The recent revelation that 83% of oil blocs in Nigeria is being owned by the Northerners remain a topic for serious concern.
The issue is more worrisome considering the fact that the Niger Delta region often refers to as the goose that lays the golden eggs, but left to wallow in abject poverty.
About a fortnight ago, the chairman Senate Committee on Business and Rules and Senator representing Akwa Ibom North East in the upper chambers, Ita Enang while debating on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) now before the National Assembly opened what looked like a can of worms by revealing that 83% of all the oil blocs in Nigeria are being owned by Northerners who do not have (house) an oil well.
Like a harmattan fire, the tension quickly caught tempo and has since been raging across the South-South and other truth-loving states.
First to react as expected were leaders of Niger Delta, notable amongst them were the South South Peoples Assembly (SSPA) who spoke through its president, and former governor of Edo State, Chief John Odigie Oyegun who said president Goodluck Jonathan must redress the anomaly. He equally said that the 10% funds to oil bearing communities are not debatable.
The Ijaw National Congress (INC) is next. Chief Joshua Benaimasia its president toed the line of SSPA and further accused the Northern governors of fueling the anti-Niger Delta activities in the National Assembly. He threatened that if the PIB is not passed into law undiluted, the Niger Delta will have no option than to ask for total ownership of its resources.
Alh. Asari Dokubo, leader of the defunct Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF) insists that revocation only is not enough, but that those who benefited from the illegal should be meant to pay reparation to the owners of the oil wells.
An ex-militant, Chief Government Ekpemuikpolo, popularly known as Tompolo also corroborated the position of previous speakers on the matter.
Whether this revelation is found to be true or not, the fact that senator Enang even mentioned names of beneficiaries substantiated his point.
What this simply means is that ‘baboon has been working and monkey has been chopping’.
It means that while the Niger Deltans are suffering from environmental degradation, poverty and diseases of different dimension, outsiders (Northerners) are feeding fat from the proceeds of the region. What else do we call injustice?
We therefore opined that while the beneficiaries are being sought and possible punishment meted out on them, the people that allocated the oil blocs should equally be fished out and punished.
We are also are of the opinion that any wealth amassed by these people in the course of managing these oil blocs should be confiscated and forfeited to the national coffers.
For it is only when they meant to account for their evil deeds consciously or unconsciously that the political entity called Nigeria can dream of moving forward.
It is an open secret that Nigeria is about the only nation in the world where few individuals are richer than the country itself and people do not seem to see any thing wrong with that. Until we take the bull by the horns and do the right thing industrialization will remain a mirage. ###
