Godswill Akpabio former governor of Akwa Ibom State for two terms and currently Minister of Niger Delta Ministry is a good man. From what he did in Akwa Ibom State as governor, it is very safe to reach the conclusion that he is also a quality administrator. We know what Akwa Ibom was before he became governor and what it is after he left office in 2015, for some of us critical minds he left a rich impression of the black man. I met him once during my service station at the government house, Umuahia and that was before he assumed office in his first tenure 2007. He had come to see the then governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu and on that occasion Akpabio was clear about what he wanted to do when he is inaugurated as the governor of the State. He was enthusiastic and very effusive; he would not complete two sentences without going back to the kind of legacy he wanted to leave in his state. I am one of those who can confirm he had a quality outing.
After the May 2019 swearing in ceremony of the incumbent President, Mohammadu Buhari and the constitution of his second tenure federal cabinet, one of the shine of this cabinet is the introduction of Sen. Akpabio not only as a Minister but a Minister who oversee affairs in the ministry of Niger Delta affairs. This appointment was a masterstroke for the quality of the man as has been observed earlier but more for the fact that Niger Delta region is so strategic to the wellbeing of the rest of the country. Over seventy percent of the income of our country is derived from exploration and exploitation of crude oil found mainly in this region cutting across nine states. The irony of the situation has been that this region gives so much and receives very little attention in return. It harbors great wealth and yet successive governments in the country failed to give adequate attention to the development of the area. Even when some feeble efforts were made, the actions and inactions of some people from the area became a stumbling block to the positive transformation of the area.
Specific details of some of those actions would come in a different discourse but suffice it to be observed that agencies like Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs were responses to cries of marginalization and underdevelopment in the region and when they were created hopes were high that some kind of progress and development would be seen in the region, it wasn’t long before the hopes became dashed and this was so because sons and daughters sent to those agencies to be the messiahs turned around to betray their mission and by extension their people. So when Akpabio was appointed, his appointment elicited joy; the people know him and what he is capable of doing. It is on that account too that some of us critical observers of events in the region had resolved that after a short while, we will take some of our complaints to Akpabio in the hope such contributions would help him shape his strategies for the development of the region. We have serious complains to make about NDDC and the way it has operated since inception. Forensic Audit may discover stolen and reckless application of public funds but am not sure it can fully capture the satanic behavior of the staff, contractors and the political class, the governors inclusive.
Some of us have read accounts of why the NDDC and the Ministry couldn’t perform and most of the narratives revolve round contracts, huge payments and poor or no job done, no mention is made of intangible factors that led to contract abandonment and negative general attitude. If they did they would discovered that contrivance alone is a big issue, in this game everybody is involved, the political class, the staff, traditional rulers and even the people for whom the development is made, beneficiaries receive a pittance from corrupt political representatives and fake contractors and in that process extend the tent of under development. This is a story for another time. The report today is on the takeoff steps of the Minister and the Minister of State. Akpabio has started his familiarization tour, atleast we have seen the one to Akwa Ibom. It was good he went to one of the oil producing communities but it was bad he gave them time to do cultural display, not that this is not good but what makes it wrong is that after such sessions these officials will tell you they don’t have time for the interactive sessions that would have brought out where the problems lie. After the official welcome address by compromised leaders and reply, the visiting officials are in a hurry to go. This is not good.
This is my main complain; last week Sen. Omotayo Alasoadura Minister of State in the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs visited Abia State, one of the nine oil producing states of Nigeria on what he say was a peace and reconciliation engagement. He was in the state capital Umuahia to see the state governor and thereafter proceeded to Ukwa West LGA, the only area with functional oil wells, at the place he listened to the official address given by the Local Government Chairman, gave his reply and the session ended. There was no interactive section even when participants wanted to ask questions and point out issues which officialdom will not allow leaders to say. That session was shutdown.
It is good the officials from Abuja opted to come down and see things first hand. He also made history by going to Ukwa-West; this hasn’t been the practice for some time. In the past those who shortchange the people from the area prevent visiting officials from going to the area. So Akpabio and his man has made history. The visit as important as it was, it was not publicized and participants got very short notice. Doing away with the interactive session does not in any way help the cause of peace which prompted the move in the first instance. The Abia case is different in the sense that exploratory activities is for now restricted to one LGA which is Ukwa-West and what has continue to happen in the past is that somehow far more bigger projects have been established in LGA outside Ukwa-West. This by every standard is injustice and knowing who Sen. Akpabio is, it is one of the challenges he must solve and very early too.