#MNDA_Reflections DAY9. The Niger Delta Action Plan: A Comprehensive Approach to Development.

The Niger Delta Action Plan is mainly based on the realignment of existing development investment with the Results  Framework, rather than additional investment. As such, the figure of $10 billion attached to the Results Framework is approximately equal to the investment budget of Niger Delta states. However, since it is foreseen that states will  not forgo control over their existing programming allocations, the plan foresees the mobilisation of additional,  catalytic funding through the Multi-Stakeholder Trust Fund. 

Over and above the estimated figure of $10b, required to address the major infrastructural needs of the region, the  MSTF is expected to raise a further $200m to implement its short-medium term plan and meet its objectives. Just  under a fifth of that sum represents programme overheads over the five-year period, a figure justified by the need  for presence and penetration in the region rather than a centralised approach. A $50m Challenge Fund and grantmaking pool (included in the $200m total) towards supporting specific companies with innovation and inclusivity  programmes that will be based on defined selection criteria is also included.

Criteria will include knowledge and  information sharing commitments by the candidate firms, with a view to deepening industry capacity and capability.   During the latter stages of the delivery of the short and medium term plan it is anticipated that the MSTF will have  demonstrated sufficient impact, additionality and scale to justify political space for inclusion in cross-cutting  strategic planning. The MSTF will be able to act as a virtual shared-services hub, and work on a coordinated  approach to social infrastructural investment. This model enables the key stakeholders to maintain political control  of funds whilst relinquishing a degree of control over the direction and deployment of these funds.

Such is a plan underway for a comprehensive overhaul of the social and infrastructural development of the region.

#MNDA_Reflections. DAY8. Usani and Imperatives of the Niger Delta Question (2)

Usani holds that the average human being in the region must be adequately developed to meet current global standards in terms of technical skills, information technology, trade and general non-formal education, as this would empower the region to help Nigeria lead the African continent to the next frontier.

He has created some coinages in the management of Niger Delta affairs, such as "non-militant Niger Delta" and "train and engage". What this means is that there is a vast segment of Niger Delta people that is non-militant, and seeking for Federal Government attention and intervention in their livelihoods. It also means that there is dire need for a training-and-engagement approach of human capacity development of the Niger Delta people to more sustainably develop it.

The Ministry of Niger Delta has trained and subsequently empowered 660 youths in the Region on ICT, Agriculture and Sea Time Faring. Resolved and prevented conflicts and communal clashes in 12 communities in the Niger Delta Region; Empowered 130 youths that were trained in Agricultural enterprises to enable them establish, become self-reliant and employers of other youths in the Region; Trained and empowered 15 youths from Arochukwu/Ohafia Federal Constituency, Abia State on confectioneries, who are now practitioners and employers of other youths in their Constituency; Completed and inaugurated 2 cassava processing plants in Bayelsa and Ondo States to minimize the drudgery associated with the processing of cassava to its by-products, while 7 others are at various levels of completion; Empowered 130 youths that were trained in Agricultural enterprises to enable them establish, become self-reliant and employers of other youths in the Region; Trained a total of 8,215 youths with vocational skills in Agriculture, Artisanship, ICT and Maritime Technology for economic self-reliance and employers of labour in the Region; Trained 2,200 non-militant Niger Delta Youths in Agriculture in Israel; Sea faring training for 30 non-militant Niger Delta Maritime Trainee in Lagos; Trained 509 Non Militant Niger Delta Youths in oil and gas in Lagos and India; Trained of 20 Non Militant Delta Youths in Maritime Dredging in South Africa; Trained of 89 Non Militant Niger Delta Youths in Agriculture in Port novo and Israel.

Both Ministers have resolved to foster the realization of self-worth in every indigene of the Niger Delta for the sole purpose of positive living and synergy between the Nation State and the Niger Delta region; and to anchor such on the common ethics of humanity. They have vowed to create ownership of sectoral development anchored on political and economic tools towards a virile, efficient and sustainable regional economy.

If the amount of money so far spent on human capacity and capital development is doubled, or quadrupled, or increased by 10, imagine the impact on the non-militant Niger Deltan! If just 1/10th, of the cash spent or lost to militant activities is spent in addressing the skills gap in the region, the sum total of individual competencies available to solve problems (and earn a living from it) would empower and engage the individual and those around him/her, furnish the various organizations he/her belongs to (family, church, clubs, peer groups etc) and impact positively on sector/networks.

The collection of resources, namely, all the knowledge, talents, skills, abilities, experience, intelligence, training, judgment, and wisdom possessed individually by each person (and collectively by the convergence of such individuals in the population) would yield a society where an aggregate economic participation acting within the macro-economy, would capture the social, biological, cultural and psychological complexes of the society as each individual interacts in economic transactions. What a great story we would have.

#MNDA_Reflections DAY7. Usani and Imperatives of the Niger Delta Question (1)

The Niger Delta Question has been a pressing issue for the past 40years, but was given force of expression in the reawakening of Democracy in 1999. It is an enquiry into what has caused fierce agitations emanating from crude oil exploration in the region. This Question has three key players who must find answers viz; the Federal Government, International Oil Companies and the various ethnic groups (community leaders and people) who live within the region.

In 1958 the Wilink Minorities and Fiscal Commission Report recommended that the Niger Delta Region be accorded special development attention because it required particular economic assistance in commensuration with its contributions to national economic development. Since then, the region has grown to become the major revenue earner in Nigeria.

Agitations by the people of the region to get fair treatment have equally sustained over the years. The agitations are in various forms; from street protests, intellectual advocacy to arms struggles, leaving the region in dire need for basic rehabilitation, and the country in fluctuating economic growth. These have kept the region in a state of severe environmental pollution and colossal waste of human life and property. National economy has also been badly hit, with incessant oil facilities vandalization causing a downturn in the quantity of crude oil sales per day, leaving the region a very difficult terrain in many ramifications.

In the quest to answering this Question environmental activists notably Ken Saro-wiwa and his friends made unsuccessful attempts to take on the intellectual path of answering it but were stopped by the firm hand of the supreme military government of Gen. Sani Abacha. Activism failed because it was not strong enough a force to contend with the enormous challenge that the Question is.

In the quest to answering this same Question, prominent militant groups (comprising various ethnic groups in the region) like the Niger Delta Avengers (2016), Red Egbesu Water Lions (2016), Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force (2016), Niger Delta Red Square (2016), Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (2004-2014), Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force (2003-2009), Niger Delta Liberation Front (2005-2014), Joint Revolutionary Council (2004-2014) and the Niger Delta Vigilante (2004-2009) have given us one side of how people have tried to answer this question. Still, militancy is making things worse as arms struggle is interpreted by the government as a direct affront on its powers and sovereignty. Hence,  militancy has complicated issues and will never answer the Question.

The Federal Government on its part has employed several means to answer the Question. It has created the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs (MNDA), the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Amnesty Office in the Presidency, which have attempted to bridge the gap in infrastructure and human capital in the region. These agencies are existing to develop the social, infrastructural and human capital of the region. This is tending towards improving the capacity of the region in ways that would be practically sustainable. This seems to be a better avenue to answering this Question. But more is desired of them in the implementation of their mandate.

While the Amnesty Programme is a palliative that will soon be scrapped, the mandates of the MNDA and NDDC are the only available means that can sufficiently and adequately answer the Niger Delta Question.

The solutions lies in the MNDA ministerial offices of Pastor Usani Uguru Usani and Professor Claudius Daramola, as well as the Board of the NDDC which they now supervise. Like Usani spoke when inaugurating the new board of the NDDC; the narrative of the Niger Delta must be rewritten.

#MNDA_Reflection DAY6. THE NIGER DELTA COLLABORATIVE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK (NDCDF)

The Honorable Minister of Niger Delta, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani has taken a firm posture “to foster the realization of self-worth in every indigene of the Niger Delta, for the sole purpose of positive living and synergy between the Nation State and the Niger Delta region, and to anchor such on the common ethics of humanity. Furthermore, to create ownership of sectorial development, and building such on socio-political and economic tools towards a virile, efficient and sustainable regional economy.”

Through his ministerial leadership and that of the Minister of State, Professor Claudius Daramola, the Niger Delta Action Plan is been reviewed to build on previous efforts to intensify development efforts in the region through the process of harmonization and coordination, based on the vision, principles and guidelines of the Niger Delta Collaborative Development Framework (NDCDF). The NDCDF has also inspired a baseline study which assesses the social and infrastructural sectors of the nine states of the Niger Delta to deeply ingrain development in the following needs areas;

1. Educational Facilities (primary, secondary, tertiary and vocational).

2. Health Facilities (primary, secondary and tertiary)

3. Water and Sanitation.

4. Transport Facilities (all available modes).

5. Power Supply Facilities (DISCOs).

The Niger Delta Collaborative Development Framework (NDCDF) and its interventionist stance, is the scope of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs (MNDA) governance and involves the following 1. A SOCIAL SECTOR INVESTMENT PLAN; which is a community-level investment that anchors on service renewal, economic empowerment and security stabilization. 2. AN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT PLAN; which invests on restoration, renewal and development as well as environmental management and regeneration. 3. A MULTI-STAKEHOLDER TRUST FUND; which mobilizes funds and administers governance through the funds. 4. A DEVELOPMENT RESULTS FRAMEWORK; which is a logical model showing how the desired goals and outcomes of development investment can be achieved through a coordinated and integrated collection of activities over a sustained period. 5. AN INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK; which monitors the task of the above three, by creating a system where they all operate in synergy.

While the MNDA mandate is the nature of its assignment, the Niger Delta Collaborative Development Framework (NDCDF) is the Ministry's scope of governance which redefines development and reestablishes a viable working formular that meets the needs of the people of the region.

#MNDA_Reflection DAY5. Imperatives of Coordinated Institutional Framework for Niger Delta Development

Imperatives of Coordinated Institutional Framework for Niger DeltaDevelopment.

The Niger Delta region needs an organizational commitment and institutional cohesion to be capable of creating, investing and organizing strategic application of innovation, in its quest of promoting skilled labour through work, social capacities, social capabilities and consistent institutional linkages.

All these can be enabled by the strengths of institutional frameworks powered by regulatory competencies, which in turn defines political willingness, human knowledge management, proper coordination of environmental conditions and conditioning, as well as validation of baseline surveys of social and infrastructural resource base.

In tackling the Niger Delta debacle and its attendant problems such as poverty, youth unemployment and restiveness, environmental degradation, infrastructural deficit and general underdevelopment, these parameters must work in tandem, today and every other day that will come.

The Federal Government, in its efforts to institutionalize her reach to helping the region tackle its peculiar challenges, has established a firmer cohesion between the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs (MNDA) and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), with the Niger Delta Ministry playing the supervisory role in the activities of the NDDC.

This will create more success stories. Considering the past activities of these institutions’ work, we discover that financial allocation has never been the primary problem of developing the region. Rather it is the lack of political will, coupled with unnecessary project duplication of 98% between the MNDA and the NDDC, sandwiched by knowledge mismanagement and environmental conditioning, that is responsible for the current underdevelopment of the region.

From 2009-2015, four hundred and twenty-seven (427) projects costing N700, 538,741,691 has been awarded by the ministry. Of this budgetary sum, over 60% has been spent already. Yet, only 12% of these projects have been completed since, with only one (a cassava processing mill in Ondo) commissioned, 18% of these projects stalled and 70% under construction; for projects that require about 5yrs to complete. With money disbursed so far, the remaining N279bn is grossly inadequate to complete all projects under construction.

Not only that, the impact of these projects on the lives of the people is just 8%; with Road construction taking 87%, Training (Human Development) 0.87%, Conservation and Development of Coastal Ecosystem 0.03%, Water Scheme 0.32%, Rehabilitation and Remediation of Oil Impacted sites 0.16%, Skill Acquisition Centers 4.39%, Consultancy 2.13%, Food and Cassava Processing Plants 0.18%, Electrification 0.34%, Canalization 0.86% and Housing Scheme 1.05%.

Additionally, project duplication by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs (MNDA), the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Amnesty Programme, and the various State Programmes is very high. In reference to the Ministry’s project, percentage of project duplication by the NDDC is 98%, Amnesty Programm 90%, and State programmes 85%. This tells lack of harmonization in the prioritization of projects between these entities, so as to collectively develop the region from different fronts, to specialize their reach on the needs of the people.

From these account, we can derive that the poverty in the region does not merely have its solution in the availability of financial capital, but primarily in the continual strengthening of institutional frameworks designed to oversee the region’s development.

It is advantageous to know the following, in terms of capital project distribution across states since the Niger Delta Ministry was formed to 2015, that; that Rivers State has got 43%, Delta 26%, Akwa Ibom 7%, Abia 7%, Imo 6%, Bayelsa 3%, Ondo 4%, Edo 2% and Cross River 2%.

It is hence hopeful that the administration of the Niger Delta region will be in clear adherence to the mandate of the ministry; which is to serve as the primary vehicle for the execution of Government’s plans and programmes for rapid socio-economic development of the region. To formulate and execute plans, programmes and other initiatives as well as to coordinate the activities of agencies, communities, donors and other relevant stakeholders involved in the development of the region.

The Minister, Usani Uguru Usani has said "the direction of my work towards the mandate of the Ministry is to foster the realization of self-worth in every indigene of the Niger Delta for the sole purpose of positive living and synergy between the nation state and the Niger Delta region; and to anchor such on the common ethics of humanity. To further create ownership of sectoral development; and building such on political, social and economic tools towards a virile, efficient and sustainable regional economy".

We are optimistic that better days are ahead.

#MNDA_Reflection Day 4. The Role of the Niger Delta Multi Stakeholders Trust Fund

The role of the MSTF will be to catalyse development in the Niger Delta region in addition to, but not as a  replacement for or alternative to, Federal, State or Local Government functioning in the region. In the first instance,  the following activities of the MSTF in the implementation of the Action Plan are foreseen: 

1. The provision of Grants & Revolving Credit Schemes for individuals, Community Based Organizations,  Civil Society, Cooperatives etc. to support their participation in inclusive enterprise models or M4P  programmes.

2. The Provision of Technical Assistance. There is a need to provide expert advice and support to  companies, groups, stakeholders who want to implement, participate in or learn from inclusive enterprise  models, or pilot M4P approaches. 

3. Establishing a Challenge Fund instrument. Challenge funds are a mechanism for allocating and  disbursing public funds efficiently and fairly. The intention is to get funds to the organizations that truly need  them and can use them effectively to realize the broader aims of public policy; and to do this transparently. In the case of the Niger Delta thenterprisee instrument would be used to provide support to organizations that have  proven inclusive models which they want to scale up or replicate.  Provision of “additionality” investments. There are many opportunities for strategic coordination and  shared services which are unlikely to be embarked upon by individual states but if done will provide huge  additional benefit. 

4. Large scale, longer-term Investments. The fund will eventually also coordinate efforts by state & local  government where its role would be primarily planning and coordination, rather than delivery of actual  investment sums, which would remain the role of the parties responsible for the actions in question under  the Nigerian constitution.

#MNDA_Reflections Day 3 Building Collaborations With Equatorial Guinea For Niger Delta Relations.

The Niger Delta is part of the Gulf of Guinea. Hence, it is imperative that Nigeria and countries in the Gulf of Guinea are strengthened in relation to the Niger Delta.

Bilateral relations on economic and security issues for the wellbeing of the people of Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea is intensified by the Honorable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani as he hosted the Ambassador of Equatorial Guinea to Nigeria, Mr. Job Obiang Esono Mbengono on the 8th of August 2016.

Pastor Usani has continually maintained that collaboration of maritime security between the two countries demands commitment based on their strategic location in the Gulf of Guinea, so as to foster investment and trade across the Gulf.

A platform to promote security and trade across the region is currently under construction. This is to ease investment between investors from both countries, as a means of improving their economies.

Marine-based investment opportunities in maritime, coastal and manufacturing, among others, abounds and the enabling Laws required little or no amendment to explore the endless opportunities.