niger delta. It is about 20 %. Check your fact.

http://NigeriaPlanet.tk

Erm, erm, er Nigeria1, I said Ijaw land constitute a ''large portion'' of the Delta. . . . . . . . that did not translate in anyway to MOST PARTS. In any case, 20% of the Delta to one tribe there is still large enough.

texazzpete:

Ask your Governors what they did with the 'Ijaw Oil Wealth'

Nice. I never knew that Alams that stole at least N50bn of Ijaw wealth was a Yoruba man. . .So much for 'Governor-General of ijaw nation'

From my reckoning and calculations, the average Niger Deltan should be so wealthy by now, that he/she should have at least 100billion naira doing something for him/her in one business, shares, properties or other things in Nigeria.

So, that Alams ''stole'' what rightly belonged to him in the first place still baffles me. The real thieves are the people sitting somewhere up there in Abuja deciding how the resources from Alams' land should be shared to folks in dry and arid states like Ogun, Edo, Jigawa, Zamfara, Maiduguri, etc etc

@topic
A lot of time I am amazed, stupyfied and left in bewedilment at the level of publicity the ijaw nation or the niger-delta continues to generate for itself of it percieved lack of development.

My question is what does the niger-delta lack that any other state in nigeria, be it north or south, pocesses in abundance?

the problems of nigeria and nigerians is the same, common and it all has one denominator. they claim to provide 90% of nigerias wealth. true, but oil has been the major source of our underdevelopment over the years. since the advent of oil, nigeria has stopped producing palmkernell,groundnut and cocoa at the detriment of national development and industrilization.

If the ijaws claim to produce the bulk of the nations wealth, what was the nation feeding on b4 the advent of oil?.

a lot of people come out every day, claiming to be activists, propagating the development of the ijaw nation. some as terrorists called militants, others as political arrivistes called "whatever" with greedy intentions and inactions all at the detriment of the common man. busy stealing oil for personal purposes.

no problem is exclusive to the niger-delta. seek for the solution of national problems and stop chasing shadows.
abi?

Treat Yenagoa as the first prototype of Ijaw modern cities. In this regard, make sure that the expansion of Yenagoa follows a plan which includes four-lane avenues or boulevards, thoroughly zone the city so that there is commercial, recreational, residential, and industrial districts. Make sure that houses are not built too close to the roads. This is to avoid cars crashing into houses as well as to allow for road repairs and expansions. The roads should include walkways or walk paths to allow pedestrians and bicycle riders to go by without competing with cars. The development of Yenagoa must include a plan for unimpeded water delivery and sewage management systems

@ Vikiviko
Which people will handle the project, same govs and elders, my bro, stop thinking about the swamp, because right now I am working in the swamp, I am sorry to say that, no Ijaw chief /elder will like to stay /leave or allow is child to grow up in the swamp again, they preffer to build there houses in port Harcourt, Lagos or Abuja if they have the money, if elders that are suppose to fight for Ijaw nation are doing this, you can see that they will never be a real fight for Ijaw land to develop, forget about the millitants ,they are all bunkerers, they will never allow any government to the creeks/swamps they will fight them to the last drop of their blood, they( millitants) are very very rich.for example in Bonny Island, they do not have (bore hole) drinking water, NLNG supply the town fresh water through road trucks, which are owned by chiefs and being paid for by NLNG. do you think that NLNG will not be able to provide fresh water to the town through pipes,Think about this. Bye.

This is why Nigeria will never get her act together.

How can you say 'alams stole what belonged to him first place' what the hell? It is this crappy sense of entitlement that puts me off the so called niger delta liberation movement.

How about telling me in details what's crappy about it?

Dude, if you need someone to break it down to you, then God Almighty help you and the so called Ijaw nation you hope to build,

He stole what belonged to him, as opposed to building schools, hospital, road, water, electricity and other things associated with a functioning society. hey, what do I care, he only stole the billions of Nairas that belonged to him right? So the rest of you can now form a queue all the to Abuja asking for your own billions.

This is selfish me first attitude that is the bane of our society.

No one wants to work for it, it seems all the so called liberation movements are all waiting for oil money, when they are no being used as political thugs that is. How about you actually form a cohesive movement that ordinary Nigerians can get behind because when you look at it, your plight is not really that different from ours. Do you think your average Nigerian is enjoying any sorta comfort because of your ND oil? Please,



Peace.

@ono
You people continually point to other cities that are far more developed than the SS states and whine. if all the other Governors had 'stolen what belonged to them', what would have been the result?

Why then the agitation for increase in the oil derivation fund to 25% if the Governor has a God-Given right to collect the money as is rightfully his?

50bn naira could have done a whole lot to develop his state, but that bastard stole it. Sympathizers like you make it easy for your state to remain in perennial poverty.

texazzpete:

@ono
You people continually point to other cities that are far more developed than the SS states and whine. if all the other Governors had 'stolen what belonged to them', what would have been the result?

You want to tell me now that Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Kaduna were all developed to the level they are today by their state governments?! I think not!! Someone posted some pictures in another thread showing how Lagos' Broad Street looked like in the early 50s. And then, I went searching for the pictures of Warri in the 50s too. I wish I could lay my hands on the ones for Portharcourt.

You know I like coming down to earth when it comes to this Niger Delta palava; and I want to tell you categorically that those places became whatever they are today largely through the influence of the Federal Government and injection of the proceeds of crude oil sales. You can take that or drop it. I don't care. But I know you'll acknowledge that fact.

Now, the question everyone is asking is: Why is it that after 50 years of oil exploitation in the Delta, the gains from oil can only be visibly seen in these places, while the creeks and riverine areas of the Delta remains the way they are after 50 years. . . . with no visible signs of development? Don't put any blame on the militants and criminals in the area. They only ''surfaced'' some 5 or 6 years ago.

All blames should go to the governors of niger-delta, Bayelsa in particular. Have you asked urselves why PH and Calabar are beautiful cities today?? Can't Yenagoa be transformed into a beautiful city with the money Alams stole??

Pls lets stop putting the blames on yoruba/hausa/fulani, nupe, gwari, ebira, etc.

ishmael:

Please lets stop putting the blames on yoruba/hausa/fulani, nupe, gwari, ebira, etc.

Because governors from those ethnic group did not steal a dime while in office. . . . . . rite?

ono:

Because governors from those ethnic group did not steal a dime while in office. . . . . . rite?

Yes, they stole money too; but still used the stolen money to develop their states. See, until we come to realise that the problem of ND is in ND, things will never go right. How can u explain a situation where someone like Alams who is supposed to be banned from Bayelsa and the entire ND but is well accomodated, and yet people like you still say he stole what belongs to him?? We need to realise on time that he is selfish and greedy (by eating alone what all of us should have eaten) and stop putting blames on other tribes.

I for one don't put any blames on other tribes, but Niger Delta governors.

The problems of the IJAW nation should not be seperated from that of the whole Niger-Delta. I am fed up with some sick group of individuals holding this country to ransom because of that black liquid in their zone (which by the way belongs to Nigeria)

Where were they when Jos was providing Tin Kano was providing groundnut Ibadan Cocoa? they were feasting on the resources produced by these regions.

Now they are agitating like rabid beasts of a cure unknown because of Oil?

fie on 'em all

ishmael:

Yes, they stole money too; but still used the stolen money to develop their states.

LOL!!

Then, we can safely say that the governors in the Delta used the stolen money to develop their states too. Abi?

bibiking1:

Where were they when Jos was providing Tin, Kano was providing groundnut, Ibadan Cocoa? they were feasting on the resources produced by these regions.

Let me help you a bit. Kano also provided hides and skin for making leather wares, etc. And at the time, we had huge rubber plantation in the Niger Delta, including palm produce for export and other industrial raw materials. Generating the much needed revenues.

Like I said sometime ago, the good things those mineral resource brought to those places can be visibly seen on ground there. The tin in Jos made Jos a centre for tourist attraction, brought a Federal University to the place and several other goodies of this life. There is a cocoa house at Ibadan, built at the time with proceeds from the sale of cocoa. Kano was/is a centre of commerce at the time, with groundnut pyramids all over the place - all that has dissapeared now, with the advent of the black liquid.

The Niger Delta people weren't feasting on the resources from those areas. They instead pay for them. No government at the time will allow you to forcefully take over a tin mine at Jos. Rather tin miners pay tax to the central government, thesame with the coal mine at Enugu. You can see what the proceeds from coal has done to Enugu.

ono:

LOL!!

Then, we can safely say that the governors in the Delta used the stolen money to develop their states too. Abi?

Yes, atleast we know of one, Donald Duke of cross river state; he used his own loot to repair his state. The rest are big thieves. Alams, Ibori, Igbinedion, Victor Attah and father Odili. Nemesis is already catching up with them.

ishmael:

Yes, atleast we know of one, Donald Duke of cross river state; he used his own loot to repair his state. The rest are big thieves. Alams, Ibori, Igbinedion, Victor Attah and father Odili. Nemesis is already catching up with them.

Well, the bearded sharia enforcer was accused of pilfering too. So also was the pastor at Taraba. Even Dariye jumped bail in the UK and is a fugitive as we speak. What's new? The art of stealing was perfected by the North and Western ethnic groups. Let me spare the Igbos for now, even though, they too cannot claim their governors are that clean - Nnamani's ''Ebeano'' jingos still rings loud and clear. And Orji Kalu just finished cooling off at the EFCC.


Show me one governor from any other part of this country, other than Duke who did something worth celebrating in this country during the OBJ locust years.

ono:

Show me one governor from any other part of this country, other than Duke who did something worth celebrating in this country during the OBJ locust years.

Is that an excuse to support their stealing?

Mariory:

Is that an excuse to support their stealing?

Please, remember our ''agreement''. No discussion of any type btw you and me. OK?