Clashes between Niger Delta youths and law enforcement increased, and casualties began mounting. All kinds of weaponry found its way into the region and into the hands of these determined Niger-Delta groups made up mostly of youths. With such weaponry at their disposal, these youths were ready to take on the Nigeria Army, and did, killing several soldiers in small gun battles, and taking hostages from resident oil companies. All of this occurred, but Obasanjo lacked the leadership to step up and take charge of the situation when he should have. He simply ignored the problem.

The so called northern leaders should also share a part of the blame here. They are the ones that jostle and fight tooth and nail over oil allocation and refuse to allow any kind of fairness to prevail regarding the Niger-Delta people's demand for greater control of their resources. It ought to be strange to any right thinking person why the northern leadership and people believe that they should decide how oil revenue from a different region of the country needs to be allocated, and even more strange is how they feel they should get the lion share of that allocation while the people whose community gets polluted and damaged from the effects of drilling and exploration gets the least if anything at all. Such an irresponsible posture is part of the reason why Nigeria is where it is today. That kind of attitude is not just arrogant, but dangerously selfish.

I must point out though, that prior to Obasanjo, previous regimes or governments must share some blame here.

General Abacha was perhaps the worst of them all. His solution to the Niger-Delta crisis was hanging the activists from the area who stood up and spoke honestly against injustice and the damage being done to their communities by irresponsible oil companies.

While Abacha and IBB were monsters and nothing good was to be expected from them anyway, Obasanjo who had a golden opportunity to demonstrate leadership, simply failed woefully. Now on Obasanjo's last visit to Washington, President Bush having reviewed the Niger-Delta crisis based on FBI intelligence provided to him, took time out to lecture Obasanjo on the simple things he (Obasanjo) needs to do to resolve the crisis, and perhaps salvage what is left of his battered image.

So suddenly now, out of nowhere, Obasanjo announces a =N=20 Trillion 9 point development project for the region. What a loser!! It has taken this long for him to suddenly realize that "wow" something should have been done for this people. What a disgrace indeed. To make matters worse, it is not even his idea....President Bush created and packaged the idea for him, and why? Simple! President Bush is concerned about American oil companies in the region, and most importantly, given the skyrocketing oil prices in America, the US needs some kind of stability in Nigeria so that steady supply of oil is not threatened as that would bump up prices again and cause a ripple effect in the American economy.

If I was President Obasanjo, and had inherited this rising problem upon assuming office, I would have gone down to the Niger-Delta to access things for myself. I would have engaged the local communities and heard first hand from the residents there what their concerns amongst other things were. I would have taken an air tour of the area and requested for aerial photographs of the region so I can do additional assessment based on all information and data at my disposal. After, I witness everything first hand, I would then begin to put together immediate initiatives that would offer relief to the region. It makes no sense to simply give allocation to crooked leaders of the area, who then cart the money away to offshore private bank accounts, and nobody is seriously prosecuted to send a strong message out to everyone else because some misinterpreted clause in the constitution provides them state executives 'immunity'? That is stupidity. If I was Obasanjo, I would sign into law an environmental bill that protects the ecosystem in the Niger-Delta area so that natural marine habitat is not destroyed for good. This law will force oil companies to operate more responsibly and impose huge fines on them for every violation. Also, the taxes that the oil companies pay, must go into that community development and nowhere else. This means based on population of people within an area, xxx number of high schools and colleges must be built. It also means xxx number of hospitals must be built, and in operation. It also means with tax money and allocation funds, several kinds of social services must be created and made available to residents of these communities. Some of these services will include building power generating plants so that the communities have 24/7 power supply. This also includes, building up to date, and functional fire departments whose job will not be limited to firefighting, but to extend all kinds of rescue operations as well. This will also mean creating local or county sheriffs offices that will be equipped with all modern law enforcement tools, vehicles, training, career path, etc so people can make a rewarding career in the field of law enforcement. All of these initiatives themselves create jobs and opportunities. Obasanjo talks about how certain number of jobs must be created, but cannot explain how. He just picks up a number in his head and that's it. You do not just create jobs. You need to know what the area is in need of. You need to know what the immediate necessities in those communities are and then channel your programs to meet those specific needs. You do not just wake up and create jobs, what if you do not have the labor force to man those jobs? Does he even have any credible data about the population of the area and what percentage of the people fall within a certain working age group? These are things he should have put in place a long time if he had paid any attention to the crisis in the area.

At one point the Niger-Delta people complained that one of the means of their livelihood is fishing, and that because of pollution in their fishing areas, they could not longer fish and earn a living. Then at some point also, some market women decided to stage a protest given their deplorable condition. They went naked and laid on the roads surrounding oil company facilities. If I was Obasanjo, I would say to the Fishermen and market people, "I hear you people...Now, let's fix this problem." And here is what I would do. Regarding the fishermen who are losing their livelihood, it is apparent that they are still fishing on a small scale. To fish seriously (commercial fishing) one needs to go 10-15 or 20 miles into the sea, but then again, you need sturdy midsize fishing vessels with mechanical controlled nets, navigation system, storage bunkers underneath, etc.

That is what I would procure in certain quantity for these fishermen, and lease out to them. Operational and equipment training should be provided to them, and then lease the vessels them for a moderate fee. They in turn pay back the government a fixed amount monthly and also an adjustment able monthly usage tax. The government should build a standard boat dock, a small port office complex, and cold room storage facility on the premise, so that when the vessels come to dock, the fishermen can easily off load the boats and transport their catch to cold room facility on that same dock en-routed to market outlets or even processing outlets. This way, we eliminate all kinds of difficulties and hardships, and the job itself becomes an enterprising business where people can build better lives and careers from.

And to the protesting traders, why not just build a modern shopping strip or market place with individual shops. Equip them with shelves , refrigerators, air-condition facilities, restaurant spaces and charge appropriate usage fee monthly. Divide the facilities to different annexes depending of what products are being sold. They pay a monthly rent to the city, and if they require additional services, they pay a little extra. They sign a lease, and an agreement document of property use. This way, a sense of responsibility and accountability is established from the very beginning.

Aside from this, funds allocated to the region should also be set aside from an appropriation account where money for small business loans cab be provided to qualified people wishing to begin small business. This way, people wishing to begin a small enterprise can be educated on the process free of charge and loans made available to them. This way, commercial activity can flourish, and in a short time, the entire process can sustain itself purely from tax revenue, and then allocation money can be diverted to more sophisticated and capital intensive projects that is still aimed at benefiting the people. Let me say here also that my fellow northern brothers should encourage their leaders to take a cue from my article and find ways to self sufficient and self reliant. It is simply irresponsible to wait each month for oil allocation money from the Federal government as if we are beggars with no sense of simple innovation. Maybe that's why most street beggars come from our communities. We need to find our own business niche and zero in on areas where we have comparative advantage rather than sit down and be parasites always.

Undoubtedly, it is time we flush out the old dogs; the Buharis, the Abachas, the IBBs, the Rimis, and replace them with modern thinking, bright, innovative and college educated newcomers like myself and others with clear vision of what the north needs to look like now and 20 years from now. We need to do away with the old guard as I said. They do nothing but collaborate on how to destroy and sabotage rather than build a future for the ordinary northerner. Just to show you a warped sense of judgment, and Vice President Atiku comes to mind immediately. In his eternal fight with his boss over 3rd term and other issues, he has demonstrated a desire to contest for elections and possibly succeed Obj. What is most important to VP Atiku is "power". I have never heard his outline any initiative or provide an alternative solution to the woeful performance of his boss Obasanjo. All that matter to him is the Presidency. We should ask the Turaki what exactly his credentials are. What are his performance records like? He was chief of customer before, and while in that office, he suddenly amassed wealth that he cannot honestly account for.