Editorial
NIGER-DELTA AVENGERS (NDA): AVENGING ON THE FRAUDULENT AND NEO-COLONIZED NIGERIAN STATE TO “MEND” THE INJUSTICE DONE THE NIGER-DELTA OVER THE DECADES IN ORDER TO BRING ABOUT FREEDOM.
NIGER-DELTA AVENGERS (NDA):
AVENGING ON THE FRAUDULENT AND NEO-COLONIZED NIGERIAN STATE TO “MEND” THE INJUSTICE DONE THE NIGER-DELTA OVER THE DECADES IN ORDER TO BRING ABOUT FREEDOM.
In the Bible book of Matthew 22 : 21, Jesus Christ told the Pharisees, their disciples and Herodians, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s – King James Version,
On his own, former reggae maestro and rastafarian, late Peter Markin -Tosh, in one of his musical albums titled “Equal Rights”, sang as follows:
“Everyone is crying out for peace yes,
None is crying out for justice.
Everyone is crying out for peace yes,
Non is crying out for justice.
I don’t want no peace,
I need equal rights and justice”.
In line with the above quotes, when Groundnut, Cocoa and Coal were the economic mainstay of the defunct Northern, Western and Eastern regions respectively in the defunct first republic, the proceeds from these resources were used to develop the aforementioned regions. Similarly, when the defunct Midwestern region was created, though to weaken late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s political empire, the new region’s bills were paid from the proceeds of Palm-oil, Rubber and Timber, that were in abundance or commercial quantity in the region.
Conversely, when Crude-Oil was discovered in commercial quantity at Oloibiri, an Ijaw town in the defunct Eastern Region and present day Bayelsa State of the Niger-Delta (South-south geopolitical zone), the music of fiscal federalism or resource control changed. Crude-oil became an exclusive natural resource of the Federal Government and it’s proceeds collected, controlled and shared at the discretion of the Federal Government to itself, the States and Local Government Councils. What a daylight robbery! Over the decades, Crude-oil and Gas have been discovered all over the Niger-Delta, and they have since become the economic mainstay of Nigeria, paying or accounting for over 80% of her bills.
While derivation was 50% in the defunct first republic during the Groundnut, Cocoa, Coal, Palm-oil, Timber, Tin and other natural economic resources era, military adventurers abolished derivation on their incursion into governance. After decades of peaceful protests and agitations by the Niger-Deltans for fair share of their God-given Oil wealth, a paltry 1.5% derivation was introduced by President Alhaji Shehu Aliyu Usman Shagari’s government of the defunct second republic (1979 -1983), later increased to 3% by the General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida’s bloodthirsty and dictatorial government of 1986 -1993, and now 13%, as agreed by the oppressive and repressive three most populated tribes of Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba and Ibo in the General Abdulsalami Abubakar led dictatorial military imposed 1999 Constitution.
Although, the Federal Government has since established interventionist agencies like Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Ministry of Niger-Delta Affairs (MNDA) and Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) for the development of the Niger-Delta.
Unfortunately, these agencies are merely established to deceive the people and the international community, as they are not adequately funded to achieve desired goals or at least develop the Niger-Delta like Northern and Western Nigeria.
To buttress my claim, I had that only a paltry N41 Billion is allocated to the Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for infrastructural and human capital development in the Niger-Delta (nine Oil producing states) in this year’s budget. Similarly, Ministry of Niger-Delta Affairs (MNDA) and the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) are allocated with a paltry N19 Billion and N20 Billion respectively. In other words, the total sum allocated to the three interventionist agencies to develop the nine Niger-Delta (oil producing states) is a paltry N80 Billion.
It is sad to note that Nigerians who are not from the Niger-Delta and the international community, see this paltry N80 Billion allocated to the three interventionist agencies to develop the Niger-Delta (nine oil producing states) from the multi-trillion Petrodollars accruing to the Federation Account from the Niger-Delta Oil and Gas, as very much enough. Whereas, Ecological Fund, which is mainly spent to fight desertification in Northern Nigeria, while the Niger-Delta and Southeastern Nigeria erodes away, is allocated N800 Billion in this years budget. As usual, the budgetary allocations to each of the three northern geopolitical zones of northwest, northeast and north-central, as well as southwest is 100% more than what is allocated to the Niger-Delta States (South-south geopolitical zone).
Besides, summing up the monthly allocation from the federation account through Oil and Gas proceeds to Kano State and her 46 Local Government Councils alone in Northern Nigeria could be equal to, if not more than the allocation going to three or more Niger-Delta States, such as Ondo, Edo, Cross River and Bayelsa, and their Local Government Areas put together.
To further appreciate the point I am making, few weeks back, Lagos State Government announced N844 Billion to build the forth Lagos Mainland Bridge, which will be sponsored with the Niger-Delta Petrodollars going to Lagos State as allocation from the Federation Account. Painfully, the criminal Nigerian State has refused to construct the about 30 kilometres road from Warri to Forcados, an Oil and Gas rich coastal town by the Atlantic Ocean, which hosts Nigeria’s Oil Export Terminal with lots of Oil-wells and a very big Oil Tank Farm. A road that has been proposed over four decades ago!
Main while, with the establishment of the Northeast Development Commission, a geopolitical zone deliberately destroyed by their terrorist natives for no cogent reason(s), you sure won’t be surprised seeing this criminal Nigerian State and her Rulers allocating a quarter of the national budget, which is implemented with the Petrodollars from the Niger-Delta to the Northeast development.
Apart from being the forth most populated tribe in the contraption called Nigeria, Ijaw land has the highest Oil, Gas and other natural resources concentration in her bowel than any other land in Nigeria. Sadly, the Ijaw ethnic nation was balkanized into the defunct Western, Eastern and Midwestern Regions. As against the wishes of the Ijaws, the subsequent creation of states by military adventurers like Yakubu Gowon, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and late Sanni Abacha, further balkanized the Ijaw ethnic nation into six states of Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa-Ibom.
In line with the satanic agenda of the Hausa-Fulani neo-colonialists and their Yoruba stooges against the Ijaw ethnic nation, the Ijaws are now minority even in the Niger-Delta States, a geopolitical zone they are in majority, save for Bayelsa and Rivers States. Very disheartening!
Undoubtedly, this has adversely affected development of the Ijaw ethnic nation in no small measure, knowing that government is the highest spender in all the third world countries the world over.
It may interest the international community, particularly, the civilized democracies like the United States of America (USA), United Kingdom (UK), France, Canada, Russia, Japan, China, etcetera, to know that the Ijaw ethnic nation with her abundant human and natural resources, particularly, Oil and Gas, which accounts for about 80% of Nigeria’s income and pays her bills, is not seen as part of Nigeria by the Nigerian State and her Rulers. This is predicated upon the following reasons:
- That, 99.99% of the entire Ijaw land is not connected to other parts (ethnic nations) of Nigeria by road network, in spite of the fact that all roads in Nigeria, including federal, states and local government council roads are constructed with the Petrodollars from the bowel of Ijaw land;
- That, it’s only the Ijaw ethnic nation that is not connected to Nigeria’s national grid, in spite of the fact that Nigeria’s power and energy are generated mostly from the abundant Gas reserves in Ijaw land. The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatude Raji Fashola confirmed this claim when he said that, “Out of Nigeria’s 26 Power Plants, 23 are run with Gas from the Niger-Delta, hence there is power outage in the country with Niger-Delta Avengers (NDA) blowing up Oil installations;
- That, there was no single higher institution of learning in the length and breadth of Ijaw land till the late Diepreye Solomon Peters Alamienyeseigha (PhD.), former Governor of Bayelsa State/Governor-General of the Ijaw ethnic nation established the Bayelsa State Government owned Niger-Delta University at Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State;
- That, there was no single federal higher institution of learning in the entire Ijaw land till Nigeria’s former President Goodluck Jonathan (PhD.) established a federal university at Otuoke, Bayelsa State, along with nine Universities in the North, two in the Southwest and one in Southeast Nigeria, making every state in Nigeria have a federal university;
- That, the Maritime University established by the former President , Goodluck Jonathan (PhD.) at Okerenkoko, an Ijaw coastal town by the Atlantic Ocean in the Oil and Gas rich Gbaramatu Kingdom of Warri Southwest Local Government Area, Delta State, is at the brink of cancellation by the Muhammadu Buhari led federal government;
- That, there is no single Teaching or Specialist Hospital in the whole Ijaw land, in spite of frequent outbreak of diseases (epidemic) in Ijaw land due to Oil exploration, drilling and spillages, which contaminates and pollutes the environment. Whereas, there are lots of Teaching and Specialist Hospitals in the Northwest, Northeast, North-central, Southwest and Southeast, whose bills are paid with the Petrodollars from the bowel of Ijaw land;
- That, 80% of the Oil blocks in Ijaw land have been shared or allocated to the Hausa-Fulanis, who are in the arid and rocky/mountainous Northern Nigeria, where there is no Oil. The remaining 20% is allocated to the Yoruba and Ibo ethnic groups of Southwest and Southeast, leaving non for the Ijaws, on whose land majority of the Oil and Gas is naturally deposited;
- That, all the management staff, senior, middle and junior cadre of Oil and Gas workers in Ijaw land and their company offices far away in Lagos and Abuja are exclusively occupied or reserved for the Hausa-Fulanis, Yoruba and Ibos, leaving the Ijaws with a paltry 0.01% casual work with Oil Servicing Companies;
*That, as a result of Oil exploration, exploitation, spillages, etcetera, the entire Ijaw land has been contaminated and polluted to the extent that , the ecosystem, including marine life has been seriously damaged, and crops too can’t grow again;
- Human life is not exempted in the damage done the ecosystem of Ijaw land, as the average human lifespan which used to be between 70 years to 80 years is now between 45 years to 50 years.
The marginalization, degradation, oppressive and repressive acts meted the Ijaw ethnic nation by the criminal Nigerian State and her Rulers are countless. However, for your benefit, the reader, I leave the rest evil the Ijaws have been forcefully subjected to over the decades for you to imagine.
Corollary to the above, the Niger-Delta Avengers (NDA) who are a group of highly educated young Niger-Deltans, with no hope about their future and confidence in the criminal Nigerian State are agitating for total freedom (resource control) rather than a fair share of their God-given resources by blowing-up Oil facilities. Obviously, this is as a result of the failure of peaceful protests their parents embarked on in the past but where brutally murdered by the criminal Nigerian State and her Rulers. The brutal murderer of Major Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro after using him to defend the territorial integrity of Nigeria during the Nigerian civil war, from the coastal axis, Kenule Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni nine and lots of others which are still ongoing is very fresh in the memory of the average Niger-Deltan.
From the modus operandi of the Niger-Delta Avengers (NDA), which is mainly on crippling the Nigerian Economy, than killing innocent and defenceless people with reckless abandon, like the criminal Nigerian State, Boko Haram (a terrorist group in Northern Nigeria) and Muhammadu Buhari’s Fulani kinsmen terrorists, masquerading as Herdsmen, it is crystal clear that they are fighting to free the entire Niger-Delta from the shackles of neo-colonialism and eminent Islamization by the fraudulent Nigerian State, the Hausa-Fulani Jihadists/Terrorists of Northern Nigeria and their Yoruba stooges of Southwest Nigeria.
Therefore, any Niger-Deltan, particularly, Ijaw man, who is against the Niger-Delta Avengers (NDA) is under mental slavery, which is the worse form of slavery. This form of slavery gives “you the illusion of freedom, makes you trust, love and defend your oppressor(s), while making an enemy of those who are trying to free you or open your eyes”.
Ordinarily, “People don’t want to hear the truth because they don’t want their illusions destroyed” – Friedrich Nietzsche.
On his part, George Orwell said that, “The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it”.
In situations like what is happening now in Nigeria , as it affects the Niger-Delta, particularly, Ijaw land, Emiliano Zapata has this to say: That, “If there is no justice for the people , let there be no peace for the government”.
Main while, Malcolm X said that, “Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality and justice. If you are a man, you take it”.
Therefore, the Niger-Delta Avengers (NDA), who are avenging on the criminal Nigerian State and her Rulers in order to bring about equal rights and justice for the Niger-Deltans are patriots that should be held in high esteem, encouraged and supported. In fact, all Niger-Deltans should be proud to be part of the Niger-Delta struggle for freedom, than condemning the freedom fighters.
After all, in the eyes of Muhammadu Buhari, Boko Haram members are good people and very dear to Northern Nigeria. Hence, he said in ThisDay Newspaper that, “Military offensive against Boko Haram, anti-north”. A northern terrorist group that has brutally killed over 20,000 innocent and defenceless Nigerians with reckless abandon?
Similarly, the Minister of Interior, General Abdulrahman Dambazou, said in Channels Television that, “Deployment of military to combat Herdsmen menace was not an option because the situation has not overwhelmed the police yet”. Another northern terrorists group that has brutally killed over 3,000 innocent and defenceless Nigerians in cold-blood, like their Boko Haram counterparts?
In view of the above, I make bold to say that, military offensive against Niger-Delta Avengers (NDA) is anti-Niger-Delta, particularly, the Ijaw ethnic nation, which has turned battle field for emancipation of the Niger-Delta.
To the oppressive and repressive criminal Nigerian State and her Rulers, even the Holy Quran say in Sura 42 verse 41 that, “All those that fight when oppressed incur no guilt, but Allah shall punish the oppressors”.
GET UP, STAND UP,
STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS.
GET UP, STAND UP,
DON’T GIVE-UP TO FIGHT…Peter Markin-Tosh.
NIGER-DELTA! NIGER-DELTA!! NIGER-DELTA!!!
FREEDOM IS COMING SOON!
- Hon. Edumogiren Austin is a political analyst and public commentator.
Your Excellency,
SUBJECT: Strategic Proposal to Leverage Dangote’s Bayelsa Visit and Unlock Delta’s Coastal Industrial Corridor
Warm greetings to Your Excellency and continued appreciation for your stewardship over the affairs of Delta State.
I write to you with a sense of strateg urgency and patriotic commitment, in light of Alhaji Aliko Dangote’s recent visit to Bayelsa State, which has reunited national attention toward private-sector-led industrial development in the Niger Delta. As commendable as that engagement is, Delta State holds even more viable, strategic, and economically advantageous alternatives that demand immediate prioritisation and promotion.⁸
Deltas Host to Tree of the Many Oil Terminals in Nigeria
Delta State is host to Escravos Oil Terminal, Forcados Oil Terminal, and the Agbami Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading offshore facility (FPSO). This and many more makes Delta the highest Oil Producing State in Nigeria today. It is our firm belief that the Delta State Government can approach the Dangote Group or any other local or international oil and gas consortium to build mega/Modular Oil Refineries incorporated with power plats near these export terminals, construct a railway and dual carrage highway, and power transmission networks from the incorporated power plants to Warri city. This way, constant oil supply to the Refineries is guaranteed, constant power supply is guaranteed, constant supply of Petroleum products is guaranteed, and the issue of motorable road infrastructure from the city centre to the creeks/coastal coastal communities of the Niger Delta creeks is resolved. More than that, road access makes it more efficient for securing the oil-rich swampy terrain of Delta State.
Delta Coast Corridor: A Hidden Goldmine
Communities such as Pepper-Ama/Oporoza in Gbaramatu Kingdom, and Youbebe/Ogulagha in Ogulagha Kingdom, and Forcados/Beniboye in Iduwini Kingdom, located along the Coastline of Warri-Southwest Local Government Area and Burutu Local Government Area respectively, offer a rare confluence of economic advantages that make them ideal for:
a. A modular or full scale Crude Oil Refinery or petrochemical plant
b. A deep water Offloading depot and marine Terminal
c. A seaport connected to international shipplanes
d. A motorable road and rail linking the creeks to Warri city, the East-West road, and beyond
Unlike some other locations in the region, these areas are resources-rich, geostrategically positioned, relatively peaceful, and welcoming to industrial development.
Why Delta State MustAct Now
You Excellency, Delta must not be a spectator in the race to attract transformative investments. With Dangote, Ibeto, etc, and/or other industrial giants exploring new Refinery locations, the time is ripe for Delta State to present a unified, attractive, and superior proposition.
Here’s why this corridor stands out:
1. Superior Geographic Advantage
Pepper-ama, Ogulagha, Youbebeb, Forcados, and Beniboye lies along navigable coastal waters with direct access to the Atlantic Ocean, making them ideal for a deep-sea port and marine logistics hub that can serve the South-South, South-East, North-Central, and North-East regions.
2. Proximity to Existing Oil and Gas Fields/Installations
These communities are surrounded by operational oil and gas assets, iwned by major IOCs and national companies. A Refinery or depot sited here would reduce reliance on Lagos ports, minimizes inland transportation cost and problems that often lead to massive traffic jam due to influx of big Petroleum tankers sharing Limited road facilities with other users, by decentralizing fuel distribution.
3. Untapped Blue Economy Potential
With maritime infrastructure, these coastal areas can become hubs for logistics, ship repairs, offshore support services, and even export-based industrial and agricultural processing zones.
4. Community Willingness and Land Availability
The people Gbaramatu Ogulagha and Iduwini Kingdoms have consistently demonstrated hospitality towards industry, making land and support available-if development is inclusive, environmentally sounds, and consutative.
Key infrastructure Priority: An All-Se Road Network
To fully unlock this region’s economic value, the construction of a durable, all-season motorable road from the creeks to Warri and onward to other urban centres is non-negotiable.
This road will ensure seamless distribution of Petroleum products from future reginry/Offloading depots.
It will integrate these coastal communities into the broader Delta economy and reduce travel times and transport costs.
With federal alignment, it could feed into the East-West road, facilitating cargo movement to the South-East, North-Central, and North-East geopolitical regions.
Recommendations for Strategic Actions
1. Host a Coastal Investment Summit in Warri
Invite key investors, including Aliko Dangote, BUA, NNPC Ltd., Waltersmith, Renaissance, Transcorp Group, etc., and other global operators.
Showcase Delta’s Coastal Corridor as a viable industrial zone ready for investment.
2. Commission a Joint Feasibility Study
Assess Pepper-ama, Youbebe, Ogulagha, Forcados, and Beniboye communities for a Refinery, Offloading depot, and seaport.
Include road infrastructure needs and environmental safeguards.
3. Establish a Delta Coastal Development Authority (DCDA) or use the Delta State Ministry of Riverine Communities Development
Tasked with coordinating infrastructure planning, PPP engagement, and land/community integration.
4. Lobby Federal Government, NNPC, and other critical stakeholders
Secure destination of the area as a strategic industrial development zone.
Explore subsidy, tax, and logistics waivers to incentive private-sector eng.
Conclusively, let Delta take the lead
Your Excellency, it is time for Delta to reclaim its historic leadership as the industrial and economic heartbeat of the Niger Delta. By proactively showcasing our superiors’ sites and unlocking our creek-to-hinterland logistics corridor, we can attract investment that will create jobs, build infrastructure, and catalyze long-term prosour people.
Let us not watch others harvest the fruit of opportunities planted better our own terrain.
We look forward to bold leadership and swift action.
Yours in service and development,
Peretengboro Bibaikefie
Thanks you
Editorial
A-Z on How AI Can Help You Design Your Future; Hear Ngozi’s Story from Technology to Transformation
From the Editor’s Desk – IduwiniVoice
In an age where artificial intelligence is reshaping industries and disrupting traditional careers, Award-winning entrepreneur Ngozi Elobuike is proving that living your dream life is more possible than ever before. And she’s not just talking about it-she’s living it.
Once sleeping on her sister’s couch, Elobuike has since transformed her lowest point into a global, AI-powered life of purpose and creativity. Now splitting her time between the U.S., Ireland, France, she’s built a life that reflects both ambition and intention. From founding Ireland’s first black-led wine club and launching two luxury beverage brands to publishing an AI-powered travel book and teaching over 500 creatives how to use AI to unlock their potential, Elobuike’s story is a living blueprint for the modern dreamers.
“Most people stay stuck in lives they don’t love because they think transformation takes years,” Elobuike said in her recent TEDx talk, which has generated over 200,000 views. “They believe dreams lives belongs to other people-the lucky ones.”
For Elobuike, AI is more than just a tool-it’s a catalyst for reinvention. She sold her social media agency in 2021 and used AI to build her next business, handing off repetitive tasks to technology so she could focus on the things that matter: writing for Forbes, competing in powerlifting and living as a digital nomad across 35 cities.
“Your dream life is closer than you think with AI as your partner,” she said.
At the heart of her philosophy is the belief that life is a laboratory.
“What does a scientist do? They think about life as an experiment,” Elobuike explains. “You have dependent variables and you have independent variables. You have things that you can control in your settings.”
To her, AI is the Independent variable that “has the ability to act as an enzyme. It lowers the activation energy needed to complete a task.”
Identify what drains you, and delegate repetitive tasks to AI. Tools like Claude for writing, Zapier for automation, and Perplexity for research can reclaim hours of your day and give you space to create.
One of her most innovative ideas? Creating an AI advisory board-a team of specialized AI personas to advise on business, creativity, and personal growth.
“Instead of asking your friend who may be a naysayer, ‘hey, I’m thinking about starting this new idea venture, ‘ consider asking AI,” she suggests. “Prompt ChatGPT and say I have an idea for X. Give me advise as if you were Oprah.”
Elobuike also urges people to test their ideas with small, smart experiments.
“You don’t need to quit your job tomorrow, Want to write? Use AI to pushing one article. Want to Launch a wine? Don’t start with the wine-start with a product mockup and gauge your audience’s reaction.”
While many remain sceptical-only 32% of adults believe AI will benefit them, with scepticism highest amongst women and older adults-Elobuike sees a window of opportunity.
“While others debate whether AI is good or bad, you can be building,” she advises. “That hesitation is head start.”
The real magic, she says, comes from a mindset of continuous improvement.
“Growth hacking is what startup entrepreneurs created as a term back in 2010. What is growth hacking? Imagine if you got 1% better every day, but 10% better every day.”
Her advice is clear: Stop playing with AI like a toy. Start using it as a system. Use it to build, scale, and magnify things that make you uniquely you.
In a word still catching up to the power of artificial intelligence, Ngozi Elobuike is already living in the future-and showed the rest of us how to get there. Let Elobuike’s story fire your marrows and power your dreams today.
Editorial
Taming the Swampy Creeks, Bridging the Future: Bayelsa’s Nembe-Brass Coastal Road Begins to Take Shape
IduwiniVoice
The long-anticipated Nembe-Brass Road project, a monumental infrastructure initiative in Bayelsa State, is making steady headway as construction advances into its second phase, with the second major bridge now rising from the creeks, Arogbo-IbeVoice Newspaper reported.
Launched in June 2022, the 21-kilometre Nembe-Brass Road is designed to link the historically isolated Brass Island to Nembe and ultimately to the mainland, opening a new corridor of access and opportunity for the people of Bayelsa East Senatorial District.
New images emerging from the site offer compelling evidence of the ongoing work. Concrete pillars for the second bridge now tower above the swamplands, while heavy machinery continues the arduous task of road expansion through the difficult terrain.
Describing the pace of the project, a site engineer who spoke under anonymity noted: “We are tackling one of the most technically challenging sections now, and the progress is remarkable given the terrain. The second bridge is a critical component, and once it’s complete, we can begin surfacing the next stretch of the road.”
The road, when completed, will not only facilitate easier movement between Brass and Nembe but also serve as a strategic link to the Atlantic coastline — vital for trade, tourism, and security. Locals have long expressed hopes that the project would transform the economic and social landscape of the region.
Speaking at a recent inspection tour, Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to delivering the project: “We are determined to see this road completed. It is not just a road; it is a lifeline for our people, an artery of development that has been long overdue.”
Many community leaders and stakeholders have praised the government’s persistence in driving the project despite fiscal and environmental constraints. Chief Ebikesei Ben-Wills, a traditional leader in Brass, remarked: “This is not just concrete and gravel — this is our future taking shape before our eyes.”
As the second bridge nears completion and more sections of the road take form, optimism grows that Bayelsa’s coastal communities may finally be lifted from decades of isolation.
The Nembe-Brass Road is more than infrastructure; it is a symbol of long-awaited inclusion, bridging the gap between forgotten communities and a modern, connected Bayelsa.