Emma Amaize
16 July 2009
(Page 2 of 3)
Going by his experience in the past two years, he has every reason to doubt the government, but, that is the way government operates. There are lots of intrigues and when something as prized as oil is involved, and military force did not stop the destruction of oil installations, the best thing is to tread the old path, which is the road the government and militants are today.
And strategically, President Umaru Yar'Adua, few days, before Okah regained freedom, appointed the former managing director of the Niger_Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr. Timi Alaibe as his Special Adviser on Niger_Delta. Those in the real struggle for the liberation of the region, not the impostors, know that Alaibe is a "home boy".
He is a good negotiator and is schooled in the rudiments of the struggle. He knows what the freedom fighters are agitating for and can bring them to talk with government on the way out. The only problem is whether the government has the political will to execute the demands, which are not exactly new and border mainly on the practice of true federalism.
National president of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Dr. Chris Ekiyor thinks the Federal Government struck the bull's eye with the appointment of Alaibe into the said position and on its part, MEND believes it was a wise decision also and had indicated its willingness to raise an Aaron team to present its demands to the Federal Government through Timi Alaibe.
Okah will assist in the N/Delta peace process - MEND
Investigation by Vanguard, nevertheless, points to the fact that Okah would help in the Niger_Delta peace process. His 23 months of detention has shown him that government is a very powerful organ and that even when you believe you are fighting for your rights, you can be quarantined, maimed for life and even killed for government to have its way.
In a letter to the President of the United States of America , February 17, 2008 by MEND, the group in an 11_point peace proposal pledged that Henry Okah would assist the new peace process in the Niger_Delta if he was unconditionally released.
Its words, "The so_called peace process to resolve the Niger Delta unrest has been fraught with fraud and insincerity. A major player, Mr Henry Okah, a principled and disciplined leader we respect was framed and detained while the government had hoped to divide and deal with some people without principles. From the inception of President Yar 'Adua's regime, what we are witnessing is a thread mill peace process that is leading to no where. The Nigerian government does not seem to realise that peace can not be bought with money".
"Mr. President, considering your commitment on democracy, peace and stability and considering that MEND is devoted to the war against terrorism, we humbly ask for the mediation of you and of your great country to settle the dispute in the Niger Delta.
"The way forward to achieving peace in the oil rich region is the unconditional release of Henry Okah to partake in a new and genuinely transparent reconciliation peace process. We use this opportunity to lay out a clear and simple 11_ point peace proposal that should bring an enduring peace and prosperity, mutually beneficial to both countries; ending five decades of bondage on the Niger Delta region and its people", its spokesman, Jomo Gbomo said.
Prophecy fulfilled!
The MEND spokesman likened Okah to the rejected stone in the Bible, who would be sought after by the government to drive the peace process and the prophecy has come to be true with Okah's release.
Said he, "The stone that was rejected by the builders is actually the cornerstone needed to restore credibility back to the peace initiative and jump start a genuine process to bring peace, justice, reconciliation and prosperity to the Niger Delta and Nigeria as a whole. The continued illegal incarceration of this worthy son of the Niger Delta will only worsen the already volatile situation". The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) remains solidly behind Comrade Henry Okah", he added.
Grounds for peace
"The proposal is something along the following lines: (1) Henry Okah is to be held in good condition with unfettered access to his legal representatives, family, pastor and independent international observers including the international Red Cross;
(2) In return Henry will assist the new peace process in the Niger Delta;
(3) MEND will declare a period of Grace in which it will halt all militia action in the Niger Delta;
(4) In return military forces will halt all actions and no further troops will be deployed in the Niger Delta;
(5)During the Grace period a demobilization plan will be agreed between militia, the Federal Government of Nigeria and international observers with an emphasis on education, rehabilitation, counselling, training, apprenticeship, employment and small/medium scale business opportunities that will constructively engage the militia;
(6) The Federal Government of Nigeria will begin a staged military withdrawal from the Niger Delta;
(7) In return MEND will commit itself to a staged disarmament commensurate with the military withdrawal from the Niger Delta;
(8) In the interest of public safety, the Federal Government of Nigeria will match military withdrawal with an increase in police wages, training, orientation, equipment and improvements in police living conditions. This will assist in moving Nigeria from a military regime to a true democracy with a civilian government;
(9) The Federal Government in conjunction with the State Governments of the Niger Delta region will announce details of a plan to deliver greater transparency in revenues from Federal Government, to State Governments and on to Local Governments, and application of those funds to relieve the suffering of villagers (through improvement in health services, provision of potable water, etc.) and give hope (through stimulating local economies, providing teachers wages, etc).
A monitoring group composed of officials nominated by the Government and the civil society, and supervised by the World Bank, as the model experienced in Chad, will be vouched for transparency;
(10)The Federal Government will announce increased funds to specific programmes in communities aimed at relieving the suffering of the poor and disadvantaged citizens; and
(11)Last but not the least; the Federal Government must propose a time table for the practice of true federalism in the control of resources by every state in the federation", it stated.
More than a year after MEND released the conditions for peace, the government responded only on July 13 by releasing Okah and the militant group fulfilled its promise by declaring cessation of hostilities for two months.
The next stage is for the Federal Government to halt the deployment of troops to the region and eventually begin the withdrawal of JTF troops following which the militant group would start disarmament on its own correspondingly.
Putting the cart before the horse
Government apparently put the cart before the horse, as it put forward a programme of amnesty and disbarment without reading the script. A prominent royal father in the region who refused to be quoted when Vanguard contacted him, Tuesday, on the release of Okah sounded the same alarm. He said, "I don't think I want to say anything for now because I honestly believe that the government put the cart before the horse as far as its peace programme is concerned".
Clearly, going by the way the militants made nonsense of the Cordon and Search operation declared by the JTF in May by bombing more oil installations, crippling the oil companies and even extending the "war" to Lagos , the release of Okah is the first step to calm the adrenaline of the insurgents.
The Federal Government had proclaimed amnesty for militants, but, MEND maintained that it never asked for amnesty (pardon), as it had not done anything wrong to warrant amnesty.
Government has also given October 4 deadline for repentant militants to disarm, but, going by MEND's programme for disarmament, it is tied to the willingness of the government to withdraw the JTF from the region.
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