Protocols:
I warmly welcome everyone who has made out time to participate in this very important Public Hearing on the North East Development Commission Bill which seeks to lay a concrete legal framework to remedy the grave social dislocation and progressive socio economic devastation of the North Eastern states of Nigeria occasioned by the destructive escapades of the Boko Haram insurgency.
- As noted at similar occasions in the recent past, Public Hearing is a governance window by the legislature in the promotion of citizens’ participation in the law making process and by implication in governance. I therefore wish to encourage all of us here seated to participate zealously by offering our views and opinion with total commitment in the confidence that we are thereby contributing towards quality of legislation that we all desire.
- Our aspirations for the establishment of the commission are not far fetched, even though there is poverty across Nigeria, in comparative terms, the North East suffers an exceptional poverty amidst little opportunities to push itself out of this unfortunate socio economic quagmire. Our industries have all nearly collapsed, schools are dilapidated, destroyed or non-existent in most communities, roads are death traps and largely inaccessible and farming completely in virtual comatose due to insurgency. Besides, the region groans under the pangs of desertification, ethno-religious crisis, climatic factors, predatory diseases among others.
- Vital statistics support the precarious state that the North East region has found itself. In the education sector for instance the North east has the least number of Universities, (about 11) when compare with the other two regions in the North to wit, North West (16) and North Central (about 22 including FCT). Again in the area of health with specific reference to tertiary health facilities (Teaching hospitals), North East (2), North West (3), and North Central (4). Precisely, the region lags behind in all major indices of human development with the highest incidence of illiteracy in Nigeria. Statistics from National Bureau of Statistics as at 2008, shows that more than 65% of the people living in the North East are “absolutely poor” with less than 1 dollar income per day. It is important to note that these statistics predate the consequences of insurgency in the last eight years and current economic down turn.
- Furthermore, it is estimated that there are 2.2 million IDPs in various parts of the country, with the North East accounting for close to 2million. According to the Tracking Matrix developed jointly by IOM and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), 92% percent of the IDPs in Nigeria are embedded in communities, while about 8 per cent are spread across 21 camps. 68% percent are children, with 60,000 births so far recorded in the various camps. The implication of this data is that households in the North East are overstretched with the burden of the IDPs, leading to depletion of the little resources in the hands of our people. This is compounded by the fact that farming which is the main stay of the North East economy can no longer sustain our people due to insecurity leading to more hardship on the region.
- While there is no reliable institutional statistics on the region’s current poor infrastructure caused by insecurity due to the ongoing military operation, the damage done by the boko haram insurgency will at the prevailing rate and pace of development (i.e. without an affirmative action or institutional framework) take the region almost a century to be competitive in national development in relation to the rest of the geopolitical regions.
- Distinguish ladies and gentlemen, the North East is at a cross road
and something concrete must be done to harness the potentials of our
region at this trying moment. Inspite of the fact that the North East
has received support from international donor agencies, development
partners, industrialist, politicians, businessmen, the State and Federal
Governments, sons and daughters of the region, religious bodies,
friends and well-wishers, the fact remains that there is no
institutional framework on ground to facilitate the coordination,
reconstruction and development of the Region.
8. Lessons from other parts of the world have shown that regions that suffered development challenges arising from communal conflicts, ecological disasters or open warfare are better managed and more speedily restored through concrete institutional mechanism or framework. For example, the United States of America, Germany, Japan, Rwanda, Liberia, Britain and France have suffered big challenges of destruction, displacement, human loss and economic decline after the Second World War in 1945. In all these countries, institutional frameworks were established to rebuild most of their homes, villages, towns, cities, roads, hospitals, factories, schools and critical infrastructure from scratch. Today, Japan, Germany, France, US and Britain lead the world in science, technology and communications despite their horrible experience in the Second World War. - In Nigeria, precedence was set by the National Assembly in the case of the Niger Delta region with the passage of the NDDC Act. I am confident that the North East situation calls for similar reaction by the National Assembly and indeed the good people of Nigeria.
- The Federal and state governments of the north-east states have made concerted efforts over the years to address the menace and consequence of insurgency through policy frameworks such as the Presidential Initiative on the North-East (PINE), Victim Support Fund (VSF) and National Policy on Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria (IDPs). It must be stated that as commendable as these efforts are, they are palliative in nature and are therefore not capable of addressing the serious challenge of under development of the North-East region
- Against this background, the bill is proposed to provide a legal framework that addresses the overall development challenges of the north-east. The bill is also proposed in recognition of the fact that the existing legal frameworks on refugees, emergency management, and boundary disputes resolution have neither addressed the plight of our people nor developed sustainable strategies for the development of the North-East.
- In conclusion, I wish to sincerely commend the high degree of extra-ordinary commitment by the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR in addressing the lingering security challenges in the North East and indeed nationally. We remain very grateful and pray that all will join hands to support the consolidation of these efforts through the establishment of the Commission proposed by this bill that will be charged with the responsibility to promote, project, manage and account for the prosperity of the North East.
- On this note, Honorable Colleagues distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen it is my singular honor to formally declare this Public Hearing open and wish you most fruitful deliberations.
- God bless you all and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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