One issue that has fallen off the Nigerian political agenda of late is the Niger Delta. With elections looming next year, our political parties need to come up with a coherent policy like this

Ayo Akinfe

[1] We appear to have forgotten that we still have a lot of polluted creaks in the Niger Delta to clean up. I once suggested releasing oil-eating algae into the environment to get rid of some of the oil slicks. How come nobody is suggesting this today?

[2] Nigerians as a people simply do not appreciate the resources they are sitting on and the economic potential of their land. Do you know that Nigeria has the seventh largest mangrove forest in the world and the Niger Delta can easily sustain a marine economy that could generate more revenue than crude oil does?

[3] Our mangrove forest covers 6,900 square kilometres. It is easy to see what potential this offers by looking at what the likes of Indonesia, Brazil, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Australia, Mexico, etc have done with theirs. For instance mangroves, with the underwater habitat their roots provide, offer critical nursing environments for thousands of fish species, from one inch gobies to 10-foot sharks

[4] Also, blue carbon ecosystems like mangroves, can be up to 10 times more efficient than terrestrial ecosystems at absorbing and storing carbon long term, making them​ a critical solution in the fight against climate change. With the coastal erosion we are witnessing in Lagos, we should have made plans to export our Niger Delta mangroves westwards to combat the encroachment of the Atlantic Ocean

[5] Trees in the mangrove forest are also particularly sturdy and are a reliable source of wood for construction. Were we looking to exploit this potential, we would have introduced an ecologically sustainable programme under which trees are felled to sustain a vibrant timber industry. As long as we replace every tree we fell with two, nothing stops us developing a thriving timber industry. Why the Niger Delta is not one huge lumberyard is beyond me. Mangroves provide hardwood that is hard to find elsewhere

[6] Often located near coral reefs, mangrove forests provide a rich environment for activities like sports fishing, kayaking and birdwatching tours. Have we ever thought about the potential of eco-tourism? As we all know, the violence in the Niger Delta is as a result of that cursed crude oil. Get rid of it and watch normality return to the region. Who said that eco-tourism cannot generate as much revenue as petroleum?

[7] Have we ever actually examined the floor of the ocean off the Niger Delta to see what kind of coral exists there? All we do is keep drilling for oil. Who is to say there are no other hidden gems in the area too? Mangrove forests are normally a potential source of undiscovered biological materials that could benefit mankind, such as antibacterial compounds and pest-resistant genes

[8] If you really want to know how dumb we are, you just need to look at what we are missing out in on terms of aquaculture. Shrimp farming for instance thrives in the mangrove forest. Vietnam is exploiting the potential the Mekong Delta offers them in this regard. If we had the Niger Delta functioning properly, we would have sharks, dolphins, manatees, crabs, shrimps and maybe even whales coming to breed in the area. I have not even mentioned fresh water fish, which would sustain a whole industry in itself

[9] I am now going to lay the gauntlet down to my Ijaw and Ogoni friends and say it is time you got off your lazy backsides and cleaned up your area. Waiting for the federal government in Abuja to do it for you is like me saying there are feaces on my driveway and I am waiting for the council to come and clean them up for me. You live with this scourge not the big men in Abuja, so please get up and do it yourselves. By now the Universities of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, the Niger Delta University and the Federal University Otuoke, should be mass producing anti-crude algae and even exporting it to generate revenue

[10] What makes my heart bleed more then anything else is the fact that the Niger Delta is not one massive shipyard like Britain’s Tyneside. It should be the world’s largest manufacturing centre for ships, containers, submarines, aircraft carriers, canoes, speedboats, aquatic equipment, diving gear, acoustic instruments, etc. Just imagine how much that would generate for Nigeria

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