Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, has urged greater investment in education to reorient children and secure a better future for Niger Deltans and Nigerians.
Ogbuku made the call during the plenary session of the 2026 Law Week of the Nigerian Bar Association, Yenagoa Branch, held at the NCDMB Conference Hall, Nigerian Content Tower, Yenagoa.
The event, themed “Securing the Future,” drew prominent figures including former President Dr Goodluck Jonathan, keynote speaker Professor Patrick Lumumba of Kenya, and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) Senator Heineken Lokpobiri.
The plenary, titled “National Assets Protection: Nigeria’s Shared Responsibility,” brought together stakeholders from security agencies, regulatory bodies and development agencies.
Ogbuku said efforts to secure the future must acknowledge past mistakes. “In securing the future, we must also think of the past, because we have missed our way and there is a need to rediscover our purpose,” he stated.
He decried corruption in society, linking many corrupt tendencies to practices copied from online media. “We must invest in the right education for our children. Western culture has polluted our society, and only the right education can save our country,” Ogbuku added.
Chairing the session, former President Goodluck Jonathan backed Ogbuku’s position, saying the education system needs reform to prepare young Nigerians for the future. “We have to prepare our children for the bright lights of the future.”
In his keynote address, “Sustainable National Assets Protection in Africa: Opportunities, Risks and Regulatory Pathways,” Professor Lumumba called for African unity as a foundation for true independence and asset protection.
“We have a duty to secure our future, but we must start by being united. It is only in unity that we can protect our assets,” he said.
He stated that Africans must “decolonise our minds because Africans were wired to fail by the colonial masters.”
Bayelsa State Governor Senator Douye Diri, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Nimibofa Ayawie, urged the NBA to enforce discipline and best practices among members.
He described the Law Week theme as timely, noting it “speaks to the collective responsibility of leaders, institutions, and citizens to build a society founded on justice, equity, accountability, and sustainable development.”
NBA Yenagoa Branch Chairman Mr Clement Kekemeke challenged legal practitioners to move beyond routine practice and contribute actively to societal development.
