By Mary onyia
The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, has stressed the need for increased investment in education, describing it as a critical tool for reorienting young people and securing a better future for the Niger Delta and Nigeria as a whole.
Ogbuku spoke during a plenary session at the 2026 Law Week of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Yenagoa Branch, held at the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Conference Hall in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. The event, themed “Securing the Future,” attracted prominent personalities, including former President Goodluck Jonathan, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, and renowned Kenyan lawyer and activist, Professor Patrick Lumumba, who delivered the keynote address.
Speaking on the topic, “National Assets Protection: Nigeria’s Shared Responsibility,” Ogbuku said efforts to secure the future must be anchored on lessons from the past. According to him, Nigeria has strayed from its developmental path and must rediscover its purpose through proper education and value reorientation. He lamented the growing impact of corruption on society, attributing many negative behaviours among young people to harmful influences from online platforms and foreign cultures.
“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 stated, adding that education remains the foundation for building responsible citizens and sustainable development.
Chairman of the session and former President Goodluck Jonathan echoed the NDDC boss’s position, stressing the need to reform the nation’s education system to adequately prepare young Nigerians for the challenges and opportunities of the future. “We have to prepare our children for the bright lights of the future,” Jonathan said.
In his keynote address titled “Sustainable National Assets Protection in Africa: Opportunities, Risks and Regulatory Pathways,” Professor Patrick Lumumba called for greater unity among African nations, arguing that continental solidarity was essential for safeguarding resources and achieving genuine independence. He urged Africans to “decolonise their minds” and embrace a shared identity capable of driving development and protecting national assets.
Also speaking, Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Nimibofa Ayawie, urged the Nigerian Bar Association to strengthen discipline and professionalism within the legal profession. He described Lumumba as a strong advocate of good governance, accountability, Pan-African development and principled leadership, noting that the Law Week theme underscored the collective responsibility of leaders, institutions and citizens in building a just, equitable and sustainable society.
The Chairman of the NBA Yenagoa Branch, Mr. Clement Kekemeke, challenged lawyers to move beyond routine legal practice and contribute actively to national development and the advancement of society.