It is no longer news that the Niger Delta region produced the first PHD holder; as president of Nigeria. This is a eulogy. The Dr. Goodluck Jonathan presidency is subliminal. But, in the words of Aristotle “in pursuit of truth, justice is the moral aim the state require”. Dr. Goodluck did not use the instruments of State to give justice to the peoples of the Niger Delta. Now, where can we locate the politicians and activists from the Niger Delta in all of these happening? The Niger Delta resource control agitation was rested. And our self seeking militants and self acclaimed opinion leaders started chasing after pipeline surveillance contracts. Thank goodness! They have woken up with a 16 points request; to President Mohammed Buhari.

Well, the Niger Delta activists and politicians made merchandise of sycophancy during the Dr. Goodluck presidency. And, the resource control agenda run to seed. They became supercilious and consequential as the new power bloc in the Niger Delta: sequel to the ascendancy of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to the presidency. The Niger Delta activists became seedy and starting picking crumbs; from the tables of the New Hegemonic class in the Niger Delta. There were no hit stoppers, to compelling Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to give justice to the peoples of the Niger Delta. John Togo became the lone voice. He was seen as a spoil sport for Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency.

Truthfully, the peoples of the Niger Delta; can not continue to locate the under development of the region in the events of history. Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency was a divine gift for the Niger Delta to control its resources. But, we choose to make the Niger Delta Agitation a small talk; and betrayed the revolutionary genealogy and ancestry of Isaac Boro. The peoples of the Niger Delta are nobody’s fools. Bishop Westcott said “Great occasions do not make heroes or cowards they simply unveil them to the eyes of men”

Yes! The political charlatans from the Niger Delta failed to maximize the presidency of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan for the rest of us. They did not prove worthy of their political appointments. This was a conspiratory consensus. They expressed their commonsense rather uncommonly. I hold them debtors to their profession of politics. Winston Churchill said “the empires of the future are empires of the mind”. Our politicians lost concentration and discipline. This is because they lack goal directed philosophy. Some of them don’t know their constituents socially and politically. Presently too, Senator Ben Murray Bruce, representing Bayelsa East Senatorial District is rather interpleading with his commonsense talk. He is speaking third party issues and evasive of the Niger Delta Question. We don’t need legislative entertainers but quality representation.

Unfortunately, the Niger Delta got the presidency but not the president. The mental model of the Goodluck presidency was that; the minorities are in power but the majorities were in control of the president. This is the configuration of the power structure in Nigeria. It was a trap the Niger Delta fell for, before and during the 2015 presidential election. We got a sense of ownership while we only have possession of the presidency. This is the mistake made by those who are impulsive or inclined toward excessive passion. The owners of the presidency; only borrowed us the presidency and we began to feel self important about it. John Locke, a philosophical thinker said “It is one thing to show a man that he is in error and another to put him in possession of the truth”.

Our political charlatans do not under presidential politics. So, they did not only succeed in betraying the Niger Delta interest but also their selfish political interest. Nigeria as a country is a tableau-vivant where nothing is moving. I look around the country and I can feel tribal and ethnic sentiments and consciousness all over the place. The country exists without a Nigerian personality. I see tribal and ethnic personalities in Yorubahood, Igbohood, Hausahood, Ijawhood, and all other hoods. The National Question had superimposed itself on the Niger Delta Question. So the peoples of the Niger Delta need resources of faith and vision to succeed. Federal character and efficiency are not compatible. It is the product of gambler instinct to solving the problem of ethnic diversity. Speaking from a point of knowledge, turn-by-turn democracy is only a proactive strategy. It infantilizes our democratic practice. It is a self destructive solution to a political problem.

In conclusion, the Niger Delta will not suffer from political amnesia. We trusted in Luck and got Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. But the political charlatans from the region did not engage him enough, in his presidential loneliness. He was held captive by interests from other regions. Recruiting Niger Delta Avengers, to commit economic terrorism; will not remedy the betrayal done us by the political traitors from the region. The $10 billion dollar development fund proposed by the Buhari administration is a welcome development. The Niger Delta needs a development fund. The traitors must not obstruct the implementation of the development plan. We can not afford to play politics with it.

Finally, it should be noted that: there are external traitors of the Niger Delta. They work in league with the internal traitors of the region. The multinational oil companies exploit the region for its wealth, but have their administrative headquarters outside the Niger Delta. If our “siddon look” legislators can sponsor a bill; this error of conspiracy can be corrected. But they are legislative back-benchers. The economic aristocrats having oil blocks in the region are external traitors. We are victims of the political jobbery of Niger Delta politicians. The Pan Niger Delta Peoples Forum should demand for the audit of how the 13% derivation funds and ecological funds: collected by the Niger Delta governments, since 1999 till date had been used for the development of the oil producing communities in the Niger Delta.

Let us look within the Niger Delta and correct ourselves: as we strive to control our resources. We can not continue to pretend that; all is well with governance and pressure politics in the Niger Delta. The pressure groups in the Niger Delta are the alter egos of the charlatan political class.

Hmmmm! true talk brother,I love write up keep it up

1st to comment Hmmmm true talk my brother,I love this article,keep it up bro

You write just like Paul Eris aka Ogunboss

I dey come

John Togo became the lone voice. He was seen as a spoil sport for Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency.

When did John Togo become lone?

As for these so called elders, they are all businessmen