2015: Before Bayelsa Can Get It Right -By Christie Ndukwe

Bayelsa State happens to be the only state which though is richly endowed with both human and natural resources, is yet to fully harvest its potentials as one of the highest revenue earners for Nigeria. Created barely 20 years ago from the old Rivers State, there is hardly any visible development in the state which is worthy in the 21st Century, in spite of its huge mineral deposits, particularly oil and gas, as well as agricultural produce.

With a small population of about 2 million people and much of its land mass covered by water, the capital city, Yenagoa, is barely a glorified village which cannot compete favourably with other capitals created at the same time. Rather than boast of a network of roads that befit a modern day city, what is presently obtainable is an array of uncompleted and abandoned projects which litter the entire capital city while the other rural areas have been neglected. The average Bayelsan is plagued by poverty and lack of basic infrastructure that give life a meaning.

The major cause of the deliberate underdevelopment of the state is not external, rather, internal. Since its creation, all the governors are indigenes of the state, yet they failed to lay a foundation aimed at taking Bayelsa to greater heights where it can compete favourably in the comity of states. It is not a lack of human capital as the state can boast of quality men and women but the defiant behaviour of those who have had the opportunity of presiding over its affairs. Sadly, the fortunes of the state have been hijacked by those with a loose appetite to enrich themselves, their families and cronies. They have ravaged the state and left it in the hands of successive cronies who have only followed in their steps.

There have been four indigenous governors of the state since 1999, beginning with the self styled Governor-general of the Ijaw nation, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha who first served a four year tenure before being returned for a second tenure on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Alamieyeseigha enjoyed so much media blitz as he hid under the banner of fighting the Ijaw cause to gain national prominence. So much was the media hype that within a short period, the first civilian governor of the state became the leading figure for the Niger Delta people at a time when there was both a national and international outcry over the degradation of the region as well as the marginalisation of the Southern minorities in government.

Alamieyeseigha was adjudged the best governor to have ruled the state considering the foundation he laid for laudable projects in his first tenure before he derailed from the assignment of developing the state. His quest for more political power drove him to acquire undue wealth to the point that while Bayelsans lacked good and affordable housing, Alamieyeseigha spent a whopping N40bn to build a residential castle among several others scattered all over the world for himself. He became the first serving governor to be arrested overseas for money laundering. That singular act brought shame and dishonour to the people of the state, the Niger Delta Region and the nation at large.

The scandalous and controversial return of Alamieyeseigha back to Nigeria remains an indelible wound in the hearts of the people of Bayelsa whose trust and confidence he betrayed. For not being eligible to complete his second tenure, his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan was hurriedly sworn in as the governor, having been impeached by the state assembly. Alams as he is popularly called thus fell from his Olympian heights, setting the tone for a single tenure for successive governors. It was his error in governance driven by occasional avarice that caused the leadership and succession crisis which the state has had to contend with. Though he was eventually set free from prison after having his properties confiscated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He has gone down in history as an ex-convict who was later granted pardon by the former president, Goodluck Jonathan, his former deputy.

The sins of Alamieyeseigha against the people of the state and Nigeria at large cannot be wished away or forgotten too soon. It is therefore insulting to the sensibilities of the people of Bayelsa for the former governor to either seek to contest election again or to decide who rules Bayelsa in 2015. Those who destroyed our fortunes and put us on the spotlight cannot sit to dictate for our people. Alamieyeseigha should as a matter of urgency, apologise to the people of Bayelsa first, before he can be allowed to sit amongst the wise men who will decide the fate of the state. Anyone who is sponsored or supported by him will naturally lose the support and goodwill of the people of the state.

– Ndukwe wrote in from 56/62 Samphino Road, Yenagoa

Written by  Christie Ndukwe
#56/62 Samphino Road, Yenagoa
07034147777