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Recurring Warri Crisis

Daily Champion (Lagos)
ANALYSIS
August 25, 2003
Posted to the web August 26, 2003

THE crisis in Warri, Delta State, may be brought under control by the array of
security agents presently deployed to the area, but for long lasting peace, the
issues in contention must be tackled comprehensively.
The issues have ranged from the ownership of the city to the sphere of
influence of the traditional rulers, delineation of constituencies to the
citing of local government headquarters. In effect, apart from the initial
issues in contention, the crisis has assumed more complex dimension. There is
also the issue of the level of patronage of the area by the oil producing
companies and the Federal Government.
The battle fronts have been as multi-faceted as the issues in contention but
the principal combatants have been the major ethnic groups that make up the
volatile city - the Ijaw, the Itshekiri and the Urhobo.
The militant youths have either been pitched against themselves or against the
oil companies and the government. When they disagree on ethnic issues they turn
against themselves but when they perceive the oil companies or government as
their enemies, the militant youths set about taking hostages, seizing oil
installations and sabotaging petroleum products pipelines.
Before the inception of the present democratic dispensation in May 1999, the
problem was intense but the intensity reduced dramatically with the onset of
civil rule, due to a combination of the crisis management skills of the state
government and assurances by the Federal Government that the Niger Delta
Development Commission (NDDC) was coming to redress the underdevelopment of the
region as a whole.
Despite the modest efforts made by the NDDC, the state and federal governments
towards addressing the problems of the city, the tempo of hostilities again,
increased close to the last elections, giving indication that besides ethnic
and socio-economic factors, there was, indeed, a political dimension to the
conflagration.
The most recent war in Warri could be considered among the fiercest so far,
with the high calibre of weapons used, the huge losses in terms of lives and
property and the disruption of social, economic and political activities. The
scale of the hostilities also confirmed that the militants have high level
backing.
Warri cannot be trifled with, given its historical, socio-cultural and most
importantly, its strategic economic importance to Delta State and indeed, the
country. The decision of the state governor, Chief James Ibori, to relocate to
the city temporarily to be able to supervise the efforts at entrenching peace
is therefore commendable.
The Federal Government's decision to send in troops to enforce peace is also
laudable but the issue of lasting peace must transcend the use of force.
First, the feuding ethnic groups must come to the round table to discuss and
agree on the terms for their mutual peaceful co-existence without counting
gains or losses.
The state and federal governments must address the issues in contention in a
comprehensive manner, especially the political problems that have pitched the
Ijaw and Itshekiri against each other.
Development of the city, especially its infrastructure and the citing of
industries that would provide jobs for the teeming population of unemployed
youths should also be a priority. There is no doubt that when the warring
youths are gainfully employed their readiness to take to arms would reduce
considerably.
Warri, like most other oil cities of the Niger Delta, is a poor representation
of what an oil rich city should look like. It is therefore necessary that a lot
more money should be devoted to the development of Warri and other such cities.
This can be done through a well-funded marshal plan to be implemented by the
NDDC.
President Obasanjo's proposed amendment of the NDDC Act that aims at reducing
the funding level of the commission, given the reality on ground, can only be
considered ill-advised, because the current level of funding of the agency is
acknowledged to be grossly inadequate for the task of transforming the sad lot
of the people of the area.
The oil companies should do a lot more than they are doing to develop their
host communities and together with the Federal Government, rededicate
themselves to proper funding of the NDDC so that the impact of the agency can
be better felt in the region.

   

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