As the nation grapples with the challenge of efficient power supply in the country, former minister of State for Health, Mr Gabriel Aduku, has said that harnessing the potentials of Rivers Niger and Benue would solve not only the nation’s power challenge but economic challenges as well.
Aduku said this at a world press conference on ‘Unlocking the Potentials of Rivers Niger and Benue for Sustainable Livelihood and Inclusive Development’ organised by a private consulting firm in Abuja.
According to him, nature has been very generous to Nigeria in terms of human and material resources that are begging to be harnessed in order to improve the standard of living and guarantee economic prosperity.
He said Nigeria’s inability to effectively maximise her potentials to combat poverty is responsible for the fragile peace, crimes, unemployment, terrorism and diseases all over the country.
“Rivers Niger and Benue are not just nature’s gifts but have the potential to generate power, promote national integration, engender productivity, create jobs, business opportunities and livelihood for millions of Nigerians.
“Exploiting the potentials of these two rivers could create employment for over four million youths in the contiguous states.
“This will come from the small business clusters that will grow from the infrastructural development and economic activities around the rivers.
“If we consider the fact that currently 96 per cent of all businesses in Nigeria are MSMEs providing 60 to 70 per cent of the total number of employed Nigerians.
“It becomes easy to realise that stimulating more activities in the MSMEs sector will ultimately improve human capital investment and positively impact the Nigerian economy.’’
Aduku said there was need to provide modern infrastructure and innovative projects around these rivers that pass through Mali, Niger and Benin Republics as done in other countries.
He said if the potentials of those two rivers are harnessed, it could generate most of the electricity needed to drive Nigeria’s struggling industries and cut the current prohibitive costs of production that drove many companies into extinction.
The former minister also said that by stimulating more agricultural activities through irrigation from the rivers, four million youths would be redeemed across the 14 states where those rivers pass through.
According to him, there would be a ripple effect from exploiting the potentials of the rivers ranging from all-year farming to large exportation of farm produce to food security.
Aduku said that if sea ports are built around the rivers, it would ease transportation and reduce traffic on the roads thereby reducing road crashes.
He said that YG-Consult having done studies on the potentials of the rivers was ready to offer its partnership to the government and development partners in order to put in place transformative projects that would facilitate development.
He listed some of the identified projects as, Smart cities, irrigation, hydroponic and aquaponic farming, smart land and water transportation systems, cultural industries, Science and Nanotechnology tourism and water sports, among others.
Aduku recommended that the federal government should amend and harmonise related laws to support the development of the projects and designate the Niger-Benue trough as special development area.
He also called on the government to designate the confluence of the rivers as economic zone for development of smart city and Nigeria’s Iconic dome while at the same time working on granting the projects along the trough duty-free status.
He also called on state governments to allocate lands for each project while at the same time providing security, advisory teams, participate in attracting investors and partner with YG-Consult in planning the design of the projects.
YG-Consult is a group of professionals concerned with nation building with the aim of raising national consciousness to the enormous advantages that abound in the Niger and Benue Rivers.
Chamber hails FG
In the meantime, as YG-Consult appeals for collaboration, the Onitsha Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ONICCIMA) on has commended the federal government for the maintenance dredging of River Niger from Ajaokuta to Onitsha in Anambra state.
The Director-General of ONICCIMA, Mr Dominic Ajibo, said with the development, the dredging would make Onitsha River Port a final destination from other sea ports across the country.
“We welcome the federal government’s intervention as it is in line with our chamber’s request to the minister during our annual lecture last year where he was represented by a top official in the ministry.
“At that lecture which focused on improving the viability of the Eastern Ports, we drew the minister’s attention to the dormant Onitsha Port and the need to make it functional.
“No doubt, if the Onitsha River Port is made functional, it will benefit ONICCIMA members greatly as they could now use badges to bring their goods to Onitsha as Port of final destination from other sea ports across the country.
“What remains to be done soon as the river is dredged is to continuously maintain the route so that it remains passable all year round,” Ajibo said.
He urged the government to provide adequate security along the waterways to make the efforts completely fruitful.
He maintained that failure to do so could make the whole exercise a total waste of resources like in the previous times when such efforts were conceived with huge financial commitment but with little results.
Ajibo expressed confidence that the affected coastal communities would benefit from increased economic activities along the river route.
He called for policy consistency on the part of the government in order to sustain the development.
The director-general urged the commission on ease of doing business to come up with practical and sustainable initiatives to address the unfriendly environment affecting business growth.
“Majority of our people are suffering terribly from hunger and diseases while inflation rate has remained high.
“The purchasing power of the average Nigerian is nothing to go by as our exchange rate remains high and unanticipated.
“Any effort by the federal government to ameliorate these conditions will be much appreciated,” he noted.
It could be recalled that the federal government rebuilt and inaugurated the port in 2012 but had not used it since then.
While inaugurating the maintenance dreging on April 29, the minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, said apart from reaping N36 billion in benefits, the project would enhance economic and social activities along coastal lines.
If the minister is correct by the anticipated revenue from the port, it is certainly correct to say that what GY-Consult has proposed would benefit the country at large.
NAN
