The call was made by Barrister Iniruo Wills during an interview online with the Golden Pen Newspaper on the Security challenges facing the Oluasiri clan which he described as "the Bakassi" of Bayelsa State.
His concern over the security laxity in the area, came at the heels of a fracas that occurred between two militant groups that resulted in the death of seven (7) persons as widely orchestrated.
While condemning the incident as unfortunate and a great lose to the Oluasiri people in particular and a lose to humanity in general, Mr. Wills opined that such occurrence (s) could have been avoided if adequate security measures had been in place.
He noted with concern that from inception of democracy, 1999 to 2020, the Bayelsa State Government had never showed interest for the development, well being, and prosperity of the land and people of Oluasiri, but only interested in the wealth accruing to the state.
Hear him:
"Oluasiri had been left without adequate security by the Bayelsa State Government for the past 20 years. What the Government is always interested about, is the money coming from the federation account to the state; but.they had never dropped even a pin there in Oluasiri."
Barrister Wills, a former Commissioner for Information and Orientation and former Commissioner for Environment identified two major factors as responsible for what he described as the lawlessness at Oluasiri. Hear him:
"The state government knows too well that Oluasiri is the seat of the gas plant and is 'the Bakassi of Bayelsa State through which the state government receives billions of Naira monthly from the federation account."
He calls on the present administration of the state to amongst other things:
1. Take urgent steps to correct this abysmal security laxity that the predecessors to the present goverment failed to address over the years that had made Oluasiri a place of lawlessness.
2. The Bayelsa Government should bring development and employment to Oluasiri because of its contributions to the cake of the state.
3. I would suggest that the Bayelsa State Governor pay a visit to Oluasiri to assertain the paucity of security and development in the area so as to find necessary solutions.
4. It is also important for Government to invite stakeholders of Oluasiri and of Chiefs of Opu Nembe Bassambiri.Council of Chiefs to a meeting to.delibrate on how to restore Oluasiri to her lost glories in the state.
Concerned about the insensitivity of the Bayelsa State Government on the boundary issue over the years, Barrister Iniruo Wills spoke in this light:
"There is low interest and poor handling of the boundary matter causing mysterious and perplexing judicial outcomes on the boundary axis."
He asserted that:
5.There is also a breakdown in community leadership, I would like to therefore call on the leadership of the community to wake up to the challenges ahead with a view to repositioning and or returning the Oluasiri clan to the fast lane of peace and development.
He concluded by saying:
"Oluasiri was not like this when there was security presence and people were going about their normal businesses and children were subjected to parental authority."
He called on the community leadership to shun catelism but to galvanize all Oluasiri people with a view to nipping in the bud the ugly trends of violent attacks and killings perpetrated without restraints over the period, due to security laxity in the area.
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