Daily Independent (Lagos)
7 January 2009
editorial
The recent appeal by a group of widows in Odi, a community in Bayelsa State, to the wife of Bayelsa State Governor Mrs. Alanyigi Sylva to help them acquire cassava processing plants and snail farms to enable them to provide for their orphaned children, has, once again, brought to the fore the very sorry plight of the many women and children whose husbands and fathers were gruesomely murdered by soldiers callously unleashed on them by the Obasanjo regime in November 1999. The Amanana-Arau of Odi, Charity Ayaowei, made this plea when Mrs. Sylva visited more than 160 widows in Odi recently.
That these widows would be making this kind of plea at this time, nearly a decade after their husbands were brutally murdered by rampaging soldiers, speaks volumes about the abysmal lack of care visited upon them and their children since the devastating man-made tragedy suddenly struck in their community and deprived them of their bread winners, despoiled their sources of livelihood, and violated their once serene and peaceful existence. This is most unfortunate and sad. The Federal Government must without any further delay demonstrate its full appreciation of the magnitude of serious humanitarian situation its needless and irresponsible military action in Odi has created and take practical measures to reduce the trauma and pain the victims of that gory incident have grappled with for nearly a decade now.
The Odi massacre will always remain a horrible scar on the nation's conscience. In 1999, twelve policemen who had gone to Odi community to arrest some youths were instead allegedly kidnapped by some eight youths and taken to an unknown destination. The policemen were later found dead. The Presidency, under Olusegun Obasanjo, promptly gave an ultimatum to the then Bayelsa State government to produce the youth suspected to have killed the policemen within a specified period or watch it take any actions it deemed fit in the community to register its grave displeasure.
Sadly, the ultimatum expired without the Bayelsa State authorities being able to fish out the suspects. Consequently, the Federal Government directed the invasion of Odi by soldiers, which unleashed infantry attack on unarmed, helpless peasants, and prosecuted a most horrible genocide that attracted widespread condemnations. The enraged soldiers had shot at anything they saw moving, raped women and destroyed houses and property in a way that seemed to suggest The Presidency had another mission other than going after the twelve youths that had kidnapped the policemen. And by the time they were through, orphans, widows and widowers had been mass-produced.
Following the overwhelming global condemnation its genocidal action had elicited, the Federal Government publicly acknowledged that the military invasion of Odi was wrong and promised to rebuild and resettle the highly deprived and displaced survivors of the mass massacre who had fled their community and sought refuge in other communities.
The amount of internal displacement and devastation caused by this irresponsible action is better imagined. To make matters worse, the Federal Government reneged on its promise and the community is still bleeding today, with many of the indigenes still homeless, and unable to pick the pieces of their lives to resume their normal lives.
What the plight of these impoverished widows underscores is that the bloody invasion of Odi remains very wrong, needless, wanton and condemnable. Why such a senseless war should have been declared on a community of hapless, struggling peasants because of the crime of eight youths has remained a source of lasting shock and bewilderment to civilised and decent minds. What happened to the intelligence unit of the nation's security outfit which could have been effectively deployed to fish out the culprits? What point did the Federal Government make by declaring war on its helpless citizens?
The Federal Government should take it as a special responsibility to fully resettle and rehabilitate the Odi people now. The displaced and deprived youth of the area may even have been contributing their own quota to the growing complication of the security situation in the Niger Delta. There should, therefore, be a comprehensive package for healing the people's deep wounds and ensuring they are helped to overcome the current adverse, traumatic situation still unsettling them and frustrating their desire to resume their normal lives. This is the only fit and proper restitution to the people of Odi for the unqualified wrong and violation visited upon them in 1999.
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