By Samuel Peres It was 7 o’clock on Saturday morning, October 1, 1996. Nigerians had sat glued to their television and radio sets to listen to the Independence Day broadcast by their Head of State, General Sani Abacha. All ears stood at attention to hear firsthand the plans for the country as she turned 36, when the great news hit the nation in the course of the broadcast. Alas! It was the pronouncement of six additional States bringing the total number of States in Nigeria to 36. One of these new States was in the oil rich region of the country, the Niger Delta, which happened to be the only homogenous Ijaw State, carved out of old Rivers State. She is Bayelsa State, christened the GLORY OF ALL LANDS. With only 8 local government areas, she had just her oil, land, water and people; but more to these was the zeal of the people to nurse the young State to grow into its full potential in the far future. The hope that their new State would lik...