Some youths in Bayelsa on Wednesday took to the streets of Yenagoa, the state capital, to protest alleged unfair treatment of the Niger Delta by the Federal Government.
The youth marched from the popular Tombia roundabout and converged on the Ekeki Park, calling on Niger Delta indigenes to join the protest to demand for resource control and restructured Nigeria.
While the protest which took some hours lasted, there was a gridlock on the popular Yenagoa-Mbiama road, forcing commercial drivers and motorists to make detour through the Isaac Boro expressway for some respite.
With the hashtag #resourcecontrolnow, the youth also asked President Muhammadu Buhari to convene a national dialogue among traditional rulers, stakeholders and youth leaders, among others from the various ethnic groups to curtail the rising tension in the region.
Spokesman for the protesting youths and a disciple of the Egbesu National Ijaw God, Apostle Bodmas Kemepadei, said though Nigeria’s problems were multifaceted, the Niger Delta was suffering underdevelopment and neglect.
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He blamed colonial masters for Nigeria’s woes, saying it was wicked of them to merge the country with the unpleasant consequences being witnessed currently in Nigeria.
Adding the amalgamation experiment had obviously failed its test, Kemapadei said: “The myriad of problems facing this country calls for total restructuring. We call on all Niger Deltans to join this protest. Nigeria can only get better when all regions are allowed to have control of their wealth.
“If Zamfara State can be allowed to sell her gold, why can’t we? We want oil companies to relocate to their host communities.
“President Muhammadu Buhari, like every other Nigerian, is a victim of an erroneous amalgamation. This is why even after 60 years of independence, the country is yet to attain any feat.
“We have been on the path of civil war, political and ethnic crises. Even with enormous wealth deposits found in different parts of the nation, we are still divided along ethnic, religious and regional lines.
“These are clear indications that people were forced to be part of this entity now called Nigeria. Billions have been wasted on agriculture, refineries, education, infrastructure, with little or nothing to be proud of.
“President Muhammadu Buhari should not be blamed. Neither he nor any other that may replace him can solve the problems; Nigerians should rather be bold enough to appeal to the United Nations to prevail on Mr. President to call for a national dialogue of the different ethnic groups comprising traditional rulers, stakeholders and youth leaders where they can conduct a vote for restructuring of this country, resource control and other issues as the convention may agree.”
