By Seyi Odewale
Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has said the state has overcome the severe terrain and connectivity challenges that confronted it at creation, recording significant progress in infrastructure and human development in its 30 years of existence.
Diri made the declaration on Wednesday at an exhibition and anniversary lecture to mark the state’s 30th anniversary at the DSP Alamieyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall, Government House, Yenagoa.
According to a statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, the event featured an exhibition of Bayelsa’s history and development milestones, as well as an anniversary lecture and panel discussion.
Bayelsa was created on October 1, 1996, by the late former Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, with Diri saying the state inherited difficult terrain, limited infrastructure, poor connectivity and a fragile economic base.
He said successive administrations had gradually transformed the state, citing roads and bridges linking communities previously separated by creeks, the development of an international airport and the establishment of universities and other institutions.
“Today, where there was once swamp, we have an international airport. Where there were once creeks, we now have five universities as well as polytechnics. Where communities were separated by water, bridges and roads now bind us together,” Diri said.
The governor also cited the establishment of federal institutions and facilities, including the Content Towers, Federal Secretariat, Nigerian Law School and various security formations, as evidence of the state’s growing national presence.
He acknowledged the contributions of successive administrations, saying the development recorded over three decades was a continuum built on the efforts and sacrifices of previous leaders and citizens.
Diri said attention was being renewed on the state’s senatorial roads, while the Independent Power Project was being expanded from 60 to 100 megawatts.
He also listed the ongoing construction of a 30,000-capacity stadium and a nine-storey Secretariat Complex among projects expected to improve public services, connectivity and economic activity.
The governor, however, said the anniversary should go beyond celebrating past achievements, urging greater emphasis on stronger institutions, youth and women empowerment, environmental protection and balanced development.
He challenged Bayelsans to turn the sacrifices of the state’s founding fathers into a foundation for a more prosperous and united future.
Delivering the anniversary lecture, scholar and public intellectual, Prof. Godini Darah, criticised Nigeria’s dependence on oil and gas, saying it had constrained the development of other productive sectors.
Darah called for fundamental reforms to fiscal federalism and greater resource control for oil-producing states.
He described the 13 per cent derivation allocation to oil-producing states as “87 per cent deprivation,” arguing that the Niger Delta bears the environmental consequences of resource extraction while having limited control over its natural resources.
He cited historical and constitutional arrangements, including Petroleum Decree No. 51 of 1969 and Section 44(3) of the 1999 Constitution, as factors behind the situation.
Darah urged Niger Delta leaders to reduce dependence on crude oil by investing in knowledge, science, technology, research and value-added industries.
He advocated specialised universities and research institutions in areas such as oceanography, marine engineering and commercial aquaculture, while calling for greater use of natural gas for electricity generation and industrial development.
He also urged state governments and Host Community Development Committees to deploy Petroleum Industry Act funds to human capital development and transformative infrastructure.
The anniversary featured a panel discussion involving academics and public policy experts, while former President Goodluck Jonathan, his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan, Diri’s wife, Dr Gloria Diri, Deputy Governor Peter Akpe, members of the National Assembly, traditional rulers and members of the Abacha family attended the event.
