Friday, 24 May 2013
Their Excellencies E.G. Jonathan And H. S. Dickson Should Not Bury Gen. Andrew O. Azazi In Yenagoa
Rotimi Oyetunji
I hold that Nigeria is on trial again, but the nation seems not to understand her sign or time.
A Governor from the North and a General from the South died together after mourning the death of an elderly Bayelsa State. 'Come and join me on board', the General beckoned to the Governor -traveling through oil-filled land without roads, served by innocent dutiful officers and aids.
Together they walked, talked, communed. Together they died, their blood mingled never to be separated: splashed upon trees, grass, soil, and waters never to be recovered. The smoke from their burning skin ascended up to the skies as eternal testimony: because there were no roads, no bridges across Niger Delta tributaries. This is a great testimony against a Nation.
But it is reported that the General would be buried in the nearest available space, rather than buried in his own hometown which he greatly loved, and where he would have preferred to be laid, because there are no roads and bridges!
He comes from Peretorugbene, a major oil producing community. Most oil companies' barges traveling from Warri to Port-Harcourt would stop, rest and pass the night at this community. From the resources of this community and sister communities across Niger Delta roads and bridges were built in Lagos and other cities across Nigeria in the 70s, Abuja in the 80s and 90s, and a New City within Abuja is commissioned in 2012...
But Peretorugbene could not be accessed by road in 2012!
This community not only contributed to Nigeria's financial wealth from the oil beneath her soil, but also a son from within her womb, who has served the nation in every capacity imaginable of a General, but forcefully taking over the reign of power undemocratically. There was another Brigadier General Enai, from the same community, a WWII veteran, this is in addition to medical doctors, many barristers, company executives, and other personnel.
Developmental facilities within the Community by which these men and women were raised were mainly by self-efforts: Two Primary Schools, One Secondary School, One Comprehensive Health Centre, Diesel-fed electrification, etc.
The Federal Government has presence in form of an OMPADEC built bungalow as a doctor’s residence but which the floor was submerged by flood before it could ever be inhabited. OMPADEC also sand-filled about 100meters of land to extend habitable portion of the community. There is also a Shell Petroleum Development Corporation built science laboratory, but which the community had to agree to co-sponsor in form of financing accommodation for NYSC science teachers sent by SPDC before it could take off in 1997!
If it were within their financial capacity, Peretorugbene would have linked herself to the world by roads and bridges. And would General Owoye Azazi be laid in Yenagoa because the nation could not afford to give back a little to the community who has joined others to carry the financial burden of the nation for about five decades?
No! He must be carried to Peretorugbene by a road, and be laid to rest.
Because in Yenagoa, Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Abuja or elsewhere his soul, his blood, and that of his very last friend, Yakowa, and the other four witnesses would forever cry to God the Almighty against the nation Nigeria. And no government would succeed, nor Nigeria progress until the evil is reconciled. For God has given to his community that which should make his final journey easy, but for a nation which takes the resource and takes no diligence to give back.
He must be kept safe somewhere until the roads and bridges are completed for the journey. There must be bridges like the Third Mainland's of Lagos crisscrossing the Niger Delta creeks to make the commute of these benevolent people comfortable like those of Lagos, Abuja, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Onitsha, Ibadan etc.
It is not because of him as an individual, but because of Niger Delta communities as of necessity, belatedly. It is an urgent national moral imperative.
There may be some in government (and outside) who would want to work against this, and laid the blame at the step of Niger Delta State governments, forgetting that major roads and bridges in Nigeria were not built by respective States. Or they want to follow the steps of those who hinder Mark/Ekweremadu Senate from increasing allocation to Niger Delta after leading the whole Senate to visit these creeks in two companies in October 2007, and seeing first-hand the utter neglect of the region, to say the least! One of the arrowheads of antagonism then, and an oratorical Federal Government Secretary went to Port-Harcourt and delivered a message thus killing the move. But the Almighty God is greater than men, and it is He who rules in the affairs of men.....! The government then had been duly informed.
Owoye Azazi is, doubly, a Prince of the Niger: born along the Niger tributaries, and a defender of Nigeria in , in uniform and out of uniform!
Would anyone now want to block this move!
But President Jonathan and Governor Dickson should read the sign, understand the time, and heed the divine writing. It is not nepotism, but roads, bridges and restitution-due to develop a nation's greatness.
The time is now! They should not put their hands in pockets and look the other way!
Rotimi Oyetunji, formerly a NYSC corp member, served in Bayelsa State.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of SaharaReporters
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THE SS MUST HAVE REALIZED THEIR FOOLISHNESS IN 1967.
Submitted by DIASPORA DEMON (not verified) on December 28, 2012 - 13:07.
If wishes were horses,beggers would rise and how I wish we humans could turn back the hands of time.Late Gen Azazi was my father's next door neighbour,as a colonel,I was on a first name basis with him although he was a lot more older than me,he was a perfect Gentleman,he hardly wore the military Uniform because he was an intelligence officer.He did not talk a lot nor did he have visitors,his duplex was always a quiet place,he asked his body guard to invite me over for a game of chess every now and then,sometimes he would vanish for weeks or even months,he was a real soldier,well behaved and humble,he put his life on the line for his country.
It is sad to hear that the General is about to be betrayed in death by this government which I clearly do not like,he represented this institution which is super corrupt,I always wondered how he adjusted.The SS is impoverished and criminally neglected,Aburi was a better deal.
FOOLS
Submitted by frankwilliams (not verified) on December 28, 2012 - 08:45.
Aziza deserve to be throw inside lagoon for fishes to feed on.
USELESS general thief
Part 2
Submitted by stevemine1 (not verified) on December 28, 2012 - 03:40.
Chew on this poser:
This last christmas travels by our Igbo brothers and sisters have exposed the vulnerability of the Niger bridge - the only connection between the east and west. This bridge has been the subject of promises by all presidential candidate since 1999. The estimated cost for building a second Niger bridge to maintain this connection between the east and the whole country is just N6billion, why is our president more eager to build a feeding hall (2.2bn) and a VP's mansion (14bn)?
Part 1
Submitted by stevemine1 (not verified) on December 28, 2012 - 03:38.
The author of this article is mis-directing his blame.
First off, i'm from the South-South but i can never support such misleading write-ups. After the last 3 governors of the state have collected several trillions in the last 13yrs you still think it's not their business to build modern roads, so what else are they using all the money for? Marrying more wives and building edifices in PH?
Even if its the Federal Govt thats supposed to build roads in the creeks, is the man in Aso Rock not from Bayelsa? What did he do when he was deputy Gov and Governor of the state? Why is he busy building a N14billion mansion for his VP and a N2.2billion feeding hall? When N2billion will build several roads and bridges in the creeks?
Curious!
Submitted by Olugu Orji (not verified) on December 27, 2012 - 23:10.
I have been wondering why you'll bury a man outside his ancestral abode. Is that what he requested in his will?
You make only half sense
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 27, 2012 - 23:06.
Having visited the Niger delta a few time. I think you are joking if you think it is economically viable to link communities of less than 10000 people with hundreds of miles of bridges through inaccessible seawater logged swamps. Just like Abuja, it is tantamount to a colossal waste of resources. While land can be reclaimed in cities like yenagoa and asaba because they are contiguous and have a land bridge with the rest of the country,the island can only be viably developed with a comprehensive coastal transport system made up of modern ferries and boats.
And your talk of Lagos been developed with oil money. most of Lagos infrastructure was on ground before oil. Infact I will take colonial Lagos over the ugly ,overpopulated Lagos anytime. building bridges only requires granite,limestone,steel,tar,sand,water,brains,Thing we have in abundance in SW.also do not forget the VAT,duties,port charges which Lagos does not get derivation money . our oil and gas is being stolen as well.
what is stopping Dumbo Jo developing the Niger Delta ?
Submitted by tundemash (not verified) on December 27, 2012 - 22:30.
@Mr. Rotimi Oyetunji
If IBB and other northern rulers developed the north as you insinuated in your article ..... what is stopping Dumbo Jo developing the Niger Delta ?
Dumbo is a disaster fostered on us all by half-informed voters like this writer. He's not useful to his immediate community (Ijaw), he's not useful to the generality of Nigerians !
what is the Bayelsa state Ministry of Works budget spent on ?
Submitted by tundemash (not verified) on December 27, 2012 - 22:26.
Mr. Rotimi Oyetunji, ex. NYSC corp member, you do not want us to blame Niger Delta govs because as you put it "major roads and bridges in Nigeria were not built by respective States. "
First, you need some lecturing apparently you just left school.
1. Third Mainland Bridge and other bridges mostly on Lagos Island were built when Lagos was the Federal Capital. Lagos has alos been neglected since FG moved to Abuja and Lagos govt. has taken over since then. I advise you to read newspapers often.
2. Not all roads were built by the FG, the states built most roads.
3. 13% of the nation's resources , running into billions, were allocated to the development of the Niger Delta .... where is that money ?
4. A Ministry of Niger Delta has been created for over 5 years now with Niger Delta indigenes heading it since inception ..... where is the money spent ?
5. If the FG has to build roads to all villages, where is the state ministry of works budget spent on ?
BAYELSA A FAILED STATE
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 27, 2012 - 19:10.
Mr. Whyte wrote about marshall plan, please no such plan would work in Niger Delta OR BAYELSA. I have worked in Niger Delta, it is a sodom and gomorah on earth. They need leaders that have the plight of the people at heart. What they have now are rogues, imbeciles and mosquitoes sucking the life blood out of their people. They eliminate each other with a blink of an eye. What is needed is Rawlings style (plan) used to cleanse Ghana of rogues and no-good leaders. Today Nigeria has forgotten GHANA MUST GO, it is Nigerians flooding Ghana and booming their economy. All the top schools in Ghana are filled with Nigerians. If you have a Marshall plan who will execute it? BAYELSIANS ARE VERY PROMISCUOUS AND DON'T EVEN CARE ABOUT THEIR PARENTS LIVING IN THE VILLAGES OR RIVERINE AREAS. THEY ARE SELFISH AND INDOLENT. SO DON'T TALK ABOUT MARSHALL PLAN, IT WON'T WORK THERE.
SHAME ON SENSELESS-USELESS NIGER DELTA LEADERS
Submitted by BUGUMA (not verified) on December 27, 2012 - 18:24.
ALL NIGER DELTA LEADERS PAST & PRESENT SHOULD BURIAL THEIR HEADS IN THE SAND OR JUST DIE. THEY CRY FOR RESOURCE CONTROL BUT HAVE NOTHING TO SHOW FOR OVER N7.3TR ALLEGEDLY COLLECTED BY THEM. THEIR PEOPLE CRY DAILY WHILE THE LEADERS SQUANDER THEIR FUNDS.HOW MUCH TRACED TO JAMES IBORI? THEY BUILD MANSIONS IN ABUJA, DUBAI, USA, LONDON AND OTHER BUT CANNOT EVEN GRADE THEIR VILLAGE ROADS OR OWN BEFITTING HOMES IN THEIR VILLAGES. THE NAVY PLANE CRASHED BECAUSE THERE WERE NO MOTORABLE ROADS AND THE PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA IS FROM BAYELSA.SAME PRESIDENT HIS BROTHER DIED OF MALARIA/TYPHOID WITH NO MONEY TO TREAT HIM.IT WAS DISCLOSED THAT MR.PRESIDENT'S NEPHEWS/NICES LOOK LIKE KWASHIOKO VICTIMS. THEY WANT MORE MONEY TO BUY MORE PLANES. JUST TAKE A COUNT OF ALL THE GOVERNORS OF NIGER DELTA STATES OWING PLANES, FROM ROCHAS OKOROCHA, ROTIMI AMAECHI, AKPABIO & MORE ARE SQUANDERING THE RESOURCES OF THEIR PEOPLE. SHAME ON NIGER DELTA GOVERNORS AND LEADERS-YOU ARE THIEVES AND 419NERS!!
The issues and developmental
Submitted by Aidi Whyte (not verified) on December 27, 2012 - 17:48.
The issues and developmental challenges or stagnation of the Niger Delta is still evident. Not sure the death of 2 prominent Nigerians should act as the platform for reinstating the need for a "marshall plan" for the Niger Delta. Whilst my thoughts are with the families of the 2 prominent Nigerians who lost their lives, a more fundamental issue is at stake in our country - what do we mean by development and growth?
Great article. God bless the
Submitted by Ade (not verified) on December 27, 2012 - 16:09.
Great article. God bless the writer. Wonder why any sensible people will bury a great man outside of his community. God help us in this country.
