By Zik Gbemre

We once again reiterate the urgent need for the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to promptly takeover the all-important Osubi Airstrip near Warri, Delta State, from its current Operators, Shoreline Natural Resources, which is one of the oil companies that bought and took over the Shell (SPDC) Divested assets in Delta State. This is hinged on the undeniable fact that Shoreline Natural Resources has proven to have no capacity and wherewithal whatsoever, to upgrade/expand the said Airstrip to a Standard Airport with the required Run Way/tarmac and upgraded facilities.

What makes this something that can be easily obtainable for the Federal Government to execute, is the fact that the land for the said expansion is already there, as acquired by Shell (SPDC), for the Federal Government to use for the said Airstrip’s expansion/upgrade to a Standard Airport. In fact, it was in 1975 when the Federal Government had actually acquired the site at Osubi to build an Airport. However, the project did not see the light of the day. Several years later, a consortium of oil/gas companies, including Shell (SPDC), decided to build a modern airstrip on the same site. But when irreconcilable differences arose between the potential partners, the NNPC/Shell/Elf/Agip Joint Venture Partners, decided to do it alone. A total of 1190 hectares of land was previously gazetted for acquisition by the Federal Government in 1975 for the development of a new Airport. However, due to funding constraints, the proposal was dropped from further consideration. As Shell (SPDC) became the sole participant, a smaller landmass (approximately 1078 hectares) was acquired, and the company single-handedly built the now Osubi Airstrip with the acquired land, but they also kept in view of the future needs of other interested parties. In other words, THE ORIGINAL INTENT OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN OSUBI WAS TO BUILD A STANDARD AIRPORT THAT WOULD BE ‘COMMERCIALLY ATTRACTIVE’ FOR AIRLINE OPERATORS TO PATRONIZE.

So, the President Buhari-led Federal Government really do not have any excuse not to embark on this all-important project. One of the sure ways of entrenching development is by embarking on people-oriented infrastructural projects and creating the secured and enabling environment for all kinds of businesses and investors to be attracted to. This will automatically create jobs for the teeming youths in the oil city of Warri and environs. That is what made Dubai, London, New York, Amsterdam, Paris, Atlanta, Miami, Manchester, Birmingham, Tokyo, Beijing, etc. what they are today. Development is not wishful thinking but by taking concise actions.

Right now, big aircrafts cannot land and take off in the Osubi-Warri Airstrip due to smallness size of the tarmac/runway. The Osubi Airstrip is about 1,800meters as against the normal length of about 3,000meters for most (domestic) airports in Nigeria. The small length of the runway of Osubi Airstrip means that ‘only small aircrafts’ (not exceeding 50-passenger capacity such as the DASH or the Donier) can land and take off from the Airstrip. Therefore, since Shoreline Natural Resources has no financial capacity to expand the runway and upgrade the facilities of the Osubi Airstrip to make it a Standard Airport, then the President Buhari-led Federal Government should it take over, period!

Warri remains the most viable commercial city in Delta, but without a Standard Airport. And from what has been explained, there is no need to build a new Airport, but it is just to upgrade and expand the runway/tarmac and upgrade the existing facilities of the Osubi Airstrip to a Standard Airport. The existing unused land in the said Airstrip is big enough to make it a standard and International Airport. This will make it one of the busiest Airports in the region if made functional with the required expansion.

The present Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has demonstrated not to have any interest on this project for political reasons known to only him. Hence, the Federal Government should take it over from the private operators and upgrade the said Airstrip as requested. The land is available; hence my request should be considered without any further delay. I have been consistently on this advocacy/demand of a proper upgrade and expansion of the Osubi-Warri airstrip to a standard airport to accommodate big aircrafts to land and take off, since 2004 through the past administrations of Olusegun Obasanjo at the Federal level/James Ibori at the State level; Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan at the Federal level/Emmanuel Uduaghan at the State level; and now Muhammadu Buhari at the Federal level/Ifeanyi Okowa at the State level presently.

Although, former Governor Uduaghan did some expansion works at the said Osubi Airstrip, but this was abandoned due to politics and flimsy excuses. The Asaba Airport, which is the other Airport in Delta State, serves more of Onitsha traders in Anambra State than the people of Delta State. This makes the upgrade and expansion of the Osubi-Warri Airstrip to a Standard Airport more of a necessity than just another requested project. The past Governments at the Federal and State levels always talk about creating employment for the Nigerian populace. But without concrete steps taken in the direction of what is being requested, it will amount to nothing. Like we said above, employment generation is not about building more office blocks and put chairs and desks for people to sit without doing anything, but and then pay them at the end of every month. That is far from creating gainful employment. Gainful employments will only take place if the right concrete steps are taken by the Government of the day, which is by providing the needed infrastructure that will stimulate, instigate and generate economic growth. Building a Standard Airport is putting the right infrastructure in place that will generate economic growth.

The cities of Warri/Effurun and its environs that are the commercial nerve centres of Delta State, are overdue to have a Standard Airport and not Airstrip. We think the Government players lack the vision for economic growth in this direction. They keep on organizing one economic summit and workshops or the other, without putting in place the required infrastructure. If they like let the Nigerian governments at all levels assemble thousands of Ngozi Iwealas, Soludos, Sanusis, Christopher Orubus, Pat Utomis and other experts and technocrats in the country, to talk all the sweet talks about the economy, it will amount to nothing but a wasted efforts and resources if the country is without basic infrastructure in place for the said economic growth. What we need in Delta State, and Nigeria is general, is basic infrastructure. People travel to Dubai today because of the magnitude of infrastructure that is there, which encourages businesses and tourism to thrive.

When the Nigerian Government at all levels use most part of their entire budgets to pay salaries of staff sitting down doing nothing, including politicians and their personal aides, and other recurrent government expenditure, they cannot expect the economy to boom. The problem is not about having good economic team. No amount of best economic teams in the world that will stimulate economic growth if a chunk of the entire budgets are used for salaries and allowances of people sitting down doing nothing other than to browse websites, drink tea and watch televisions of reality shows and what have you.

The crux of the matter is that the Federal Government should without delay and take over the Osubi-Warri airstrip from the private operators. A Standard Airport in Warri-Effurun-Osubi will practically open up the entire Warri/Effurun/Osubi Central and create numerous businesses and economic opportunities that would greatly improve the living standards of the people. We humbly ask that this issue should be given the needed attention as requested.

Zik Gbemre.

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