WHAT DO NIGER DELTA MILITANTS WANT?
WHAT DO NIGER DELTA MILITANTS WANT?
By:
Nurudeen Dauda
June 8, 2016.
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On the 24th of June 2009, late President Umar Musa Yar’adua granted Amnesty to Niger Delta Militants for a period of five (5) years. Under the Amnesty programme unconditional pardon was granted to all persons that embrace it within 90 days. A total of 30,000 militants were captured. Each of the 30,000 ex-militants receives N1,500 as daily feeding allowances and N20, 000 monthly stipends amounting to N65, 000 monthly which is more than the salary of a University graduate in the federal Civil Service.
Contrarily to what some people say, President Buhari did not stop the Amnesty grogramme, in fact he has extended the programme which was supposed to have expired by the end of 2015. Brigadier General Paul Boroh(rtd) was appointed as the “presidential adviser” on Amnesty programme. The president has also launched a clean-up of the Ogoni-land which was a report submitted to President Jonathan in 2011 by UNEP but could not be implemented by him for the benefit of his people.
However, what president Buhari did was to revoke the “illegal contracts” of billions of naira given to the “militants leaders” in the of pipeline protect and allow the “Nigerian Navy” and the “Civil the Defence Corps" carryout their constitutional roles. The previous government encouraged and legalized “crimes” and criminality by issuing “Pipelines Protection Contracts” to Ex-militants/Vandals in the name of employing the “thief” as the “Night-Watchman”.
The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps(NSCDC)which is primarily established to deal with all forms of vandalism instead of be empowered by the previous government to do their jobs they employ militants to take over their jobs and yet they were being paid monthly. The previous government also gave “Maritimes Security Protection Contracts” worth billions of Naira to ex-militants in order to guard our waterways despite having the “Nigerian Navy” which were being paid monthly for same responsibility.
Despite the issuance of protections contract to the militants Nigeria recorded the highest figure of oil thief during that period. About 400,000 barrels of crude were being stolen on daily basis then.
Successive governments have responded to the agitation of Niger Deltans through creations of Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Niger Delta Development Commission, Amnesty Programme with both having huge sums of budgetary allocations every year. Also, there is the 13% Derivation of the oil revenue to the eight (8) Niger Delta states of Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, Edo, AkwaIbom, Ondo, Imo and Abia. Cross River state is no longer an oil producing state having lost their oil fields to Akwa-Ibom state through Supreme Court judgment.
However, the region has also been enjoying corporate social responsibilities from the oil companies. In my modest opinion, the problem of Niger Delta is “corruption” not lack of “attention” or” resources” from the federal government. No doubt, there is environmental “degradation” as well as “pollution” in the region which has affected portable water supply, “fishing” and “farming” which was the traditional occupation of the people of the region.
Where were the trillions of naira that were sent to the region through the above mentioned bodies? Who manages the trillion and for what? What are the roles of the political class and traditional rulers in the management of the resources that were being pumped to the regions for many years?
Whose” creativity” or “innovation” or “ingenuity” or” skills” or” talent” or “knowledge” or” technology” or “hard –work” brings about oil in the Niger Deltal? The answer is no one’s effort brings it to being yet it is our oil! In my understanding, if crude oil discovery is a result of patriotism and hard-work the “Chinese” would have had more crude than any country; if discovery of oil is a product of “technology” the United States of America would have had more oil than any country. If discovery of crude oil is a result of knowledge and talent “Israel” would have had more oil than any country.
Whose effort brings oil to Niger Delta? Whose resource brings about oil in the Niger Delta? What is the value or effort added by a Niger Deltan before producing a barrel of crude oil? It is important to note that, it is not all the Niger Deltans that are militants or belief in what they are doing. In my view, among the Niger Deltans only less than 10% of Niger Deltans are militants.
In my humble opinion, a “Cocoa” or “Cassava” farmer might have contributed more to the GDP growth than a Niger Deltan who claims ownership of oil with contributing nothing to its production. A “Cocoa” or “Tomatoes” farmer might have cleared his farm-land, bought seedling, planted the seed, cultivated the land, cleared weed and finally harvested it and all with his “energy” and “resources”, unlike a Niger Deltan who claims the ownership of oil with putting no “energy” neither “resource”.
Oil is a natural gift without anybody’s effort! After all many countries from Niger Republic, Republic of Chad, and Ghana etc., have discovered crude oil in recent years. I call on all the vandals in the interests of the suffering Nigerian masses including their own people due to their nefarious and ungodly act of vandalism to repent and embrace peace. When pipelines are blown up you are not painting President Buhari’s government black but you are inflicting pains on Nigerians including your own brothers and sisters down there.
“Not many Nigerians know that I started the Amnesty programme or they have forgotten. The Amnesty progamme from the initial conception was supposed to last not more than five years. It was supposed to winding down before the 5th year unless for those who were still in the university and those who had acquired some skills. Before the militants were registered for the programme they were asked to surrender in 90 days, those who chose not to surrender were supposed to be on their own but later they started having batches of ex-militants to be paid. The whole programme became basterdized. The programme was not only for the disarmed ex-militants, it was for the whole Niger Delta and by definition, it includes nine states. At that time Henry Okah confirmed that they were not more than 5,000 but later on politics came into it and the figures started rising to 10,000; 20,000; 30,000 and some started claiming that they have not been captured” –Air Vice Marshall (AVM) Lucky Ararile(rtd) 6th February,2016.
May God bless Nigeria!