GODWIN EGBA in P/Harcourt sets the agenda for the incoming governors of the South-South states, to embrace the economic integration first forged by former governors of the region in 2009, to engender common prosperity in the Niger Delta.
The South-South governors, among their counterparts in the other geopolitical zones, according to the timelines and schedules of activities by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have concluded their governorship primaries of their different political parties ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The successful candidates as governorship hopefuls are believed to be locked in their political laboratories with their teams working on their manifestoes to be reeled out to Nigerians when the campaigns are expected to kick off next month.
Expectedly, the governorship candidates in the South-South region are also grappling with the task of building the blueprints they would present to the electorate with a view to winning the votes.
The expectation of their electorate is for them to build a working relationship among themselves that would transcend political leanings and affiliations after the battle of electioneering.
Unequivocally, the South-South also referred to as Niger Delta has peculiar developmental challenges and more so, falling into the category of minority states in the lopsided federal structure, an alliance of the states to form a formidable socio-economic force is a desideratum.
Some political analysts in Port-Harcourt Rivers state said that this alliance if in place and backed up with the advantage of the enormous resources inherent in the region has the potential to reverse the cockeyed minority status to having an intimidating voice in the socio-economic and political equation in the polity.
This synergy among the South- South states was dreamt decades ago and birthed, but died a natural death.
In the year 2009, the then six governors in the region, Chief Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state, Chief Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom state, Senator Liyel Imoke of Cross River state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state and Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta state under the aegis of the South- South Governors Forum broke the ice and embraced economic integration of the region to engender common prosperity.
This group of leaders gave birth to an acronym, BRACED states, derived from the first letter of each state, B from Bayelsa, R from Rivers, A from Akwa Ibom, C from Cross River, E from Edo and D from Delta- B-R-A-C-E-D.
From this, they went further to set up the BRACED Commission to drive integrated development of the entire region. To strengthen the commission, Rotimi Amaechi donated and furnished an imposing secretariat building in Port-Harcourt to function.
The governors took their resolve for economic prosperity of the region further and organised the first South-South Economic Summit which drew participants across the globe.
The three day summit held at the prestigious Tinapa Business Resort in Calabar, Cross River state from April 22 to 25, 2009 veritably opened a vista of hope for socio-economic renaissance of the region.
The summit was declared open by late president Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and also attended by then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan. Egg heads from the academia, business moguls, diplomats and experts in various fields of human endeavour delivered incisive papers at the summit.
The six governors promoting the summit also took turns to present papers where they highlighted the economic potentials of their various states, inviting the world to come explore and harness the resources.
Then chairman of the South-South Governor’s Forum, Senator Liyel Imoke, had set the tone for the summit in his welcome address.
He said, “It would be recalled that at the various meetings of the South-South Governor’s Forum, my colleagues and I considered it necessary for us to collectively pursue regional economic integration and work more closely with one another to strengthen our economies by exploring opportunities for growth.
“This new approach is imperative if we must collectively achieve our vision and aspirations, not only for the South-South Zone but also our individual states.
Imoke continued, “We are also aware that we have up till now, not been able to optimize our potentials with regards to the strength which our partnering with one another is capable of evincing. We have a multi trillion naira economy that if well harnessed will create wealth for our people and transform them.
“Yet, as it is often said, greater strength lies in unity and a commonness of purpose, particularly as we can achieve even more by exploring our various areas of comparative advantage for our common good. This, my colleagues and I are committed to. We have the political will. We are committed and we are united”
It is interesting to note that at the end of the summit, the organisers came up with a compendium of the major papers presented at the summit and the road map to realising all the topical issues raised in a book aptly entitled “Braced for Global Competitiveness”.
All that was needed thereafter was action to transform the region into an enviable spectacle as envisaged. Regrettably, the noble idea inexplicably died shortly after and could not even outlive the tenure of the six governors.
Some commentators have attributed the premature death of the BRACED idea to political differences among the governors, but then it was only Adams Oshiomhole that was in ACN then.
The other five governors were all in PDP. The question on the lips of analysts is “what rivalry could there have been arisen that no sooner than they presented themselves to the world as people who were serious and having “political will”, “committed” and “united” as espoused by Imoke to pursue an integrated economic agenda, than they relapsed to inactivity?
Observers have noted “that was one momentous opportunity to recalibrate the totality of the Niger Delta landscape that was thrown into the abyss.”
They also observed that “the current chief executives in the various states have not even been seen or heard mention anything related to the BRACED Commission. Each one of them is a one man riot squad in his own ‘fiefdom’.”
The consensus is that if the states had remained ‘BRACED’ till now, one could imagine the mileage that the region would have achieved since 2009 with the NDDC and Niger Delta ministry playing complementary roles in the integrated development agenda.
A stakeholder and pioneer staff of of the Commission who would not want his name in print noted, “Again if the states had remained ‘BRACED’ it is possible that they could have invested in development of modular refineries and even acquire major stakes in the assets the divesting IOCs are leaving behind.
“If they had remained ‘BRACED’, it is possible that they would have pressured more vigorously to get something higher than the paltry 3 percent allotted to the oil producing states in the Petroleum Industry Act, (PIA) or even achieve outright resource control with the force they would carry.
“In the same breathe, could anyone have imagined to insult the sensibilities of the people with the nonsensical Water Resources bill in the National Assembly if they were bound by strong socio-economic ties?
“Even in the face of insecurity ravaging most parts of the country, the BRACED states wouldn’t have been among the knee jerked states fearing any onslaught by bandits or some invaders as such threats would have been provided for in the integrated security master plan.”
The ‘BRACED’ concept represented an omnibus panacea to many socio-economic maladies afflicting the South-South states. It was well thought out and the visioners scored a bull’s eye with the idea.
Some stakeholders hold the view that “those who would mount the saddle as governors in 2023 in the region should dust the report of the Tinapa summit, adopt and run with it in line with current realities. It is still our Niger Delta, the land of great promise.”
