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.
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