PANDEF’S CRY FOR JUSTICE: WHEN THE GOOSE THAT LAYS THE GOLDEN EGG IS LEFT HUNGRY
The Niger Delta Cannot Continue to Finance Nigeria While Remaining on the Fringes of Development"
By Engr. Yeigagha Henry, JP
There comes a moment in the life of every nation when silence ceases to be wisdom and becomes complicity. That moment has once again arrived for the Niger Delta. The recent approval of approximately N3.9 trillion by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for strategic road infrastructure across Nigeria should ordinarily have been a celebration of national development. Instead, it has opened yet another chapter in the long and painful narrative of perceived exclusion, compelling the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) to raise an alarm that resonates far beyond the creeks and mangrove forests.
Infrastructure is the language through which governments communicate their priorities. Roads are not merely ribbons of asphalt; they are the arteries through which commerce flows, opportunities are created, and national integration is strengthened. When these arteries consistently bypass a region that fuels the nation’s economy, the message conveyed is both loud and unsettling.
For decades, the Niger Delta has remained Nigeria’s economic heartbeat. Beneath its soil lies the crude oil and natural gas that have financed federal budgets, sustained public institutions, and underwritten countless developmental projects across the federation. Yet, paradoxically, the very region that fills the national treasury continues to grapple with collapsing highways, abandoned federal projects, and communities isolated by impassable roads. It is a contradiction that has lingered for far too long.
The unfinished East-West Road stands as perhaps the most enduring monument to broken promises. Conceived as the backbone of transportation within the South-South, it has become a symbol of endless contracts, repeated budgetary allocations, and painfully slow execution. Every delay exacts a heavy toll: not merely in economic losses but in human suffering, road accidents, increased transportation costs, and constrained investment.
PANDEF’s concerns, therefore, should not be dismissed as another regional lament. They should be understood as an appeal for equity within the framework of national development. Their objection is not to the construction of roads in other parts of Nigeria. Every region deserves modern infrastructure. The grievance lies in the apparent imbalance that leaves the Niger Delta, despite its immense contribution to the national economy, with little to celebrate from one of the largest road approvals in recent history.
A nation that continually harvests from one field while refusing to replenish its soil courts inevitable decline. The Niger Delta has given abundantly. It has endured decades of environmental degradation, polluted rivers, devastated farmlands, gas flaring, oil spills, and social unrest. Yet, despite these sacrifices, its demand remains remarkably modest: fairness, inclusion, and visible development.
The consequences of sustained neglect extend beyond damaged roads. Infrastructure shapes investment, employment, industrial growth, healthcare access, educational opportunities, and national cohesion. Where roads fail, businesses hesitate, investors withdraw, agriculture declines, and poverty deepens. Development can not flourish where accessibility is denied.
This is why the federal government must revisit its infrastructure priorities with renewed sensitivity. Development should not be measured solely by the magnitude of expenditure but by the fairness of its distribution. Equity is not charity; it is the foundation upon which lasting national unity is built.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has repeatedly expressed his commitment to balanced national development. That commitment presents an opportunity to correct longstanding disparities. Accelerating the completion of the East-West Road, rehabilitating strategic federal highways across the Niger Delta, modernising the region’s ports, and expanding transportation networks would not merely benefit the South-South; they would strengthen Nigeria’s entire economy by improving access to the nation’s energy and maritime corridors.
The Niger Delta has never asked to be placed above other regions. It seeks only to stand where justice places it; not behind others, but alongside them. Its resources have built bridges across Nigeria; it should not continue to cross broken bridges at home.
History teaches that nations become stronger when every region sees itself reflected in the mirror of national progress. Inclusion breeds patriotism. Fairness inspires confidence. Development shared equitably becomes the strongest defence against division.
The voice of PANDEF should, therefore, not be interpreted as confrontation but as a reminder that true nation-building can not rest on selective development. A prosperous Nigeria cannot emerge from the neglect of the region that powers its economy.
The time has come to replace promises with pavement, declarations with delivery, and rhetoric with results. The roads leading into the Niger Delta should no longer remain roads leading away from justice. For when the goose that lays the golden egg is left hungry, the future of the entire farm is placed in jeopardy
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