EGBEMA AS A PARADOX OF WEALTH AND POVERTY(Part 1).

It is hypothetical that the availability of natural resources is a sure source of wealth and development to the areas or countries with which they are blessed. Other factors that determine the economic strength of a society include but not limited to such demographic features as population, especially, the potency of the productive class; land mass etc.

Thus, Egbema may qualify as a wealthy society, considering the availability of some of these factors. No doubt, the presence of oil and gas and other hydrocarbons which form the major revenue base of Nigeria,without gain saying,places the Egbema Ethnic Nationality as a supposed major power broker and deciding factor in the politics (politricks) of the Nigerian state. How far this hypothesis has been proven still remains a question begging for answers and thus,a mirage.

It is however, established from several research works, especially in the Third World nations,that countries rich in mineral resources have been discovered to rank among the most underdeveloped, undeveloped,restive and poor nations of the world. No thanks to bipolar politics - the North -South dichotomy. At the local level,many scholars have attested to this, including Prof. Steve Azaiki with his popular "Oloibirinization" coinage. This depicts a state's failure to maximize available opportunities in order to convert them into full advantage and value for the betterment of the masses. This phenomenon epitomizes the agony of oil rich Oloibiri in present day Bayelsa that is majorly remembered and celebrated as a foremost oil producing area, courtesy of an old Christmas Tree and now,the Oloibiri Oil Museum. Recall the discovery of oil in Oloibiri,way back in 1956. The question now is: how much of mitigating factors including social infrastructure, human capital etc. are on ground to justify the contributions of this community in national income?

In the face of all these, Oloibiri represents other "oil rich" areas like Egbema,Ogoni,Ogba,Oguta,Izombe,Ohaji,Uzere,Ilaje etc. These are oil rich areas but poor people.

Prof.Azaiki,while espousing the term, "arrested development"in the Niger Delta region is not alone in this assertion. Arrested development permeates a society when agencies or individuals vested with development policies place this mandate at the secondary or lowest rung of the ladder. Internationally acclaimed scholars such as Prof. Watts etc. concur with Azaiki in this regard , bringing to the fore, the Domino effect of oil and gas. This Domino effect, where oil and gas remain common denominators,thus, translates to the Dutch Disease.This phenomenon sidelines other income sources such as agriculture, tourism etc., relying solely on the oil and gas sub-sector of the economy.

Such a country remains at the mercy of the capitalist West. This however,brings us to the second irony: the irony of answering an oil producing area or country without the technological wherewithal. Note that all the technologies for oil and gas production come from the West while we are here ascribing oil production wrongly to ourselves. So, what do we produce? The technology or the process? Definitely none.

This accounts for why Nigeria remains a consuming, rather than a producing country. We are only exporting raw materials to the West while importing finished products from them. Our leaders,so called, borrow money to share,just to boost their ego, while keeping us on servile servitude and fearfulness, according to William Shakespeare.

Today,the pages of our local and national dailies are awash with stories on oil theft,"kpofire" or illegal oil bunkering. The federal government claims to be in the forefront of the fight against oil theft. 

Several discussions at several levels have been taking place, highlighting the dangers of illegal oil bunkering but to no avail.Even the Petroleum Industry Act,PIA seeks to get the buy in of the locals in this regard, just like the presence of such bodies as NDDC, the Amnesty Program,the various oil mineral producing areas development commissions etc.,present in some states,all of which aim at calming agitating minds down. 

Yes, the negative effects of illegal oil bunkering far outweigh the advantages,if any. Pertinent questions still demand immediate answers.

One of the selling points of the immediate past regime headed by Buhari during their electioneering campaigns in 2015 was the establishment of modular or artisanal refineries. This would cluster the youths into groups and have them establish these refineries, thereby reducing oil theft and illegal bunkering, since it is either only the government or it's licensees that are authorized to undertake bunkering activities.

The Abaezhi, Egbema oil related fire disaster that claimed several lives-men, women, mostly youths is still very fresh in our memories. This act was condemned by all and should never occur again. Beyond this, fighting oil theft on the land and leaving those on the high seas is scratching the problem on the surface. Who owns these vessels at the high seas? No poor man does. So,the federal government should beam it's searchlight on the well-to-do in the society. If time is not taken, the government authorities are accomplices and so, remain complicit to this.

The plight of the Egbema man or woman in this regard remains a sad commentary. It requires to be properly interrogated.

Where are the modular refineries? No where to be found.

To add more insult into injury, the federal government is today, sponsoring legalized "illegal"bunkering in broad daylight between Agwa in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State and Ndoni in Rivers State ,crossing Egbema on daily basis. Their legalized "bunkerer" makes an average of 10 trips a day, 24/7. Stalin Global Oil Company surface -truck raw crude oil from an oil well location Agwa to an awaiting vessel in the River Niger for shipment abroad. They mame,kill and degrade the Egbema people and the environment, respectively, with all impunity and other forms of human rights abuse. Why not with impunity,when they have the army,the civil defense, the police, the navy and worst of all, the state government by their side?

Our backwardness, before now was ascribed to lack of proper education cum enlightenment or better put,lack of good orientation as well as lack of government representation. Today,we can boast of well educated men and women in different fields of human endeavour, including the political class. The question again, now is :so far,how market?

It baffles me when some of us ascribe leadership positions to ourselves without knowing what makes one a leader. We are leaders only when we put in the front burner, the interest of the masses we represent or claim to lead. Anything short of this is counter productive and a disservice to one's self and humanity.

How can a political office holder who attained a position, courtesy of the people's mandate demand commendations from the masses after attracting a development project to them? Or come to think of it,a civil servant demanding commendation from his community because he attracted a development project. Such a person is playing God.

Any society made up of persons like these is done for.

A politician into whose hands are votes meant for the execution of constituency projects, demanding praises from his constituents after executing such, to me, should think twice. He is fake.

Going forward, let's reexamine ourselves as a people. The above two scenarios smack of poverty of the mind, poverty of conscience and character. 

Here, attitudinal change is recommended. The absence of good conscience and character in a leader is equal to fake leadership -"all is fake". 

What do you expect from a noble but bastardized profession - Politics,a field of knowledge full of quacks in Nigeria. This is a place where majority of the people in political leadership are not trained in that art.Politics becomes the shortest route to quick money and fame in Nigeria. So anything can go, with charlatans and shenanigans lording it on the masses they are supposed to serve and protect because of the presence of free money.

We will however,do away with blame game and further lamentations. Let us go into a deep thought, reorientation and take a great leap forward. 

This will help us migrate from a rich Egbema but with poor people to a rich Egbema with rich minds, character and good conscience.

-Tony N.J.Omah,Ph.D wrote in from Abacheke in Egbema (Alinso),Imo State.