Goodluck Jonathan gave more to North than Niger Delta – Ms. Annkio Briggs

Niger Delta activist, Ms. Annkio Briggs, has said despite that northerners voted against former President Goodluck Jonathan, the ex-president gave more dividends of democracy to the North while in office than he did for the South-South where he comes from...


She said although Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner is now the President, the people of the Niger Delta have the right under the Constitution to expect such dividends from the new administration like they did under Jonathan’s.

Briggs, in an interview with our correspondent, warned that the expectations and rights of the Niger Delta people should not be based on Jonathan’s success or failure in office.

She said, “I don’t understand why people have continued to use the excuse of Jonathan not doing anything, which is true. He didn’t do anything for the Niger Delta but he did a lot more for the North than he did for the Niger Delta. He built schools for the almajiris; how many did he build in the South-South?

“Are they saying that because he didn’t do anything for the South-South, which he also accepted, Buhari also should not do anything for the region?”

Briggs also dismissed the claim that the Niger Delta had benefitted from the Buhari-led administration with the President’s order that the UNEP report be implemented to clean up the oil spill in Ogoniland.

She stated that it was the Federal Government that was responsible for the degradation of the environment in the Niger Delta due to oil exploration.

According to her, it is not a plus for the South-South that the President has recommended the clean-up, it is a justified recommendation.

She stated that what would be extraordinary was for Buhari to recommend the clean-up of the entire Niger Delta.

Briggs said, “Let us bear in mind that the money that is going to be used to clean up the Niger Delta is also coming from the Niger Delta. We are the victims and we are the ones paying for the clean-up. Let us not also forget that the same UNEP report says it will take over 30 years for our environment to be brought back to its original state.

“When people point to the environment, they miss the most painful aspect of it, which is that the region will never recover from the destruction that has been unleashed on it so that Nigeria can have oil and gas. It is a very painful situation that we have found ourselves in.

“Bearing in mind that the wealth of the country is coming from this region, we expect something from any government. It is our constitutional right. We are also mindful of the fact that Nigeria is a large country and this is the problem the country has.”

According to Briggs, Nigeria is a large country made up of many ethnic groups, 36 states and 774 local government areas, which all depend on revenue from the centre, which is coming from the Niger Delta.

“Today the oil price has fallen so low and we have a government that has also not inspired confidence in us, in as much as it had already forewarned us that we are among the five per cent that should not expect much from it,” she said.