Six Decades of Anticipation Come to an End as Bayelsa Villages Mark the Official Opening of New Highway

For six decades, the people of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area in Bayelsa State waited in vain for the development they deserved, but their patience finally paid off when President Bola Tinubu inaugurated the long-awaited Yenagoa-Oporoma road and virtually, the Sagbama-Ekeremor road.

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These projects, which were inaugurated last Friday, link remote communities in Southern Ijaw and Ekeremor Local Government Areas to the state capital, Yenagoa, and are part of the three senatorial corridors designed to access the Atlantic coast from three flanks: Yenagoa-Oporoma-Ukubie, Sagbama-Ekeremor-Agge, and Nembe-Brass.

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The roads, which pass through vast swaths of wetland, had been on the Federal Government’s drawing board since the 1960s, but were neglected, fuelling deep resentment among locals who felt the government cared only about extracting their resources, not about their welfare.

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However, the state government, led by Governor Douye Diri, moved to transform the landscape by committing huge funds and deploying heavy-duty machinery to shatter the myth of a “difficult terrain”.

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The Yenagoa-Oporoma road includes a 630-metre bridge across the Nun River to Oporoma, headquarters of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, and a spur links to Otuan, with Ondewari on the horizon, promising to change the fortunes of oil-and-gas-rich but long-neglected communities in the Central Senatorial District.

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More than 60 communities and kingdoms in constituencies III and IV of Southern Ijaw, as well as Constituency III in Brass Local Government Area, will enjoy drastically reduced travel times and lower transport costs thanks to the new road.

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The road corrects a historic injustice for one of Nigeria’s top oil-producing Local Government Areas, and the Sagbama-Ekeremor-Agge road will accelerate development in far-flung communities such as Beautiful Gate, Oweigbene, Ndoro, Peretorugbene, Aghoro, and Agge on the Atlantic coast.

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Bayelsa government officials say the Sagbama-Ekeremor-Agge road completes a transformative corridor that will integrate formerly marginalised settlements into the state economy, raise living standards, and lay the foundation for sustained, inclusive growth.

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Thousands of residents poured into the streets in frenzy when Governor Diri led President Tinubu and his entourage into the heart of Southern Ijaw for the inauguration, an area that is historically significant and hosts the oil majors and several others.

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Southern Ijaw had the highest concentration of militant camps during the heyday of Niger-Delta militancy, and aggrieved Ijaw youths, protesting years of environmental despoliation and demanding economic restitution for the region, crippled the nation’s oil production, leading to the presidential amnesty programme under the late President Umaru Yar’ Adua’s administration.

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Residents like Gabriel Owei expressed their joy, saying “This is a dream come true, today, we are happy to drive to our ancestral land, thanks to the one fondly called the ‘Miracle Governor’, Senator Douye Diri, for making us witness this historic moment”.

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Chief Douyi Douglas-Naingba, Bayelsa State chairman of the Pan Niger-Delta Forum (PANDEF) and an indigene of the council area, lauded Diri’s infrastructural revolution, declaring that the “Prosperity Administration” is quietly building a legacy that will redefine the state for decades.

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Alagoa Morris, Deputy Executive Director of the Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN) and an indigene of the area, hailed the inauguration as a huge step forward that will positively impact the people’s socio-economic fortunes, saying “As we speak, we can drive to Oporoma and neighbouring Otuan community, and work is progressing towards Ondewari”.

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Another resident, who simply gave his name as ThankGod, appreciated Diri for the achievement despite the difficult terrain, saying “Most people can now drive straight from Yenagoa to their villages, reducing travel costs and man-hours”.

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Opuowei Jones noted that if this project had been executed several decades ago by the Federal Government, perhaps they could have avoided the many boat mishaps and pirate attacks that have claimed lives on their waterways, and called on the Federal Government to take over the remaining segments to ease the burden on the state.