Stakeholders unite to drive sustainable development in the Niger-Delta

L-R: Minister of Environment, Hajiya, Amina Mohammed; Minister of Niger Delta, Mr. Usani Uguru Usani; representative of the Vice President, Amb. Yemi Dipeolu, and Chairman Presidential Amnesty Programme, Brigadier General Paul Boroh (rtd) during the Niger Delta Way Forward Forum in Abuja… on Tuesday

The need for a more coordinated development efforts in Nigeria’s Niger Delta Region received a renewed boost from Federal Government Agencies, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and key development partners working on issues related to the region recently, as they converged in Abuja to articulate strategies aimed at accelerating development at a technical workshop tagged Niger Delta Way Forward: From Stabilisation to Sustainable Development.

The workshop, which was jointly hosted, by the Federal Ministries of Niger Delta Affairs and the Environment, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) was aimed at reinforcing and rallying a cohesive strategy for government Agencies to work together in the region.

Present at the event were the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani, Minister of Environment, Hajiya Amina Mohammed, Coordinator, Presidential Amnesty Programme, Retired Brigadier General Peter Boroh, representative of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Ambassador Yemi Dipeolu among others.

The strategic forum received supports of development partners like Partnership Initiatives In the Niger Delta (PIND), Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme (NSRP), Facility for Oil Sector Transparency in Nigeria (FOSTER), Nextier and Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN).

Speaking at the event, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani, noted that government allocations to that region could be better applied, “But in the real terms, our people are dishonest in the application of the resources allocated to the region”, he stated.

The minister urged all stakeholders in the region to be honest and realistic in the discharge of their duties, adding that whatever must be done in the region must be confirmed to have been done. “We were wrong in not following up with a robust post-amnesty plan that would have contributed to the economic and psychological development of the people. We were wrong in our approach to coordinating the relationship between the principal government stakeholders, the Amnesty Office, NDDC and Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. We were wrong in pursuing projects without a philosophical programme and we were wrong in emphasizing infrastructure, rather than human capacity development”, he explained.

The Minister of Environment, Hajiya Amina Mohammed noted that the current government desire a Niger Delta that thrives under secured environment and a robust economy where jobs are available for young people, particularly the women. She urged participants at the forum to determine the real roles and responsibilities for all stakeholders involved in the Niger Delta project. The minister however noted that the challenges of her ministry include, maintaining the narrative and taking key climate action and protecting the environment towards building a green economy.

Speaking on the importance of the technical workshop, Director Planning Research and Statistics, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Mrs. Rebecca Okorodudu, who represented the Acting Managing Director of the Commission, Mrs. Ibim Seminitari, said her Commission is more concerned about a more focused development in the region which requires collaboration between NDDC and willing partner development organisations to avoid usual duplication of efforts in the region.

“In Niger Delta, development is a mantra, development must be done. And the NDDC is the only Agency that is mandated by law to develop and coordinate development activities in the Region. And to do this job, we do it with partners. We must partner young, old, local government, NGOs and everybody that is interested in developing the region. You must show your presence, you must show us what you are doing so that we don’t duplicate efforts. That has been our bone of contention, that some projects have been duplicated. We do not want that to happen any longer, we want to be more focused. In developing the region, we want to know that we are partnering with this organization or another on this or another project”, Okorodudu said.

According to Monitoring and Evaluation Manager, Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), Sola Afolayan the technical workshop was aimed at securing cohesive supports of all key stakeholders in achieving sustainable development in the region. “This forum is to ensure that it is not just about stabilization but it’s about sustainable development in the region too. And interestingly it is similar to the usual annual development initiatives of the PIND Foundation called Niger Delta Development Forum (NDDF). It is organized by PIND and we have alliance on this with the same set of partners that here. One of those things we do is to open discussion on opportunities and proffering solutions to challenges in the region. It is not just about the security issues they have in the region. This is one of PIND Foundation’s efforts in the region. And we’ve hosted four NDDF forum from 2012 till date with over 2000 participants,” Sola explained

According to the Executive Director, Nextier, Mr. Charles Azodo, there is no better time to harmonise developments efforts in the region than now. “This technical discussion is one of the steps to ensure a paradigm shift in the way we are doing things in the Niger Delta. We don’t want a situation where Niger Delta becomes a cacophony of various forms of Interventions. We want to begin to see a situation where Niger Delta becomes an environment where it is more of an orchestra in the delivery of development activities in the region. And there should be a conductor who drives the process. And this is basically what we are trying to accomplish, ” he explained.

The two-day session has expanded strategic frontiers and engendered ray of hope amongst stakeholders who are already looking forward to a new Niger Delta with common sustainable development and measurable developmental impact.

Country Director of Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN), Mr. Inemo Samiama expressed optimism about the success of the renewed Stakeholder Commitment: “I am quite positive. I have participated in a lot of talk-shops on issues involving the Niger Delta. I am very positive because for the first time, I can see some form of coordinated approach to try to deal with the issues of the Niger Delta. This is actually a welcome development. Personally. I have been involved in the issues of the Niger Delta for a while I have never seen this. This is the first time I will be seeing this very vital and important offices coming together to deal with the issues of the Niger delta in a holistic, coordinated and hopefully integrated manner.”

The Team Leader of FOSTER-DFID, Mr. Richard Oshowole expressed optimism on the success of the strategic stakeholders’ workshop. “We are sure this engagement will have huge impact on the region”, if these words are anything to go by, Niger Delta is ready for a paradigm shift.