Lagos — The problems of the Niger Delta are Marginalization, lack of infrastructural development and lack of political space. These problems gave rise to youth militancy. The federal Government is in a hurry to stop the militancy for each immediate gains of increased oil production but appear not to be equally eager to address the real problems of Niger Delta.
As long as these problems remain, militancy will be a reoccurring phenomenon. That is where the fallacy of the present Federal Government Amnesty programme lies.
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The challenge is, how deep and how soon can the Government initiatives go to address the near 50 years of the developmental, economical and political neglect of the Niger Delta, and in such a manner as to immediately address both the economic yearnings of the youths, who have risked their lives to take up arms, the non-armed agitators and the Elders of the region whose dissatisfaction gave birth to the Tom Polo's, Tom Atekes, Boyloaf, the Asari Dokubos, the Henry Okahs etc just to name a few. Furthermore, how far can the Federal Government go and how soon will the efforts assuage the 50 years of neglect in all its ramifications.
How did we create the environment for this militancy?
From 1960 to now, in an attempt to keep the country united at all cost and in absolute disregard of the tenets of true federation, some laws have been enacted, particularly during the civil war years and the subsequent Obasanjo Military regime - Laws that have made the people of the Niger Delta on-lookers of the oil business.
I agree with John Owubokiri when he said in vanguard of Tuesday November 3, 2009 that "the laws which have made the oil and gas in Niger Delta communal (Nigerian) property, are illegal as they negate every international conventions and treaties Nigeria is committed to"
The oil that is found in their backyard is managed and owned by external and internal colonial masters. The rules of the game are set by these masters to the extent that the locals are not found in the business of prospecting for the oil, the lifting and sale of both the crude and finished products and even in the employment of skilled and unskilled labour for the oil trade including the awards of major contracts.
Some of the manifestations of neglect are deafening in their mocking silence and unspeakable in their comparative disparity with the other contending regions. Kano and Jigawa states, (the old Kano state), have about the same number of LGAs as the four core Niger Delta States of Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta all put together. The federal institutions in Kaduna State alone outnumber the ones in the entire Niger Delta. The leadership positions of Federal Institutions, including the Oil industry, are never in the hands of Niger Delta people. The only federal road, that is the East-West road is deplorable and is just about getting attention. Who are the Nigerian Oil Sheikhs? Anywhere in the world, the oil Sheikhs are made by virtue of being born in the area where oil is found. There are hardly any oil Sheikhs from the Niger Delta.
This situation created an avalanche of unemployed and unemployable youths who live side by side with the wealthiest of the land - the oil mongers.
Is it not easy to see why the youths were drawn to militancy? It is also easy to see why the youths went to the oil bunkering trade, either as petty bunkerers or as fronts for the big time bunkering barons from Abuja to support the struggle. This trade like any other prohibited business need strong arm protection. Guns, therefore, started to flow in. Next came patronages by politicians and international crooks. With JTF in the midst, the recipe for conflict was set and that is what happened in various hot spots and recently in Gbaramatu. The militants fought back by hitting the underbelly of the Federal Government. Oil production output was brought down to below one-half. The Federal Government was in a dilemma. Should they go ahead with the military campaign and risk a zero oil output? From the blues, an unsolicited Amnesty was announced.
An Amnesty that was not negotiated and was not sought for. An Amnesty for a people not conquered, yet full of insinuations of threat and ultimatum.
When the Federal Government announced its intention to grant the militants Amnesty, despite its short comings, the Elders of the region embraced it and went ahead to plead with the boys to accept the Amnesty. They also embarked on a campaign to tutor the boys on the appropriate ways of surrendering their arms in a way and manner to portray them as the true freedom fighters as we know them without compromising the ideals of the struggle. On the other hand, the intention of the elders was also to guide the Federal Government to use this opportunity to address the Niger Delta Problems in a holistic manner and in a way as to avoid a recourse to the above scenario. This move was thwarted by 2011 politicians who had plans to use the Amnesty for political gains.
They (the elders) had barely finished with Boyloaf, and in absolute disdain of the elders move, when news heralded the celebrated meeting of the same Boyloaf and Mr. President with Timipre Sylva as the midwife. Tom Ateke and Tom Polo led by Timi Alaibe, the newly appointed presidential adviser, followed in quick succession. All these surrenders were done without recourse to or the involvement of the leaders of the Niger Delta nor the Ijaw National Congress (INC) and other ethnic organizations like the MOSOP and all others that have championed the Niger Delta Struggle. They, in the case of Ateke Tom and Tom Polo made belated visits to Chief EK Clark in his Abuja residence after they (the militants) had consummated their deal with the Federal Government. The whole drama was absurd. Fifty years of the struggle from Adaka Boro, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Asari Dokubo, Kaiama Declaration, to Henry Okah; The exploits of the Prof. Dime, the Fumudohs, the Okokos, Biakparas, Ghomorais, and Obianimes, all of the Ijaw National Congress (INC); the invaluable contributions of our national leader Chief EK Clark and other leaders; the contributions of the youth leaders, the Tuodolors, the Oronto Doughlas of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC); all these efforts and all our genuine contributions to the struggle by all well meaning Niger Deltans including MOSOP, were now to be sacrificed at the altar of greed and political horse trading of a few over ambitious 2011 politicians.
Some of our prominent sons were in a hurry to outwit each other in the delivery of surrendered militants to Mr. President, who grudgingly promised to address the other core issues. All these happened without consultation with genuine stakeholders. No attempt was even made to consult anybody except the arm-carrying youths. And that is where the Federal Government got everything wrong.
When the history of the Niger Delta struggle is written, it may not be kind to some so called mediators. In less than 30 days without consulting other stakeholders, they bundled our boys to Abuja to drop arms with only a promissory note, which was not even guaranteed. At the time the Amnesty was offered, it was obvious that the Federal Government was on the brink. That was the finest hour for Niger Delta in all the years of the struggle. But because of appointments and re-elections for 2011, they compromised the struggle, compromised our youths, sold out our gallant boys for their selfish interests.
So the resolution of the issues of the Niger Delta struggle contained in all the past reports, ranging from Gen.Popoola, Gen. Ogomudia, to the Ledun Mittee's 49-man Technical Committee, and 50 years of loss of human lives were reduced to the charade we saw in Abuja in the last few weeks. Henry Okah put it squarely during his last visit to Mr. President - The resolution of the Niger Delta crisis does not end with the surrender of the militants and their guns. He advised the Federal Government to sit with the Elders and other stakeholders of the region to fashion out programmes and policies for sustainable peace.
The Niger Delta struggle is beyond guns. The recent resort to guns by our youths is only a means to an end. The soul and spirit of the struggle reside in the land and the earlier each one group i.e. Youths, elders; organized bodies, know the limit of their contributions, the better for all. Government appointees are not exempted in this unofficial demarcation of duties. Let no one or one group feel that they have all the answers to the Niger Delta problems.
The Amnesty, with all its flaws, has taken us several notches higher in the achievement of our goals than we have ever been. One is therefore, indeed grateful to God and to those who have midwifed the process thus far. I must single out Mr. President Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, for his courage. The greatest courage of a leader is when he treats his followers with meekness despite the mighty sword he bears. Mr. President must be praised for the display of this rare courage by being meek in the deployment of his valour. We are proud of our militants for making Federal Government see the need to take positive action to address the Niger Delta issue. We had never come this far in our struggle.
However, let be known that nothing has changed. There is merely a temporary truce. It must be noted that militants throughout the struggle had not gone out of their way to attack government forces. All the previous blowouts have been due to misunderstanding between JTF and the Militants over local issues. It is only after the Gbaramatu episode which also originated from a local issue, the militants went after the Federal Government, and even then, it was against oil installations.
I repeat once more, "Nothing has really changed". The Niger Delta terrain is still a virgin territory. The militants are just a small fraction of the number of youths in the Niger Delta. The rest of the teaming youths who are jobless are just waiting to take over command from the Tom Polos and Co. unless Government gets the post Amnesty phase right. Within these 2 or 3 months of Amnesty activities, scores of hitherto naïve adolescent youths have come of age. They would not require much prodding to take over the mantle of leadership from the repentant militants particularly if there is no significant change in the environment in the immediate period following the Amnesty. I may ask again - How deep and how soon can the government initiatives address the core issues leading to the militancy in the Niger Delta? It is only a careful handling of the post Amnesty phase that will determine the success of the entire programme. And that is not for the government appointees nor is it for the militants alone to decide.
It is the involvement of a broad spectrum of stakeholders that would guarantee the success and therefore a sustainable peace in the region.
The Success of the Amnesty is determined, not by dropping today of arms by the militants, or the forced peace of the graveyard by the absence of the inequalities in relation to other regions of the federation. Until the children of the region have equal political and educational opportunities and are born into an environment devoid of devastating circumstances, the present success of the Amnesty will remain in a fallacy.
Biakpara wrote from Asaba
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