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SOUTH EAST SOUTH SOUTH PROFESSIONALS EXECUTIVE REPORT TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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INTRODUCTION:


Last year at the General Assembly after our inauguration, we committed as duty amongst other things to put the interests of the ZONES of this group in constant focus and work towards making the most of the opportunities we have to tackle the ever growing challenges we face.
One year after, we are candid to admit that it has not been a bed of roses for our outlined plans. As servant drivers sworn to keep this vehicle forward gear, we sincerely apologize for any such shortfalls perceived or real, in our responses to issues and questions that required greater speed and aptitude.
Our remaining few months in office would be challenging and we assure you a more robust and determined approach to delivering on realistic expectations.
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GROUP OBJECTIVES AND REVIEW
Our Constitution, which is our guide for target progress, stated in our AIMS AND OBJECTIVES to be:
i. To seek and secure the economic empowerment and development of the South – East and South-South zones of Nigeria, [“the zones”].
ii. To seek and secure the establishment of functional, multi- level and modern educational systems in the zones for the express purpose of providing qualitative and dynamic education to the peoples of the zones.
iii. To ensure the protection of the environment and the enforcement of the ecological, economic, civil and human rights of the people of the zones.
iv. To ensure the establishment and maintenance of good governance and core values in the actualization and sustenance of the aspirations of the people of the zones.
v. To seek and ensure the establishment of long lasting and sustainable infra-structural and industrial development of the zones and the economic integration of the people of the zones.
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vi. To seek the enthronement of justice and equity for all Nigerians.
vii. To ensure that the political rights of the people of the zones are protected and upheld at all times.
Having stated the above aims and objectives, the Constitution further stated that, these Aims and Objectives shall be achieved, inter alia, through:
i. Public advocacy of the core values and protection of the political rights of the people of the zones.
ii. Encouraging and monitoring the re-introduction of civic studies in Nigerian schools and actively promoting the practice of equity and justice in Nigeria.
iii. Forging alliances with like-minded groups and organizations within and outside Nigeria.
iv. Adopting and practicing a non-partisan dialogue based approach towards the resolution of conflicts within and outside the zones.
v. Sourcing and obtaining funds for projects that will ensure the economic empowerment of the people of the zones.
vi. Campaigning for the siting of viable projects of high utility and economic value to the people of the zones.
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vii. Conduct public and legal campaigns for the realization and/or actualization of the political, economic, legal, ecological and human rights of the people of the zones.
DRAWBACKS
Fellow Members, the wish to attain and exploit fully the potentials and possibilities locked in the above constitutional imperatives is a will we must muster collectively as diligent professionals who today recommit to that great visions of the founding fathers of this group.
The Covid 19 restrictions and its challenges was indeed a severe limiting factor. We nonetheless maneuvered the terrain with obvious inadequate resources, global information dissonance, and the attendant social distancing regime that exacerbated the ease of getting things done expeditiously. We thank God for all that crossed the blue ribbon of life.
Regrettably in this past year, we lost a lot of our illustrious Sons. Oscar Onwudiwe, Albert Okumagba, Nick Idoko, Ndubuisi Kanu, Onyeabo Obi, Abdulaziz Ude and several others fell to the cold hands of the COVID Pandemic and other
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ailments. We call for a minute silence for repose and peace to their souls.
Our group is very underfunded. The Executives were forced to unresponsive complacence due to the paucity of funds and unsustainable self taxation. It is therefore vital here to recognize that ideas don’t drive itself. People and funds do. SESSPN, lacks both funds and active financial members. These are not insurmountable, but must be vigorously pursued to compel creative and attractive outcomes.
Constant engagements for cross Fertilization of ideas is the purpose of the Standing Committees, but we barely engaged as expected. There was overall lull from the members and the organisation cannot grow beyond the abilities of her members to generate those ideas and follow same with actions necessary for developing the Zones.
HIGHPOINTS
In the last year also we have built a bit on our advocacy status on national and subnational issues critical to our subregion like:
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a) our support through a release on the Southern Governors Forum’s call for immediate formation and operation of state security apparatuses in southern Nigeria to check herdsmen banditry and terrorism, including the equitable shift of the Presidency to the South in 2023.
b) a release on NDDC Forensic Audit calling for it to be sped up to conclusion, and when it was, calling for full disclosure and quick govt. white paper, recovery of looted funds, stringent punishment of all culprits as deterrence, and repositioning the Agency to fulfil its constitutional mandates.
c) release on protection of our citizens rights to dignity of human person, free from intimidation and threats of harm on the Justice Mary Odili saga.
d) Releases remonstrating the passages of icons of our subregion who inspired and bore the light of illumination e.g., Late Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, Victor Uwaifo and many others. We reached out in felicitations too to leading lights of hope who attained milestones in age & accomplishments.
e) During the constitutional review debate, we supported restructuring, transparent equity, and condemned emphatically the
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entrenched nepotism, exclusion and systemic failures of governance nationally.
The Executives met by Zoom and physically severally. In one of such meetings we agreed that we should henceforth make the DASESS document our core vision, drive and agenda, and as such empaneled the review & update of this foremost policy advocacy document. The DASESS 2035 Economic blueprint which is now ongoing.
STATE OF THE NATION
Nigeria over the past one year hasn’t fared well. The policies of the Federal Government have continued to be unmet and the dire need for leadership has never been so obvious. The economy, security and employment opportunities have shrunk further. The present Challenges are mirrored starkly by the poverty we see across the nation. The Naira value has shrunk further than the year last. And our potentials to improve on these are stultified by the evident fear we see amongst the population and the clueless body language of those in power.
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The Federal Government in the face of the increased levels of insecurity across the nation relied heavily on brute force to shore up the spaces. This as we know failed. The Security forces and agencies were funded, but the spate of criminal activities, terrorist attacks, the massacres and sacking of villages especially in the Middle Belt and the extra judicial killings in the South-East can’t be a justification of the large fundings and expectations.
The situation in the North East, Middle Belt, South East and South- South remains precarious. Armed violence continues in the form of persistent violent terrorist criminality and frequent kidnaps; and political and inter-communal violence is slowly rearing it head up as we approach the elections and other political events. Meanwhile, currently inactive militants who are not fully incapacitated, could re-mobilise themselves.
The COVID-19 crisis as earlier stated, continues to disrupt Nigeria’s labor market. While it now exceeds pre-pandemic levels, improvements have been primarily due to workers turning to small- scale, non-farm enterprise activities in retail and trade, the revenues of which remain precarious.
Nigeria’s economic outlook remains highly uncertain. Uncertainty around the pace of vaccinations and the duration of COVID-19
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persists. Moreover, the modest projected recovery can be threatened by volatility in the oil sector, including an unexpected shock to oil prices, and weaknesses in the financial sector. Even in the most favorable global context, the policy response of Nigeria’s authorities will be crucial to lay the foundation for a robust recovery.
Nigeria’s human capital development ranked 150 of 157 countries in the World Bank’s 2020 Human Capital Index. The country continues to face massive developmental challenges, including the need to reduce the dependency on oil and diversify the economy, address insufficient infrastructure, build strong and effective institutions, as well as address governance issues and public financial management systems.
Inequality, in terms of income and opportunities, continues to rise and has adversely affected poverty reduction. The lack of job opportunities is at the core of the high poverty levels, regional inequality, and social and political unrest. High inflation has also taken a toll on household welfare and high prices in 2020-2021 are likely to further push an additional 7 million Nigerians into poverty.
Economies don’t grow in a state of insecurity and fear. We have seen ours shrink further and the response of the government has
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been to paper over the root causes, play blind to the basics and continued to borrow heavily. The States are now so insolvent that the future isn’t looking Bright at all. We must get back some sense of measured control over our economic planning if we want to see it rebound. The alternatives to oil has been barely harnessed and our over dependency on oil is becoming increasingly alarming. The large deposits of mineral resources has been cornered by a small number of people and is barely reflected in our economic planning and reports. To change this, the Federal government must be help accountable and engaged to see how we can start tapping into these non oil reserves.
The neutrality of the judiciary has been impinged on. The governments across the center and states has made this assault final. Laws were broken at whim. The few responsible Judges faced more and more attracts and much more. We live now in a country where our laws are neither obeyed or trusted. The reassurances that we ought to have on the laws of our land are not there anymore. The separations between the tiers of governance has been canceled and the Executive pushes through whatever they want without opposition and contest.
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THE STATE OF THE ZONES
The South East and South-South Regions comprises 11 States with a collective population of over 70million people and an economy of about ₦800 billion. Yet the social impact of these are neither felt or visible to the population.
SOUTH SOUTH ZONE
The SOUTH SOUTH of NIGERIA is made up of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, and Rivers states. This area is renowned as Nigeria’s source of oil wealth; widely perceived as the economic force driving Nigeria forward.
Nevertheless, this resource wealth has not translated to economic and social success for most inhabitants of these states. Instead, the region suffers from ecological degradation as a result of oil spills, high rates of youth unemployment, and extensive inequality between the local population and employees of oil companies.
These issues are compounded by ethnic and political tensions in the region. In particular, ethnic minority groups have frequently clashed in competition for oil wealth; political tensions in this zone
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also run high. All of these factors have resulted in high levels of crime. Militant and pirate groups have operated in the region for decades, targeting oil companies, pipelines, and individuals.
Killings, abductions, and robberies are not uncommon, and many people have been displaced from their homes or communities as a result of the violence.
In Spite of all these, the South-South geo-political zone has remained the geese that lay the proverbial golden egg. The zone accounts for over 80 percent of Nigeria’s foreign revenues because of its oil and gas resources. However, irrespective of these contributions to the nation’s economic well-being, the South-South has continued to suffer infrastructural and development deficits. Federal imposition, corruption, leadership failures and outright mismanagement of proceeds has accounted for these.
The region has continued to suffer internal and federal gross political and economic marginalisation, underdevelopment, neglect, environmental degradation arising from exploration and over exploitation of her oil and gas resources largely for the gains of other areas. The call for fiscal federalism and a more responsible and professional management of the resources and incomes have continued to be ignored by theNigerian political leadership.
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The state governments and federal intervention agencies in the region lived far below expectation. The dearth of infrastructural development in the zone is a direct consequence of the growing malfeasance arising from the management of resources coming to the region. It’s an irony that the Niger-Delta region is still caught up in the level of abject poverty we still witness today.
SOUTH EAST ZONE
The southeast geopolitical zone of Nigeria is made up of five states, namely, Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States with eighty- five Local Government Areas (LGAs) and a population of over twenty million people dwelling in over ten commercial cities and large towns.
The zone in the past year has faced an unprecedented rise in Insecurity. The Fulani herdsmen attacks, the IPOB and Federal government face off, the increased political infighting that has spilled out into the society and affected all spheres of activities. None of the 5 States is without its challenges and opportunities to create a common front to fight the rising insecurity has thus far failed. The effort to set up a joint cross border security agency failed
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due mainly to lack of funding and common consensus on approach and application.
There is an increased risk also from drug and substance abuse in the States. This is so widespread that the issue must be dealt with as an emergency. The government approach in most cases is minimal. We need to step in as a group to support whatever efforts are already on ground with counseling, rehabilitation and psychological support. Our communities are at risk of been overrun by this new but frightening phenomenon.
The economy of the States and the Educational system hasn’t been spared because of this.

  1. The IPOB initiated sit at home has become entrenched. This has hurt the economy so badly that it would take much more than the present lethargic approach to solve.
  2. Education has been badly hit also. Schools remain mostly closed on Mondays and in some weeks about 3 days are shut.
  3. Salaries are owed Teachers in public schools, and this affects morale, motivation is low and the brunt is borne by the pupils and students.
  4. Overall the tendencies point to a confused state of things where one wonders who is in control
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ELECTION 2023

  1. The National Elections would take place in the first quarter of next year.
  2. There would be elections for the new President of the country.
  3. There would be Governorship elections in 9 out of the 11 states of the Zones
  4. There would be elections into the National and State Assemblies.
  5. In view of all these, the SESSPN states as follows:
  6. We call for a broad consensus across the Country and upon the political parties to zone the Presidential slot to
    the South.
  7. And in the South we seriously recommended that the
    slot be given to the South-East Zone.
  8. Equity, fair play and common sense demands that this
    be done.
  9. The possible unity, peace and continuity of this country
    hinges on this.
  10. We have lived under the impression that the war ended
    in 1970, but a continual deliberate policy of exclusion has ensure that the South East has been canceled out of political consideration for the President of this country.
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  1. We call on the political class in the Zones to bridge the divide amongst them and work towards the success of this.
  2. The states where Governors are to be elected is of special interest to us. Hence we call on our fellow professionals to not just stand by as commentators but to actively be involved in the process.
  3. The right leadership elected is half of our problems solved.
  4. We call on our people to go and register to vote, renew their voters card and be conscious of the fact that their votes are as important now as ever before.
    SESSPN OBJECTIVES GOING FORWARD
    We have resolved that our flagship Document, which is the DASESS DOCUMENT will be reviewed, broken down to actionable bits and driven by us all to help in the development of the Zones. Out of the seminal document, we have culled key things we intend to pursue.
    Going forward the Executives on behalf of the SESSPN plans to do the following;
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  1. Facilitate and promote innovation of social and economic development initiatives that will help marginal communities to achieve sustainable economic and social development
  2. Promote youths social, educational, economic, political, and psychological empowerment for their sustainable social and economic development
  3. Facilitate women social, educational, economic, political, and psychological empowerment for their sustainable social and economic development
  4. Promote and facilitate Socio political initiatives that create a way for us to engage constantly and robustly with politicians and citizens to share ideas, develop strategies, plug gaps and provide civic thrusts to achieve a more inclusive participation of all in the wellbeing of our Zones.
  5. We intend to pursue the developing and implementing of empowerment Projects across our communities which would enable us realize the core goals of DASESS.
  6. We would seek partnership in Project planning and Management for innovation of these Initiatives and we hope our members across the 11 states to come up with creative ways of doing this.
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  1. Though we are not partisan, the politics of our zone concerns us and so we plan on developing and conducting community awareness campaigns with the aim of educating our peoples on their political rights and responsibilities.
    OUR POSITION AND FINAL THOUGHTS
  2. Security is key to development and the peaceful wellbeing of our society. Having reviewed the impact of herdsmen, armed bandits and criminal elements masquerading as freedom fighters in our Zones, on our security, we call for a Security summit of the Zones which the SESSPN pledge to support with all the resources available to us.
  3. With the economy as we know it overwhelming our communities and poverty becoming a permanent fixture, we call on our governments, business community, investors and professionals to work towards the Zones agricultural independence to help fight the growing food shortages and rising cost.
  4. We condemn in very strong terms the ecological disaster presently happening across the Niger Delta, especially the Black soot in Port harcourt which is causing so many health issues. We call for a joint effort of both the government of the
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Zones and World Agencies and professionals from the zone
to engage with each other to tackle the problem.

  1. The terrible effect of vandalism of our pipelines affects the immediate communities first and the rest of us. The catastrophic effects are unquantifiable and degrades the whole ecosystem further. The Trans Nigeria Pipeline has been down for weeks as a result of vandalism and the nation loses so much including our indigenes who are thrown out of jobs with companies shut down. We demand a better converted
    attention of the government of our Region to curb this.
  2. We use this opportunity also to commend HE Gov. Nyesom
    Wike for his recent onslaught on illegal refineries.
  3. We call for a Continuous and Constant dialogue with the Agitation promoters in a view to find the best way to resolve all the thorny issues mitigating against our collective search
    for peace.
    Hannibal Uwaifo President General
    ©️SESSPN
    30th January 2022 Lagos,Nigeria
    Ireke A. Kalu-Onuma Secretary General
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