Even though the community we visited is a four-minute boat ride from Yenagoa, there was no sign of infrastructure in it. The boats we rode on were very old and shaky while the stinking river also served as a refuse dump. Community members had no access to pipe borne water and so most of them depended entirely on the brownish and heavily polluted water from the river with the unbearable stench coming from it. I saw them bath with it, drink from it, brush their teeth with it and take some home for cooking.

This is the reality in a community exactly fifteen minutes from Creek Haven, the seat of power in oil-rich Bayelsa State. Yenagoa mainland, the state capital, has literally become a theatre of abandoned projects. What a tragedy!

For those who do not know, Bayelsa is one of the beneficiaries of the thirteen percent derivation from oil revenue allocation at source from the federal government. Indeed some months ago, the Governor of the state, Timipre Sylva, admitted to the CNN that the state receives at least thirty million dollars (about 4.5 billion naira) every month. This excludes any internally generated revenue.

Lately, the state government has been accused of financial recklessness and mindless profligacy. Several petitions have been written by citizens of the state to anti-corruption agencies alleging forms of petty and grand corruption. Individuals believed to be close to the governor including his former commissioner of finance, Sylva Opuola Charles (now at large), have been charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for laundering more than 6 billion naira worth of public resources.

Paradoxically, Bayelsa State is the only state in Nigeria that is implementing the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) at the state level. The Bayelsa Expenditure and Income Transparency Initiative (BEITI), is a multi -stakeholder initiative inaugurated by the Sylva government and supported by the US based Revenue Watch Institute (RWI). Sources in Yenagoa and even within the BEITI secretariat confirm that it is a failed public relations project.

In terms of human population, Bayelsa State is the smallest of the 36 states in Nigeria (population of 1.7 million in 2006). In the 2008 boom year Bayelsa State received about N116 billion, roughly three times the national average, from the centre. The state depends entirely on oil revenue and has a paltry 2 percent of internally generated revenue. Per capita allocations were over 10 times higher than those in Kano State. One will naturally think that a combination of low population and high revenue will produce development.

The last Nigerian Living Standards Survey shows that more than 90 percent of Bayelsans are still poor. The World Bank Doing business report 2010 indicates that Bayelsa is the most difficult place to start business in Nigeria due mainly to bureaucratic harassment, insecurity and other issues.

Until recently, 11,132 unidentified persons drew salaries from government coffers showing that corruption might have been elevated to state policy.

In terms of human population, Bayelsa State is the smallest of the 36 states in Nigeria (population of 1.7 million in 2006). In the 2008 boom year Bayelsa State received about N116 billion, roughly three times the national average, from the centre. The state depends entirely on oil revenue and has a paltry 2 percent of internally generated revenue.

Kobojunkie:



I cannot believe someone actually suggested removal of Alams was a hinderance to development.

Abagworo:

I did and stand to be proven wrong.Alams was not there at the height of oil boom when oil rose to $150,GEJ was.Alams wasnt there in 2008 either.Sylva was.Alams was set up and still lives under blackmail till date because he was meant to be Atiku's running mate.Bayelsans still appreciate the man.If you say na lie,go Bayelsa go yarn opata with him name see wetin dem go do you.

Governor of Bayelsa State

Diepreye Alamieyeseigha was elected Governor of Bayelsa State in May 1999 as a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He was re-elected in 2003.[2] Vice President Atiku Abubakar attended the March 2003 event that kicked of his campaign for reelection in 2003.[3]
His opponents said he spent state money on unnecessary projects. These included an expensive new government house, an airport in his native town of Amassoma and an Olympic-sized stadium in the state capital, Yenagoa. He did little to help the people of the state, who suffer extreme poverty. A general hospital that he started building about six years ago was still to be completed by the end of 2005.[4]
Diepreye Alamieyeseigha was impeached on allegations of corruption on 9 December 2005.[2]

. These included an expensive new government house, an airport in his native town of Amassoma and an Olympic-sized stadium in the state capital, Yenagoa.

Kobojunkie:

^^ Dude, dude!! You of all people should know that I don't believe in measuring mediocrity against mediocrity. I don’t engage in such ridiculous, time wasting exercises. And I have in no way absolved those who came after him for the part they also played in looting the state. But I can’t get out of my mind the part this man played in also looting the state. You mean we imagined that whole fiasco in London? I mean the one with him fleeing back to Nigeria, to continue as governor, dressed as a woman(I can still remember where I was when I heard that story)?

Dis Guy:

Does anyone from Nairaland live in Baylesa?

Seems all the stories from this state is about Goodluck Jonathan, Alamaseigha**, Sylvia and Alaibe then the militants . . .

No business, no real estate or sports news, just contracts contracts contracts

One would think being one of the state with the highest revenue and lowest population this state should be the envy of all Southern states in the country

Apart from the state budget, there is the Ministry of Niger Delta and then NDDC

_{are the northerners still holding it down?}

Kobojunkie:



I cannot believe someone actually suggested removal of Alams was a hinderance to development.

Bayelsa is the only state where ijaw is the majority and this is what we see,the average ijaw man is lazy and lacks enterpreneur spirit and this reflects in the state of yenegoa,go to anambra,we dont have the best of leaders but the people have enterpreneur spirit and are hardworking, in onitsha people build new structures on daily basis,in my cousin's town of awka etiti every part of the village road was tarred by people,even in ogidi,peeps do the same,the governors in the east are not the best but people are making things to work by building structures,when the ijaw was in the east they accused enugu of neglecting their area and giving land allocations only to igbos hence their justification for abandoned property saga,but forty years later we can see the truth which is (1) ijawland wasnt neglected,rather peeps are lazy and couldnt develop their area as evident in bayelsa state, i wonder if ndiigbo are still leading the ijaw,most buildings in enugu,onitsha,awka,owerri,abakaliki was not built by the government but by hardworking igbos,even though government couldnt tar the roads.(2)nobody stopped the ijaw from owning property in ph,they were simply lazy and dont have the money hence the property in ph went to the highest bidders the igbos,now the igbo own 70% of the lands in abuja,i wonder if they allocated it to themselves.Why should bayelsa look better when peeps are shouting oil,oil,oil,oil and more oil and none wants to work. Go to uyo and see how that city is changing for good,ijaws hatred for ndiigbo have brought them nothing but misery,they should look at ibibio whose relationship with ndiigbo has brought them prosperity,God bless the ibibio nation.

9ijaMan:

While I agree with your point that it makes no sense to measure a mediocre perfomance against another one, the fact remains that Alams did a lot for for his people in Bayelsa than GEJ & Sylva combined. I know the place very well 'cos I worked in some of the towns such as Nembe, Gbaran, Kolo Creek, Opokuma for several years and noted that Alams pursued some developmental projects which are either decaying currently due to lack of maintenance of halfway completed.

Alams was a crook who should be prosecuted no doubt, his thievery pales in comparison to GEJ & Sylva. That's the reason I keep asking team GEJ cronies on NL to point out what GEJ has achieved in his 12 years in governance.

9ijaprince:


i live and work in bayelsa. Dont worry i will post pictures later.

Dis Guy:


Thanks, will b eexpecting

What's the economy like there, whats the main occupation of the residents

with all the insecurity in PH there's some level of development and people actually moving in

vicenzo:

[b]Bayelsa is the only state where ijaw is the majority and this is what we see,the average ijaw man is lazy and lacks enterpreneur spirit and this reflects in the state of yenegoa,go to anambra,we dont have the best of leaders but the people have enterpreneur spirit and are hardworking, in onitsha people build new structures on daily basis,in my cousin's town of awka etiti every part of the village road was tarred by people,even in ogidi,peeps do the same,the governors in the east are not the best but people are making things to work by building structures,when the ijaw was in the east they accused enugu of neglecting their area and giving land allocations only to igbos hence their justification for abandoned property saga,but forty years later we can see the truth which is (1) ijawland wasnt neglected,rather peeps are lazy and couldnt develop [/b]their area as evident in bayelsa state, i wonder if ndiigbo are  still leading the ijaw,most buildings in enugu,onitsha,awka,owerri,abakaliki was not built by the government but by hardworking igbos,even though government couldnt tar the roads.(2)nobody stopped the ijaw from owning property in ph,they were simply lazy and dont have the money hence the property in ph went to the highest bidders the igbos,now the igbo own 70% of the lands in abuja,i wonder if they allocated it to themselves.Why should bayelsa look better when peeps are shouting oil,oil,oil,oil and more oil and none wants to work.                           Go to uyo and see how that city is changing for good,ijaws hatred for ndiigbo have brought them nothing but misery,they should look at ibibio whose relationship with ndiigbo has brought them prosperity,God bless the ibibio nation.