OPEN LETTER TO NIGER DELTA LEADERS

Beyond political affection and sentiments,I'm going to say one or two truths about the Niger Delta and its leaders.I will try not to pamper the political class with eulogies and enconiums.The state we are now is too precarious for all that farce.As a nation bedeviled with corruption and ethnic conciousness,there is need to judge the status quo without equivocation.I am a Niger Deltan before a Nigerian and as such I ought to put my house in order before thinking about the bigger problem called Nigeria;Buhari own de e bodi.
The leadership of the Niger Delta has been the bane to region's retarded infrastructural and industrial growth,the Niger Delta has occupied virtually all levels of leadership in Nigeria in recent times but all attempts have not reflected in the lives of the people.We have confortably placed ourselves brazenly in the waters of mediocrity.It is beyond us being in control of all the oil wells in Nigeria;it is about how good we have passed the test of management;it is about how well others have farred better than us despite our oil wealth.It is good for our brothers to have oil wells but monies from oil wells are not public money,they fall into private coffers.
The recent revelation of revenue allocation reveals that the Niger Delta region especially the south south region gets the highest allocation.It is pardonable for states like Osun,Ondo,Kebbi and other states to be industrially and infrastructurally impoverished,but states like Delta,Rivers,Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa have no reason to imitate Osun state in failure to pay civil servants their benefits.It is unpardonable for Nyesom Wike,Ifeanyi Okowa or Dickson to fail to provide their states unmatching infrastructure,housing and proper health care.It is safe to say that despite the heavy revenue allocation our roads are still in deplorable states and our industries moribund.I would not want to talk about monies generated internally.
As a native of Sapele for instance,I grew up to know just one person who has controlled the political milieu of the region,he has always been considered in elections because the people see him as a political climber who will alleviate their sufferings as he progresses politically.Alas,we have the speaker and year 2016 looks like another 2011.This is a prominent Niger Delta leader who thinks he has a bright political future and a Niger Deltan.If Niger Delta leaders had done their home work,I would have been the chief exponent of the Niger Delta Republic declaration.
It is pertinent to rejig the mindset of our leaders into performance and integrity.We have the resources and we should try to make hay while the sun shines because the news from the oil market is disheartning.We should eschew tribal and political differences and learn brotherhood.
In conclusion,we are Niger Deltans and we have to rescue ourselves from this great storm now that the ship has not cap-sized,the time to regain our honour and bring veneration to ourselves is not ample.

Prosper Merie is a social critic of Niger Delta origin.