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OPEN LETTER TO THE CHAIRMAN, AGGE FEDERATED COMMUNITY, MR. FUNPUWEI AYERE ON THE NEED TO WORK WITH A BLUEPRINT FOR AGGE DEVELOPMENT
OPEN LETTER TO THE CHAIRMAN, AGGE FEDERATED COMMUNITY, MR. FUNPUWEI AYERE ON THE NEED TO WORK WITH A BLUEPRINT FOR AGGE DEVELOPMENT
Mr Chairman,
May it please you that I want to start this missive with a brief story.
In 2016, I was deployed to Kwara State by the National Youth Service Commission (NYSC) to serve my fatherland, but I declined it, because I wanted to serve in Bayelsa State. In 2017, my desire to serve in Bayelsa State came to pass. But there was a challenge. I was posted to Yenagoa, and Yenagoa was not my choice. I wanted to serve in the land that now host the bones and dust of my mother beneath the solid crust of the earth — AGGE.
I was posted to a Ministry in Yenagoa that was perfect for my academic background, an environment where my professional skills would have been further honed and sharpened. But I ignored that offer and insisted on going to the land of my mother’s birth to serve. I very much wanted to contribute to the progress of the students in the community in my own little way.
I met my uncle, the late Chief Enio Joseph Alla and explained the reasons I wanted to serve in Agge. He endorsed my reasons. Fortunately, the NYSC head office in Yenagoa was behind his own office — a minute or two away from his office. I drafted the letter of redeployment right in his office and went to the NYSC head office. The NYSC Coordinator of Bayelsa State, a woman, welcomed us, and upon my uncle’s explanation of the purpose of the visit, she took the letter, and without even going through the content approved my request and appended her signature.
First, I told that story to point out the fact that we are concerned about the progress and development of Agge. Second, to prove that we have experienced Agge enough, even after the one year national service, to know some of the problems and challenges the community is facing.
So it is in alignment with the spirit of communal patriotism that I am crafting this open letter to you to remind you of things you know far better than myself. I am just a concerned youth expressing his concerns about his motherland, with the hope that things could be better if we all show some practical concern about fixing the problems of our community.
Mr Chairman, to not make the mistake of taking much of your time with “so long a letter”, I want to quickly and humbly suggest that, there is an urgent need for the Community Executive, Chiefs and Stakeholders to organize a communal confab to constructively discuss and chart the way forward for the community. We need unity of vision and purpose for Agge to move forward. We should be concerned that Agge is not where it ought to be. We should not be complacent seeing that Agge is ranking low in many ways.
It is time we come up with a Blueprint for the Development of Agge. And in such a Blueprint, should be stated, among others, these noble aspirations and projects:
1). SANDFILLING AND EMBANKMENT OF AGGE SHORELINES :
This fight should be renewed. We should mount pressure on the government, NDDC and our political representatives to attend to this pressing need. If we do nothing about it now, one day, we will wake up to find our community under the bitter and briny waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
2). LOBBY/AGITATE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AGGE DEEP SEAPORT:
This is one project that will change the story of Agge community forever. If it comes to pass, Agge is blessed forever.We should not expect others to fight this fight. Agge community should get involved. The traditional leadership should get involved. We should lobby, write letters, address the press and do everything within the ambit of the law and civic responsibility to actualize this seaport.
3). CONSTRUCTION OF PIPE BORNE WATER PLANTS, OR ESTABLISHMENT OF NOTHING LESS THAN THREE BOREHOLES IN EVERY IDUINMU (QUARTERS):
Now, this is what can be done even without the government. What is Agge doing with her monthly income from Sterling Oil and the Ilaje and Ghanaian fisher men and women? What developmental projects is the leadership of the community pursuing and doing with her monthly income? We should be accountable.
4). ESTABLISHMENT OF A GENERAL HOSPITAL OR RENOVATION, EQUIPMENT AND STAFFING OF THE NON-PERFORMING HEALTH CENTER:
We have political office holders representing us at the local and state government levels; we should pay them communal visit and appeal to them to use their offices to influence the establishment of a general hospital or renovate, equip and staff the existing health facility in the community.
5). TRAINING AND EQUIPPING AGGE INDIGENES WITH VARIOUS VOCATIONAL SKILLS BIANNUALLY:
This is one noble project we can negotiate with Sterling Oil to execute. It realization will definitely be of a great help to the many youths who are going about without skill in their hands and without dignified job to their existence.
6). ESTABLISHMENT OF GOOD AND QUALITY NETWORK MAST IN AGGE:
The recent attempt made in this regard is appreciated, but from all indications, it is not functioning well. There are not much difficulties having network mast established in a community. Hence, we should endeavor to work more to realize this important project in our dear community.
7). AGITATION FOR POLITICAL OFFICES TO BE ZONED TO AGGE:
Politics matters. Agge people should get involved in active politics, engage in political negotiation and keep building political bridges across communities, wards and constituencies in order to fly high in the political firmament of Bayelsa State.
8). THE EDUCATION COMMITTEE SHOULD BE UP TO ITS FUNCTIONS:
The Education Committee of Agge should be charged to be up to its purpose and tasks. Agge community needs some kind of strict rules and regulations to protect the Educational Structure of the community otherwise, the schools some communal patriots fought hard to bring to Agge will go into extinction. And let me also add that, in conjunction with Sterling Oil we should establish scholarship for deserving students in the community.
These thoughts or suggestions are not new to you, what might be unfamiliar are the sure channels through which these things can be achieved. And that is part of the reasons why a convention of a communal confab is necessary.
It is said that human progress is not automatic; it comes from the deliberate, consistent and strategic actions and sacrifices of patriotic and dedicated individuals. This Truth must be lived out if Agge must experience transformation.
Upon our individual and collective shoulders rest the task of building the great and developed Agge we are dreaming of.
If not you, who? If not me, who? If not now, then when? Let’s get to work. Let’s champion the cause of our dear community.
May God send help to Agge, and may God grant you the grace to make a difference.
Thanks and God bless.
© Tobouke JEMINE
22/04/2024
News
Ajapa Field MOU: Ogulagha Stakeholders Call for Review, Transparency and Alignment with Current Realities
By Charity Ebi
OGULAGHA, DELTA STATE — Nearly two decades after a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between Britannia-U Nigeria Limited and Ogulagha Kingdom in Burutu Local Government Area, stakeholders in the oil-bearing community are calling for a comprehensive review of the agreement to reflect present-day economic and industry realities.
The 2007 MOU, tied to operations at the Ajapa Marginal Field, was introduced as a framework for peace, development and mutual benefit. However, community representatives say that while the agreement may have appeared workable at inception, its fixed financial structure has been overtaken by inflation, rising oil revenues and evolving governance standards within Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
Addressing journalists on behalf of stakeholders, Mr. Jude Iyelagha stressed that the concerns being raised should not be misconstrued as an attack on the integrity of Ogulagha’s traditional or political leadership.
“This is not an attempt to indict or insult the credibility of our revered leaders,” Iyelagha clarified. “Rather, it is an encouragement for leaders to revisit the well-documented terms, review them in line with current realities, and ensure they are fully implemented for the benefit of our people.”
Modest Provisions, Expanding Industry
Under the MOU, provisions reportedly included annual allocations for community drugs, scholarships for secondary and tertiary students, training slots at the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), allowances for trainees, incentives for science teachers and sitting allowances for kingdom committee meetings.
While these figures may have been considered reasonable in 2007, stakeholders argue that their real value has significantly diminished over time due to inflation. Crucially, the sums were fixed and not indexed to oil prices, production output or inflationary trends.
Using conservative production estimates common to marginal fields in the Niger Delta, observers note that annual gross revenues from such operations could run into tens of billions of naira. When juxtaposed with community allocations that reportedly totalled only a few million naira annually at inception, the proportional disparity becomes a central point of concern.
For residents, the issue is less about confrontation and more about fairness.
Development Expectations in a Resource-Rich Area
Ogulagha Kingdom remains one of the oil-producing hubs in Delta State. Yet stakeholders point to ongoing challenges including limited healthcare facilities, youth unemployment, fragile road networks, environmental vulnerability and constrained access to higher education funding.
Community leaders argue that development in oil-bearing areas should translate into tangible infrastructure such as modern health centres, shoreline protection projects, potable water systems, vocational training hubs and structured employment pipelines.
“The frustration is not hostility towards investment,” a stakeholder noted. “It is about proportionality and visible impact.”
Shareholding Claims and Transparency Concerns
Beyond the MOU, a more complex issue has emerged. Leaders within the kingdom assert that Ogulagha may not only be a host community but also a registered shareholder in the Ajapa Marginal Field structure, allegedly documented with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
If such shareholding exists, corporate law provides for certain rights, including access to audited financial statements, notice of Annual General Meetings and entitlement to dividends where declared.
Stakeholders claim that consistent access to production data, audited accounts and dividend clarity has not been fully established, raising questions about governance participation.
Again, Iyelagha emphasised that the intention is not to cast aspersions.
“We believe in dialogue and institutional engagement. What we are asking for is clarity, transparency and alignment with statutory expectations where applicable,” he said.
Petroleum Industry Act and Changing Standards
Analysts observe that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has introduced more structured host community frameworks and governance mechanisms. Agreements executed before the reform era, they argue, may require review to align with contemporary standards of transparency and proportionality.
Stakeholders maintain that revisiting the 2007 framework would not only protect the long-term interests of the kingdom but also strengthen investor-community relations.
Company Response Awaited
Efforts to obtain official comments from Britannia-U Nigeria Limited were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report. The company’s response, when received, will be reflected in subsequent updates.
For now, the central appeal from Ogulagha stakeholders is measured and deliberate: a call for leaders to examine documented agreements, align them with present realities, and ensure that promises made translate into visible, sustainable benefits for the kingdom.
As one community voice put it, “Oil is finite, but our people and our future must endure.”
By Favour Bibaikefie
Historical medical records have revealed that indigenous surgeons in the Buganda Kingdom of present-day Uganda were successfully carrying out cesarean sections as early as 1879 — a period when the procedure was still considered highly risky in many parts of Europe.
The account was documented by British medical practitioner and explorer Robert William Felkin, who witnessed and later published details of the operation in the Edinburgh Medical Journal in 1884 under the title “Notes on Labour in Central Africa.”
According to Felkin’s observations, the procedure involved the use of banana wine as a cleansing agent, herbal preparations to manage pain, and cauterization with heated metal to control bleeding. Both mother and child reportedly survived the surgery — an outcome that drew significant attention from European medical circles at the time.
Felkin described the process as orderly and deliberate, noting that the practitioners demonstrated familiarity with anatomy, sterilization methods available to them, and post-operative care. The documentation challenged prevailing 19th-century assumptions that advanced surgical knowledge was absent in African societies before colonial contact.
Medical historians note that cesarean sections in Europe during the mid-1800s were often fatal due to infection and limited antiseptic knowledge. Antiseptic surgical techniques only became widely accepted in Europe toward the late 19th century following developments associated with figures such as Joseph Lister.
Scholars argue that the Buganda example illustrates a broader pattern of indigenous scientific knowledge that predated colonial rule. In his work, historian highlighted the complexity of African societies prior to European intervention, disputing narratives that framed the continent as lacking innovation or structured knowledge systems.
Experts say the 1879 account underscores the need for a more balanced historical perspective — one that acknowledges Africa’s contributions to medicine, technology, and empirical science long before formal Western medical institutions expanded into the continent.
The rediscovery and renewed discussion of such records continue to prompt debates about how global scientific history is written — and whose knowledge systems are recognized.
Source: African Echo
News
Otuaro Congratulates New IPF Leadership, Urges Confidence and Stronger Advocacy for Ijaw Nation
By Favour Bibaikefie
The Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Chief (Dr.) Dennis Brutu Otuaro, has congratulated the newly inaugurated leadership of the Ijaw Publishers’ Forum (IPF), led by Senior Comrade Austin Ozobo, urging them to remain confident and focused as they steer the affairs of the organisation.
Speaking through Mr. Prebor Presley, Coordinator of the PAP Delta/Edo State Office, Otuaro commended the IPF for consistently projecting the Ijaw and Niger Delta narrative from a rights-based standpoint. He stressed that strengthening indigenous media platforms such as the IPF should be a collective responsibility, given the body’s strategic relevance to the Ijaw nation, the Niger Delta, and Nigeria as a whole.
According to him, the emergence of the new executive comes at a crucial period when the region requires vibrant voices to intensify advocacy for the rights and interests of its people. He encouraged the leadership to consolidate on the achievements of their predecessors and remain steadfast in pursuing the forum’s mandate.
In his acceptance speech, IPF President, Comrade Austin Ozobo, unveiled an ambitious two-year agenda, including plans to establish a permanent secretariat, set up a printing press, and launch indigenous Ijaw radio and television stations. He called on Ijaw sons and daughters to rally behind the organisation in its quest for peace, unity, and development across the Niger Delta.
Highlighting the forum’s advocacy role, Ozobo declared: “Let every headline, every broadcast, every book, every post send one clear message: The Ijaw people will no longer be spectators in their own land.”
In a goodwill message, Princewill Binebai, spokesperson of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, congratulated the new executive while cautioning against internal discord. He warned that the Ijaw people must recognise external challenges and avoid becoming divided among themselves.
Also speaking, frontline Ijaw politician, , traced the roots of journalism in Nigeria to the Ijaw ethnic nationality. He expressed disappointment over the absence of some Ijaw political figures at the event, noting that he had hoped it would be more “ceremonious,” with Ijaws asserting their presence as the true owners of Warri.
Reaffirming his commitment, Ozobo pledged to uphold the values of “our great organization and work tirelessly to promote the interests of our organization, the Ijaw Nation and the Niger Delta at large.”
He further stated: “The IPF will continue to advocate for the rights and interests of the Ijaw people, and will continue to promote accurate reporting and storytelling about the over 50 million Ijaw people that are balkanized and marginalized in Nigeria. The Ijaw people have a rich cultural heritage, and it is our responsibility to preserve and promote it.
“We will work with stakeholders to promote peace, unity, and development in the Niger Delta region. We will also provide a platform for Ijaw journalists and publishers to advance and grow in the media profession.”
Calling for unity among leaders, the IPF President appealed: “Ijaw leaders to prioritize Ijaw Nation’s development; we should know where we are coming from. This is not the time for divisive governance, but rather a time for inclusive governance.
“Let us wake up from our slumber and stop doing things that will further divide us or underdevelop the Ijaw Nation.”
He concluded by appreciating stakeholders who have supported the forum and urged collective commitment moving forward. “All well-meaning Ijaw sons and daughters to join and support the organization (IPF) in this journey. Let us work together to build a stronger, more united Ijaw Nation where love, justice and peace will reign.”