03 Feb 2006 |
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"Old boy, I an a bit broke, I am looking for cash." "Are you saying I should lend you money?" "In fact, if you give me money, I will be happy." "I don't give people money. But I can lend you some amount without interest." "No, I don't borrow money from people. If you wan give me money, give me what you can afford. I don't want to borrow money from anybody this year" "Ah,, Nigeria is such a beggarly nation. Nigerians are always begging for something: money, power, sex, position. And when they are begging you for someth ing, they want to do so on their own terms as if they are even doing you a favour. But come to think of it, how can someone like you from the Niger Delta be begging for money like this. You are not making use of what you have." " What do I have?" "You mean you don't know what you can do?" "I have a job. I am working hard. It is just that... you know how things are.. even bank Directors sometimes need financial assistance." "As someone from the Niger Delta, the only thing you need to do is very simple." "What is that?" "Go back home, organise some boys, go near an oil company and abduct any of the staff. Then tell the Federal Government to come and negotiate with you. To make it difficult for them to ignore you, you will threaten to kill your hostages. Before you know it, government will start running up and down, and you'd get good money and melt into thin air." "God forbid bad thing. I am a decent man, not a criminal" "Who is a criminal? You are not a criminal. You will tell the whole world that you are fighting against injustice, the abuse of the Niger Delta, the violation of your people's rights. Then, you can insist that if you notice any attempt to look for you and your boys, you could destroy some flow stations and kidnap more persons." "The God that I worship will never push me to such desperation. You are glamourising terrorism." "Are you saying those boys that kidnapped four Shell oil workers are terrorists?" "They are criminals in my own estimation" "One man's criminal is another's freedom fighter. That is why Hamas is in power today in Palestine. Those Delta boys are revolutionaries. They have mastered how to talk politics. Can't you see how the Federal Government was forced to eat the humble pie? The President was saying that the boys are criminals and that his government will not be intimidated. It is easy to talk like that after the fact. Those boys whoever they are, MEND or BEND Nigeria, have made two clear points. Nigeria is not secure, the security agencies are not in charge of the country. And the Niger Delta is the soft underbelly of the Nigerian state." "Don't under-estimate government. The boys may have to change their tactics. They may not find it so easy the next time around. I read for example that the Inspector General of Police has plans to train Nigerian policemen in guerilla warfare." "And you believe that? Let us just put it this way. Ehindero is looking for more money for the police. Guerilla warfare. The boys in the creeks of the delta are the ultimate guerillas. And as for policemen forget it. In fact, don't even go that way. Soldiers could not take on those boys, you are talking about common policemen. Please don't make me laugh." "Still it is not right that some Nigerians will take the law into their hands and get away with it." "You must say that to the Federal Government, to Adedibu, to Chris Uba and to the PDP, and to all Nigerians. Look, it is only a question of time before the boys in the Niger Delta strike again. Anytime anybody in that area wants to make a point and embarrass the Nigerian government, they now know what to do. Are you not aware that those boys linked their action to the arrest and trial of Alams and Dokubo? Could it be that they are making a statement that Goodluck Jonathan cannot manage the office that he has inherited? Have you thought of it from that angle?" "But it was the new Governor, Goodluck Jonathan that got the hostages released?" "Look beyond the surface" "And does it not strike you further that all the hostages are foreigners?" "I don't think the boys would make the mistake of kidnapping Nigerians. That would not make news. In fact the Federal Government would have ignored them completely. I can't imagine the Nigerian government bothering about the disappearance of four Nigerians." "Now, you are beginning to get my point." "But those boys did not get any of their requests. Nobody gave them money. Asari Dokubo and Alams are still facing trial. The only thing they said is that they decided to release the hostages on humanitarian grounds." "And you believe that? Are they the Red Cross? These are boys who are boasting that if the President shows up in the Niger Delta they will kidnap him. Do you want to test their resolve? This is the price Nigeria is paying for failing to diversify the economy and for allowing the politics of exclusion. It is just that it will be politically incorrect for many people to say so in public, but I can bet that those boys are heroes in the eyes of the people of the Niger Delta. And that is why they will do it again." "You sound like you are enjoying the thing more than the boys themselves." "Those Shell workers, mosquitoes dealt with them so badly, I don't think they will ever come near the Niger Delta again. The President has spoken about learning lessons from the experience. I think that is very important. One lesson is that the country needs to move away from the curse of oil. We are a poor country because we are oil-rich. There is more money to be made from agriculture but that sector has been abandoned because oil money is so easy and Nigerians and their governments are so used to collecting rent. If this country were better organised, a man like you would never suffer the epidemic of empty pockets, and there would be fewer jobless youths in the Delta and other parts of Nigeria" "I am thinking of immediate solutions. I don't like the way the country is drifting. Because we are drifting, some of our compatriots are beginning to make Satanic suggestions. I am not comfortable with that at all. First, the present Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Martin Agwai made a public statement in which he was advising politicians and offering ideas about democracy. He has no business doing that. That was effrontery of the highest order. Now, a few weeks later, his predecessor, General Victor Malu grants an interview in which he says if he had known he would have removed Obasanjo from power. The most dangerous thing in politics is the factor of suggestion. Is Malu trying to incite the military against this government?" "I think he has denied ever saying so. Chief Sunday Awoniyi spoke on his behalf" "How can Sunday Awoniyi speak on behalf of General Victor Malu? Even if Malu himself comes forward to say that he didn't say so, I won't believe him. I would expect the newspapers that carried his interview to come out against him and provide hard evidence that establishes the truth." "But you know Baba has made powerful enemies." "No. This is not about Baba, This is about Nigeria. Baba will go but Nigeria is for all of us, and it is our duty to defend it against all forces of retrogression and evidence, be they civilians or soldiers. If I were in the position to do so, by now I would have ordered the arrest of General Malu. If he is innocent, let him explain his innocence to the investigators." "As Alams is struggling to do" "You know the other day, I really sympathised with the man. I saw in his plight a major lesson about life." "What happened?" "The man was in court as usual on Wednesday, Feb 1 and the judge had asked him to sit down. Which he did, but then he spread out his hands in a relaxed manner. The judge , Justice Mohammed Shu'aibu, wouldn't take that. He looked at the former Governor and told him off: 'You sit properly, yes that is our rule here'. You needed to see the speed with which Alams adjusted himself promptly. And this is the same man who only a few months ago determined the fate of judges, and was hailed as 'Your Excellency' by everyone." "Life is always a bitch, Life is like that". "I doubt if many of the persons who were hailing Alams and encouraging him have visited in detention". "Human beings are like that." "I can bet that no Governor has visited Alams in detention. Do you now that these days, every Governor is trying to be careful? If you doubt what I am telling you, please tell me the number of Governors that attended the wedding of the son of Vice President Atiku. And while you are doing that, I want you to take a census of the number of Governors and PDP politicians that showed up at the engagement ceremony of the President's daughter, Enitan. Two weddings in the Presidency within the same period, but each wedding, a political statement, in fact a comment on the status of Nigerian politics." "Are you asking me to do a comparative analysis of two Presidential weddings when I am looking for money to solve my own personal problems?" "I am drawing your attention to the fact that in the Atiku wedding, many Governors stayed away. Governor Bola Tinubu was in Yola. Boni Haruna of Adamawa attended all the events but he was said to have been representing the father of the bride. Many of the governors sent their Deputies. I thought that said a lot." "May be they were occupied. I got an invitation too but I didn't go" "Who are you? Even if you were there, nobody would have noticed your presence. We are talking politics, you are talking about come and eat. I beg." "But this same Atiku, a pro-Atiku party has just been registered." "This same Atiku is being interrogated by some members of the PDP. You don't understand. Even when a party is registered what does that mean in Nigerian politics? Nothing." "I am actually more concerned about our preparedness for the next elections". "You are assuming that there will be elections." "Oh yes . The Senate has just done what I expect it to do. It is already sabotaging the Third Term game plan. Fourteen Governors are also said to be waving the banner for democracy. Mark my words, so much will happen, so fast, so dramatically that even the Third term campaigners wouldn't be able to show their faces in public." "Are you now a prophet?" "No. I am a student of politics. Nigerian politics." "A very bad student, as far as I can see." "Well, I think INEC may prove to be a major obstacle in 2007. Its boss, Maurice Iwu is asking for N70 billion to conduct the elections." "That must be the most expensive election in human history. Please tell Maurice Iwu that what Nigerians want is not an expensive election, but a free and fair election" "You know, that is part of our problem here. People think that quality and cost are synonymous." "It is a stupid way to think, because that is not true."
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