Yar'Adua's War on the Niger Delta: the Beginning of Nigeria's Undoing?

Jun

2008

It is the death of war that kills the valiant. Death of Water is how the swimmer goes; It is the death of markets that kills the trader; ... And the beautiful dies the death of beauty
- Iyaloja Character in Wole Soyinka's 'Death and the King's Horseman'

What kind of death awaits a country whose existence depends on crude oil from the Niger Delta and aims to kill off the indigenous peoples on the way to the oil? Your guess is as good as mine.

But there is a dimension to the madness of the Nigerian ruling cabal. Today, we have a President from the Northern part of Nigeria who so far qualifies as the most insensitive president going by the way he persistently abuses the spirit of Federal Character. President Yar'Adua did not find his voice when his Federal military recently destroyed five Niger Delta communities. He did not see it necessary to visit the sites of the havoc. In reaction, some youths from the destroyed communities have allegedly fought back by attacking an offshore oil installation, the Bonga oil field operated by Shell in a Joint Venture with Nigeria. This has enraged Nigeria's President. Enraged enough that he has commanded his military to do all that is necessary for reprisal attacks and cause further destruction of communities. In short, he has declared war on the Niger Delta, a Southern part of Nigeria with a history of neglect by successive federal and regional governments.

I feel him. He derives his sense of being from that oil. He has to do all that is necessary to stop anyone from disrupting the source that provides for his well being. Unfortunately, those close to the President seem to be shirking in their duties to give him needed history lessons.

In the beginning of Nigeria some young Ibo military officers took it upon themselves to eliminate the prime minister of Nigeria of northern extraction. They also eliminated the foremost northern religious leader. To add salt to injury, a senior military officer of Ibo extraction took over as head of state of Nigeria. To further add more salt to the injury, the new head of state did nothing to bring the country together.   The result of these short-comings, I believe, is general knowledge. Over a million innocent Nigerians lost their lives to the craze that followed.

So, when a President of northern extraction uses the federal military to destroy southern communities, he is not being prudent. When the President of northern extraction insensitively makes extra-budgetary allocation to plan to build a multi-billion naira boulevard in the northern Abuja but declares as expired what is due to the Niger Delta Development Commission, he is not being prudent. When a President of northern extraction hops up and down and around the globe but makes only political campaign stops to the southern Niger Delta which is in need of urgent attention, he is being imprudent.

The Niger Delta lays the golden egg for Nigeria. This fact is not stated sufficiently. The people of that place live in very difficult condition as a result of the laying of this egg. The environment is destroyed and polluted and sources of living are destroyed thereby placing the people of the region in a self-reinforcing poverty trap - the kind described by Jeffery Sachs in his book "The End of Poverty:" where poor health and poor infrastructure reinforce one another (see [3]). A trap that the ruling elite is not in a hurry to help untangle.

To declare war on the people of such a place is heartless and cruel. Worse more that the person declaring the war is a spoilt northern kid who ain't any idea of how it is like to live in the Niger Delta.

When it started in Columbia decades ago, they thought it was child's play. America thought Iraq's mission was "accomplished" five years ago but their Presidential Candidate Senator McCain now thinks it will take another 100 years.    Like a child who says his mother will not sleep, the Israelis can't sleep with all eyes closed despite their superior fire power and military, as long as a Palestine lives. A northern president in Nigeria should know better.

I have already written about Nigeria's incubation of future suicide bombers (see [1]); I have freely given ideas on how to resolve the Niger Delta question (see [2]). With the way the new leadership of Nigeria is conducting itself, Nigeria is being speedily undone. The Niger Delta Question is a veritable catalyst in this undoing.

What is this so-called Niger Delta Question? It dates back to pre-independent Nigeria.   It is the same question for which the Willink 'Minorities and Fiscal Commission' reported in mid-1958 after an exhaustive series of hearings across the country. Though recommendations of the commission were manipulated by the powers-that-be before the final release, there was a somewhat bold and remarkable recommendation that:

"there is an overwhelming need for a SPECIAL IJAW AREA consisting mainly of the Ijaw people in the Eastern region, and taking in from the Western Region the Western Ijaws, consisting as it does mainly of the delta of the Niger, and that it should, be regarded rather as a special development area, requiring particular economic assistance."

Those recommendations have not yet been carried out. The Ibos who controlled the regional government at the time did not allow it and the other major ethnic groups never bothered. So, the question remains and will keep asking us Nigerians in the face until a sincere answer is provided.

They say a word is enough for the wise but there are enough words already.

Hosiah Emmanuel
Singapore

Reference:
1. THE NIGER DELTA QUESTION: INCUBATING THE FUTURE SUICIDE BOMBERS OF NIGERIA by Hosiah Emmanuel
2. THE NIGER DELTA DEVELOPMENT QUESTION: A PLANNING PARALYSIS? by Hosiah Emmanuel
3. The End of Poverty by Dr. Jefferey Sachs

Your Comments

Please make The Square an enjoyable experience for everyone by refraining from gratuitous ad-hominem contributions, defamatory comments and off-topic posting. Such posts will be removed.

Robot

# 1 | 24.06.2008 16:22

	It is the death of ...Read the full article.

ifeolooni ifeolooni is offline

# 2 | 24.06.2008 16:53

	u always pass ur insighting statements as some objective writeup but deal with the crooks among u first ,suicide bombers? dts ludicrous

emenanjo emenanjo is offline

# 3 | 24.06.2008 17:06

	History has a funny way of punishing people and has a way of repeating itself. Most of your people joined the so called North to kill Igbos during the genocide that people wrongly call civil war. You feel more at ease with the North than with you neighbouring Igbos. Today, the chickens have come home to roost. Why the hulaballoo? The people you supported to slaughter the Igbos gave you a rivers state and later Bayelsa state, you all jubilated that you are no longer part of the Eastern region. Fine! It was good riddance to bad rubbish. But today, what is the state of your region? As far as Biafra failed, the south-south would fail too. If you like let your people fight from now till thou-kingdom-come, they will not make any head way. There is no amount of compensation from the Federal govt, that can appease your people. All those southern generals who fought the Igbos have all regretted their roles. They have realized that they were used, and are still been used to date by these northern cabals. The blood of more than 3 million innocent Igbos killed from July 1966 to January 1970 would continue to haunt all partakers in that infamy. Their blood will haunt Nigeria until either Nigeria disintegrates or a true federalism evolves. And let me reinstate my thesis again, that no region in the South can confront the North without the cooperation of the other Southern regions. MASSOB, OPC, and Niger-delta, have to work hand -in -hand otherwise your struggle will end in futility. I wish your people luck in their struggle. It is unfortunate that what Ojukwu with hindsight saw in 1966, most Southerners, especially Southern Generals, have to see so late-{Good Morning}.

DaBishop DaBishop is offline

# 4 | 24.06.2008 17:45

	When I read, I try to find out the real objective behind the words...the true hidden meaning. When you re-read the article, you will notice the writing is about the acts of a President of northern extraction who is 'insensitive' and did or did not do bla bla. Before this said President of Northern extraction was one of no named extraction who abused and insulted mourners at the site of a Bomb explossion...who called persons bad names in public and who in the very Delta challenged the youth to come out and fight him... O, by the way he razed two villages, one in Odi (Delta Odi!), the other Zaki-Biam...His place of origin or the cabal he belonged to whether Ogboni, Adedibu or daughter-raping cabal were not trumpeted...he was just a President who would not do right...The Delta people were not stirred to fight every yoruba in sight... Poor style sir. You could do better... BTW, Odili, of Delta origin, was given $2bn by stakeholders for the delta, I wrote about it here, where were you, and why did you not insist that he account for the said money? He effectively withheld devt in the delta by $2b! a couple of years ago. I know, the persons who contributed to this fund told me! Da Bishop

Ednut

# 5 | 24.06.2008 18:02

	In the beginning of Nigeria some young Ibo military officers took it upon themselves to eliminate the prime minister of Nigeria of northern extraction. They also eliminated the foremost northern religious leader. To add salt to injury, a senior military officer of Ibo extraction took over as head of state of Nigeria. You need to be careful here sir as you lay down your accusations towards other ethnic group. After reading through your short essay, one notices that you only referenced the “Ibo” as producing the “young Ibo military officers” that you alleged eliminated your prime minister and your religious leader. You forgot that those that carried out what they reasoned to be a revolutionary patriotic duty to rid Nigeria of bad eggs crossed ethnic lines and even crossed regional lines. You refused to see that those young officers or the one you had in mind, was your fellow South-South, your fellow Niger Deltan. But all you see is your lame itempt to drag Ndigbo into your mess with the North. You find a way to use the Igbo as a cover cowardly as you fight for your Ijaw rights. Mr. if you must get respect for your people, confront the North and please do it without dragging the Igbo into it. Good luck to you as you fight for what is yours.

Anambra Movement Anambra Movement is offline

# 6 | 24.06.2008 19:51

	I couldn't get it through my head why it's only the 19 northern states are organising a food summit in nigeria as advertised in NTA. I must be missing something about this one nigeria. As for the niger deltas, i have a song for you guys from the biafra soldiers. We wish you luck but it is a shame that your oil is being used to fight you. Your lands are polluted, health endangered and women raped by nigerian soldiers. You ll have a difficult time winning this war based on the fact that some of your kinsmen have sold their soul like esau in abuja. http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An7IZBBATTM&feature=related it's on record, you guys betrayed us for money. You have yourselves to blame because biafra would have been the best country in africa and even the world (like UAE).

cegbune cegbune is offline

# 7 | 24.06.2008 20:05

	When the Ijaws joined other Nigerians including southerners in the northern quest to impose the northern hegemony over Nigeria by at least attempting to annihilate their formidable opponents i.e. the Igbo, little did they know that their day would come. Although the indomitable Igbo could not be wiped-out, the consipracy to eliminate them only succeeded in emasculating them. Unfortunately for other southerners, the whole south became war booty after Ndi Igbo were "cut to size." 38 years after the end of the civil war, the skirmishes to corner the booty by the north have continued unabated. The annulment of Abiola's election was part of these skirmishes. Obj was only given a chance because he could be trusted by the oligarchy to accept crumbs from the "booty table." There is a gentleman's agreement to rotate the presidency between north and south. However, I won't be surprised if after Yar Adua's term, a nothern renede military officer takes over government to preclude an untrusted southerner from ruling Nigeria. I remember Obasanjo telling Ijaws that if he had not fought the Igbo, they would have taken over their oil. Meanwhile, Obj ordered the "gwodogwodo" to eradicate an Ijaw town from the face of the earth to preserve the status quo, yet the Ijaws sat on the side walk and applauded Obj's misquided statement about the Igbo. If the Igbo are the Ijaw's problem how come 38 years after the Igbo left them to their own whims and caprices, they are yet to find their bearings? Having made the above statements, it is pertinent to mention that it would be naive for the Igbo to ignore the impact of the skirmishes in their neighborhood. Whether the Ijaw like it or not, they are under the sphere of influence of Ndi Igbo and as a result the Igbo must not allow them to be roasted by the oligarchy. Ndi Igbo must rise above the lowest instinct of the Ijaw during the civil war and prevent the impending cataclysm in the Niger Delta. The convenient thing for the Igbo to do is to say to the Ijaw: serves you right! However, the right or the moral thing to do is to warn the oligarchy that Igbo will not sit and watch the torture of their young Ijaw brothers. Ndi Igbo can not afford to prevaricate while the Ijaws are raped and pillaged by the uncouth and unrestrained occupation force.

Tony

# 8 | 24.06.2008 21:30

	This so called Hosiah Emmanuel is just a spoiler. What has the 1966 coup got to do with the prevailing situation in the Niger-Delta? Afterall the Niger-Delta joined the fight for one nigeria against Biafra, so what exactly are you whinning about? If after helping to fight for one nigeria, the federal government turns around to turn their guns on the Niger-Delta, who are you blaming for that? My dear, i dont for whatever reason want to have any quarrel with the Niger-Deltans because i support 100% their struggle for justice inspite of the incidents of the past. You would do well in future to concentrate on the essentials of the struggle, and the persistent injustice in nigeria which Ojukwu saw many years back, rather than rehashing a coup that has no bearing on the conflict in the Niger-Delta. May God bless MEND and give them the strenght and wisdom to continue the struggle untill emancipation. AMEN!

delegiwa delegiwa is offline

# 9 | 25.06.2008 03:23

	What an elder saw while sitting down WILL NOT BE SEEN BY A CHILD even while standing up. He saw this coming and waged a war to stop this but you stabbed him in the back and now you are crying. I really feel bad about what's happening there and I wish your boys luck. You'll never know if this country will get better because of them. Yaradua on his own should first declare war on Electricity and Fuel situation, Corruption and the likes and win those wars first before declaring war on fellow countrymen.

Dewdrops Dewdrops is online

# 10 | 25.06.2008 04:45

	=emenanjo;4295060177>History has a funny way of punishing people and has a way of repeating itself. Most of your people joined the so called North to kill Igbos during the genocide that people wrongly call civil war. You feel more at ease with the North than with you neighbouring Igbos. Today, the chickens have come home to roost. Why the hulaballoo? The people you supported to slaughter the Igbos gave you a rivers state and later Bayelsa state, you all jubilated that you are no longer part of the Eastern region. Fine! It was good riddance to bad rubbish. But today, what is the state of your region? As far as Biafra failed, the south-south would fail too. If you like let your people fight from now till thou-kingdom-come, they will not make any head way. There is no amount of compensation from the Federal govt, that can appease your people. All those southern generals who fought the Igbos have all regretted their roles. They have realized that they were used, and are still been used to date by these northern cabals. The blood of more than 3 million innocent Igbos killed from July 1966 to January 1970 would continue to haunt all partakers in that infamy. Their blood will haunt Nigeria until either Nigeria disintegrates or a true federalism evolves. And let me reinstate my thesis again, that no region in the South can confront the North without the cooperation of the other Southern regions. MASSOB, OPC, and Niger-delta, have to work hand -in -hand otherwise your struggle will end in futility. I wish your people luck in their struggle. It is unfortunate that what Ojukwu with hindsight saw in 1966, most Southerners, especially Southern Generals, have to see so late-{Good Morning}. Excellent! Wise words I say! Clap! Clap! Clap! Southerners oh southerners! When will you ever learn? delegiwa Villager Re: Yar`Adua`s War on the Niger Delta: the Beginning of Nigeria`s Undoing? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What an elder saw while sitting down WILL NOT BE SEEN BY A CHILD even while standing up. He saw this coming and waged a war to stop this but you stabbed him in the back and now you are crying. I really feel bad about what's happening there and I wish your boys luck. You'll never know if this country will get better because of them. Yaradua on his own should first declare war on Electricity and Fuel situation, Corruption and the likes and win those wars first before declaring war on fellow countrymen. . . . . . And the saga continues! he he he he he I can't "fit to laff"! Nigeria and tribalism! In short, Nigeria matter tire me. Let me see if I can solve easier problems before God calls me away from this planet. Problems in Nigeria will take several milleniums to address not to talk of solve. And with exceptonal divine interventions.

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