Delta Monarch Warns World Bank Against Being Part Of Oppressive Policy Of Buhari’s Govt 

Paramount ruler of oil producing Kingdom, Gbaramatu, in Delta State, Pere Oboro Gbaraun II, Aketekpe, has cautioned World Bank not to bring into disrepute it integrity and credibility by joining the oppressive tendency of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

The monarch spoke through the Secretary General of the Traditional Council of Chiefs in the Kingdom, Chief Godspower Gbenekama, on Monday in Warri, Delta state.

BigPen Online recalls that the World Bank’s President Jim Yong Kim had last week Thursday stated that President Muhammadu Buhari had urged the World Bank to prioritise its developmental programmes across the northern parts of Nigeria,

Mr.Kim spoke on the sidelines of the ongoing World Bank-IMF annual meetings in Washington, D.C., saying his organisation has largely complied with Mr. Buhari’s request, but also experienced some challenges in the process.

However, in a chat with BigPen Online, the monarch said the policy statement credited to Mr. President was not a surprise to the people of Niger Delta region because President Buhari has been oppressive to the people of the region.

Gbenekama, who spoke for the monarch, said that it is disheartening  that Buhari gave such a standing order for the World Bank to do more of its developmental initiatives in the North when such pronouncements was not made when the heat was on the Niger Delta region.

“The report saying President Muhammadu Buhari gave a standing order to World Bank is not a surprise to us. It is not a new thing. The President had earlier said that it is proper for him to develop the area where he got 95% vote more than where he got 5% vote which according to him was the Niger Delta region.

“So to us it is not a new thing but I think the World Bank should know better and be wary of the politics of oppression that is going on in this country. The World Bank must be wary of the policies of oppressive tendency by the Buhari’s administration. They must not be part of this tendency of oppression otherwise if they continue the people will react and it was be counter-productive to the relative peace and security in the region.

The monarch while faulting the policy statement said that, the declaration had only portrayed the President Buhari as a true dictator and not a democrat, adding that if Buhari was a democrat he would have made similar pronouncement when the Niger Delta region was under military siege and bombardment.

“Buhari is not a democrat, he remains a dictator otherwise why should he give a body that covers all nations, and all people, such a directives when it is known all over the world that the Niger Delta region also need such developmental initiatives. Nobody would raise an eyebrow over his directive to the World Bank if he had replicated the gesture when our area was under siege and military firing”.

The monarch, according to him, however called for calm and peace in the region going by the weekend report that some agitating groups, and militant groups were also not happy with the development, saying, “we will continue to preach peace to all including agitators to give peace a chance so that the inability of government to act wouldn’t be excused for resumption of hostility.

Gbenekama, who also spoke about the agitations for restructuring by some quarters of the country, expressed disguise that the APC-led federal government did not want restructuring from the onset, apparently because it would only expose their ineptitude to governance.

“We lost faith in the APC committee on restructuring when they made an ardent opposer to the quest for restructuring of the country the Chairman of the hoard, so to us in the Niger Delta region, APC has missed it and we don’t have confidence on them anymore.

Speaking about the ongoing Nigerian Army Medical Outreach programme which had caused wide spread panic, and fear among residents of the Southeast and Niger Delta region, Gbenekama berated the army for causing the people trauma in an outreach that ought to bring succour.

According to him, the Army failed to sensitized the people of the programme, particularly after their so-called operations “Python Dance” and “Crocodile Smile” which he described as anti-people operations.

“Operation Crocodile Smile by the Army has brought tears to our people in the past, same with the Python Dance in the Southeast and other operations so the people now believe anything Army is synonymous to pain, panic, tears, death and rape. So I want to say that the Nigerian Army goofed by not conducting awareness campaign about the medical outreach before storming the communities.

“For us in Gbaramatu, we don’t want an army medical programme for now despite the fact that our people need medical care because we lack good hospitals, we don’t want that of Army. If I may ask must it be Army, can the government send an independent medical body, because you can imagine the scare it cause in Warri which is an upland, what do you think will happen if it was in the riverine communities.

‘In as much as our people love the programme, they also don’t want to die prematurely, they don’t want a programme that would kill them through heart attack before it is conducted. The scare that it would cause in the riverine would be unprecedented if they (army) venture into the river so we are asking them to shelve the programme until they conduct a proper awareness, and engage the leaders”

He however allayed fears of residents of the riverine communities over fear that the army would also take the medical outreach programme to the coast, saying no responsible government would deployed an arm of its military to inject innocent people to death.

Chief Godspower Gbenekama