Activist Urges For Unity Among Niger Delta Leaders

A Social Rights crusader and activist, Dr Andy Akpotive has decried the lack of unity of purpose among Niger Delta leaders, Dr Akpotive who spoke in an exclusive interview with The Tide at the weekend attributed the gross under development of the Niger Delta region to disunity of its leaders and the proliferation of vested interest groups in the region.
He called on youths and leaders of the Niger Delta to be resolute and speak in one accord rather than operating in splinters and creating room for devide and rule and external infiltration.
Akpotive, a proponent of justice and true federalism in Nigeria, regretted the fact that the Niger Delta is yet to bear the commensurate seeds of development and economic prosperity despite being the hub of oil and gas in Nigeria.
He noted that Multinational companies in the  Niger Delta operates with double standards because of the  presence of willing allies in the Niger Delta that seek personal gains rather than working for the collective development of the region.
“The leadership of the Niger Delta has not been forthright over the years. The music of the Niger Delta had not  be melodious and sonorous, our leaders have caved in to the divide and rule spirit and like a cancer it had eaten deep into the fabric of the region.
It would have been difficult to infiltrate our ranks if we have remained united and resolute in our demands which are legitimate,” he said.
The activist also faulted the negotiating spirit of Niger Delta leaders in Nigeria oil politics, adding, “The Niger Delta don’t understand what it means to negotiate. Our powers of negotiation has been very dismal, during the last national conference only few activists from the  region  like Ann Kio  Briggs took the Niger problem and the  minority question to the front burner.