President visits restive Bayelsa State

President Olusegun Obasanjo began a two-day visit on Thursday to the restive Niger Delta state of Bayelsa, one of the most remote and deprived areas of oil-rich Nigeria. Obasanjo arrived by road in the state capital, Yenagoa, and was greeted by hundreds of dignitaries and well-wishers, AFP reported. From there he will travel by speed boat and helicopter to the most impoverished parts of the state. "We are happy that he has come to see the reality of the situation," Nimi Walson-Jack, the executive director of the Centre for Responsive Politics in Port Harcourt, told IRIN. Security was tight with heavily armed police and security agents on the ground as police helicopters crisscrossed the skies. Last week Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha ordered the "homes" of 2,000 shanty-dwellers pulled down from a market Obasanjo is due to open in Yenagoa. The governor also ordered militant youth organizations, that threatened to disrupt the visit, out of sight. "The trip comes at a good time because Bayelsa has been painted as a no go area," Walson-Jack said. "People have been trying to place a wedge between the president and the people who voted for him." Obasanjo will also make a brief stop to the town of Odi, 93 km northwest of Yenagoa, that was destroyed by an army unit ordered there in November 1999 to arrest a gang that killed 12 policemen. The soldiers destroyed more than 1,000 homes and killed dozens of people, AFP reported. The action enraged the community and left the nation stunned. Wilson-Jack said Obasanjo's visit to Odi was symbolic, coming soon after Defence Minister Theophilus Danjuma admitted that the troop deployment was a mistake. "We hope this trip will be a reawakening of long lost friendship," Walson-Jack added, "and provide an opportunity for him to announce a development plan for the town." On taking office that same year, Obasanjo promised to develop the entire oil-rich Niger Delta. A development bill introduced when he took office in 1999 finally cleared the national assembly late last year and led to the creation of the Niger Development Commission. Since then, the commission has been visiting communities to see which projects to undertake. Yet, critics say, a piecemeal approach to development makes little sense. Walson-Jack said the commission should hold a conference to hear local expert opinion on development priorities so that these could be synchronised into a coherent construction plan. "Right now, there is no consensus on priorities," Wilson-Jack said.