Ijaw: charting a new economic path

Things should be working for the Ijaw people of the Niger Delta. From Gbaramatu in Delta State down to Kolokuma in Bayelsa State and to Opobo in Rivers, their land flows with oil. And they occupy a strategic place as the fourth largest ethnic group in the country – after the Hausa-Fulani, the Yoruba and Igbo. Unofficial sources put them around 15 million in population size. With these statistics, there should be no problem – really. They should be standing on solid economic and sociopolitical grounds. But the reality on the ground is a far cry from these projections. And one factor commonly comes to take the blame for the woes of the Ijaw people today. Nigeria, most people like to argue, has deliberately refused to invest in a people it has taken a lot from since the 1950s when commercial exploitation of oil began in the country. This is the single biggest motivation for the agitations for resource control among the Ijaw and their other Niger Delta folks. But when the Ijaw Professional Association (IPA) brought top personalities from the area together in Lagos penultimate Saturday to assess the “Growth Opportunities for Professionals and Business Owners”, it was clear that the problem of the Ijaw nation is much more than that. It all began with Arc. Denzil Amagbe Kentebe, President of IPA. He delivered his own assessment of the Ijaw economic situation through his welcome address. And it was one that swiped professionals like him. Ijaw professionals, he remarked, had abandoned “Ijawland for charlatans to control.” That attitude, he said, had become a great disservice to the Ijaw people. For him, all hope was not yet lost. Something could still be done to salvage the situation. Kentebe pledged the readiness of his group – a collection of Ijaw professionals being raised to be the best in any field in the country – to step in to fill the leadership void in the Ijaw nation. He then challenged his people: “We should reposition Ijaw nation. No nation that sits on its oars has ever achieved anything. Our mission is to look inward and build.” Captain Prekeme Porbeni, chairman of the seminar, picked it up from there. He said the nation capitalised on his people’s silence for over 50 years to push them to the bottom of the nation’s socio-economic ladder. But he too believes it is not a time to mourn their misfortunes. It is time to do something – build human capital and return to the virtue of hard work for which the Ijaw nation was known in the past. But when Ann-Kio Briggs, president of Agape Birthrights, grabbed the microphone, it was easy to predict how she would go. They call her the “Tigress of the Ijaw Nation”. And the activist did not disappoint. She even wondered what else she would be known for if not to devote all her time – all of it – to defending her people. She went straight to the heart of the matter. The nation, she submitted, had being grossly unfair to the Ijaw people. Her take: “Ijaw are as brilliant and hardworking as any other group in Nigeria, but it’s clear that our major obstacle in the business, career and economic sectors has always been that our people have been denied opportunities to move up in their chosen careers or businesses. And most of our people, when they get up, due to the lack of support, encouragement or help on their way up, find it difficult to help others get up the ladder. In some cases, it is understandable, but if we are to break the cycle of lack of opportunities, we must make the decision as some of our people have done in the past.” Whatever people may say about Chief Ebitimi Banigo does not bother Briggs. When she searched history for names deserving praise for their good deeds in the service of the Ijaw nation, the former Allstates Trust Bank chair – and a few others – loomed large. She testified to his good work: “We can recall the number of our people Chief Ebitimi Banigo employed in Allstates Bank, and today, thanks to God, we have our …up-and-coming, bright and compassionate men and women like Ken Etete who has just employed, continues to employ not only from Ijaw ethnic group, but from the Niger Delta. Others such as Tonye Cole and Dumo Lulu Briggs are helping and assisting our youths. Indeed, charity should begin at home.” The Ijaw people and the entire Niger Delta would be shooting themselves in the foot should they continue to watch others progress at their expense, she maintained. She defended her position: “The economy of Nigeria, though sustained by and through the wealth of oil and gas that comes from the Niger Delta, it is owned by people who have no idea or appreciation of the sacrifice the Niger Delta region, her people, and in our case, the Ijaw make. It is our responsibility to step up and make sure we take back as much as we can, and participate as equally as we can, helping each other to get to where we must get to.” The Ijaw people, Briggs however admitted, would not ride to economic prominence on the back of wishful thinking. She summarised the way forward: “If Ijaw people are to catch up in developing their career in all spheres of business, in banking and development of our nation and our future, we must be determined to do and work harder than others, and take advantage of all opportunities available, like education.” For those who believe Niger Delta would be dead without oil, Briggs had a strong message: Niger Delta existed before oil and has everything it takes to triumph in a post-oil era. Mrs. Julie Donli, Executive Assistant to Bayelsa State Governor, noted that her state was already moving in that direction. Governor Tmipre Sylva, she disclosed, was ready to allocate free plots of land to serious investors from the state to aid industrialisation and development. In his own contribution, HRH Barr. David Serena-Dokubo Spiff regretted that lack of capacity had constituted a bar to the Ijaw people taking advantage of the huge opportunities available to them. He posited: “It is evident…that indeed growth opportunities do abound for professionals and owners of business of Ijaw extraction. Sadly, the real potential for growth is in danger of not being realised or actualised by reason of an abysmal lack of capacity, commitment and direction. The raw materials for growth are literally there; the desire, certainly so. However, the ability, which is a term that encapsulates capacity with all its trappings: know-how, how-to, wherewithal etc, is hardly in sight. This is not likely to achieve growth, for growth can only result where opportunity meets ability, or productivity meets marketability.” Then the monarch decided to regale his audience with his deep knowledge of the law. Demonstrating to the galaxy of Ijaw professionals at the event that the crown has not stolen anything from his wig, HRH Spiff drew the attention of the Ijaw to the promise the Nigerian Content Act holds for them. Even though he condemned the act for subsuming “the rights of the host communities” because of the use of “Nigerian” instead of “local”, the royal father believed a clear understanding of the law was enough to open different economic doors for the Ijaw people. But he cautioned against a solo walk. He urged the Ijaw people to embrace networking, partnership, joint venture and common facility options in their investment drive. To properly understand the oil industry, HRH Spiff advised his people to go for training, subscribe to newsletters and magazines and improve their IT skills. At the end of the day, those who attended the event agreed a revolution had begun. They might have come disillusioned, but they left full of enthusiasm to change their land – whatever the odds may be.