In his sustained pursuit of opportunities and avenues to advance the welfare and wellbeing of his people, the Amanyanabo and Natural Ruler of Grand Bonny Kingdom, His Majesty, King Dr Edward Asimini William Dappa Pepple III, CON, JP, Perekule XI, took advantage of the occasion of the Silver Jubilee Anniversary of his coronation to make five demands for his kingdom and people.
These were succinctly captured in his 25th anniversary speech presented at the main event on Tuesday, December 21, 2021 read before a mammoth crowd comprising indigenes of the area, visitors and special guests, which included a representative of the Vice President, Senator Babafemi Ojudu.
The development enthusiast began his speech by exploring the development milestone achieved so far by Bonny Kingdom in partnership with relevant stakeholders such as the multinationals operating in his domain and public sector institutions before laying his cards on the table for the consideration of his esteemed guests.
The following are the key expectations voiced through his speech, that was in its self an excellent display of erudition consistent with the agelong scholarship that has been associated with the occupants of the throne of Amanyanabo of Bonny Kingdom.
BONNY DEEP SEAPORT
“We look forward to the immediate commencement of the construction and timely completion of the (deep seaport) project considering its importance to the Kingdom and the nation at large.”
The Bonny Deep Seaport which was conceptualized by the President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government and driven by the Federal Ministry of Transportation, aims at providing a landing space for vessels bringing in high end cargo into Nigeria and the West African sub-region.
It is envisaged to be the terminal point of the $3 billion 1,443 kilometer Port Harcourt-Maiduguri rail line, which is expected to also have a container terminal, all aimed at boosting foreign trade in Africa, especially, along the West African economic corridor.
The Monarch urged the Federal Government to expedite action on the project, noting that it holds socio-economic advantages for Bonny Kingdom and Nigeria, as a whole.
RAPID, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF BONNY
“When I ascended the throne twenty-five years ago, my vision was to ensure that the Kingdom experiences rapid, sustainable long-term growth that would result in the emergence of a socially, economically and environmentally prosperous community with the highest quality of life.”
The 11th occupant of the King Perekule throne reminisced on his developmental vision upon ascending the throne, reiterating his resolve to see it through, stressing that though mileages such as constant power and water supply were now a reality in Bonny Kingdom, there were yet big infrastructural lacunas to be closed.
As a shared vision succinctly captured in his referenced Bonny Master Plan, it was clear what his intentions were, namely ramping up support and stakeholdership from the public and private sectors to drive and actualize the vision, thus making Bonny Kingdom a destination of choice for both aesthetic and economic Tourism.
Already, as he pointed out in his speech, he has set up strategic special purpose vehicles (SPVs) to drive this vision, which include the Bonny Kingdom Development Committee (BKDC), Bonny Environment Consultants Committee (BECC), Bonny Integrated Recruitment Centre (BIRC), Bonny Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (BOCCIMA), Bonny Kingdom Local Content and Compliance Committee (BKLCCC), amongst others.
It is of interest to note that starting from Monday, December 20, 2021, Bonny Kingdom took the bull by the horn in addressing its water transportation challenges with the launch of Asimini Line, a ferry service being floated as a deliverable from a strategic partnership between the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Nigerian Export and Import (NEXIM) Bank, Sealink Consortium and BOCCIMA.
The revered King had earlier at his visit to the Finima Nature Park harped on his determination to galvanize stakeholders on reviving the Waste-To-Wealth Initiative, and Bonny-Dubai Vision, among other economic deliverables.
SECURITY
“While I am aware of the efforts of the security agencies in tackling the rising cases of sea piracy and kidnapping on the seas and in communities of the Kingdom, I urge them to redouble their efforts, especially in areas of information gathering and rescue operations.”
Acknowledging the challenges the Kingdom was facing with security, especially, on the waterways, the Bonny Monarch signposted positivity by announcing successes recorded in the fight against crime and criminality.
He, however, charged the security agencies to redouble their efforts while appealing to his people to provide the security operatives with relevant and timely information to enhance their capability to deal with the collective challenges in that area.
Bonny Island hosts all aspects of the Nigerian security architecture, except the Nigerian Air Force
(NAF). The island currently has the 146 Battalion of the Nigerian Army (NA), the Nigerian Navy (NN) Forward Operating Base (FOB), the Bonny and Finima Divisions of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), a Division each of the Department of State Services (DSS) and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), an Outstation each of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), and a Unit of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
Recently, Kristina Reports gathered that some arrests were made around Bonny LGA, targeting at crime kingpins, informants and other key figures in the crime value chain, which have in no small measure helped to de-escalate the tension in the area.
RIVERS STATE GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION
“I wish to commend His Excellency, Chief Nyesom Wike, CON, GSSRS, PoS (Africa), for the giant strides in infrastructure in the area, especially in education, health and sea transportation. It is my earnest belief that the remaining years of his administration, Bonny Kingdom would experience more infrastructural growth.”
The former Chairman of the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers eulogized the State Chief Executive, Governor Nyesom Wike for his studied infrastructural development drive but chipped in that he needed to look the direction of Bonny LGA by accentuating his developmental footprints in the area.
The Save-Our-Souls (SOS) message from the King to the Governor is etched on the fact that Bonny LGA has not had the best of experiences in terms of infrastructural development interventions from the Rivers State Government.
The development profile of the area has witnessed an all-time low as no budgetary provisions have been made in successive years since this administration for any key project aside the renovation of the Bonny National Grammar School (BNGS), which six years after was yet to be completed.
DESIGNATE BONNY AS SPECIAL AREA
“We are proud to be a blessing to Nigeria economically. We have made tremendous sacrifices, including relocation of homeland for the good of Nigeria. We expect the country and its leadership to reciprocate the good gestures of the people of Grand Bonny Kingdom and treat the Kingdom as a special area by the Federal Government.”
Clearly citing the humongous sacrifices Bonny Kingdom has made for Nigeria’s economic advancement, apparently referencing the relocation of the Finima people from Ikpakpayo to Finima for the NLNG plant to be built, amongst several other displacements across Bonny Kingdom, King Perekule XI called on the President Buhari led Federal Government to designate Bonny LGA as a “Special Area” to prioritize development and economic growth. He could not have asked for less.
The environmental, health and social challenges Bonny LGA has had to grapple with as a consequence of the presence of high end facilities belonging to Nigeria’s economic behemoths – Shell, NLNG and Mobil – are to be modest indescribable.
These facilities include the Shell Nigeria Bonny Oil and Gas terminal (BGOT), the ExxonMobil Nigeria Bonny River Terminal (BRT), the Nigeria LNG Gas Liquefaction Plant, and others of Chevron, Belema Oil, and so on.
The waters are polluted thus rendering the water bodies unutilizable, and aquatic life moribund; diverse health issues continue trending on the island, especially, skin infections apparently due to the exposure to gas flaring and other emissions from these facilities.
Sadly, at the moment, there is no secondary medical facility on the island and referrals have to be made for either the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) or the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH), formerly, Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital (BMSH), both of which are in Port Harcourt, which most times, for those who cannot afford or survive it, lose their lives.
Add these to the security challenges – until the recent overhaul of the security strategies on the island, kidnappings and pirate attacks on the waterways were almost becoming a norm. In Education, school kids have to travel to Port Harcourt and other areas to sit for critical examinations, a situation that has engendered the clamour for the siting of centres for the West African School Certificate Examinations and the University Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Aside these, the amenities on the island are overtasked due to population explosion caused by the influx of people from around the world seeking greener pastures. As at the moment, the electricity supply load cannot take the whole island, same for water reticulation and accommodation.
Should the Federal Government heed the cry of the Amanyanabo of Bonny Kingdom, these and several others are issues that should be mainstreamed and urgent interventions deployed. His Majesty, King Dr Edward Asimini William Dappa Pepple III, CON, JP, Perekule XI could have sat back and continued to enjoy royalties been paid by multinationals in his domain but he has chosen to harness these and other benefits accruing to him for the wellbeing of his people and the relevant authorities need to pay attention.
Good morning and thank you for the opportunity to comment.
Please I want to ask what plan is made to followup the development plan of the king because if that is not done nothing will happen as usual. Thank you
Great and wonderful ideas that would go a long way in sustaining economic development in our kingdom. However, there is one fundamental aspect of human existence that has not been given serious consideration in all that our leaders have done so far. To ensure sustainable peaceful and progressive economic development, the concept of human capacity development from infancy through to adulthood has to be taken seriously. Without investing in improving our teeming and explosive human population and ensuring they are gainfully employed, the retrogressive vices of criminality, prostitution, militancy and illiteracy cannot be easily eradicated from our society. Once we realise in the importance of investing more in human capacity development, only then we would have commenced the difficult process of solving a major aspect of our festering problems. These are the underlying issues that have continued to ensure very few people in our teeming population continue to be extremely wealthy whilst the overwhelming population remain vulnerable and poverty stricken. It’s evil for any child to starve or die in a place like Bonny Island because their parents cannot afford the expensive medical care. It’s beyond evil for any child to be prevented from obtaining good quality education because their parents cannot afford to pay for private school. These are the fundamental issues that we need to resolve first.
Bravo to the king’s desires, I pray the government listen to him
Your Royal Majesty please accept my belated congratulations for the 25th anniversary of Your Majesty’s meritorious ascension to the throne of our ancestor as an ASIMINI Descendant. May Your Royal Majesty live and reign very very long and gloriously. I am greatly impressed by the success of your reign so far and pray God Almighty who gave Your Majesty the wisdom to enunciate Your Majesty’s lofty and magnificently laudable developmental vision and mission to continue to richly indescribably endow Your Royal Majesty with all it takes to achieve Your Majesty’s vision and mission, in the mighty name of Our Lord Jesus Christ
This is great and wonderful.Nice speeches and idea’s from the King, so far so good. This is my first time of getting such harmonized speech from our dear king,I pray God should keep him and direct him,to lead this kingdom with the heart of gold. We need more attention from the king this coming year 2022, like town hall meetings, to give the youths hope. Responding to any emergency in the kingdom to show love. For the water transport like Asimini Line,we plead for consistency and availability of the ferry. Also we need more of security presence, such as Law enforcement drug Agency to tackle the rising drug issues in the kingdom, rising of cultist activities. We need quick intervention on our internal roads, we need tourists center, this will help grow the kingdom economy and the nation economy also. God bless the King. God bless Bonny Kingdom.