Why We’re In N’Delta, By Nobel Laureates

1st August
By Odudu Okpongete (PH) and Emma Gbemudu (Yenagoa)

The Commission of Nobel Laureates to the Niger Delta, on Monday, explained its visit to the Niger Delta.
Nobel Laureate David Phillips said the commission considered the nation oil region as one of the three top areas of the world that deserve international attention and intervention.
Phillips is among the advanced team of the Commission, including Wole Soyinka that arrived the Port Harcourt International Airport on Monday on a preliminary visit to the area. He said the body would suggest solutions arrived at in areas that had similar problems.
The commission, however, ruled out any direct intervention in the political equation of the country in addressing the Niger Delta crises.
The Executive Director of Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity spoke just as militants in the region under the auspices of the Joint Revolutionary Council (JRC) urged the body not to be apprehensive as it visits the creeks and swamps of the Niger Delta.
Fielding questions from reporters, Phillips disclosed that Soyinka attracted their attention to the region. He added that a careful analysis of the situation on ground qualifies it as an area of grave concern to the world.
The commission, he said, has no affiliation with any of the parties such as the government, oil companies and host communities. It is only playing a neutral role to find solutions to the problems.
On the expectations from the body, Phillips said it is premature to assess the intervention in terms of whether it would succeed or fail. He promised they will open a channel of dialogue for all stakeholders to meet and agree on a common position.
Soyinka, who is not a member of the intervention team, said the commission has done a lot of researches on the Niger Delta. He promised that it would rely on its status and independence to play an unbiased role in the crises.
"The commission might succeed in the Niger Delta depending on the situation. It might be positive or it might get stalled as happened in Darfur. There are a lot more variants, so I agree that we cannot express optimism or pessimism at this point," he said.
The team later left for Bayelsa in the company of the Executive Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and human rights activists. They were expected to meet with interest groups.
But Bayelsa State Governor Goodluck Jonathan has blamed the 50-year injustice meted out to the region for its predicament.
He regretted that the people have been pushed to the wall, their sources of living, such as fishing and farming, have been terminated by pollution from multinational oil firms in the region. He spoke through his Deputy, Peremobowei Ebebi, at the meeting with the body.
"The people are still largely marginalised, with mass poverty, environmental degradation. The Niger Delta remains under threat with social tension. The situation is so bad due to the lack of political will on the path of the Federal Government," he said.
In his submission, the Ijaw National Congress (INC) President, Kimse Okoko, said the problem of the region started during the colonial administration.
He said the Ijaw nation remains the most disenfranchised in the region, as it has been balkanised into six states.
The INC president stated that the Ijaw produce 70 per cent of the oil resources but the area is riddled with poverty.
"What happens when the oil is gone? The answer is Oloibiri. What happens if there is no Nigeria? I have seen the evil plot of Federal Government on the proposed Interim National Government. We want to own and control our resources," he said.
In his view, Prof. Pat Utomi, said the challenge of the region is to create jobs. He said millions of dollars has been allocated to commissions to develop Niger Delta without positive result.