Today our Making Nigeria Better campaign takes us to the Niger Delta where we look at the economic potential of Rivers State

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Rivers is not just any state in Nigeria. It is our fountain of wealth and ideally should be the bellwether of the Nigerian economy. There is no reason for it not to be competing with Lagos State when it comes to attracting foreign direct investment (FDI)

[2] What makes Rivers State unique is that it has always been at the forefront of economic change in Nigeria. Rivers State was the centre of the slave trade, the palm oil trade and now the crude oil trade. It has always been the cash cow of Nigeria. The reality is “No Rivers State: No Nigeria.” Since amalgamation in 1914, it has probably generated more wealth for Nigeria than any other state (Lagos may have something to say about they though)

[3] I just have this gut feeling that when Nigeria ends her mad dependence on crude oil, Rivers State will also be at the centre of it. Personally, I take the stance that nothing other than manufacturing will get us out of this morass

[4] Just imagine the size of the Nigerian economy if we had shipyards at Port Harcourt, Bonny, Degema, Buguma, Abonema and Opobo building merchant cargo ships, air craft carriers, submarines and naval gunboats?

[5] Can someone also please explain to me why cities like Abonema, Degema, Buguma, Bonny, Ahoada, Omuku and Opobo are not huge industrial estates manufacturing oil rigs, refinery equipment and all the machinery needed to maintain the global petroleum industry

[6] I am also perplexed as to why Rivers State does not up to three gas-powered electricity plants generation up to 100,000MW of power between them. It should be Africa’s electricity capital

[7] What is unforgivable for me though is that the Rivers State government has not taken it upon itself to construct three or four ports along its coastline at say Opobo, Ngo, Bonny and Degema. No Nigerian law prevents the state from wooing investors to do this

[8] In 1832, the British began exporting palm kernels from Nigeria and by 1911 British West Africa alone exported 157,000 tonnes of which about 75% came from Nigeria. As recently as the early 1960s, Nigeria’s palm oil production accounted for 43% of global output. Today, we are actually producing more then we did back then but our output only accounts for 7% of the world total. I challenge the Rivers State government to tell me why they do not have the world’s largest palm oil processing plant within their domain

[9] Furthermore, it is criminal laziness bordering on a crime against mother nature for a country with 853km of Atlantic coastline to be importing fish. I do not know of any other nation in the same position that does so. Nigeria currently has a deficit of 2.1m tonnes of fish annually as she consumes 3.2m tonnes and shamelessly only produces 1.1m tonnes. Why is Rivers State a global fisheries centre? We cannot blame oil spills for everything as not everywhere is polluted

[10] Apparently, we have some of the largest mackerel stocks in the world but alas, we have not deemed it fit to tap into this resource. Many of the counties we import fish from have the same coastal waters as us. Among the countries that export mackerel to Nigeria include Russia, Faroe Island, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Mauritania. Sadly, this does not shame us. If you want to see a country taking fisheries seriously look at Russia. They plan to double the revenue the sector generates in 2024, targeting an annual income of $8bn annually. Ask yourself what $8bn in fishing revenue would do for the economy of Rivers State