BEDC interested in collecting money without providing light-- Adaka

Chief Dr. Fidelis Adaka was the former vice-president of the Nigerian Statistical Association, former Head of Department Field Operation Ministry of Economic Planning Delta State, Asaba.

In this interview with Isoko Mirror he bares his mind on some salient issues affecting Uzere community, from lack of electricity sippy in Uzere, the invasion of Uzere community by the people of Igbide  and the recent suspended Ruga settlement by the Federal Government.

Excerpts

 Can we meet you sir?

My name is Chief Dr. Fidelis E. Adaka(JP) former vice-president Nigerian Statistical Association (2012-2016),former HOD Field Operation Ministry of Economic Planning Delta State, Asaba.

Why is Uzere not having electricity supply and they contribute so much to the Nigeria economic?

We don't have light in Isoko, we can count the days we have electricity supply in Isoko. But that of Uzere community is more painful because we only have flash of the electricity supply once in a month or two months. The only thing BEDC are interested in doing  is  to collect our money as light bill monthly.

Isoko do not have electricity supply, but it is worst in Uzere and BEDC as an organisation we trade with are behaving like fraudster. For instance in Ughelli where I stay sometimes you find out that the payment of the previous bill does not reflect in the current bill is something to worry about.

So, such organisation shouldn't be in this area. But our government is interested, highly place personnel are interested in them, when you go deep and see the list of the owners of BEDC, you will be constraint to do anything about them.

But the Edo state government is fighting BEDC inability to provide adequate electricity but Delta state government is not saying anything about them. Why is so?

The Edo state issued is a different issue, you can see the strategic and development plan the Edo state government is having. If a governor and those who are in government give out work or projects and they supervise it there will be no problem. What is happening in Edinburgh is different from what is happening in Delta.

What is the way forward on the epileptic power supply in Uzere community? 

The way forward is very clear, is to have that electricity from the flow station. It can serve the community. This is what oil companies does in where they operate and in Nigeria here is happening already in places like in Bonny Island, Escravous, Okpai and other places. It is only in Isoko here they will say it will not work.

Therefore, the only system we can follow is to have a turbine like five, all we need to do is to get the legal backing for the project. This can help to supply electricity in Uzere and other neighbouring communities and it wouldn't cost us much if we are really committed to the project.

Although, I am aware that there are some government clauses but we have the capacity,capability and the will to manage the turbine if we have them.Our own share from the Community Development Board(CDB) within  three years if properly manage can give us the turbines we needed.

We have two flow station which are in OML28 and OML30 respectively.OML28 government refused it operation for more than nine years and the government is aware that we are protecting the oil facilities there, if OML30 is taking care of more than 112 communities that means OML28 take care of almost 112 communities.When the IDU made mentioned of it during their visit to president Muhammadu Buhari to look into it, the president affirmed that it will be given adequate attention may be that is why they are trying to do something now, but there is no much progress.If they can work on the OML28 our share from it and the one from OM30 is enough for us within one year to have turbines but OML30 alone within 3 years we can buy turbines.

What is preventing Uzere from having it now?

 You see, government policies, we aware that BEDC is not ready to help the system.Without electricity supply we cannot do anything.Without energy as an organisation you can't do anything meaningful is only when we have electricity supply we can move forward in the area development.We are calling on the Federal government, State government and the local government to come to our aid to help solve the problem of electricity in Uzere and Isoko.I am aware that IDU is already fighting to see how Isoko can have adequate electricity supply but BEDC is frustrating their effort.

What is your reaction about the suspended RUGA settlement by the FG?

An average man may not know what is RUGA, the Rural Grazing Area, what did you really want to graze?. When you cannot even established a refinery when you cannot give employment to citizens, when you cannot provide quality education to the people.

What have you done that will make us to donate our land for rural grazing.You are bringing RUGA, the people involved are not from the area, the whole idea is a fraud and it will not see the light of the day.They have a hidden agenda and it will not work.Even the governor of Delta State Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa has made it clear that Delta State did not want RUGA. The governor is our leader and he has spoken and we shall abide by it.

Beside cow rearing is a private business, it shouldn't be forced on us to give up our land. Whatever they are calling it, it will not work.

Recently Igbide community attacked Uzere community captured their people.What is Uzere community doing about it?

This incident occurred some days ago, in fact the aggression the Igbide is using to come to Uzere is terrible.They came to Uzere farmland with dangerous weapons  and captured our people to their community.The people they captured told us after their released that though we were not there, they said 50 able body men with more than 38 dangerous weapons, they were not just ordinary guns but sophisticated guns.We have become too religious in Uzere that we have not be able to appeal to our gods to take care of our enemies for us, if not Igbide cannot do that.If we appeal to our gods Eni and Ogburu will take them for us, they wouldn't see us to captured. The most painful aspect is that Igbide people capture women as they were taking them to their community they decided to leave the women.

This incident occurr along Uzere /Patani road,Igbide did not have any land there.Igbide only have part of Oruzu, part of it belong to Emede and Uzere, they left there which is 3km to where they capture our people.The capture people were release when pressure came from authority.Uzere community is a law abiding community.

Did they release them from Igbide or from the police station?

What happened was that they release only one initially and they told the DPO that they have release Uzere people. Because the one they release told us that the reason why they release him is because he told them he is pastor and he does little transport by carrying people to the farm that he used to feed his family apart from the pastoral work that he don't have anything to do with farmland.Until now we have machines that nobody has been able to identify at the police station that they are the owners.This shows some people are still missing.

Have they been able to identify that anybody is missing in Uzere?

In Uzere we fish every year, we feed our neighbouring communities in Isoko with fishes.The people they capture might not be only from Uzere now that we are doing fishing we have people that comes from neighbouring to buy fish, so we have strangers coming around to buy fish.So,is not only Uzere people were in the farmland.But we are still doing our census, asking our people if there is any person missing.

Sometime ago Igbide people came were arrested for harvesting our ponds in our farmland but they always lobby their way out from the police station.But we have to give kudos to the chairman of Isoko South Sir Itiako Constantine Ikpokpo for setting up a peace committee on boundary dispute to resolve issues concerning lakes, farmland to know the real owners.But when you set up committee you should also follow it up, as good as the committee is, if, there is no follow up the committee will die a natural death.

They handed over our people to the DPO Oleh Divisional Police Station, they took their medical report on the several injuries they sustained.But is very necessary if somebody stole from you and you should report the incident to the police but nothing of such was reported at the police station. So on what ground did they take our people in their custody, if it is in their land they capture our people they could have indicate it at the police station.

If you look at Igbide they are have issue with Okpolo-Enhwe, Olomoro, Emede, Umeh and now Uzere.

Even the part of the Igbide which is is so aggressive (Owodokpokpor) is our daughter from (Uzere) that got married to Ikreidhu from Igbide. Our in-law from Igbide asked for farmland. This land gave rise to Owodokpokpor-Igbide. If not they don't have any land there, it is that land that is making them to encroach Uzere farmland.

So what is the way out of this problem?

The solution still depends on government, look at the issue of Okpolo-Enhwe and Igbide they are yet to resolve it. They have issues with all the neighbouring communities. Are they the only community in Isoko can't they live in peace with their neighbours. Is it because they have people buying guns for them so that they can suppress and oppress other communities.

The only way forward on this issue for now is to maintain peace, we must preach peace as a Justice of Peace I must continue to preach peace.

Last year Febuary they were in Uzere, they came with their president, ex-president and highly place people from their community to plead with us to have mercy on their people we arrested in our farmland for stealing,we told them we are maintaining peace but we didn't heard from them again.

Sometime ago there is also a case in the magistrate court in which they were arrested and we charge them to court. In this case they held an Uzere man at gun point harvesting his fishing pond in Uzere farmland, people who went to farm rescued the man and apprehend the Igbide people, because their intention was to collect the harvested fishes from the man.

The police were trying to handle the case at Oleh but we decided to transfer the case to Asaba and charge them to court and they were sentence to jail.

What is the leadership of Igbide saying about this whole saga?

They said they have mad people and we told them if they cannot keep their mad people we equally have mad people because every community have mad people. So, they should go and manage their mad people.

We have made our case known to relevant authorities, the local government, the and IDU the umbrella body of Isoko nation.