… authors book on oil theft
ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
A first-class traditional ruler in Bayelsa State, King Bubaraye Dakolo, Agada IV, the Ibenanaowei of Ekpetiama Kingdom, Yenagoa, the state capital, has said that injustice is what is fuelling the insecurity in the Niger Delta.
Dakolo made the declaration during the presentation authored by him entitled, ‘The Riddle of Oil Thief’.
He contended that injustice in the region occasioned by the debilitating effects of oil exploration and oil theft had been the cause of the myriad of security challenges in the country.
According to him, oil has brought nothing but doom to the people of the Niger Delta region and has deepened their miseries for several decades.
Dakolo, a member of Course 38 of the Nigerian Army and younger brother to late Captain Perebo Dakolo, one of the revolutionaries that staged the 1990 Gideon Orkar Coup, lamented the underdevelopment in the Niger Delta.
He pointed out that with the book, the liberation of the Niger Delta people had started with the consciousness of the people now sensitised.
Dakolo said the book is the story of the Ijaw man, the story of the lives of the Niger Delta people and the story of oil and gas.
He stated: “If the injustice in the Niger Delta region had been addressed, there would have been no Boko Haram, there would have been no banditry, there would have been no kidnappings, there would have no 90 million poorest of the poor in this country.
“The book is about righting the wrongs and about solving the Nigerian dilemma. Today, Nigeria is in dire straits of all kinds of criminal groups all over. And of all of this stems from the injustice in the oil and gas production. So once you fix the injustice in the Niger Delta, you fix the Nigeria’s problem.”
The book reviewer, Dr Sam Amadi, Associate Professor and Director, Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts, said the book had provided a window for the leadership of the country to solve the various security challenges across the country by enthroning good governance.
He said: “The book gives us a window to solve Nigeria’s crisis, whether it is unknown gunmen in South-East and banditry in the North, kidnapping everywhere, the answer is good governance.
“The answer remains give people back their rights, their land and their resources and their power to manage their lives locally so that they can improve their lives and create prosperity. And therefore there would be no need for them to come with violence to repress them.”
Governor Douye Diri, who was Special Guest of Honour, seized the opportunity to criticise the revenue sharing formula in Nigeria, describing it as unjust, inadequate and unacceptable.
He also faulted the 13 per cent derivation paid to oil producing states by the Federal Government and described it as an injustice to the people of the region.