Soon after his inauguration as Delta State governor in 2015, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa moved quickly on many priorities critical to the socio-economic development of the state. His strategy was a multi-dimensional one designed to achieve significant and sustainable outcomes in areas that would make the greatest impact on the greatest number of Delta people in the shortest possible period.
One of these priority areas was security. Conscious of the fact that the state which is at the very heart of the Niger Delta had been a hub of militancy and outbreaks of violence linked to its rich oil heritage in the past, Okowa started establishing strong institutional anchors designed to carry the weight of the transformative policies and programmes on security that he had in mind.
On August 5, 2015, he set up the Delta State Advisory and Peace Building Council with a mandate of experience sharing and promoting harmonious inter-ethnic relationships. Six months later, on January, 13, 2016, governor Okowa played the lead role at a security event which turned out to be timely, even prophetic and served to demonstrate his foresight. This was a one-day stakeholders’ summit which focused on addressing the vandalism of oil and gas facilities in the state. The objectives: to “devise appropriate security strategies, regulatory frameworks, and countervailing measures needed for adequate protection of our oil and gas installations.”
Less than two months after the summit, all hell broke loose. Militants attacked oil installations in many parts of the Niger Delta. The destruction and vandalism of oil and gas facilities, led to a sharp reduction in production with significant negative impact on the nation’s revenue receipts from oil exports. This resulted in major spillage and large-scale destruction of aquatic life. Delta State bore the major brunt of the renewed militant activities as the Forcados Export Terminal was truncated.
Building on the stakeholders’ summit which had provided networks and insights to prepare the state for the catastrophe, Governor Okowa inaugurated a 9-man Advocacy Committee Against Vandalism of Oil and Gas Facilities with deputy Governor Kingsley Burutu Otuaro, chairman. The mandate of the committee was clear and urgent: to ensure the cessation of the spate of bombings of critical oil and gas infrastructures in Delt; deepen intelligence on the activities of those involved directly or indirectly; identify the remote and immediate cause(s) of these unwholesome acts, and strategically create platforms for dialogue between the agitators/vandals and government and its agencies with a view to ending vandalism of oil and gas facilities.
The advocacy committee swung into action, relocated to the riverine communities, engaged the people through various platforms and visited the sites of the explosions and destructions. The committee also created forums for dialogue with key stakeholders in the oil-bearing communities. As subsequent developments showed, the quick, focused and inclusive strategy adopted by the Okowa government, along with other measures, proved effective and gave Delta the edge in achieving sustainable peace and security.
Key achievements of the advocacy committee include: ending the spate of bombings of critical oil and gas facilities in Delta State and restoration of peace in oil bearing areas of the state; securing the repair work at the vandalized Forcados Export Terminal within a month of its inauguration. This was critical because over 200,000 barrels of crude oil go through the Forcados 48 – inch underwater export pipeline operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC). The activation of the export line meant a higher level of crude export for the national economy and Delta State.
Apart from that, the committee also successfully engaged youths in the oil bearing communities for intelligence gathering and surveillance of oil and gas facilities from May 2017 till date, which helped to improve production, while supporting other coastal states in the spirit of positive interdependency, the Delta intelligence network deployed its intelligence security network to help rescue six Lagos State students abducted by militants in the creeks of Ondo State.
The advocacy committee was followed by other security bodies established in the course of the administration including two committees on community policing. Then in 2020, Okowa established “Operation Delta Hawk”, a security outfit with a broad focus to enhance security of lives and property in the state. A joint platform, it includes operatives from the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Police, DSS and NSCDC.
Almost eight years later, there is no doubt the institutional mechanisms put in place by the Okowa administration have helped to improve the security status of Delta. The governor’s mix of targeted policies and programmes has delivered a much-improved security climate in Delta State. His direct interventions with key stakeholders and agitators; provision of infrastructure in the riverine and other oil producing states and the establishment of standing committees chaired by the deputy governor and peace building committee headed by Prof Sam Oyovbaire have also contributed significantly. So have the appointment of key political figures or their proxies into the security project. Collectively, these initiatives have provided early warning signals, and quick and amicable resolution of issues that can trigger crisis, among other benefits.
Beyond these targeted measures, another factor that has given Delta an advantage is the strong economic performance of the Okowa administration, which naturally boosts security. A recent report by Agusto & Co, Economics of Insecurity: Nigeria’s Rough Patch, provides an explanation. The report, released in May asserts that a key driver of insecurity is worsening poverty indices. In its words: “Rising poverty, inequality, and inadequacy of employment opportunities, particularly among the youth, are at the center of Nigeria’s insecurity problem. Thus, increased insecurity in Nigeria has coincided with rising poverty levels, with an estimated 83 million people which is 39 per cent of the total population, living in extreme poverty (less than $2 per day) as at April 2022. This is a significant 18 per cent increase from 70 million people recorded in 2016.”
While Delta has not been spared the impact of Nigeria’s current economic challenges, there is strong evidence that the state is relatively better off. The latest Poverty Index Report of the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Delta ranks Delta with a 6.02% poverty head count as the second least poor state in the country, slightly behind Lagos with 4.50 per cent.
According to the report, 40.1 per cent of Nigeria’s total population is poor with an average of four out of 10 individuals in Nigeria having real per capita expenditures below N137, 430 per year, meaning that monthly income of an individual in this category is less than N11,500 while income per day is N383.03. The NBS inequality report also indicated that Sokoto, Taraba, Jigawa, Ebonyi, Zamfara, Yobe and Adamawa are the poorest states in the country.
The NBS said Sokoto State had 87.73 per cent poverty head count rate followed by Taraba with 87.73 per cent, then Jigawa which had 87.02 per cent and Ebonyi with 79.76 per cent. Significantly, Delta was ranked 10th in the previous NBS poverty index and inequality report.
Okowa acknowledges that the numerous empowerment and job creation programmes embarked upon by his administration are a major contributory factor to the great progress made. He said that the strong focus on women and youths who have benefitted immensely from his administration’s job creation programmes was also a major factor.
Okowa captured the positive milesones in simple but strong terms: “A lot has been done in Delta State in the last five years and the people are happy. We have done a lot in trying to create jobs for our people, trying to get our people engaged; we have done a lot in keeping the oil facilities working as it ought to be and that has greatly improved the local economy… “And, very importantly, we’ve done quite a lot in terms of road infrastructure, health infrastructure, school infrastructure; a lot has been done even as we give special attention to technical education because it is good for us…”
Indeed, the potent combination of focused, inclusive security diplomacy, targeted measures to improve law and order in relevant communities, job creation through infrastructural development, investment-friendly policies and other initiatives have improved security in Delta State and enhanced other socio-economic indices in the process.
Okwadike is a public affairs analyst