According to Boroh “The region has for long suffered from environmental devastation caused by oil exploitation, so the further devastation caused by vandalism will only compound the situation. Rather, the youths should key into the planned clean-up exercise in Ogoni-Land including the mass job opportunities it offers and ensure extension of the Clean-up to other parts of the Region.”
With low oil prices, fracking, especially in the United States and the high probability of oil production in other parts of the country, less attention maybe paid to the Niger Delta.
“It makes sense for the people of the Region to maximize the opportunities they have now including the Niger Delta Development Commission, the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, the Presidential Amnesty Programme and the Derivation formula that gives the region extra funds,” Boroh hinted.
He continued “There are mass job opportunities to be created from the construction of the Calabar-Lagos railways. Doubtlessly many of the region’s problems have not been solved, but the country has shown a marked interest in giving a listening ear, so if there are issues some people want addressed, they should table them instead of a resort to violence which will alienate the region from the rest of the country. There is nothing to avenge, the region is not in need of avengers, the region is in need of thinkers who can further its cause for sustainable development.
“We in the Presidential Amnesty Programme are happy that the Niger Delta ex-agitators, elders, leaders, governors and practically all the people of the Niger Delta have disassociated themselves from those who continue to live in the past in which violence was supposed to pay. I advise Niger Delta youths to think and focus on the future and learn from the example of Jasper Adaka Boro who after initially fighting for separatism, saw the wisdom in a greater country and sacrificed his life fighting for a united Nigeria.”
The late Adaka Boro, the legend of Niger Delta struggle, was known for agitating for the betterment of the Niger Delta people. He fought as a Major in the Army, and when death came, it met him at his duty post defending his country.