However, from September 9-11, 2014, all roads lead to the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Effurun, Warri, Delta State where Eradiri-led IYC will host the maiden edition of the Ijaw Youth Council World Summit. The event, which will be declared open by President Goodluck Jonathan, boasts of over 1000 delegates, including youths, government officials, community and religious leaders and various stakeholders from the Niger Delta.
Themed, ‘Partnering for Prosperity and Sustainable Development’, the summit is a platform of engagement for the government, communities and organizations with a purpose of addressing the various challenges facing the youths of the Niger Delta such as high unemployment rate, lack of prospect and youth restiveness. According to Eradiri, it will equally provide solutions to these challenges such as empowering and creating a prosperous, stable and secured environment in the Niger Delta region while also aiming at promoting sustainable growth, development and integration of the area.
The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, is the mother of the day while all the governors of the Niger Delta including host governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, Governors Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom, Adams Oshiomole of Edo State, Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, Liyel Imoke of Cross River State, and Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State will also grace the summit, which is being sponsored by the Bank of Industry, Taleveras Group, ASCON Oil, Office of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Niger Delta Development Commission, Heritage Bank, and NIMASA.
In this interview with TS Weekend, Eradiri talks extensively about the IYC and why the Ijaw Youth Council World Summit is imperative at this time. Excerpts:
What kind of organization is the Ijaw Youth Council?
The Ijaw Youth Council is a grass root mobilization organisation, an umbrella body for all the Ijaws. We cut across six states in the Niger-Delta and we are divided into zones. We are divided into east, west and central zones. In the eastern zone, we have Akwa Ibom and Rivers States. Coincidentally, the only two oil producing local governments in Akwa Ibom are Ijaw local governments. Eastern Obolo and Ibeno are oil producing local governments. In the central zone, we have Bayelsa State and part of Rivers State – the Abuah Odua, and Igene people. And in the western flank, we have Delta, Edo and Ondo States because Ijaw domiciled in the local governments of the states. There, we have chapters to coordinate the activities of the Ijaws. In Lagos State, we have a chapter and a chapter in Abuja as well. We have just included the United Kingdom chapter, the United States chapter and the South Africa chapter. They just adopted the existing constitution.
How did you become the president of Ijaw Youth Council?
First of all, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) election was engulfed in a lot of crisis as at when it was conducted last year October; that was simply because of the various interests in the 2015 politics. I was a candidate who started from the scratch. During my student days in the University of Benin (UNIBEN), I was the president of Faculty of Engineering when Dr. Chris Ekyor was the Student Union Government (SUG) president. We left UNIBEN for the Ijaw Youth Council. I was the secretary general while Dr. Chris was the president. So, I have a very good understanding of the Ijaw Youth Council. In fact, it is on record that I am the only youth who worked with all the presidents of IYC. I worked with Dr. Felix Tuodolor, Alhaji Asari Dokubo, John Oyinfie, and Dr. Chris Ekyor, and today, I am the president. I didn’t just work with them as a servant, but as secretary general or member of committee that all of us are part of. So, no matter how daft I may be, I think I still have a better understanding of the Council than a whole lot of young people.
What was the major challenge you faced when you became the president?
When I took office, I found out that the biggest problem of the council was the issue of constitution not defining clearly how elections will be conducted without any interference. And so we went straight to review the constitution so that it will take care of the council to the point where we do not face what we went through in the last few years. We have reviewed the constitution and after reviewing the constitution we’re mandated to conduct election in all the over 89 clans of the Ijaw land and all the structures of the council. In any case, because I have a vision and my vision is to take full charge of the Ijaw territories, just as when I was the secretary general, I had structures round the Ijaw nation. At that time when kidnapping and criminality was at the peak, we could just sit down anywhere and get information about everything that’s happening in Ijaw land. Doing that, we were able to quickly achieve the amnesty that Nigeria is enjoying today, because we had structures in every clan. We gave ultimatum for all clans to shut down in 90 days and then we told government that while we are shutting down, they should do XYZ. That was how the amnesty came about after a conference was held in Yenagoa, just as we are going for another conference this September. We have actually conducted election in every clan; the idea is that we want to take charge of our environment economically, politically and educationally. The idea is this, the IYC is a grass root mobilization structure; we have structures in every clan no matter how interior it is. So, if a government, for instance, Bayelsa government says free education is a policy they are putting in place, we want to ensure that students are in class during the school hours in every part of the state. And so, with that direct contact with the grass root via the structures, we can now begin to talk about pipeline surveillance so that at community level we will know this territory belongs to Agip. For instance, if anything happens to the pipeline in that area, we will hold the chairman responsible because it is a community-based leadership. If there is ocean surge in Kolama and Agei or it is flooding seriously in Arukpo, the clan chairman will communicate. So, we can easily use those structures to bring government closer to the people in whatever area that we intended to.
For instance, President Goodluck Jonathan is our own and we will be mobilizing support for his re-election. We will be building bridges of support for him. It is those structures that we will use to create that relationship and soft landing, especially when we are ethnic nationality. We have setup those structures of conducting election in the west, east and central zones. Today, as we are talking, elections were just conducted in the eastern zone. I had a meeting in Lagos today (Sunday) and on Saturday we will be holding our congress. The congress fashions the electoral process and then the machinery will start. So, on Saturday we are having a congress in Lagos State, to begin that process of setting up a leadership in Lagos that will interfere on behalf of the Ijaw people here. We have done that in Abuja; their elections will be on the 13th of September. I was in London last week trying to set up the process. London, America and South Africa are all geared up. Once I finish with Nigeria, I will move out to set up the structure in those places.
We are not like every other organisation that is on the pages of newspaper; we are a grass root-based organisation. That is why for the past six months we have been busy setting up those structures. It is not an easy process.
How do you cope with challenges?
I personally believe that if I plan to move from this point to that point and I make that journey without any itch, then that journey is not successful. Anything I do in my life, if I set a target and I did not face challenges, I find it a failed project. Because God has designed this world for challenges, those who continue struggling and eventually get to their destination are the real men. We designed a programme that should have terminated on the 26th of July, so that we move into planning for the summit, but certain factors started affecting it, and it has spilled into August and is now spilling into September, yet we have not concluded the programme.
Why are you just setting up the structures, is it that there were no structures on ground before you took over as president?
The Ijaw Youth Council was founded on certain structures but as people take over, they come with different opinions about the Council. So, they came and left it the way it was or decided to do their own thing. But when I took over along with Dr. Chris, I was the secretary general; we decided not to do things the way they were being done. We said let us organise this movement and get a constitution to direct our activities. I was the person who implemented the restructuring.
So, there was no constitution before you took over as president?
There was a constitution before I became the president but my administration only amended some portions of the constitution, and same were adopted at Egbema in Edo State. I actually came in and followed them according to laid down principles and documents.
How old are you?
I am 38-years-old.
It is news to me that there is IYC in Akwa Ibom, because if you ask me about IYC as enlightened as I think I am, I will only point to Delta and Bayelsa States as the places where you are majorly operating. Now, is there anyone from Akwa Ibom on your executives?
You know, we do zoning. In the national executive council we have ten officers…
And you have six states?
Yes, six states. They are three per zone, because we have three zones – east, west and central. Akwa Ibom falls in the east. In the east, we have Ogoni, Kalabari, Okirika, and Obolo where the eastern Obolo and Ibeno fall. What we usually do is to share those three national offices to the zones. For instance, if this year Ogoni is secretary, Okirika may produce his spokesperson, while legal adviser and deputy president may come from Eastern Obolo. The last time, the deputy president was from that axis. Jeremiah Ebilo, from Eastern Obolo, was the deputy president. And so this time around, when it is rotated, they will not produce an executive member. But currently in the chapter, the zonal executive and the secretary came from Ibeno. The election was just done today (Sunday). The secretary is from Ibeno. Again the first constitutional convention was held in Ibeno. Also in 2007, when we put the constitution in place for the first time, it was held in Ibeno.
Why is the IYC perceived to be keenly political?
Everything in Nigeria is political. Yesterday, I was on Viewpoint and we were talking about the TAN rally. Somebody was from TAN; I was from the IYC. The reason is that President Jonathan is our own, so even if market women are organizing anything, so far it is for the president, we will come out and support him. And then make sure that he wins this election.
What I am trying to ask you is, must every member of IYC be in PDP or have links with PDP?
The IYC is a non-partisan organization because our members are in APC and also in PDP. There must be this understanding, so far as President Goodluck Jonathan is an Ijaw man; it is the obligation of the Ijaw Youth Council to protect him. That is the first thing. Whether you belong to APC or PDP does not concern us. The fact that it is President Goodluck Jonathan, we will protect him. If you look at Rivers State, it is APC state. When the IYC was doing reorganization, a lot of accusation came, they claimed that some APC chairmen wanted to hijack the process, but I said IYC is a non-partisan organization. But then, assuming APC presents an Ijaw candidate in Rivers State, we will support the candidate. And if it is APGA that presents an Ijaw candidate, IYC will support the candidate because our duty is to protect our ethnic nationality. And that has been my attitude towards politics especially in Bayelsa State. And most especially when it involves Ijaw versus Ijaw, I don’t get involved. That is why I tell my people that we are non-partisan so anybody can, as long as he is an Ijaw man, partake in politics. But when it comes to we versus another person, we don’t have any choice than to stand-in for one of our own.
Some people will say that the youths of the Niger-Delta are already over pampered, most especially the ex-militants who are being sent abroad for training. Some Nigerians would ask what else do they want from the government?
I don’t agree with you when you say they are over pampered. We believe that so much has been taken away from our land, and it is still being taken. The amnesty is just a pinch. In fact, we are yet to ask for reparation. Can you equate the percentage of our money this process has brought into Nigeria compared to what they are spending? No! We have 30,000 people benefiting from the amnesty. What are 30,000 young people compared to the teeming Niger Delta youths? Don’t also forget that this amnesty is one-sided. One sided in the sense that as at the time the agitation was going on, it was the Ijaw that were doing it, others from the Niger Delta were not in that activity. When the amnesty was proclaimed, the focus was on the Ijaws who were agitating.
So, if you look at that process, it is one-sided because rationally we were agitating, so we are the target audience, but the benefits that have come, not everybody thought it would be like this, otherwise I am sure there would have been camps all over the Niger Delta. Even those who think they are producing economically could have decided to setup camps just to tap into it. Even among us, a lot of people who are co-agitators felt that it was a plot to arrest people, so they stayed away. The window made provision for thirty thousand. As I speak to you, just as every other ethnic nationality is agitating, Ijaws are still agitating. All of us are in the agitation now but that window has closed.
You said you worked with many past leaders of the council, how many years have you been active in IYC?
As an individual, I was born to resist oppression. From growing up, anytime or anywhere I found myself, I express those tendencies of resisting anything that I think is not right. I have been active in IYC since 2005.
Since that time till now have you been faced with any danger?
Of course, I have been involved in several personal dangers. I am not an accident of history; I am a product of the struggle. And a product of the struggle must have gone through a lot of experiences. I worked with Asari (Dokubo) in the Volunteer Force but when the criminality started, when he was arrested was when I left to face my business. I am still a practicing engineer. As I talk to you, I run my own company. I am in the dredging business and I also have my office running. I left to face my business and intermittently I come into the IYC. I contested for the House of Rep. I was robbed nicely and I left the PDP, went to Labour Party and won my election. They brought soldiers, and you know the normal story. I went to court, but they wasted time until they said 180 days have elapsed, and the case was struck out. I know how painful it was because I didn’t want to be seen as just being outside and be criticizing, let me see also what I can do if I get into office. But there are two things I wanted in my life, it’s either to represent the Ijaw people in the National Assembly or to be IYC President.
Have you ever been involved in armed struggle?
I have never been involved in carrying arms. Even though, the Nigerian government has made us change our traditional ways of life. It has tutored us to be what we are not. Can you see the level of kidnapping in the Niger Delta? Yesterday, an old man was killed. That is what our people are turning into. Our girls never engaged in prostitution. The Ijaws never engaged in armed robbery. I grew up with my grand mother; she used to tell me that as an Ijaw man, you don’t put blood in your mouth. So, when I went to the university, I never joined the cult because I thought that cult people used to suck bloods, so I refused to join them. As rugged as the University of Benin was, and as active as I was, I refused to join the cult because my grandmother had warned me. In Ijaw land, we used to have what is called ‘Amakriye’ (family deity), if you go outside and plan evil, as you get to your house, your deity will strike you. I saw some of it.
Does such tradition still exist?
It doesn’t because our boys have put their hands in so many fetish things that destroyed our culture and tradition.
How do you feel knowing that young ones who are supposed to be meaningfully engaged are no longer available for farming?
You have a corrupt leadership for over 50 years who have changed the status quo. When I was young, we were taught at school that if we read our book, we would drive jeep. In this country today, you are rewarded for stealing. We thought that the man who does wrong would be punished but in Nigeria you are celebrated for stealing. We have seen thieves, armed robbers who have stolen wealth and are thriving. You see young people discussing, everybody wants to go into politics, even dropouts. People who have nothing to offer, telling you they want to go into House of Reps when they don’t know what they do there. There is already a generational decay. So, people think that instead of the other way round, it is now about how many people you can blow off to give you a jeep. That is the norm. It is not about us alone. But I am worried as a leader; I cannot continue to look at these things happen. Let me also add a little value I can add while I am in office, because if I don’t, posterity would say that I have not done my duty. That is why you see the intensity on this.
What is your relationship with other ethnic nationality groups like OPC, Arewa, MASOBB and so on?
I have always said in all my discourse and campaigns that we will not win 2015 election by shedding blood. We will rather win by building bridges across ethnic nationalities, making friends, and we will allow common sense to prevail for President Jonathan to be supported to win the election. That is why we had already put pressure on President Jonathan to address all the sectors of the economy that affect Nigerians. That is why we take solace in the fact that nothing has been done on Ijaw land. Bayelsa State is the most neglected state by the federal government. There is no single federal project. Ordinarily, one would have thought that since the state has produced the president, everything would work well out over there, but nothing is happening there. The worst part of Bayelsa State is the Bayelsa axis. Just yesterday we spent four hours on the road going to Ndema. But we have said that President Jonathan has come to meet Nigeria with a lot of problems, so we console ourselves with the fact that, as president of the country, he needs to deal with all the issues. And so, if you begin with your home first, you will be seen as a bad president. Nigerians are the people who complain at everything. The man is democratic but they say he is weak.
You can see the abuses and the disrespect on the person of our president, yet in his calm nature, he has been able to show that he can give some level of direction to this country and he is achieving the result. What do Nigerians want? Results! And virtually in all the areas he has achieved results. We have always said that when he finishes his first term, he would have time for us during his second term. But look at us; we have not achieved anything from this leadership. Today, with all the works that President Jonathan has done, we can comfortably go to the table to woo other ethnic nationalities to support him.
What are you doing about the boys hiding in the creeks to commit crime?
As I am talking to you, I have started calling all the young boys. By the time I finish my restructuring, I will set up machineries to go after all these criminals. All these ones that will never change, we will sweep them out of our environment. If anyone thinks that he can take human beings and spill their blood in Ijaw land, it will not happen under my watch. The first thing is to set up the foundation via the structures and then put in the machinery of discussion. We have started calling them and we will soon go to the creeks. We know all their camps. But there must be carrot and stick approach, in other to effect that, government must do it’s bit. There must be jobs created in Bayelsa. President Goodluck Jonathan must ensure the kick off of the LNG project. There should be projects to engage these boys. If not, I will not have any justification to smoke them out, because people would ask, what is the alternative that I have put in place?
Why are you organising the Ijaw Youth Council World Summit?
Part of the reasons we are organising this summit is to bring together the international and local knowledge. Let us all put our heads together to see how we could focus on agriculture. Why do we want to focus on agriculture? It is the easiest way to channel the energies of our young people. Instead of using those energies to shoot and kidnap, let us channel it into agriculture. We have vast lands that have been there for so many years but they are not adding any value to our lives. Then as the leader of IYC, if I begin to say we want to be employed in industries, that will be a white elephant project, because the issue of power is on one hand and the issue of the political will is on the other hand. But for agriculture, I can engage communities and beg them to give up their land, and equity or some percentage will be given to them. In a summit like this, if we come together, some institutions can try and bring the funds or the expertise to support us. All we need as Niger Delta youths is leadership. I don’t answer my calls most times because what people request from me are money, jobs and so on. But this is an idea that if we put together, we will not be begging people, we have the land. So, why don’t we make use of it? So, let us set a process where hands should be on deck in other to channel the energies of our young ones.
Tell us what to expect at the 3-day event?
The first day is the arrival of the guests, introduction and so on. The second day, we’ll go into the issues clearly, and then we are devoting one day to the women. We want to look at gender issues; there are a lot of issues concerning the development of young women and girls. The more we pay attention to our women and our girls, the more we make them productive and serious minded. And this will go a long way in affecting the attitude of the young ones.
Who are the personalities expected at the summit?
We expect President Goodluck Jonathan to be there. We also expect some ministers, and governors in the Niger Delta because every aspect of the summit concerns them. We need to create jobs to engage young people. And once we take the leadership, it will be easier for it to fly. Our model is very clear; engaging young people and engaging them through agriculture, which is the fastest and easiest way of creating wealth in every economy. I think the states stand to benefit especially Bayelsa State that is a mono-economy. The only way Bayelsa State can make progress is by diversifying its economy, and one sure way is through agriculture.
It is good that you are carrying along women in this summit. Are you given a role to the mother of the nation, Dame Patience Jonathan, is there any key role she is playing at the summit?
She is our mother and we expect her to be there as the Mother of the Day.
Who are the keynote speakers?
The keynote speakers are Hon. (Dr.) Steve Oru, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Hon. Kingsley Kuku, Director General, NIMASA, Mr. Ziakede P. Akpobolokemi, and Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission, Sir. Bassey Dan-Abia. Others include Minister for Youth Development, Alhaji Boni Haruna, Minister of Sports, Dr. Tamuno Danagogo, Minister for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Diezani Allison-Madueke, Chief Nyesom Wike, Minister of State for Education, Dr. Juliet Chukkas Onaeko, DG, Industrial Training Fund, Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa, MD, Bank of Industry, Mr. Tonye Cole, CEO, Sahara Energy Group, and Princess Fifi Ejindu, CEO, Starcrest Group of Companies.
Are you married?
Yes, I am married and I have a year and a month-old baby.
With all the struggles in the Niger Delta, you still have time for your home?
Yes. You also need to build a family. I am 38-years-old, I don dey old o! For that reason, I should start building my family. Again, I need to be responsible as the president of Ijaw Youth Council. If I am not married, I will be carrying women left, right and center and that is not a good example for leadership.
Do you have a social life, how do you unwind?
I like flexing well well! But it is for a reason whenever I do so.
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Ijaw Youth Council World Summit will break new grounds –Comrade Udengs Eradiri, President, IYC |
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