Nigerian Young Professionals Forum

Young leaders in the oil-rich Niger Delta region have pushed for strategic regional engagement and affirmative leadership, as a panacea for development, and a means to make up for the huge capital being invested in the region.

The leaders unanimously adopted this position as a way forward for the region on Saturday, during the Niger Delta Young Leaders Webinar Conference, with the theme: “Leadership and Economic Challenges in the Oil Niger Delta’ Solutions and Prospects”.

They advocated that the region set aside its culture of mediocrity and faulty leadership process. They also pushed for an urgent blueprint for technology and broadband infrastructure, as well as support and encouragement for young women.

• We must bring peace to Niger Delta — Sylva
• Niger Delta forum backs FG on $1.5bn Port Harcourt rehabilitation

Lending his voice to the call, former Lawmaker representing Akuku-Toru/Asari-Toru Federal Constituency of Rivers State, Dr. Dawari George, harped on the need for the region to define its own problems. He noted that in spite of the huge capital going in as investment into the region, the Niger Delta was still plagued in mediocrity. He regretted that the raw materials that abound in the region have not been properly harnessed to facilitate development and create economic relief for the region and its people.

“The Niger Delta can lead without a symbol of authority,” the former House of Representatives member said.

Convener of the discussion and Chairman of the Nigerian Young Professionals Forum (NYPF), Mr Moses Siloko Siasia, stressed that it is important for the voice of young individuals to be heard, considering the “times we are in as a people and a country”. According to the NYPF boss, it was time to change the narrative and bring in those who are well-oriented.

While hailing the leadership of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for promoting local content in the country, he added that revolutionizing the agricultural sector was necessary to diversify and create value which would, in turn, reflect on the country’s GDP.

Mr. Siasia further highlighted on the importance of regional engagement and partnership, insisting that governors in the Niger Delta region were working with political concerns, rather than economic progress. He however commended the Akwa Ibom State Governor for his contribution and initiative in driving the state’s aviation sector with the establishment of Ibom Air, a project he described as a “pride” to the region.

“Leaders are not remembered after their reign for Roads and Bridges, they are remembered for their deliberate efforts in Human Capacity Development and building of strong institutions before and after their reign,” he stressed.

The Special Adviser on Youths to the Interim Administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Comrade Engr. Udengs Eradiri opined that accountability should be a key character in the Niger Delta region. This was even as he questioned whether the Niger Delta had any economic development plan, adding that leadership was a key factor affecting the region, as many in the helm of affairs are oblivious of the needs of the region.

Special Adviser, Entrepreneurship Development to the Ondo State Government, Hon. Summy Smart Francis, decried the abandonment of the region by the Nigerian government, emphasizing that the Niger Delta is not considered a long-term venture for the country, as the region is seen as just a temporal money-making venture.

Supporting the call for the emergence of youths on the frontline of leadership in the Niger Delta, special Adviser on Tourism to the Cross River State government, Ubi Franklin proffered a decentralized chain of command which could cater for the average man. This was even as he advised that schools within the Niger Delta begin to teach history, adding that education was beyond the four walls of a building.

He charged the governors of the region to embrace unity so as to promote development in the Niger Delta which according to him, ought to be a tourist site but instead has been marked as a danger zone by many foreign nations. On the issue of unemployment, Franklin noted that the region was underdeveloped thus; many youths after service go out to other regions to find employment, and end up developing those regions as against theirs’.

Remarkable Mary Akpan, a Writer, Public Speaker, and Social Entrepreneur, on her own part, noted that the problem of the girl child in the region is basic education. She regretted that many young girls lacked access to education in the region and that many of the schools are poorly equipped. While highlighting the ills of human trafficking on the region, she called on the government to make the safety of the girl child a priority, emphasizing that the safety of women in a society is paramount in nation-building.

Those who also spoke as speakers at the conference webinar include the Deputy Speaker of Imo State House of Assembly Rt. Hon Amarachi Nwanyanwu, Mr. Otuya Okecha, Mr. Richard Akinaka and Mrs Merlyn Tamunoemi.