As sugar gets the attention of ants and flies due to its
sweetness, the Niger Delta, in the same vain has gotten the attention of
many(far and near) since the discovery of oil at Oloibiri in Bayelsa State in
1956. Ever since the discovery of oil, the Federal Government had moved its
attention to the Niger Delta region with the singular aim of oil exploitation
and consequently leaving other sources of revenue generation, abandoned.
Despite the fact that the oil gotten from the Niger Delta region
has been the major source of revenue generation for the nation, the people of
Niger Delta still suffer negligence, poverty, environmental degradation,
hardship, loss of farmland and fishing ground, deprivation of their own
resources, leadership crisis etc. These have been part of the history and
plight of the Niger Deltans.
E.J Alagoa's book, IN
MEMORY OF HEROES which is
divided into seven (7) chapters, extensively discusses such history and plight
which this article is aimed at pointing out.
In chapter one, Alagoa recounts his Physical journey undertaken
across Nigeria (particularly the Niger Delta) for the past sixty years to
showcase how the nation has travelled. During his tour, he discovered that most
of the system of communication through the waterways have been abandoned and
the transport communication systems apparently favoured by the Nigerian
government are transportation by air and transportation by road (P.7).The
waterways can represent the Niger Delta region and the abandonment of the
waterways as a system of communication by the Federal Government simply
depicts the level of negligence the people of the Niger Delta region suffer in
the hands of the Federal Government.
Furthermore, the sense of neglect is especially rated in the
instance of the building of access road in such a way that the Niger Delta is
physically separated from other parts of Nigeria. The case of the access road
to the Oil and Gas Terminal of Twon- Brass in Bayelsa State is a classic
example of the failure of governance in even development and the evidence of
lack of natural policy on communication for nation building. (P.4.)
These plights of the Niger Deltans and the attitude of neglect
worn by the government have resulted to youth restiveness - youth being
rebellious in order to demand for their rights, demand for resource control,
fighting to be recognized in order to establish that national governance and
justice, e.g. Militancy in the Niger Delta.
Alagoa in chapter two mentioned the heroes of the struggle for
resource control and justice. Some of these heroes are: King Fredrick William
Koko who mobilized the Nembe people and their allies along the River Nun to the
Royal Niger company in the same manner that recent Izon militants have targeted
the multinational oil corporations.(p.17)
Followed suit is Isaac Adaka Boro who organized young men to fight
against the military government in 1966 but later mobilized to fight alongside
Gen. Gowon’s Federal Government to liberate Rivers state, out of which Bayelsa
State was created in 1996.
As a book which showcases the Niger Delta history, Alagwa in
chapter three (3) brings to limelight the problems of the Niger Delta region
since the discovery of oil. Crude oil exploitation began at Oloibiri in Bayelsa
State in 1956 and this became the corner stone of the Nigerian economy. Rather
than raise the profile and significance of the Niger Delta, this golden egg of
the nation (crude oil) became a curse on the Niger Delta, bringing
environmental degradation, loss of farmland and fishing ground, depriving the
people of their resources on which their lives is depended. (p.25.) Indeed, the
fortune of the Niger Delta communities have generally gone downward since 1960.
With independence, the Niger Delta came under the direct control of their more
populous neighbours.
Chapter four and five are historically based. Whereas chapter four
talks about the reign of Kariboye Abbi The great and how great he was, chapter
five gives a clear history of the ijaws/Niger Deltans in terms of their origin
and relationship between the Benin people; how some parts of the Niger Delta
originated from Benin. For instance, the Bakana Ama in Kalabari of Eastern
Niger Delta.
The author in this chapter explicitly discussed the history of the
Niger Deltans and their relationship with the Benin people using the
geographical or regional approach. Such detailed historical account will no
doubt make these people know their ancestors, place of origin and also afford
us to test the validity of the idea in early Niger Delta historiography that
Benin was the origin of the Ijo people.
In an address delivered to the Ogba Solidarity Association of
Omoku, on Thursday, November 12, 2009, the author talks about the leadership
crisis in the Niger Delta and this is contained in chapter six of the book. In
this chapter, the author discussed the crisis of leadership in the Niger Delta
and also proffer sustainable solutions ( solutions that can serve through
current and future times) to such crisis.
In his discussion, Alagwa stated that, “The current leadership in
the Niger Delta struggle is itself fragmented and separated from the
traditional and even the modern political leadership system. It continues to
pose critical challenges of leadership to every level of governance in this
period of Amnesty in the Niger Delta.”
The solutions proffered by the writer if carried out, will no
doubt create a positive impact in the leadership system of the Niger Delta.
Chapter seven which is the last chapter discusses the Ijaw nation
as a moral community, stating different levels of awareness of morality found
among the Ijaw people. The author uses proverbs to depict the Ijaw nation as a
moral community and the explanation of such proverbs portrays the lifestyle and
belief of the Ijaw people.
He also uses the deity, Egbesu and the obedience of the people to
this deity to depict the Ijaw nation as a moral community as the decision to go
to war was taken by the community in the conviction of a morally justified
cause. (p.81.) The community members don’t just go to war without seeking
or getting a go ahead from the Egbesu deity. All these portray the Ijaw nation
as a moral community.
In conclusion, from the aforementioned points and chapter by
chapter examination of E.J Alagwa’s IN
MEMORY OF HEROES, it is crystal clear that the book is an historical book
which discusses in detail, the history of the Niger Delta and as such will suit
the ever increasing quest for knowledge and also serve as a guide for modern
and traditional rulers in the Niger Delta and the country at large.
Furthermore, it will educate angry youth on how to make their plight known to
the government; enlighten the Niger Deltans about their origin and serve as a
history book for the Niger Deltans. It is indeed a must read for all (especially
the Niger Deltans).