For South-South Regional Integration

Last Wednesday, the Federal House of Representatives passed for second reading a bill seeking to establish a development commission for the South-South geo-political zone, also popularly known as the Niger Delta region.
Sponsored by Rep Awaji-Inombek Abiante, the bill was first read on the floor of the House on December 19, 2019. The bill, if eventually passed into law is to establish the South-South Development Commission (SSDC) whose primary mandate will be to receive and manage funds from the Federation Account Allocation, other sources, including grants, donations and aids for the sole aim of developing, integrating and addressing the infrastructural deficit, militancy, communal crisis, insecurity and ecological and environmental challenges facing the region.
The vision of the SSDC may not be too different from the objectives of the ill-fated BRACED Commission set up by Governors of the region some 10 years ago, but for obvious reasons, was slowed down. Luckily, in a recent meeting held in Asaba, Delta State capital, the governors under the aegis of the South-South Governors Forum resolved to resuscitate the BRACED Commission.
Interestingly, the forum also agreed to float a regional security outfit that will, among others, tackle the security concerns bedeviling the zone in the wake of increasing insecurity in the country.
Hitherto, states in the region had made bold attempts to tackle insecurity in their respective states without synergising with neighbouring states to adopt a multi-dimensional approach to solving the twin problem of crime and criminality in Rivers State, for instance. Governor Nyesom Wike’s administration during its first tenure established the Rivers State Neighbourhood Safety Agency which bill was duly passed by the state legislature and assented to by the governor.
But for political reasons, the Federal Government, using the Nigerian Army, scuttled the lofty idea and the agency has not been functional and effective till date despite a Federal High Court order declaring the Army’s action as illegal and unconstitutional.
Other States in the region, also made similar attempts at combating the rise in criminal activities in the zone, but most of such moves, if not all had not yielded the desired result possibly because of lack of synergy and collaboration among the governors of the region.
Stakeholders in the region therefore hail the latest move by the governors, not only to resuscitate the BRACED Commission but also to float a regional security outfit, like Amotekun in the South-West to tackle head on insecurity in the area. Herdsmen/farmers clashes, militancy, kidnapping, pipeline vandalism, illegal bunkering, cultism and other social vices have been a reoccurring decimal in the zone and the need for such security network has become inevitable.
Indeed, it is now imperative that we as a people with a common destiny and peculiar challenges must come together to battle the common enemies in our midst. Methuks that the only path to follow is have a common platform such as the BRACED Commission and a regional security architecture and network to confront squarely the real and present danger.
The Nigerian conventional security outfits- the Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and Armed Forces, from all indications appear to be overwhelmed by current security challenges and the most viable option is to establish zonal or regional security outfits that will complement their efforts.
It is, therefore, my candid opinion that all well-meaning Nigerians, especially the Niger Deltans must support our leaders to ensure that the BRACED Commission and the regional security outfit succeed.
Such arrangement will not only facilitate economic co-operation and development of the South-South States, but will also pave way for regional integration and cross-fertilisation of ideas.
All we require now is adequate funding to hit the ground running.
In the same vein, let all our lawmakers in the Senate and the House of Representatives support the SSDC Bill to sail through just as the North-East Development Commission. That’s the right path to follow.

Goodluck Ukwe