IBAKA: A CALL TO DUTY

Incase you see me naked shouting Alert! Alert!! Alert!!!

No think say I don high, na cry I de cry for Oro 🥱

By: Hon. Robinson Uwak

Shipping a 40ft container from the United States Of America to Nigeria will cost about $7,500 and takes about 45days. Same shipment would cost about $3,500 and takes about 30days to arrive South Africa.

South Africa has a deep seaport and Nigeria doesn’t. Sea going vessels laden with cargo for Nigeria often head to South Africa where they transfer the cargo to smaller vessels that can access the Nigerian ports. This explains the higher cost in shipping to Nigeria and the longer time it takes.

Nigerian consumers have had to pay more for goods owing to high cost of shipping and logistics for many decades now.

Nigeria as a maritime nation has been unable to reach her full potentials due to the lack of a deep sea port. Trillions of dollars in revenue, millions of jobs and stacks of economic returns have been lost by Nigeria for lack of a deep sea port. I need not flog the importance of a deep sea port to our country Nigeria.

For many decades now, Nigeria spends a minimum of a $100M (One hundred million United States Dollars) annually to dredge the Lagos channel so vessels can navigate easily to the Apapa and Tin-can ports in lagos. The Lagos port has a depth draft of 4 meters naturally and 8 meters after dredging. Hence to sustain the port, the government must spend a whopping $100M to dredge annually.

For several decades, IBAKA, blessed with a natural draft of 14 meters, has been identified through international feasibility conducted by renowned European consultants, like the one spot suitable and proper to host Nigeria’s Deep Seaport.

From pillar to post, successive governments have played politics with the establishment of IBAKA deep sea port. They have established other ports including Calabar and Onne in Port Harcourt just to avoid IBAKA, which they believe will take over from Lagos as the commercial capital of Nigeria once the deep seaport is established. But the 14 meter IBAKA draft remains the real deal.

Imagine the population of Lagos! That’s what IBAKA can give to Oro nation. IBAKA not only comes with prosperity for the people of Oro nation, but also comes with the population Oro needs to become a majority in Akwa Ibom State. The port in Lagos is largely responsible for the population of Lagos. IBAKA has the capacity to jump the voting strength of Oro nation from obscurity to majority. The struggle to stop IBAKA within Akwa Ibom isn’t just for economic reasons but also for political power and voting strength.

I first noticed the plot to relocate IBAKA when the 2012 budget of the Nigerian Ports Authority containing the FGN’s N10billion equity contribution to the establishment of IBAKA deep seaport carried a line item for the same amount but captured as Ibom deep seaport.

I quickly raised a point of Order and asked the House Of Representatives to reject the budget. I argued that parliament cannot appropriate money for a project that has no specific location. I explained to my colleagues that there was no location or place like Ibom in Nigeria. I insisted that the 1978 feasibility carried out by Federal Government of Nigeria situates Nigeria’s deep sea port at IBAKA and the line item must be so described.

With the support of my colleagues, the Nigerian Ports Authority delegation was directed to go back and amend the line item accordingly to read “IBAKA”. This was done. IBAKA was retained.

After this close shave, I called up IKpoto Okon Osung as Chairman Of Oro Think Tank and narrated what transpired. We agreed to meet up in Abuja to discuss IBAKA.

Worried about the plot to rename and eventually relocate IBAKA I called my top aides in the office and we began to research and investigate the IBAKA deep seaport project.

Quickly, we uncovered that the plot to relocate IBAKA, had just received its first setback as parliament rejected the renaming. We further discovered that compensation had not been paid for the land taken from the locals for the establishment of the port. The State Government merely gave Certificates of Occupancy to the Nigerian Ports Authority without compensating the community. We also realized that information on IBAKA that could help the locals take strategic and vantage position, in other to benefit from the project was not open to the locals. Rather, external investors where buying up lands around IBAKA. I reasoned that these external investors had access to the master plan for IBAKA. Hence, they knew the right assets to acquire ahead of the project. I feared the locals who did not know what lands to sell or what lands to keep, could end up being tenants in their own land without proper education and information.

After days of brainstorming, we realized that the only way we could checkmate the renaming or relocating of the deep seaport from IBAKA was to plant our own person in the implementation committee who will be at all meetings and processes, leading up to the actualization of the sea port.

Such an insider’s role would be to get out the master plan of the project and any other information, relevant with helping Oro locals take wise investment decisions which includes land acquisition, business planning and positioning. But most of all the insider’s major role was to furnish my office with first hand vital information that enables my office to institute robust parliamentary action should the need arise to stop the renaming or relocation of IBAKA deep seaport.

We quickly drafted, and I moved a motion on the floor of the House of Representatives to address the raised concerns and issues. As will be seen in the video, someone was sponsored to oppose the motion but the motion prevailed and the House Of Representatives amongst other things, mandated the Nigerian Ports Authority to appoint a nominee from the host community in the Technical and implementation committee for the establishment of IBAKA deep seaport. Please see motion and video.

By the time IKpoto Okon Osung visited Abuja, I had the House Resolutions with me. I wrote two letters attaching the Resolutions of the house to COTR and OTT informing them of the development.

I met with and briefed IKpoto Okon Osung at his Nanet suites hotel room and handed him the communication from my office to OTT. I further pressed IKpoto to use his office as OTT chairman to pressure the state government to nominate a member of OTT to serve in that committee to guarantee regular feedback and information.

The implementation of the House Of Representatives Resolutions dragged for about 2 years and so did the fate of the project. I wasn’t surprised when Senator Akon Eyakenyi was appointed to serve in that committee. I felt fulfilled that Oro finally had an insider’s eye at the technical and implementation committee level of that project.

To my surprise, the then Chairman of the House Of Representatives Committee on Marine Transport, His Excellency Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi invited me to his office for a briefing. Upon getting to his office, he informed me that after a review of my motion, the House Of Representatives Commitee on Marine Transport had resolved to pay a visit to IBAKA community and also engage with the host community to ascertain their interest and concerns about that IBAKA deep seaport project.

I made necessary arrangements and the full committee on Marine Transport visited IBAKA and proceeded to the site for the deep seaport.

From IBAKA the House Of Representatives Committee on Marine Transport returned to Oro Civic Centre and engaged with the people of Oro first hand in a town hall meeting and discussed the interest of the host community and other related matters.

A combined read of part II section 7 and Part XI Section 30 of the Nigerian Ports Authority Act rests the responsibility for the declaration of Ports and its approaches with the Nigerian Ports Authority. They are to take these decisions only in the calculated best interest of Nigeria. All feasibility studies have for decades favored IBAKA. This hasn’t changed.

Section 17(2)(d) of the Nigerian Constitution protects Oro in this situation.

Section 44(1) paragraphs a & b of the Nigerian Constitution clearly gives Oro the right to determine her interest in the use of IBAKA.

International laws particularly the relevant articles pertaining to the rights of indigenous people stands firmly behind Oro in this struggle.

Government has a duty to ensure that the siting of this project and its approaching, guarantees maximum returns on investment.

Oro, your lawmakers, your elected representatives at the parliament have a huge role to play in ensuring that Oro gets to keep this project as originally conceived by the Federal Government Of Nigeria. The benefits and merits of Keeping IBAKA deep seaport in Oro are clear for all to see.

IBAKA serves the best interest of Nigeria. At a time where oil revenues are dwindling and the Nigerian economy is hard pressed on all fronts, only economic and strategic decisions can save our nation. Not political decisions that seek to serve a few.

Let our legislators rise up and martial the points on the floor of the House and Senate and get parliament to stop the relocation of either the approach or Port of IBAKA.

Having served in the implementation and Technical Committee, Senator Akon should have the necessary documents to enhance her debate.

We can also raise a support team to give our legislators a hand on this all important cause. All hands must be on deck, but let our legislators lead the way.

ME: WHEN ALERT QUENCH AND HUNGER WEY EQUENCH SHOW BACK, YEARS LATER UNA GO BEGIN KILL UNA SELF CAUSE OF HUNGER.