एंड थिस VOILENCE

LET THERE BE PEACE

The development of the Niger Delta region is one of the seven point agenda of President Musa Yar’dua’s administration. But barely two years into the end of the administration no development has taken place in the area except the creation of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and the withholding of funds that should go to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

The daily refrain we hear is that federal government cannot execute any project in the Niger Delta because of insecurity, militancy, kidnapping and other anti social behaviours. Recently, Rivers State Governor, Chubike Amaechi, declared that the federal government has not execute or complete any project in the state in the last 20 years, this scenario is not restricted to Rivers state as it is the same story across the nine Niger Delta States. The federal government did not do anything before the violence started and they had no justification. But now that there is violence they have a “cogent” reason of instability and insecurity not to do anything in the region.

For about a decade now the Niger Delta has been a centre of violence, an undeclared war between some militia groups and the Federal Government of Nigeria. But we have not achieved anything in these years except cases of rape, killing, kidnapping and destruction of our communities like Odi. Our youths are being wasted on a daily basis by various military actions aimed at restoring peace in the region. They are destroying our villages, environment and breeding bastard children in the name of keeping peace. They are soldiers of fortune and mercenaries and not peace keepers.

Violence is holding us back while other parts of the country are going ahead. Our youths are no longer in schools because of violence. Tomorrow they will tell us that we don’t have the requisite education and skills to work in the oil and gas sector. Our polluted waters and environment have not be clean up because we are termed to be violent and our environment not conducive for such clean up and remediation jobs or any development activity, for that matter. Some of our youths and community leaders prefer to collect cash in place of clean up and remediation exercises. They are now emergency contractors in cleaning oil spills.

It is time we tell ourselves the truth, what have we gain in a decade of violence? The creation of NDDC has not impacted on the lives of the ordinary Niger Deltans as most of its projects are located in the homes of our political, traditional and opinion leaders who are as guilty as the federal government if we want to apportion blame on why we are where we are today. Some of the contractors handling the commission’s projects are not from the region so whatever money they make do not remain here. Most of the beneficiaries of the commission’s empowerment programmes are candidates of one politician or the other. Take its mass transits scheme, for example, how many drivers benefited from the buses rather politicians and other “stakeholders” were the beneficiaries.

Has the decade of violence change the employment ratio in the oil industry in favour of the Niger Delta people? Has the violence transform the East West Road into a dual carriage way? Has the violence given us potable water or put an end to gas flaring? Has the violence put an end to the exploitation of our oil and gas resources and stop oil spills? What do we have to show except being labeled as kidnappers, pirates, illegal oil bunkerers and criminals?

Our sea ports in Port Harcourt, Warri and Calabar have been abandoned with the excuse that our waterways are unsafe for any maritime activity and we are being deprive of revenues that could have accrue to us, the informal employment that would have come to the immediate communities of the ports and other positive effects of a vibrant port. Even when there is congestion at Lagos ports vessels are not diverted to our ports because we have been blackmail before the international maritime community as a haven for pirates and kidnappers. Importers prefer to wait in Lagos and pay demurrage instead of “risking” Niger Delta ports. This situation has made our ports to be idle and unused thereby leading to the deterioration of the facilities due to non usage. These facilities would not be replaced or rehabilitated, especially now that the ports are not in use because of “militancy.” Before they used to tell us that our ports are shallow and need dredging but now they story has changed.

If others are hurting us should we be aggravating our pains and deprivation? Yes, kidnapping, illegal bunkering and militancy may produce a few millionaires in our region but can these money meet the needs of the vast majority of the people? Can the few millions made by a few in our midst be equal to the billions we are losing through non execution and location of federal projects in our region? Can these few millions compensate us for the businesses that are closing shops in our region or the foreign investors who are avoiding our land like plague?

Few persons are making money at the expense of the region’s development. The crisis has thrown up many amorphous organizations, youth groups, security consultants and all manners of negotiators and peace agents. The Niger Delta crisis has produce more “specialists” and “experts” than any other industry in the country in the last 10 years. Every one now tries to use the Niger Delta crisis to get money, attention or relevance from the authorities. Experts in conflict resolution and rehabilitation of deviant members of the society are emerging daily. Billions of naira that would have been used for the development of the region has been expended in hosting workshops, seminars, conferences, technical committees, roundtables among others to proffer solution to the problems of the region but no solution is yet in sight.

Despite a Federal Government directive that all oil companies operating in the region must have their headquarters in the Niger Delta, some of they are using the crisis as an excuse not to relocate to the area. Those that have already relocated are trying to get out of the region. Contracts, employment and other major decisions that affect the Niger Delta are taken outside our region and in most cases such decisions are not favourable to us.

We are truly the losers. The same people who have abused and deprived us are benefiting from continued crisis in the region. The money spent by the various state governments in the region on security is enough to develop, or provide basic amenities like potable water. Funding the police, Joint Task force and other security agencies are the responsibility of the federal government but our meager resources are now expended on this. And one can not rule out the abuse of security votes by these governors. Also as long as we continue to kidnap and rape, bogus security reports that blackmail our governors to release billions for security would not stop.

Also our politicians, elder statesmen, traditional rulers and even religious leaders, who have failed us would continue to profit from the violence as they go to Abuja claiming to be in control of the boys or can talk to them to lay down arms. Security agents are boasting that armed robbery has gone down in the region as the vice of kidnapping is the vogue, how true is this? How many of the kidnappers or pirates know what the Niger Delta issues are or what the region is agitating for. A situation were every petty thief is labeled a militant has make a mockery of the genuine agitation of our people. The rank of the freedom fighters have been infiltrated and hijacked by criminals, who hide under the region’s agitation to pursue their criminal activities.


If we are real freedom fighters and the interest of our region is the motive of our agitation, then we must give peace a chance. That we are observing a ceasefire or temporary lay down our arms does not mean we have exhausted our ammunition, tired, war-weary or at our wits end. It is not a weakness to seek peace or stop fighting out of one’s accord. It would be a time for sober reflection and to strategize for the next level of our struggle. We should adopt Prof. Wole Soyinka’s suggestion of an intellectual and ideological struggle since violence and arms have failed us. Let try the Ogoni option of non violence agitation engagement of the federal government. Many in the region may oppose the peace option because they are afraid that they may lose a reliable source of income, relevance and prominence. Some are also afraid that they may become nobody if peace reigns in the region. They curry favour, get appointments, contracts and other government patronage as long as the crisis last. Let the overall interest of the region prevail.

Let us give the President the next two years to fulfill his electoral promise and one of his administration seven point agenda, and that is, developing Niger Delta. Let us not give him a reason or an excuse not to do this. Let us sheathe our swords, enough is enough, we have registered our grievances, let give them time to keep their promises or fail to do so. We need peace and the time for peace is now. There can be no progress, growth and development in an atmosphere of violence and insecurity. Shalom!