Ndokwa Nation May Not Develop Until This Is Done

By Odili Ogochukwu-

A lot of materials aimed at developing Ndokwa Nation have been written to no avail. Ndokwa land is one of the areas neglected by the government in areas of infrastructure and human capital development despite its natural endowment.

It is lugubrious to note that even the presence of oil companies in the region could not attract development of any kind.

The predicament of the three local governments that made up Ndokwa’s geographical space is like one crying of soap in his eyes while inside the river.

Could it be that Ndokwa people lack the tenacity to utilize their God-given resources for the betterment of all?

Surprisingly, every politician in Ndokwa is a saint. Hear these comments: Rt. Hon. Ossai N Ossai is an empowerment master. Hon. Ochor Ochor is our hero. Hon Friday Osanebi is a man of the people. Hon. Charles Emetulu has done well, and more.

These comments raise more questions than answers. If these leaders are exemplary, why is Ndokwa nation still wallowing in darkness?

Will one continue to do the same thing in the same way and expect a distinct result? It is the right time for the Leaders and Followers in Ndokwa land to shun sycophancy and face the reality.

For the Ndokwa nation to sing a glorious song, the people must abstain from praising leaders for doing nothing. It’s time to do something different.

This pathetic story made me recall the story of a cap seller called Raju. While crossing a forest to sell his cap at the neighboring village, Raju became exhausted and felt to relax under a gigantic tree.

He dropped the bundle of his caps on the ground and slept off. There lived Monkeys on that tree. Before Raju woke up, the Monkeys have torn his bundle of caps and went with them to the tree.

Raju was annoyed to see the monkeys gone up with all his caps. He shouted angrily but to his amazement, the monkeys imitated him and screamed back.

Angrily, the cap seller pelted a stone at a monkey. The monkey picked the fruits from the tree and threw them at Raju. It was then Raju thought of what to do.

He took one cap and wore it. All the monkeys did the same. Raju removed his cap and threw it on the ground. The Monkeys quickly removed their caps and threw them on the ground.

Immediately, the cap seller gathered the caps and went his way.

50 years after the passage of Raju, his grandson, Ogude took over the business. Ogude went from one village to another selling colorful caps like his grandfather.

One day, as Ogude was crossing a jungle to reach a new town, he was tired and thought to rest for while under a big tree. He kept his luggage under the tree and soon, slept off.

Behold, the noise of the monkeys playing with the caps up the tree woke Ogude up. He recalled all that Raju told him about monkeys on the tree. Ogude underwent the same procedure and the monkeys politely responded to his demonstrations.

Unfortunately, when Ogude took off this cap and threw it on the ground, a monkey came down from the tree, gave Ogude a hard knock on the head, and said to him; “Do you think you are the only person that has a grandfather?”

Sometimes in life, the solution does not come by taking the same steps that have earlier, yielded results. Whoever wants something has to plan, prepare and then, go for it. Development cannot come to Ndokwa land without people working for it.