The Director of National Orientation Agency (NOA) in Rivers State, Barrister Young Ayotamuno, has described as “sad” the loss of lives in Kom-Kom Community in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State following an oil pipeline explosion fire.
Over eighty persons reportedly lost their lives at the weekend when they were caught in a fire while scooping petroleum products from a leaking oil pipeline in the area owned by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
Ayotamuno appealed to people to protect national assets in their areas of residence and avoid the get-rich-quick syndrome saying that people should work and earn income.
The NOA boss said: “People should have a sense of ownership, a sense of patriotism to make sure that they protect national assets. People must also have a sense that they need to work, that they should dissuade themselves from greed. Very cheap and quick ways of making wealth does not actually pay, so they should dissuade themselves from it. Communities also have an obligation to protect these national assets”.
He appealed to people to have national values and do what is right and expected in any given situation.
He said that the agency would carry out more enlightenment campaigns to persuade people to protect national assets in their areas saying that the NOA will modify people’s values through its campaigns.
He further said people should “imbibe” the value of hardwork and get skills to be self-reliant.
Ayotamuno said: “We in National Orientation Agency have carried out enlightenments on protection of national assets, on the need for community,… for our people, wherever you find national assets, to protect such national assets”.
He said that the orientation of people to expected behaviour is gradual saying that enlightenment campaigns by the agency have not failed.
He said: “Orientation is something that is gradual because we are talking about values. This case (of tragedy in the pipeline explosion fire) is a clear case of misplacement of values on the part of the people because when people say that such things happen because the people are poor, it’s neither here nor there. There are so many people who are also, either they are not working or they are hungry but they also find very genuine means of making sure that they earn their livelihood, and talking about the place that is involved, these are also agricultural communities for which the people should also have applied themselves to issues such as agriculture because there is a whole value chain in agriculture. So, it’s a question of misplaced values. You can see that it’s clearly an issue of greed. I’m sure this is not the first time, this is not the first day. It’s just that it had happened the way it has happened”.
He said that there is value for money earned and advised people to avoid trying to take advantage of any of the country’s resources in their neighbourhoods.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has called for an investigation into the pipeline explosion in Kom-Kom Community of Oyigbo local government area.
President Buhari in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said that he was pained by the loss of lives and condoled the people and government of Rivers State over the tragedy.
It was gathered that youths in Oyigbo local government area made strenuous efforts to bring out the bodies of those burnt to death in the oil pipeline explosion fire in Kom-Kom community in the local government area.
