NDDC: When Public  Policy And Public Good Combine To Bring Development -By Jerome-Mario Utomi

Public policy, going by experts’ definition, is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs and encompasses what the government does, or does not do to solve a problem in society.

Correspondingly, Policy making and problem solving is what citizens expect from their elected and appointed government representatives once they have taken office, and are entrusted with serving their constituency.

Given the foregoing,  developing public policy decisions for the good of those in, and on behalf of those outside the government (public) have become not only a culture but vital for public officers and all levels of government — municipal, state, and federal Ministries, Parastatals, Commissions and agencies among others.They met this culture when they joined the service, guided by the culture while in service and ultimately transfer this culture to their successors in office.  It is imperative to note that the root of public policy in our nation, just as in other parts of the world, are deep and there is something massive and positive about it.

A veritable example is the people-oriented and sustained development minded actions and policies of the Mr Chiedu Ebie led Governing Board and Management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), a federal government agency established by former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo in 2000, with the sole mandate of developing the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

Upon inauguration in November 2023, the NDDC board, to the admiration of all stakeholders, came up with well thought out initiatives and projects. Prominent among these projects, programmes and initiatives are the building of partnerships, lighting up the region, initiating sustainable livelihood, improving youth capacity and skills base, executing efficient and cost-effective projects, including the Project Hope for Renewed Hope, reducing carbon emission, and improving peace and security.

While the above initiatives and policies remain admirable, there is another policy by the Governing Board and Management that this piece would underline as something massive and positive.

Some months ago, the Commission’s leadership, during the presentation of its N1.91 trillion 2024 budget to the Senate Committee on NDDC, emphasized priorities such as security, job creation, youth and women empowerment, social welfare, education and the profound initiative to raise N1 trillion, from development and commercial banks, for the completion of 1,006 legacy projects spread across the region. These projects were reportedly in specific areas such as roads, bridges, electricity, schools, hospitals, shore protection and reclamation, among others.

Aside from the overt awareness that when abandoned projects are completed and put into use, it saves the nation from wastage, boosts national assets and promotes socio-economic development of the people, region and the nation in general, there are, however, other covert reasons that render this present development as both newsy and commendable. Students of history familiar with the origin of project abandonment and neglect of national assets in Nigeria and the politics that fuels this will agree that the NDDC governing board and management are on the path to ending an ugly ‘culture’ that has over the years held down the region’s development.

And if this policy framework is achieved as envisaged, it is abundantly clear that future historians and, of course, development professionals shall definitely refer to the present board and management as a bunch that restored new order in the region and hope to the people. Beyond what future historians may say, there is equally the need to highlight why this piece is fixated with NDDC’s departure from the old order, and at the very moment on a mission to tackle a challenge that has not only become a culture of a sort but has its origin deeply rooted in history that predates the nation’s independence in October 1960.

Beginning with the historical undertone as to why Nigerians and successive leaderships in the country daily demonstrate lackadaisical attitude towards national assets and see nothing wrong with project desertion, history has it that during colonial rule, Nigerians developed anti-colonial belief that public property is no man’s property. This belief, according to reports, was intended to fight colonialism but it continued after independence and brought insensitivity to government property as well as ineptitude, nepotism, neglect of duty, etc.; it gravely offers explanation as to the reckless way in which government property and projects are handled.

Indeed, what the above information tells us is that both project abandonment and public asset neglect in the country are two striking human tragedies, that the pain they inflict on the nation are deepened by the realisation that they were avoidable.

Beyond this understanding, there are reasons to believe that this piece is not alone in the understanding that NDDC leadership is doing something positively new.

A few days ago, the Pan Niger Delta Development Forum, PANDEF, commended the leadership of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, for its commitment to transparency, accountability, and infrastructure development in the region.

Giving the commendation during a courtesy visit by a delegation from the umbrella organization of Niger Delta people at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, PANDEF’s National Chairman, Ambassador Godknows Igali, lauded the Commission’s leadership, describing it as visionary and result-driven.

His words: “We have never seen a leadership team like this, and we thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his support. Your interventions in infrastructure, particularly the Benin-Ore Road and the Light Up Niger Delta initiative, are commendable. Your youth development programmes are also making a significant impact.”

He further assured the Commission of PANDEF’s continued collaboration, reiterating the group’s role as the voice of the Niger Delta people in the civic space:  “We believe in working closely with you and reaffirm our support for your administration. We urge Mr. President, the governors, and other stakeholders to provide you with the necessary tools to succeed,” he concluded.

No doubt, there are books that teach how to build a house, how to repair an engine and how to write a book, but there are no codified books on how to build a region, society or nation. Conversely, nation building, in my view, depends on ceaseless creative and far-reaching public policies designed and implemented by well foresighted leaders- a case in point is the NDDC’s resolve to complete abandoned projects that presently litters its mandate states.

This author,  therefore, believes that closing ranks with a view to learning from NDDC’s latest template is not only important but eminently desirable for other agencies and Commissions in the country as “we cannot continue to do one thing repeatedly and be expecting a different result-or tackling our societal challenges with the same mentality used when the problems were created”

Finally, while it is obvious that it is a season of public good for Niger Delta region and its people, for me, the positive public policies so far generated by the Governing Board/Management of NDDC align with the famous words of Martin Luther King Jnr: “Human progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability but is achieved through the tireless efforts and the persistent work of dedicated individuals who are willing to be coworkers with God”

Utomi, a Media Specialist writes from Lagos, Nigeria. He could be reached via Jeromeutomi@yahoo.com/08032725374