Maximising opportunities in the Niger Delta

The Nation

28 August 2011

Maximising opportunities in the Niger Delta

By Julie Donli

The subject of my presentation, “Growth Opportunities for Ijaw Professionals and Business Owners in the Niger Delta” is quite apt at a time Niger Delta has taken the front burner of both local and international discourse, as a region wallowing in pathetic misery and poverty in the midst of plenty.

The issues I will canvass here are not totally new, but by drawing your attention to the obvious, will go a long way to deepen the commitment to our development and our collective aspiration as a people.

This presentation with focus on four key areas, they are:

• Investment Opportunities in the Niger Delta.

• The Income Opportunities for Professionals and Business Owners.

• Possible areas of Intervention by Professionals and Business Owners in Bayelsa State.

• And the Bayelsa perspective

Investment Opportunities in the Niger Delta

Let me begin by taking an overview of some of the investment opportunities that abound in the Niger Delta. Like I said earlier, the Ijaws constitute the fourth largest ethnic group in Nigeria that occupy the length and breathe of Niger Delta.