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I have
deliberately avoided the Niger Delta issue until now when God spoke to me.
Ha...ha...ha. He spoke to me like Nigerian politicians always claimed He spoke
to them."Freedom and eloquence," He commands. "Ye shall abide.
Quench not your thirst with oil nor blood. Be humans and avoid behaving like
animals. Do something...do something urgent...do it to alleviate the
unnecessary sufferings of a people".
The
Niger delta issue, methinks, is enough to make or mar Nigeria. Neither will
manifest though. And the solution will remain haunting elusive until
genuine fighters are born or send down from heaven. I sense what we have been
having is sheer academic and military rigmaroles. Every approach has further
infused nothing but complicated and confusing approach. How could anyone treat
an issue bigger than issue itself with laughter, scepticism, and a glaring
dishonest. The Government’s fundamental disinterest in Niger Delta is beguiling
and harmful. It is, to say the least, an insidious pleasures!
When a
social issue such as that of the Niger Delta is being politicized like other
touching issues in our daily life, then we are bound for criss-crossing along
the path of self-destruction. Most of the characters in this episode are too
playful to eventually come up with everlasting solution. It seems to me that
they are purposely using the Niger Delta problems to unfold a certain innate
ambition. They croak like a bullfrog in the distance. They are dazzlingly
skilled in any field that would further bring woes to Niger Deltans.
And
the men and women of the soil in the region are not helping the matter. One of
the crusaders recently said: "I will do many many bad bad
things in River States if dem no pay me". Such statement to me, means the
end of a struggle. It empowers the exploitation spirit of the government in the
sense that, we might have all seen why these crusaders are now uncrusading.
Or do
you think I am exaggerating the situation? Or do you think I am being
deliberately mischievous? Am I making mountains out of molehill? Do you think
that the Niger Delta is a none issue? What exactly do you think is the greatest
problem confronting this region? Can we describe the Niger Delta as a crusade hijacked?
Perhaps you should follow me down the path where oil and blood flow in the same
direction; where they have been singing solution on a bloody oil sea since the
birth of God’s son.
From
Isaac Boro to Alhaji Dokubo-Asari, solving the Niger Delta problem has been like
a palpable tumour. They always come about as a revolutionary only to be
consumed by their own ego, a soul unprepared for such daring task. They always
chew fight-to-finish only to be subdued by a mere invitation from those who
seem to know the tune – of crushing a crusade. Take arms if you want a share of
the oil... Sing a song of oppression as you carry the masses along. But as they
say, you can’t fool all the people all the time.
Isaac
Jasper Boro set the precedent when he fought on the side of the federal troops.
It could be recalled that Boro was he who shortly after the January 1966 coup
declared the first Republic within Nigeria called the Niger Delta Republic.
Even though the revolution lasted for only twelve days, Boro fought for the
cause he had once bitterly opposed, that is the preservation of Nigeria. And
this is where the trouble will always lie. And this is one of the reasons the
Niger Delta struggle will always be in vain. I shall soon shed not crocodile
tears.
Why
did Isaac Boro fight on the side of Nigeria if he had already declared the
Niger Delta Republic? He should have known better. He should have known that eni
ti o le eku meji yoo pofo (he who runs after two mice will definitely
lose both). Indecisive thinking like this has been the vehicle by which
successive Nigerian governments are happy to ride in order to arrive at their
own destination. I supposed declaring a nation means a point of no return. It
is non negotiable, for I expect the secessionists to have given their crusade a
deep thought, and which in fact should be the last resort. In my opinion,
anything other than fight to finish will easily portray the fighters as
opportunists.
When
Mujahid Dokubo-Asari continued the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force (NDPVF)
in 2004, he warmed himself into the hearts of many people who had thought the
timing was right. The NDPVF frequently demanded a greater share of the oil
wealth from both the state and federal government and occasionally supported
independence for the Delta region. Dokubo-Asari, who is viewed by many locals
as a sort of folk hero, maintained his revolutionary vow until the federal
government bought him with an invitation to Aso Rock.
Look
at what is happening now. It seems to me that the struggle is dying down. I
violently believe the struggle is beyond people like Dokubo-Asari. He is even
lucky he has not been killed like his mentor, Isaac Boro. As far as revolution
is concerned, it is better to think before taking arms than after taking arms. Die
fighting or die everyday as you live after being bought to abandon your
struggle. Let the revolutionaries deliberate before taking any step towards the
struggle. Let them be very careful. Let them not deviate from the initial inner
believe.
Otherwise
there is danger. There is danger if revolutionaries are after all,
opportunists. There is danger if they surreptitiously exhibit "fighting to
get my own share of the national pot". There is danger because the tactics
or appeasement being employed by the federal government is for the
revolutionaries to abandon their struggle. It is a welcome development for the
Nigerian government if the so-called revolutionaries are trapped in the web of
their own trap.
With
these types of people claiming to be fighting for the liberation of Niger
Deltans, I am afraid the solution may never come. I am afraid the battle may
have been lost without critical observation. Jonathan Goodluck recently said
the greatest problem facing the Niger delta is unemployment and not lack of
infrastructural development. He passionately believe that if the youths were
employed, they would not be involved in hostage taking, militancy and pipeline
vandalism.
Although
I disagree with Goodluck, because I think the greatest problem facing the Niger
Delta is much more than youths’ unemployment, yet youths’ unemployment cannot
be overlooked. But what exactly is preventing Goodluck and his ilk from
providing employment in order to eradicate militancy, vandalism and or hostage
taking? People like Goodluck must stop such rhetoric, for it is nothing but
masking vicious exploitation.
It is
clear to me that the Governors around the Niger Delta have done little to
advance the cause of alleviating the sufferings of their people. Do they even
know the problems facing the region? Unless they want to politicize the
problems, I think it is obvious enough for any reasonable fellow to see. They
include government neglect, high unemployment, pervasive poverty,
underdevelopment and endemic conflict, which have culminated in frustrations,
violent agitation and proliferation.
If I
may ask, where is the 3.5 trillion Naira that went to the region? Since oil was
discovered four decades ago, the region has become the bread winner of the
nation, yet it remains the sick man of the same nation. The Niger Delta covers
about 70,000 square km and comprises of nine out of the 36 states making up the
Federal Republic of Nigeria which includes Abia, Akwa Ibiom, Bayelsa, Cross
River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and River States. The estimated population is
about 26 million, consisting of over forty different ethnic groups, speaking
250 different languages.
For
example, the Ijaws had been promised several times by the Nigerian governments,
but once peace was restored, the promises were forgotten. In 1978 General
Olusegun Obasanjo, then Nigeria’s military ruler, issued a decree giving the
federal government exclusive rights to underground and offshore resources on
condition it then allowed the rest of the country to benefit from them through
a complex redistribution arrangement which is one of the most original features
of Nigerian federalism.
But
the egalitarian aims of this system were never fully realised. Ken Saro-Wiwa, a
vociferous critics of the Nigerian government, said that it was "like
stealing a shirt and giving the owner one button back..."
He was
later killed by Sani Abacha in a most cruel way. I think successive governments
have been playing hanky-panky towards the realisation of a policy that would
liberate the Niger Delta people. Otherwise what is the aftermath of Obasanjo’s
master plan inaugurated in March 2007?
Consequently,
the Niger Delta people directly or indirectly have been in the forefront of
cheating and deceiving themselves. How could they have given Alams, a former
governor, who had once proclaimed that it was impossible to be a governor
without enriching himself, a hero welcome? The people of this region need to
digest Isaac Adaka Jasper Boro’s warning long time ago. The Ijaw man had said
when he formed the Niger Delta Volunteer Force:
"Today
is a great day, not only in your lives, but also in the history of the Niger
Delta. Perhaps it will be the greatest day for a very long time. This is not
because we are going to bring heaven down, but because we are going to
demonstrate to the world what and how we feel about oppression. Before today,
we were branded robbers, bandits, terrorists or gangsters but after today, we
shall be heroes of our land.
"For
this reason, and for the good name of the Ijaws, do not commit atrocities such
as rape, looting or robbery. Whatever people say, we must maintain our
integrity. Moreover, you know it is against Ijaw tradition to mess about with
women during war. You have been purified these many days. Be assured that if
you do not get yourselves defiled within the period of battle, you shall return
home safe even if we fail".
That
was in 1966. Today, it seems Niger Deltans have seemingly forgotten this
precious warning which supposed to have been their guide as they march a people
from oppression and judicial killing. Until Niger Deltans adjust their focus,
until they meditate and digest Isaac Boro’s warning, and until they abide by
this warning, I am afraid they may continue fighting in vain.
2007
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mysmallvoice@yahoo.com
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Authors 
Posted by Robot| 09.01.2008 10:50