Ondo Should Take Its Rightful Place In Niger Delta, Says Ebiseni

Sola Ebiseni, a lawyer, who is serving for the third time as
Commissioner for Environment in Ondo State, first under the
administration of Adebayo Adefarati and now under the administration
of Olusegun Mimiko, represented the state at the maiden edition of
National Council of Niger Delta held in Uyo recently. He spoke to
ITUNU AJAYI on the infrastructural needs in oil communities of Ondo,
neglect of bitumen as revenue earner, amnesty for ex-militants and the
need for a holistic approach to solving the challenges of Niger Delta
states.

WHAT is the place of Ondo State in the Niger Delta project,
essentially in the Action Plan, and your expectations from the
Council?

Concerning the Niger Delta, we said that Ondo State has a place in
the history, especially in oil production in Nigeria. Ondo-Niger Delta
axis occupies the western coast range of the region and it comprises
of the people of Ilaje, who are Yoruba and the Ijaw/Apoi and Arogbo.

Ondo State is very significant in the equation of oil and gas in
Nigeria. It was in Araromi in the present Ilaje local government area
of the state that oil was first discovered in 1908 by the Nigerian
Bitumen Corporation, a German company whose pioneer activities were
truncated as a result of the World Wars.

After the wars, all exploration activities resumed in the East of
the Niger Delta, leading to Oloibiri's discovery in 1957 in commercial
quantity.

It was from Oloibiri that oil was first exported as a commercial
product of Nigeria in 1957, but what we are saying is that the first
evidence of the fact that there is oil in Nigeria, which encouraged
further activities, was in Ondo State.

Our expectation from the Council, first and foremost, is to ensure
that the Niger Delta, as a region, is treated holistically in such a
way that rivers, creeks and the Atlantic Ocean crisscrossed the
entirety of the region, from Calabar, Cross River in the far east to
Ondo State in the west.

And for this reason, first, we are looking forward to regional
integration where all the nine states of the Niger Delta will be
interconnected by roads, by canals and even by air transportation.

Beyond that, as a state, there are two projects that are very dear
to us, and I made that point at our meeting here.

You spoke passionately about the East-West road and the need for Ondo
State to be a part of it. How would your state benefit from this
project now that there's a time frame for its completion?

The Niger Delta has been talking about the East-West road; and we
are saying that road was conceived in the 50s, Nigeria had three
regions — the North, the West and the East.

At that time, the Mid-West had not been created; so, a road from
Calabar then in the Eastern Region, and Warri then in the Western
Region would appropriately be called East-West road.

But by Nigerian's current geopolitical nomenclature, if you want to
talk about an East-West road, it should be a road from Calabar passing
through Warri, Ondo State and up to Lagos.

What we are talking about is that Lagos is the commercial nerve
centre of Nigeria; the Niger Delta cannot be an island unto itself.
Our developmental activity should be such that we take advantage of
centres of development; that is our position.

Ondo State should be one of the major states that would benefit from
the East-West road. The road should pass through it.

Then talking about the coastal roads, which are very important; Ondo
State, of all states in the Niger Delta belt, has unique features,
which are most peculiar. All the coastal communities, which number
about 198, are situated in a plain crisscrossed by various canals and
shorelines.

Ondo State has about the longest shoreline in Nigeria and our
shoreline is peculiar because while others are sandy beaches, our
entire shoreline consists of saturated and very soft mud, which has
made the environment subject to continuous coastal erosion. So, that
creates challenges for development.

The resultant effect of this is the submergence of most of these
communities into the Atlantic Ocean, with concomitant adverse effect
on the lives of the occupants and the people of the area.

The hostile characteristics of the environment has been worsened by
the long years of neglect, as well as by degradation and pollution of
the land, air and water occasioned by oil exploration and exploitation
activities.

So, when we are pulling resources together at the level of the Niger
Delta, and with the assistance of foreign partners and development
agencies, then we are looking for the possibility of taking advantage
of that. That is why we are insisting that the coastal roads must be
properly coastal; they must be littoral, and run through all the
communities along and parallel to the Atlantic corridor. That's from
Calabar passing through the coastal area of Ondo State to Lagos and to
the Lekki Peninsula.

These roads have been designed as coastal roads even since the 1960s
from the Bar Beach to Calabar. That is our own concern. Thus, at the
end of the day, with the stand of Ondo State in the matter — since we
are talking of a holistic approach to the development of the Niger
Delta — we should see that the NDDC must be alive to its
responsibilities.

And there must be equity even in the appointment of member-states to
different positions within the NDDC. We are the fifth largest producer
of oil in Nigeria and we feel that our place has not been duly given
to us. And then, we want collaborations.

You know, we are not an island unto ourselves; there is supposed to
be a synergy between the development agencies, the Ministry of the
Niger Delta, the NDDC, the various commissions and all member-states
for the development of the oil-producing areas.

The Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC)
was the first of its kind in the entire Niger Delta. It was
deliberately set up for the development of oil-producing areas in 2001
and other states in the region are copying it and working with the
vision.

We feel that these agencies created at the state level, together
with the NDDC and the Ministry of the Niger Delta, the oil companies
and development agencies should collaborate in such a way that we
avoid duplication of projects in the region.

Like you had pointed out, the major thrust of the Action Plan is
synergy, so that there won't be room for duplication of projects. What
are the major projects Ondo State is looking at from this
collaboration?

A major initiative and intervention is required to bring succour to
the people on the coastline, by ensuring that the shorelines in the
affected areas are protected, commencing from the state's border with
Delta State in the eastern fringe, up to Erunama in the western end,
around the Olokola Free Trade Zone.

It is considered expedient to massively support these areas to avoid
being washed away into the Atlantic. The protection of the shorelines,
especially at locations such as Molutehin, Awoye, Obe, Aiyetoro
environs and the Orioke-Iwamimo-Abereke axis is of utmost urgency and
recommended for immediate action.

The road network in the riverine communities of the state is most
deficient. While the recent initiative of the NDDC, through the award
of the Ugbo-Oghoye road, Awoye, Molutehin, Ikorigho, Obe-Enikansulu
shoreline protection, Arogbo and environs, water front protection and
the Agadagba-Obon-Arogbo bridge/road are most commendable; we are of
the view that there must be a synergy between the agency and the
Ministry of the Niger Delta Affairs to fast-track the completion and
delivery of these projects without delay.

Conversely, we like to express the state's displeasure over the
abandonment of the Irele-Sabomi-Igbotu (Apoi) road that was awarded by
NDDC since 2006. We want the Igbokoda to Igbekebo road to be
constructed with bridges; this road will link the two local government
headquarters in the Niger Delta areas of the State.

Attention should also be given to Aboto/Atijere/Itebu/Kunmi road,
AlapeOrioke-Iwamimo road with bridges and Zion Pepe/Agerige/Uhapen
road.

Though the State Government, at our own end, has continued to
address the needs of road networks within the limit of our finances,
government could do more with collaborative efforts on some of these
mega projects.

These projects would definitely open up new vistas for the
performance of the economy of the Niger Delta through entrepreneurial
development and industrialisation.

One of the major challenges of the riverine area of Ondo State is
the difficulty in providing potable water. The presence of heavy
metals and salinity of the available underground water had posed a
serious challenge over the years, and all attempts at seeking
alternatives had been a daunting task.

As water is most essential to livelihood, the most viable option
appears to be the harvesting of fresh water from the various bodies of
water, development of treatment plants, storage and reticulation to
various locations spanning several kilometres in both Ilaje and
Ese-Odo local government areas of the state.

The likely bodies of fresh water to be considered in these areas
include Oluwa, Alape, Ofara, Talita and Arogbo, which would be
suitable for such water supply mode.

There are also much to be done in the sandfilling and land
reclamation of Ilepete/Ilowo/Oroto, Odofado/Akinsolu/Jinrinwo,
Orioke-Iwamimo/Motoro/Abealala/Ogogoro/Etugbo and Epetoron in Ukparamo
area of Arogbo.

We expect new town development and dredging of canals and waterways
both in Ilaje and Ese-Odo local government areas.

Another important area is for tourism potential that abound in the
coastal areas of the state to be harnessed. Some of these attractions
include Oropo, Opotuo and Alape Lagoons; the Araromi beach, the Awoye
beach; Igbokoda waterfront, as well as the Ugbonla-Aiyetoro corridor,
Agadagba-Obon and Igbobini.

It is our prayer that the protection of the shoreline, the
interconnection of the riverine road networks and the provision of
potable water will form key areas of intervention for the state in the
infrastructural investment component of the Action Plan.

The Niger Delta has been concerned about oil, it seems the government
is not looking at other minerals in the area. Bitumen is in abundance
in Agbabu. Is the region not thinking towards this direction?

Well, it has to do with the structure of the Nigerian federation.
Mineral activities are in the Exclusive Legislative List, which only
the Federal Government has the authority to legislate on. Yes,
researches have shown that bitumen deposit in Agbabu area in Irele,
Ilaje and Okitipupa and virtually every part of the south senatorial
district of Ondo State is the second largest in the world.

During the Obasanjo administration, there was hue and cry to develop
it and that whole area was laid out into plots for the purpose of
exploration and extraction of the mineral. Yes activities are still
going on there, Ondo State is one of the beneficiaries of one of the
plots. But the truth is that bitumen's exploration and exploitation is
capital intensive because it costs more to deal with bitumen
exploitation than to deal with crude oil.

Has Ondo State been fairly treated in the amnesty deal? What are the
expectations of the Council from the programme in the foreseeable
future?

I won't say Ondo State was not properly taken care of because even
the Special Adviser to the President on Amnesty (Kingsley Kuku) is an
indigene of Ondo State. But there is continuous demands and agitation
by the youths and it is because of the kind of advantages the amnesty
programme has given.

But what we have said in this conference is that we should lay less
emphasis on amnesty; we should not be talking about the youths of the
Niger Delta so that people will not see taking up of arms as a way of
getting the attention of the government and accessing government's
facility. So, we should be talking more about the development of the
area.

Those who had gone into training, curtsey of the amnesty programme
and have benefited, especially in the education sector, training and
the rest of them should be allowed to fix themselves into the society
when they finished their trainings, and should be able to compete with
other youths who, on their own, have gone to school with the
intervention of their parents.

It is not going to be a situation that after amnesty, they should be
given special consideration in employment, no. That is capable of
separating them from the rest of the society.

This method we think will eliminate stigmatisation. We don't want
them to be treated as if they are outcasts. They should be able to
compete with their fellow youths for the benefit of the Niger Delta,
get jobs for themselves and fuse into the society.