Victor Ezeja…Says Ex-president Hates Niger-Delta People
National Leader of Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Edwin Clark has faulted the comments of Former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on the 13 per cent derivation for oil producing states, during a summit last week Monday at Abuja.
Clark who is also the Chairman, Board of Trustees, Ijaw National Congress, expressed his dissatisfaction over the Obasanjo’s comments against the Niger Delta people through an open letter to the ex-president.
Obasanjo had during the summit organised by Global Peace Foundation on 13th December 2021 reportedly stated that the oil found in the Niger Delta does not belong to the people of the region alone, arguing that resources are placed in the soil by God, therefore, free for all to explore, not only people that lay claim to the land.
In the letter titled, “My Disappointment over your Unprovoked Outburst against the People of the Niger Delta Region”, Clark said he was shocked that the former president who visited him earlier that day in his Abuja residence and had a cordial discussion with him, did not disclose that he had any form of grievances against his people, but went to the summit to display what he considered as hate attitude against the people of the oil producing States in Nigeria.
The PANDEF national leader stated that the principle of derivation has always been an issue of national discourse since before and after Nigeria’s Independence, and had legal backing right from the 1960 constitution when the country operated a regional federal structure.
He reminded Obasanjo that it was the principle of derivation entrenched by the country’s founding fathers that enabled the old Western and Northern regions, reap all the resources which they used in developing their areas, which was right before crude oil was discovered in the Niger Delta.
His words, “Natural resources found in regions, were controlled by the people of the regions in the country as enunciated in Section 140 of the 1960 Constitution. As a former Military Head of State of Nigeria, 1976-1979, and later a democratically elected President of the country, 1999-2007, I am certain Your Excellency knows that the principle of derivation has always been top on the agenda of our national discourse, before and after the country’s Independence. In fact, the principle was very much entrenched in the 1960 Independence Constitution and the 1963 Republican Constitutions; the principle was very well received and implemented by the nation’s founding fathers.
“It was the practice of the principle of derivation that enabled the Western Region, then under Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and the Northern Region, then under Sir Ahmadu Bello, to reap all the money that enabled them to develop far ahead of the then Eastern Region. The Eastern Region did not progress like the other two regions. From the benefits of the practice of derivation principle, the Western Region introduced free education, built universities, the first Television in Africa, among other economic and social infrastructure, including hiring at the time, an Israeli Company, Soleh Bole, to develop roads and other infrastructure,” Clark explained.
“The implementation of this principle continued until 1956 when crude oil was found in commercial quantity in Oloibiri, in the present day Bayelsa State. When this happened, the Prime Minister, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, sent a congratulatory message to the then Premier of the Eastern Region, Dr. Michael Okpara, ‘welcoming him to the club,’ that will benefit from resources found in its area, as a result of the derivation principle.
“The sharing formula then, as provided in the Section quoted above, was that 50% of the revenue from the resources is retained by the owning region, 20% went to the federal government, while the remaining 30% went to the distributable pool, for sharing among the regions, including the contributing region.” Clark stated.
He said the above was the formula for sharing the fiscal assets of the federation among the regions then until the 1966 military coup that suspended the constitution, noting that ironically, today, all the 36 states across the federation depend solely on oil revenue.
Clark further stated that the principle of derivation continued after the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantity.
He queried why Obasanjo has not made similar outburst against the open declaration of the Governor and the people of Zamfara State that the gold under their soil belongs to them, saying that such attitude amounts to inconsistency which he and other elder statesmen of the Niger Delta region would not tolerate.
He advised that for sustainable peace and unity to thrive in the country, “It must be based on truth, justice, equity, same rules for all. As the saying goes, what is good for the goose, is also good for the gander.”
Clark accused the former president of insensitivity towards the environmental degradation suffered by people of the Niger Delta as a result of oil exploration activities, adding that the only thing people like him think of is “how much a barrel of oil costs, how much revenue is continuously accruing to the country from the despoiled and ravaged Niger Delta region.”
He asserted that the people of the Niger Delta would continue to defend their rights and the region.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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