President of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC),World wide, Barr. Pereotubo Oweilaemi, speaks in this interview on the controversial Water Bill proposed by the Federal Government, which the Senate said it planned to revisit and other national issues. Excerpts:
The Senate President recently said that the controversial Water Bill would be revisited; can we have the position of the IYC on this?
We have made our position known to the world. We are opposed to it. It’s not going to be in our best interest. The bill is going to be another draconian law that tends to colonise the Niger Delta region. That bill if passed into law will further emasculate us. The purpose, as we have seen already, is to take away our riparian rights over the waterways. That is dangerous to our survival as a people. They have taken control of the natural resources in our lands through legislative instruments, now they want to have an exclusive control of the creeks to the detriment of the riverine dwellers. We will not allow that to happen. The passage of this inimical bill will beget anarchy in the Niger Delta region because the people will revolt against its operation. At least, let us learn from the bitter experiences of the oil crisis occasioned by the legislative colonisation of our economic right.
To us, the bill is another neo-colonisation agenda by the Federal Government to annihilate and subjugate the destinies of the Niger Delta people, thereby subjecting the people to eternal colony. We are rejecting the bill in its entirety as it will only end up causing disaffection between the Niger Delta people and the Federal Government of Nigeria.
What if the bill is actually in the interest of your people?
We have perused the spirits and letters of the said bill clause by clause. There is nothing in the proposed law that will benefit the Niger Delta people. This is a clear departure from the sacred constitutional requirements of enacting laws which are for the public good, public morality and public safety. A Bill that is designed to divest the people of natural resources in their domains cannot bring peace and good governance to the people.
My sincere advice to the National Assembly members is that they should, as a matter of public good and for the sake of our corporate coexistence, reject the bill outrightly or in the alternative, remove the clauses that seek to control the surface and groundwater resources, including river beds and banks. The management of the water resources should be left with the states. IYC under my leadership will do everything humanly possible within the ambit of the law to resist the passage of the bill. This is our destinies and we will collectively tackle the government to ensure that we control our destinies from the clutches of the foreign invaders.
There is no doubt that the passage of this inimical bill will pit the Niger Delta communities against their visitors. We do not want a repeat of history in the region. This is a surreptitious means to reintroduce the botched cattle colony or Ruga Settlement plan. Niger Delta people will resist it even with the last drop of our blood.
The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, warned that the disintegration of Nigeria would not be in the interest of any group; is that in line with the position of IYC?
IYC disagrees with the Vice President. All is not well with this country. There is a structural dichotomy or better still, a democratic disparity among the diverse ethnic groups. This injustice remains an eternal scar on our minds, especially the oppressed. Until it is corrected, not many people will want the continued membership of this country. We should not deceive ourselves.
As early as 1960, immediately after Independence, people started thinking of self autonomy. The northerners first planned it in 1952. Niger Delta people did that through Major Isaac Jasper Boro in 1966 which was immediately followed by the Igbos through Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. All these groups had reasons to secede from Nigeria. The injustices that inspired the secessionists’ movements in the country have not been addressed. These are the reasons why the threats to break up this country are gaining momentum now. The Vice President cannot feign ignorance of what is happening in the land. As far as these injustices persist, people will be happy breaking away from this oppressive country. Everybody wants to live in freedom and where freedom is in want, of course the oppressed will seek to disembark from that forced marriage for his freedom.
