The GbaramatuVoice was established in 2015 as a monthly tabloid published by the Gbaramatu Publishing Company Limited. It hit the newsstand first on August 2015. The newspaper’s sole objective is to bring to public glare what the management saw at the cradle of its formation as information gap and asymmetrical reportage of the activities and people of the Niger Delta.
By Odimegwu Onwumere Only those with great brainpower like a former Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan look up forward, not pulled back by politics of brick bats, but believe in a shared value, in order to help humanity anytime, any day, irrespective of political hiccups that might have been here or there. This
By Guwor Emomotimi Dennis Happy Birthday to a visionary Leader, an Ambassador of Peace and distinguished social engineer; High Chief Government Ekpemupolo. There can never be enough thank you to truly match the magnitude of your service and sacrifices for humanity. Thank you for imagining an equitable, enviable, prosperous and peaceful Ijaw nation. We are
By Jerome-Mario Utomi As a general rule, the first step to solving a problem is to recognize that one exists. Going by this, a fair-minded individual would characterize as historic the recent admissions by the Federal Government that the nation is currently faced with health challenge posed by the Corona Virus pandemic-tagged (COVID-19), that is
By Jerome-Mario Utomi “What’s crucial about a vision is not its originality but how well it serves the interests of important constituencies-and how easily it can be translated into a realistic competitive strategy” -John P kotter, Professor of Leadership at Harvard Business School. By contrast, if a visit is presently made to the coastal areas
Agency Reporter Social distancing is the order of the day, so it’s not a good time for sexual contact. It’ll be toughest for single people. But for couples, isolation could prove to be a second honeymoon … or hell on Earth. The coronavirus is changing everything, including our sexual relationships. The most obvious sign of
By Jerome-Mario Utomi The mission of any government should be to promote creativity and to understand that the continuous humiliation, degradation and criticism stifle creativity- Mohammaed bin Rashid AL Maktoum. There are clear thinkers, muddled thinkers and people that fall in between. Clear thinks -are the ones that can cull everything down into the right
By Jerome-Mario Utomi It is general knowledge that President Muhammadu Buhari, precisely on Friday 28th February, 2020 approved the suspension of the Cordinator, Presidential Amnesty Programme, and Professor Charles Dokubo, with a promise to set up a caretaker committee to run the affairs of the agency. As expected, this development has elicited reactions from stakeholders
By Monoyo Edon I watched with disappointment a viral video by an ex-agitator of Niger Delta, Alhaji Asari Dokubo, who was vociferous in his inexpert attempt to give the Presidential Amnesty Programme an ethnocentric label. It is anticlimactic that Alhaji Dokubo, who should be a unifying voice in the Niger Delta after laying down arms
By Jerome-Mario Utomi Sixteen years ago, precisely on Friday, December 3, 2004, at the Sheraton Hotels and Towers, Ikeja, Lagos, I listened with real curiosity to the current Coordinator, Presidential Amnesty Programme, Professor Charles Dokubo, then a staff of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), speak passionately to underline his position and express the depth
By Jerome-Mario Utomi For the well foresighted Nigerians and the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), that are conversant with the excruciating environmental pains and socioeconomic deprivations the coastal dwellers in the Niger Delta region, South-South, Nigeria, daily contend with, it will not be an exaggeration to characterize as historic and the greatest victory of this period,
GbaramatuVoice engaged its audience recently on its different social media platforms on a heartfelt issue concerning the Presidential Amnesty Programme, implemented by the Federal Government in 2009 to tame uprising among youths in the Niger Delta, who were given for Resource Control. The thrust of the discourse was ’11 YEARS AFTER, HAS THE AMNESTY PROGRAMME
By Bright Amirize The Nigerian masses have been known to develop such degree of docility and resilience which make it possible for them to tolerate all kinds of injustices and indignities, without strong resistance. Such state of mind and attitude of submission to oppressive conditions are left-over effects of slavery and militarism, which Nigerians had
By Godknows Igali One name that will continue to reverberate in our memories is that of one of Nigeria’s most outstanding social critics, essayist, thinker and scientist, Professor Tamuemi Sokari David-West, who passed on 11th November, 2019. Born on 26th August, 1936, he was 83 years when he passed on at the University College Hospital
By Babatope Babalobi The Niger Delta is ingloriously described as the oil pollution capital of the world. The region produces Nigeria’s crude oil, about teo million barrels per day in 2019, supplies 95% of Nigeria’s export earnings and 80% of federal government revenue, ironically more than 50% of its youths are believed to be unemployed
By Jerome-Mario Utomi. Prior to May 1999, when civil rule returned to Nigeria after decades of successive military dictatorships, fierce wars raged between ethnic and social forces in Nigeria over the ownership and control of oil resources in the Niger Delta. Then, such state of affairs was blamed by political on the military as they
By Wilfred Frank Ogbotobo As the All Progressive Congress (APC) prepares to take over the helms in Bayelsa State, all eyes are on the oil-rich enclave to see how the promised change shall begin to manifest. For a state that has had its own fair share of socio-political decadence and infrastructural decay orchestrated by bad
There is an urgent need for private businessmen and governments at all levels to develop the Gbaramatu and Ogulagha’s huge tourism potentials. This gesture is for economic development in the two kingdoms that are in Burutu and Warri South West LGAs of Delta state, respectively. For example, there is the Oburu-kiran, Olukperebu (Opposite Oporoza) and
By Ekanpou Enewaridideke The time uncanny and the place mysterious Otuaro was recently caught dancing prolongedly for a woman. Some term the prolonged dance a skillfully choreographed ballet, tango and waltz of the end time when the tide still flows with vigour. For Otuaro to be caught dancing it naturally becomes a canal for the
By Ambassador Boladei Igali, PhD Today, November 16, 2019, is the anniversary of your 67th birthday and the day, we your beloved people of Bayelsa State are going to the polls to elect a new Governor. How sacred, how nolstagic, how foreboding. Alas, you are neither here to celebrate, as usual with us or lead
Founding fathers of Bayelsa State have held a ‘historic’ meeting with the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the November 16 governorship election in the state, Chief David Lyon, to endorse his candidature. The founding fathers, led by Senator J.K. Brambaifa, handed over three documents containing the roadmap for the development of the
By Odimegwu Onwumere Expectations are heightening among inhabitants and political watchers of Bayelsa state politics as the state gubernatorial election slated for November 16 draws nearer. The query is centred on whether the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should continue to rule the state or there should be a change of party. In another insight, many
Ken Saro Wiwa, the infamous Ogoni leader, was born on this day October 10th in 1941. An award-winning activist, his impact in the struggle for the cleanup and improvement of the lives of Ogoni people have continued to remain unmatched. Saro-wiwa was not just the mouthpiece of his people; he was a firm believer in
By Odimegwu Onwumere They called him Lewis, Viscount Harcourt, Secretary of State for the Colonies of Britain. Harcourt was said to have founded a port in the year 1912 now known and called Port Harcourt, which is the capital city of the present day Rivers State, Nigeria. But Rivers State was created, as a state
By Jerome-Mario Utomi It is a time-honoured suggestion that during a period of rapid economic growth, nations as well as corporate organizations must continue investing even though it may not be clear how much investment is appropriate. Over investment is not a serious worry, since the excess is likely to be absorbed by future growth.
By Jerome-Mario Utomi At a function organized by the United Nation Information Centre (UNIC), and the Centre for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), on Friday 20th September 2019, in Lagos, to mark this year’s International Day of Peace which had as theme, “Climate Action For Peace”, I listened with rapt attention to the keynote speaker, Mr Ronald
By Ekanpou Enewaridideke This mad world is mad. This our mad world has gone mad; the madness of the world derives muscles of reinforcement from daily engagement of the dialogue on terrorism. Almost on daily basis there are claims and counter-claims of casualties (as one would say in JP Clark’s ‘The Casualties’) as regards the
By Odimegwu Onwumere The recurring dislike-of-foreigners in South Africa by South Africans especially against Africans from other countries resident there is too bad an act. But if we look beyond this dastardly act, we could see through history a time there was Industrial Revolution, World Wars, Cold War, among others. While we condemn xenophobia in
By Utomi Jerome-Mario Going by the words of President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, August 19, 2019 at the retreat for the ministers that; ministers will be responsible for the development and implementation of policies, programmes and projects in their various ministries, departments and agencies in line with the government priorities; and also ensure that agencies
By Mpigi Barinada Strong indications have emerged that the relative peace now enjoyed in the Niger Delta can be elusive. The reality is that beneath this camouflaged peace lie bottled-up emotions over pending environmental concerns and development matters. It is a truism that youth restiveness, for instance, is simply hibernating and may be awakened for
By Enaibo Asiayei The Association of Ijaw Youth Leaders of Core Oil and Gas Producing Kingdoms in Delta State has petitioned the Delta State Government and House of Assembly over the Chairmanship nominee of Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission. The petition was signed on July 21 by Comrade Bibo Ogbona, President, Ogbe-Ijoh Warri
By Odimegwu Onwumere The Deputy Governor of Delta State, Barrister Kingsley Otuaro is a man that can be trusted, especially in this era, where and when some governors and their deputies, political Godsons and Godfathers, political allies and friends and sundry are in loggerhead. Observing the steadiness in Otuaro, the Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi
By Izontubo Oweilakemefa A few years ago, the Niger Delta people with a proclivity for peaceful engagement, formulated and birthed the amnesty plan: a plan which allows the ex-agitators to surrender their weapons and accept the amnesty from the Federal Government (FG) in exchange for non-prosecution and a plan reintegration. This was seemingly impossible given
After a glittering and lofty life’s journey straddling the twentieth and twenty-first centuries’ world of arts, creativity and public service, the remains of Dr. Gabriel Imomotimi Gbaingbain Okara were on Saturday, June 22, 2019, returned to his place of nativity – Bumoundi in Ekpetiama Kingdom of the Ijaw ethnic nationality — to take his final
Houses collapse in Nigeria without a gap of time leaving many killed and others with degrees of injuries, and government policies on this are better not imagined let alone hoped on, ODIMEGWU ONWUMERE writes. Building collapse has become a frequent occurrence in Nigeria with authorities paying lip service to arrest the situation. There had never
By Odimegwu Onwumere As the Yobe North lawmaker, Senator Ahmed Lawan has emerged President of the 9th Senate, crossing the margin of 54 votes needed to win the election today, June 11 2019, there are little things we need to look into. It’s not about defeating Senator Ali Ndume of Borno-South senatorial district who polled less
