Why election violence persists-Magnus Abe, Senator-elect

Sun News

3 May 2011

Why election violence persists-Magnus Abe, Senator-elect

He is an embodiment of pure intellect. He is in the inner-caucus of the visionary leadership of the Gov. Rotimi Amaechi administration in River State.

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Talking about issues in the Niger Delta brings me to fact that while pointing accusing fingers to the Federal Government, let’s look back home a little bit. Governor Amaechi, might have performed, but most of the South-South governors have wrongly appropriated the fund given to them. And the Niger Delta people seem to see nothing wrong with that. Do you think that the Niger Delta Area problem is more of internal than external?

I feel insulted when people talk like that. I am sorry to say that. If you are talking about corruption, is it any different if there is corruption in the Niger Delta. Is it different from corruption in the Sokoto? Is it different from corruption in Abuja ? Is it different from the corruption in Kano? Anytime we talk about the development of the Niger Delta, people say, oh your leaders have misappropriated money. What of the leaders in other zones from the South West. What of the leaders in the North. What are they spending? If you are talking about corruption, corruption should be addressed holistically.

Anybody who is found to have misappropriated public resources should be dealt with. Not just those in the Niger  Delta, those in Abuja, those in Kano, those in Borno, those in Ondo, those in Taraba, anywhere.  I don’t think that there is any special corruption in the Niger Delta that is different from corruption anywhere else. All these talk about your leaders have misappropriate money – the money in Abuja is it not the same money that is here? Nigeria money is N100%. You give 13% to the Niger Delta out of the 100% produced in the Niger Delta. Then you are more concerned about what happens to the 13% than what is happening to the rest 87%. What logic is that?

Let me rephrase that question. Knowing full well that our oil will dry up in the next few decades; don’t you think there should be emergency priority in the agenda of the South- South leaders to build an alternative sources of income for the future generation?

The present crops of South-South governors have already done more in that direction than any previous set of leaders in the South-South. May be you have not heard of the BLAZE Commission. They have set up a commission for the economic integration and development of the South-South states. They are fairly setting up a power company to try to address the issue of power in the region. They are doing a lot.

They are meeting regularly. The BLAZE commission has some of the best brains in the South-South. They are working. They have their offices here in Port Harcourt – well and enthusiastically funded by all the states. So, people are not just sitting down. And this crop of governors and leaders are not just sitting down and talking. They are acting. So, it will take some time for some of these efforts to fully materialize. But they are working and I think that the federal government should also encourage them where they need encouragement. Like in a situation, where they apply for permits or license to do things that will help in the economic development of the region and these things take months and all that to process. It doesn’t seem to me that the federal government understands the need to support this kind of initiatives in the regions, because those kinds of things ultimately impact on the economic development of the entire country, which should be our common objective.