“Whenever you commend, add a compelling reason for doing so; it is this which distinguishes the approbation of a man of sense from the flattery of sycophants and the admiration of fools.” – Richard Steele
I do not like the present administration. I have never hidden my disdain for the manner in which the President Muhammadu Buhari led government has piloted the affairs of our motherland, in respect to the how state security apparatus under his watch are being used to harass journalists for carrying out their constitutional duties, intimidating political opponents as well as the nosedive of the economy.
If in times past I have condemned his actions and policies; should I not in his good times commend his action especially when it touches my root, the very soil I come from?
First, he caused the emergence of Obaisi Ovie Omo-Agege to be elected the Deputy Senate President and engraved on the sands of time that under his leadership, the Urhobo nation attained their highest political level.
Everything seems to be working for the political good of the South-south under this current administration, but how they maximize it for the benefit of the region will only show its scorecard after four years. For now, Ovie Omo-Agege is right on track, playing the political chess game to the favor of his kinsmen and the region. They never had it this good.
In less than three months, Buhari has scored a hat trick in the affairs of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). First, he made the commission to be removed from the office of the Secretary to the Federal Government and domiciled it in the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
There would have been no better interim committee members that would have successfully presided over NDDC and give free room for the auditing firms to carry out their forensic duty than the trio of Dr. Gbene Joy Nunieh as the Acting Managing Director, Dr Cairo Ojugboh as the Acting Executive Director Projects and Chief Ibanga Bassey Etang as the Acting Director, Finance and Administration.
Those who know Dr Joy readily testify of her royal bloodline with activism running in her veins like her father. The respected Ogoni woman will no doubt be pained at how the NDDC has not lived up to its expectation, with her Ogoni people still living in stone age and the commission past board members using money meant to develop her backyard for personal pleasure.
Dr Joy pedigree speaks for her as one that will not come to pilfer the money of NDDC. As the daughter of late Senator Cyrus Nunieh, she has been exposed to wealth and moral upbringing and has used her services over the years to uplift her people. Mr President must have been divinely told in his dream that there lives a lady christened “Esther of Ogoni”, who cannot be intimidated in the course of her duties by anybody.
The notion that she is a member of the already constituted board and therefore should not have been picked to head the Interim Committee is tales told to babies who cannot decipher wrong from right.
“Dr. Cairo Ojougboh is the only politician in Delta state who says it as it is. He is not afraid to speak the truth” – Obi (Prof) Joseph Chike Edozien the Asagba of Asaba on the occasion of conferment of Traditional title of Akinuwa Anioma by Forty five traditional Rulers of Anioma Nation at the Asagba’s Palace.
Those words by the highly respected traditional ruler confirm that Ojugboh as the Acting Executive Director Projects onboard the Interim Management Committee of NDDC is a square peg in a square hole. A soldier of truth, a carrier of good news, a man of style and swag, with a high taste for class and beauty, the months that will be spent by Ojugboh in assigning projects to various states of NDDC will remain a reference point for future holders of such position, as man who never tolerates substandard construction both in quality and quantity.
As a dedicated All Progressive Congress (APC) chieftain, it is to Cairo’s credit that the Delta State APC became alive and provided a viable opposition to the Peoples Democratic Party government of Senator Ifeanyi Okowa.
It is very important that the new board that will be coming to start as the messiah that will come to redeem the NDDC back to the reason for its establishment.
As an honest politician, he was the chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on EFCC recoveries, a position that only men without political dirt, men who will not corner public properties to themselves as recovery chairman are allowed to hold.
In summing Cairo’s personality, the University of Benin Medical School award in his honorary citation in 2005 nailed it thus, “His High Sense of Duty and commitment to results make him treat issues with the required dispatch.”
With him onboard, Buhari can go to sleep with his two eyes closed, knowing that the three man board will bring good news.
For Chief Bassey Ibanga Etang, his sterling leadership when he was President of the Apex socio-cultural organization of Ekid Federal Constituency (Afighi Iwaad Ekid),is still being talked of as the golden era of the group. As former local government Chairman of Esit Eket local government council, and as a two time SSA to the Governor Godswill Akpabio on project monitoring, he is credited with monitoring almost all the flyovers and standard roads that was built by the past administration. His wealth of experience in supervising projects is a plus to the NDDC as he will not sign any cheque for payment to any contractor whose work is not certified up to standard.
Every agitation from every quarter should cease. We cannot be seeking for progress and protesting every minute.
As the new month kicks off with the leadership of the board, we will hold the Acting MD who is a lawyer and an activist to her words during her inauguration when she said “We’ll get a list of every village in the Niger Delta and also give attention to the disabled and the blind. I consider rural development very important.
“So, we will give attention to the villages. The president has been worried about the Niger Delta region; the amount of money that is allocated to the region and how they are utilized for the development of the region. I welcome you to the Next-Level NDDC. From the end of next month, people of Niger Delta will begin to testify that they have a commission that is responsible for them.”
Ekene Israel an anti-corruption activist writes from Abuja
