It is no more news that the Nigerian State has deliberately tagged rebels or militants of the Niger Delta simply to unleash their ulterior plan without addressing first the issues leading to the spate of militancy. However, I condemn the excesses of my Ijaws brothers for allowing their emotions, anger and frustration resulting from the oppression and Neo-colonialism in the Nigerian State. Nevertheless, I make bold to say that nothing can justify a criminal seating in judgment against another criminal to commit him to death, and so no criminal should celebrate the exploits of shamelessly taking the life of another criminal. We know that of two devils there is a lesser devil, and in this case, the lesser devil is the so call ‘militants’, because the Nigerian State is itself a criminality. The Thesaurus dictionary defines crime as ‘a serious offense especially one in violation of morality’ or ‘an unjust, senseless, or disgraceful act or condition’. If these definitions are correct, then, the fact that the Nigerian state is itself a criminality need not be over emphasized.

What is moral about the entity called Nigeria? Is it the forced marriage of different ethnic nationalities against their consent, or the deprivation suffered by the Niger-Deltans whose resources sustain the said marriage? What parameter shall be use to adjudge criminality that would make the activities of the Niger Delta people worse than those of the Nigerian State? Is it the colossal looting of the nation’s treasury by successive governments both military and civilian, or the wilful underdevelopment of the region that lays the golden egg? Could it be by the death toll ratio between innocent deaths caused by militancy as against those caused by the Nigerian State? Is it the quantum of crude theft by the Ijaws patriots that is worse than that of the military? Is it the insecurity, abetting of criminals, insincerity about the actual bunkering cabal (that is made up of big time military chiefs, past and current political big wigs from other parts of the country particularly the North).

So much as militancy has caused the country and the region in particular much emotional pains and reputation dent; the gains in the form of externalities, far outwit the contribution of any/all the political office holders from the region cum developmental strides of any government in Nigeria. The activities of these gallant patriots of the Niger Delta have made the multinationals to realize the need to employ qualified Niger-Deltans; Niger-Delta contractors now compete with contractors from other parts of the country– a taboo prior to this time. These gallant patriots have awarded scholarships to indigenes of the area to study both internationally and locally; created and financed businesses; built palaces and town halls in some communities; provided generators to light up communities, rehabilitated the injured and destitute, and created jobs for over 5000 youth. Those Youth in these militant camps see themselves as swamp workers of different the ‘Non-governmental Organizations’, whose objective is the struggle for the emancipation of the Niger Delta. They report to these camps religiously, working shifts to earn salaries with which they meet their needs. These are those the Nigerian State have tagged 'rebels/militants, so as to hang them. But we know that they are simply Patriots, who have surrounded their lives as sacrificial lambs in the altar of Liberty. That these Youth would work under such live-risking conditions shows commitment. Working as camp staff for a paltry monthly stipend of Thirty to Fifty Thousand Nairas, shows that they would have occupied themselves in more profiting ventures had the Nigerian government showed some sincerity by creating alternative jobs. Militancy therefore was simply ‘job for the countless number of able-bodied young men in the Delta, who the government have deliberately refused to provide the needed opportunity to function in society. Hence, the ongoing onslaught against Ijaw communities in the Niger-Delta is simply playing the script of the Nigerian State, recently dusted from its shelf where it laid buried over the years. Yes, the agenda of the Majority tribes - enemies of the Ijaw ethnic group.

For this reason we do not weep, but chant solidarity songs knowing that ‘victori-a-acerta! Yes, in our minds have we seen the beauty of the end. We see hope. We see the chain of battles to come. We see the closeness of the exodus of the Ijaw ethnic nationality from the captivities of the Nigerian state. So, this only activates more determination to witness and part-take in the yo-yos of the end. And so, for as long as this nation continues to exist, as long as our Federalism is practiced to the detriment of the Niger Delta, nothing can stop the agitation for true Federalism and the emancipation of the Ijaws. No amount of killing, no degree of genocide can intimidate the ‘quest for freedom’ in the Ijaw man’s veins. Kill as many as you can, burn down as many of our villages, publish and exhibit as much charred remains of our dead, we shall not be deterred. Today’s tales will only inspire tomorrow’s revolutions. Yesterday the struggle was without arms led by a very few individuals. Today the camps are filled, we got grenade launchers – we faced the Nigerian government squarely and boldly over-powered her army, we disarmed their soldiers and Navy. We shamed them on ground & sea battles. Tomorrow we shall acquire Jet fighters, recruit voluntary suicide bombers and raise indigenous nuclear scientist who will manufacture nuclear weapons. And the struggle shall continue. Our fallen siblings have passed onto glory as Heroes, leaving others behind to continue the struggle. They have gone ahead of us to pave spiritual ways for the 'comforter' who will teach us nuclear knowledge. The charred remains of our heroes and communities are the scrolls upon which our history is written.

Robot  # 1 | 21.05.2009 14:51

...for as long as this nation continues to exist, as long as our Federalism is practiced to the detriment of the Niger Delta, nothing can stop the agitation for true Federalism and the emancipation of the Ijaws. No amount of killing, no degree of genocide can intimidate the ‘quest for freedom’ in the Ijaw man’s veins. Kill as many as you can, burn down as many of our villages, publish and exhibit as much charred remains of our dead, we shall not be deterred. Today’s tales will only inspire tomorrow’s revolutions. Yesterday the struggle was without arms led by a very few individuals. Today the camps are filled, we got grenade launchers – we faced the Nigerian government squarely and boldly over-powered her army, we disarmed their soldiers and Navy. We shamed them on ground & sea battles....Read the full article.