News Star newspaper

Abuja residents speak on the creation of Niger Delta Ministry
Jumbo Ogah

The recent creation of the Niger-Delta Ministry by the Yar’adua’s government has been greeted with mixed reactions across the nation. News Star was on the streets of Abuja where the responses of ordinary Nigerians to the development were sought. While some respondents viewed it as a welcome development, others, however, saw it differently.
 
Ishiaka Tafida, a staff of Maitama Amusement Park: “It is good development that the ministry of the Niger-Delta is created providing that it would signal the end of the crises in the Niger-Delta region. Perhaps it is the beginning of the end of a peace progress that promises to restore peace in the region. As we all know there can be no ample development without peace.”
Afolabi Shola – A banker: “It is a welcome development simply because every other approach had been exploited in the past to resolve the Niger-Delta crises to no avail. It is our hope that the bureaucracy of the new ministry is going to solve the problems in the region. And if the creation is going to help in reducing youth restiveness in the region then so be it.”
John Sonkon, Technician: “The creation of a ministry of Niger-Delta can not solve the problems of the region. The Niger-Delta elders should sit down and discuss the problems with a view to putting an end to the restiveness in the region. However, in a situation where the elders in the region are abetting kidnapping and oil bunkering for selfish reasons then we are most likely still going to face the same crisis with or without the Niger-Delta Ministry. Therefore, for anything meaningful thing to be  achieved in the region, the leaders of the region should sit down in a summit where they should evolve ways of creating an enabling environment for development to take its roots”
Ayuba Bernard, Civil Servant: “I do not think creating a Ministry of Niger- Delta will solve the problem of the region. The problem can only be solved through the active involvement of Niger-Delta traditional leaders from the grass roots. The traditional leaders should address the problem of kidnapping by counseling the people at the grass root against the adoption of such unpopular method of struggle. In any case, if the Ministry is created its corporate Headquarter would still be located here in Abuja, and so how does a ministry that is located thousands of miles away from the Niger-Delta region feel the pulse and needs of the people it was meant to serve.”
Ann Ani,Civil Servant: “I see the creation of the Ministry of Niger- Delta as a positive step taken by the Yar, adua’s government. I strongly believe that the creation of the ministry would help to douse the tension in the region. If the government had remained uncompromising on the issue it would definitely lead to an escalation of the crisis in the region, but with the establishment of a ministry for the region, at least the Niger-Deltans would be considered for employment in the new ministry. And this perhaps, would go a long way in accelerating development in the region as they (the Niger-Deltans) would be directly involved in the act of policy making.”
Bethel, Civil Servant: “It is a good idea as long as it would help the public and put an end to the killings and kidnappings perpetrated in the region. The idea behind its creation, to me, is more laudable than the so-called NDDC, which has over the years been turned into a conduit pipe for the diversion of monies meant for public projects by our leaders. All we need is peaceful co-existence in this country and some how I have a strong hunch that this will be achieved with the creation of the Ministry of Niger-Delta”
Vivian, Civil Servant: “To me it is okay and by the grace of God its creation would help in bringing about lasting solutions to the problems in the Niger- Delta region.”
Sani Mohammed, Civil Servant, “ To me the creation of the new ministry for Niger- Delta is a duplication  of the functions of other ministries, because when we take a critical look at the situation you will find it hard to pinpoint the actual functions or roles of the so-called Niger-Delta Ministry. Is it creation to provide health facilities for the region? Is it the provision of motorable roads? If so,  then what happens to the already existing ministries of  Health and Works. Again, when you talk of addressing poverty in the region, there is already a ministry and other agencies that have been established to intervene in matters of poverty eradication in the system. So as I have mentioned earlier on it is all about the duplication of other functions of other ministries, because the status quo will still remain the same.”
Mr. Richard Essien, Civil Servant: “It’s a commendable development providing that the people that will be employed in the newly created Niger-Delta Ministry are properly trained to handle sensitive issues of the region. Secondly, the government should ensure that the bulk of the staff employed are indigenes of the Niger-Delta region. In other words the creation of the ministry should be seen as a platform fort eh Niger-Delta people to be gainfully employed.”
Chris Ejembi, Banker: “For me, the creation of the Niger-Delta Ministry is nothing new. It is all about re-branding of something that already exists. After all NDDC had been there all these years and what has it achieved so far. Has the NDDC impacted positively on the people of Niger-Delta? The answer is capital NO. The issue here is proper implementation of projects. Without it, I bet you, the whole exercise would amount to a futile one.