मंद ओं 2011

MEND-PDP DEAL

Few weeks back I was in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, and was hanging out with some friends when one of our school mates told us his ambition to be the chairman of his local government council by 2011. According to our friend, it was the turn of his ward, in fact his village, to produce the next council chairman. One of us, a civil servant, quickly rebuked him and asked him whether he belong? I queried why he is not in support of his bosom friend and clansman political ambition, and my friend took a survey of the relaxation spot we were sitting, lowered his voice and asked our “chair to be” if he has killed before and how many guns he has. He told us that one must “belong” before he can be considered for any elective or political appointment. I believe him not just because we have been friends since 1979 but because by virtue of his office, he works closely with most politicians and power brokers in the state.

He told us that most of the boys sitting in that relaxation spot and many other spots in town are cultists on the prowl looking out for perceived political opponents of the government in power. The cultists, he said, eavesdrop on conversations and are ready to pick a fight with any one that holds a contrary view to that of the political leadership of the state or dare criticize the government. He submitted that it is government of the cultists, by the cultists and for cultists. He pointed out some boys in our undergraduate days whom we used to refereed to as NASU (Non Academic Students Union) who are now holding elective or political positions not because of their academic attainment, job experience or competence rather because the belong to one cult group or the other. This reminds me of one of my classmate in the university who is still angry with me because I frustrated all his attempts to join a cult group in school. His anger is that all our mates who were in one cult group or the other are now “doing well” because of their cult cum political affiliations while he with a Second Class Upper is wasting away in the civil service without no material benefit to show.

Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) has alleged that some representatives of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have approached the Niger Delta based militant group to assist the party have a smooth victory in the 2011 general elections. And the PDP through it National Publicity Secretary has denied this. What do you expect the party to do? Do they take decision to rig elections at a national convention of a party? All they tell them is go home and do your homework well and a good home work can be anything. This allegation should not be dismissed as one of those militants’ propaganda or blackmail. One may not accept it hook, line and sinker but it should not be dismissed as garbage. As they say, there is no smoke without fire so there may be some elements of truth in MEND’s allegation.

Leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Group, Alhaji Asari Dokubo had earlier alleged that his travails during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo was due to his opposition to the PDP rigging machinery in Ijawland during the 2003 elections. Another militant leader in the region has alleged that a certain governor paid him N50 million to disrupt the 2007 elections. These are testimonies that these boys have the capacity and the capability to sway elections outcomes to whichever party they have sympathy for.

I wish MEND would go ahead and named those PDP if the party insists that its representatives did not approach the group. But I know that MEND would not give out these names because some of those who approached the group are from the Niger Delta and since the group claims it is out to fight for the overall interest of the region it would not want to destroy their brothers.

Recently, Chairman of the Bayelsa State Government Niger Delta Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee, Chief James Jephtath, confessed publicly that the state can no longer pay a monthly grant of N100 million to militant groups in the state because of the global economic meltdown. The state governor was quick to deny that his administration was not giving monthly allocation to militant groups. I sympathise with Governor Timipre Slyva but his denial is an after thought. Is the governor telling us that Chief Jephtath lied? The chief, who has been a chief negotiator with militants and kidnappers, the recent one being the successful release of the wife of former Minister of Petroleum, (the governor’s former boss) and the Mingi of Nembe, King Edmond Daukuro.

Sylva could not have appointed Jephtath chairman of the committee if the chief “was not on ground” as Nigerians would say. So the chief might have known these boys to be able to negotiate with them for the release of hostages as well as remit the monthly allocation to the various militant groups in the state. Is N100 million such a “chicken feed” that it would be missing from the state coffers without His Excellency’s knowledge? The governor has no option than to deny the payment so that his political enemies would not accused him of aiding and abetting violence in the region through funding of militant groups. Aiding and abetting violence, militancy and kidnapping is exactly what the Bayelsa state government has been doing all these years or since it started giving monthly allocation to militant groups to buy peace and calm the boys down. And this applies to all state government and politicians in the region that gives financial and other aids to criminal gangs in the area.

It would be recalled that in the past a notable PDP senator or other party officials were at the forefront of negotiating for the release of kidnapped victims in the region. The question is how do they know these kidnappers if they are not partners in crime? How come these kidnappers have confidence and trust that these politicians would not betray them if they were not doing business together before now? People like Jephtath should tell the security agents have he remits money to these militants groups and who are their contact men.

The so-called militants today are some of the foot soldiers of the PDP during the 1999, 2003 and 2007 elections victories of the PDP in the Niger Delta region. It might not have been MEND but recent disclosure by MEND has shown that this might have been the method of how PDP have been achieving its “waterslide” victories in the Niger Delta. One of the stories of how militancy came into existence is that before 1999 the boys were foot soldiers for the illegal bunkerers in the region and when it was time for elections these boys became a ready pool where political thugs were recruited to execute the various clean sweeps during the elections. And after the elections the politicians took refuge in the various government houses, legislative assemblies and left the boys in the cold. The boys now have weapons bought for them by the politicians and “since man must survive” they to took to crime after refusing all pleas by the politicians to return guns to the buyers. One thing led to another the businesses of kidnapping and illegal bunkering is now booming and the weapons increase, even in greater proportion.

Almost all the past and present governors, ministers, political office holders and politicians of note in the Niger Delta have paid homage to these militants. They have visited the various camps located in far-flung creeks to solicit support from and declare their support for the militants. Many are calling for amnesty for the militants not because they care for the lives of these boys but because if these boys are prosecuted some politicians may be indicted for their nefarious roles in the Niger Delta crisis and violence. Also they may be irrelevant is these boys are killed or jailed. Their so-called political strength and wizardry lies in the continued fire power of these boys.

PDP cannot be exonerated from the crisis in the Niger Delta. Before the advent of PDP there was no militancy or violence in the Niger Delta. These militants, cultists, criminals, freedom fighters, activists or whatever you choose to call them these are monsters that PDP, direct or indirectly, created. And as the saying goes the evil that men do live after them but in this case the evil lives with them. The PDP has been in government and power for the last 10 years and the crisis is worsening by the day. The party lacks the political will to tackle the root cause of the Niger Delta crisis.