February 17, (THEWILL) – Niger Delta community leaders and youths have applauded the management of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), for its visible change initiative.
THEWILL reports that NCDMB – known for its local content promotion in the oil and gas industry – is supporting a new initiative by the leadership of the Movement for the Survival of Izon Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta (MOSIEND), for a non-violent approach to agitation for justice in the region.
Rising from a four-day leadership training workshop in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, on Thursday, participants hailed the local content agency for its support for a paradigm shift in the oil region.
The leadership of the Movement for the Survival of Izon Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta (MOSIEND) initiated the training programme for a new cadre of leaders in the region.
Speaking at the conference, MOSIEND President, Kennedy West, said the Ijaw group is working to bring down the red flag profiling of the region.
“It should, however, be stated here that the hostile response of the Nigerian state to the valid agitation of the peoples of the Niger Delta sparked the eruption of violence in the area.
“Since there is time for everything, the leadership of MOSIEND holds the view that it is high time we began a new approach for addressing issues in our region.
“With the lessons we have learnt so far, MOSIEND is pushing for extensive and robust community engagements to prepare them for a new model of achieving their socio-economic, political and environmental quest.
“Our goal is aimed at re-orienting, repositioning, and recovery of the loss of the oil-bearing communities.
“We are hoping to leave behind us an enduring legacy of greater cooperation, purposefulness and pragmatism in the handling of the advocacy issues in our region,” West stated.
One of the 35 participants, who pleaded anonymity, said the programme was “insightful, thought-provoking, and very interesting.”
According to them, investors are reluctant to invest in the oil region because of the “high risk” to their investment, adding that Nigeria’s vastly polluted oil and gas region is generally considered to be “volatile”.
For them, the alleged volatility of the region helps to explain why some of the oil majors and international oil servicing companies are pulling out of the area.
The push for a new approach to the agitation of the people of the region for environmental justice, political and economic equity and fair play instigated the need to produce a new cadre of leaders in the region.
Chief Executive Officer of Facilitation and Services Ltd, Olumide Ajowale, who handled the four-day training programme, said that the time has come for a different approach to the demands of the oil region.
According to him, they have started a pilot training programme for 35 Niger Delta youths, aimed at impacting them with what leadership is all about in the 21st century.
The training expert said they are equipping the youths with international best practices “that will guarantee greater inflow of foreign direct investment and equitable resolution in areas of conflict.”
Continuing, Ajowale said the participants have been armed with skills on how to engage governments, oil corporations, and various stakeholders at any level.
