Niger Delta Crises and The Master Plan

When against all odds, Goodluck Jonathan oneof Nigerians luckiest politicians in recent history became the nation’s No.2 citizen, many saw it as the beginning of the end of hostilities in Niger Delta. But the events of the last few weeks as proved everyone wrong.
Not only has the violence become worse but the area especially Port Harcourt in Rivers State has virtually turned into a Hobbessian State of Nature where life is brutish and short.
It is against this backdrop that the recent state wide launch of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Master Plan should be examined. Timi Alaibe who is the present Managing Director of the NDDC seems to believe that the vision contained in that document is the panacea of the Niger Delta problems and I agree with him.
Before now, many had thought that if the former Governor of Bayelsa State, Dipreye Alamasiegha and Asari Dokubo were released there will be calm, I hate to tell my friends I told you so but I did tell them that we have 1001 Governor Generals and warlords in the Niger Delta than these two-and I have been proved very right.
Now that Alams has been released and Dokubo has become a bourgeoisie/consultant for the government, have we solved the crises? No.
The crises still rages and has even gone worse because people in position of authority do not seem to understand the dynamics of the area. The problem is much more than individuals.
Anybody who has been to the region or has flown over the area in a low aircraft will appreciate the bile and the hatred that sprouts from the stomachs of a typical Niger Delta youth. The devastation there is terrible. It is nothing more than man’s inhumanity to man. Simple.
As a result of oil exploitation in that area, the indigenes cannot go fishing, because the waters are polluted, the strip of land they are blessed with are no good for farming because again, the oil has damaged the soil. So they do not have a source of livelihood. The children cannot even have a decent walk around their back yard. It is that bad, coupled with lack of electricity and other amenities, being born in the oil-rich Niger Delta has become a great curse.
I am not justifying, the spate of kidnapping going on at the moment, but has anyone stopped to think about the billions that those wells have produced since oil was first found in Oloibiri in 1956, 50 years ago. Some economic hijackers sitting in some fancy office outside of that area had kidnapped those resources and raped the people of their source of livelihood, those billions have been used to develop other areas apart from the Niger Delta. And that is the crux of the matter.
The solution is development and we do not need a rocket scientist to figure this out and this brings us back to the NDDC Master Plan.
The Master Plan as explained by NDDC Managing Director, Timi Alaibe, who interestingly is from Bayelsa State, in the Niger Delta, is an ambitious holistic development plan that ultimately intends to transform its infrastructure and the people. The 50 billion naira project will focus on agriculture, health, education and encourage private local business people. No doubt, the people of the Niger Delta deserve a better life, they deserve decent accommodation, electricity, education, gas fumes-free air and employment. Therefore, I will implore the legislators if they had not done so already to approve this Master Plan and its funds so that the regeneration can begin soonest. This master plan should move from the pages of those papers to becoming a reality. Every second wasted, will only fan the embers of seething anger that has enveloped the area. And not even a million battalions can win this war of attrition that has built over 50 years.

The Ganja farmer's no show

MTN has just launched its services in Ghana and it has been week after week of pure entertainment. Three weeks ago, we had three of Nigeria's top comedians, Julius De Genius Agwu, Basketmouth and I go dye. These guys as usual made all of us Anago, as Ghanaians call we 9jas very proud. Though basketmouth had been in Ghana a few times, Julius and I go dye were making thier first trip here and they were whaoh.So the following week, MTN had a double header show one VIP event featuring Shaggy and Ganja planter or is farmer, Marlon Asher. And an open air concert. The venue was the International Conference centre.Stage was creative and the venue filled.The show began with Kwaku Gyasi, a gospeller, he worked up the crowd.Then came Tic tac, Praye and MTN 's new Ambassador, Samini.Two reggae artistes from Jamaica where next. Again, I no go lie, maybe because the audience were just waiting for the stars,the response, if any was poor. Well, The Ganja farmer came on stage eventually. After the usual patois raps, he then fell into the trap that has caught many musicians, taking the audience for granted, instead of opening with his very popular, song. He began with some unfamiliar tunes in gibberish.People fumed.By the time he got the message and hit the notes of the popular song, the audience just were not moved.He was given cold shoulders.Shaggy though he mimed, rescued the day for the Diasporans. He belted a medley of his popular hits, Carolina, Mr. Lover Lover etc. His groove was superb. Back to the ganja farmer, when he arrived the Boomerang club, later that night, he again got cold shoulders from the crowd.The guy from Trinidad and Tobago got a very raw deal.For MTN, it was a good package though, because the shows helped to etch the brand in the hearts of Ghanaians

That party

Hi Funmi,
Was to attend that party.But....stuck here in Accra.Zizi is one young Lady that I admire and always proud of when one considers that she has been consistent and has stuck to her style over the years. You were just descibing your attire what of your shoes, you know that I know that you have a fetish for shoes, so which of them did you wear. And what kind of people were at the party.You know say I love gist. See Ya

Michael Effiong
mikeffiong.blogspot.com

The CNN wahala

NWEKE’S CONTRACT WITH CNN


It has been said time and time again that East or West, home is the best-but it seems the Nigerian government or should I say image laundry men in government are continuously unaware of this long held fact.
Yesterday, I had a good laugh when I heard that the Nigerian government through Frank Nweke has cancelled its contract with cable news service, CNN. I had a good laugh because Nweke and co just woke up to the reality that nobody can love you more that your self.
I am one of those who believe strongly in Nigeria, Nigerians and our ever present Nigerian spirit. I laughed, not joyously but sadly because of this monumental disservice that Nweke and many other ministers before him have done to Nigeria.
What do I mean? I have been in the business of journalism for over 10 years and I am well aware of the billions that the governments have paid to image contractors and foreign media organizations to “clean up” our image. This phenomenon has continued for years and for Nweke, he is just waking up to the reality that no foreigner would have your interest at heart. For them it is just business.
All over the world today we have Nigerian-owned media organizations that are doing fantastic image building job for Nigerians and Africans, how many of them did Nweke sign a contract with?
Let me be more specific. Late last year, I was in London and Nweke was in town to launch his Heart of Africa project, after the launch which was done amidst protests by a rights group, he appeared on Ben TV. For those who do not know, Ben TV is owned by a young, hard-working Nigerian, Alistair Soyode. I know him very well. He is one million times passionate about Nigeria that any CNN exec can be. So despite the protests at the venue which as usual, I picked up in the local press, BEN TV chose to show the exciting side of the event and followed it up with a live show. Incase Nweke does not know Ben TV, is the most watched station by Nigerians and other black people in Western Europe, I have received calls from England, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Belgium, France and even as far as Sweden on a programme. The reach of this station is massive, so when you launch a project to sell Nigeria to its Diaspora and desire to conscientize them, I believe, BEN TV should on merit be a No.1 beneficiary. BEN TV I am aware is struggling, the young man has been struggling with huge bills to keep that dream alive and I am sure that some of that money poured on all those unfriendly stations would have helped to propel the Ben TV dream. Is anyone reading!

A few years back, Raymond Dokpesi began an ambitious world news project on satellite, he entered the US and wanted to use that platform to build a strong voice for Nigeria and Africa, that dream is going extinct because the federal government and the state governments will choose to patronize foreign stations. Imagine The Cross River State Government selling TINAPA, its business project, on South Africa-based Super Sports!

Another example, Thisday, the brainchild of whiz kid of modern journalism, Nduka Obaigbena began its operations in South Africa As usual with Nduka, he started big. The whole idea for Thisday International was to sell Nigeria. That project has since died because he had no support from a few people, Nweke not included.
Imagine the mileage that Nigeria would have had with a Nigerian brand like Thisday on the world stage. Even at that, how many local papers where signed up for this project, in case Oga Minister does not know, the web service of these papers Thisday, Guardian, Punch, Leadership, Vanguard, The News etc are widely read by millions daily. How many got a piece of this action?.
Talking of the web, we have very powerful Nigerian-run sites that are doing well and just need the kind of financial muscle that Nweke is throwing at CNN and co to move to the next level. www.thetimesofnigeria.com, www.elendureports.com, www.odili.com, www.amana.com and www.nigeriawolrd.com to mention a few. Has our government not seen what Al Jazeera is doing? Its English service is now a major force in world news. This thing is not by magic, it is all about planning. I am sure that if the government is really serious about this project, which I doubt, then these simple things would have been known to them.
Let’s go to Ovation Magazine, this magazine has been on for ten years, Dele Momodu, the man who was angered by the terrible news slant of the western press to establish a magazine to celebrate Africa has virtually been a lone ranger. This is one magazine that has a potential to be Ebony, it is a magazine you cannot resist, all it needs is that kind of advert support that heart of Africa project is throwing at foreign media. Imagine the retainership the government has with Amb. Andrew Young and Carl Masters’ Goodwill International, 100 million or so dollars a year for image boosting .Yet I am aware that not a cent of that amount has been paid to any Nigerian-owned organization at home or abroad.
Nweke should learn from this experience, the heart of Africa can only be preached by Africans and most especially Nigerians. We have to begin to believe and invest in our own people. All these Nigerian-owned organizations that I have mentioned employ a lot of Nigerians; they affect many Nigerian families financially not the CNNs of this world. Even the Holy Bible says we should love our neighbours as ourselves not more than ourselves. Enough of what Fela aptly called Colomentality.

The dream

I see a Nigeria where Obasanjo and Atiku would be inconsequential, A Nigeria where electricity flows 24seven, a Nigeria where our billions will bring smiles to the generality of the populace like UAE. A Nigeria where any form of corruption is abolished, A Nigeria where medoicrity has given way to meritocracy.......Ha Ha was just a dream but a sweet dream all the same.