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Our Links With Biafra

The News (Lagos)
INTERVIEW
September 20, 2004
Posted to the web September 13, 2004

In a telephone interview, Dokubo Asari, leader of the rebellion in Rivers
State, explains why he is up in arms against the state.
You're saying you want to liberate the Ijaws of the Niger Delta.
I am not talking about other ethnic groups. I am talking about Ijaw people. I
have never spoken on behalf of other ethnic groups. I'm not fighting for Igbos,
I am not fighting for Itsekiris, I am not fighting for any other ethnic group.
Our organization, the Niger Delta Peoples' Volunteer Force,NDPVF, has co-
operation with other progressive groups inside the geographical expression
called Nigeria.
Are you in touch with other self-determination groups and what has been their
response?
We have cordial relationship with MASSOB and OPC. The Niger Delta Volunteer
Force is very favourably disposed to MASSOB.
Have you been able to internationalize your liberation struggle like the late
Ken Saro-Wiwa?
I don't know what you mean by the internationalization of the struggle because
we are already on the internet and all over the world. The Niger Delta Peoples'
Volunteer Force has volunteers all over the world. As I'm speaking with you, we
have about 168,000 volunteers and many are still joining.
Many people especially the government, think your group is gangsterish....
Nobody has called the Niger Delta Peoples' Volunteer Force a cult group. They
say cult groups are fighting in Port Harcourt. They don't refer to us because
they know we are not cult groups. Nobody has called Alhaji Dokubo Asari's group
a cult group. The NDPVF has been in existence since the late 80s. If they say
we are a cult group, they should explain what cultism is.
But the authorities claim that you are a cult group fighting rival cult groups
The people in government set up the lcelander cult group, the KKK and other
militias to truncate the legitimate struggle of the Ijaw people and other
progressives in the Niger Delta.
The NDPVF cannot be a cult group. Alhaji Asari cannot be a cultist. Alhaji
Asari did not just come from the blues.
I have been a leader of Ijaw Youth Council,IYC, which is very well known all
over the world. I was a Vice President and later a Deputy President of that
organization. Anybody who calls us a cult group should have his head examined.
How do you fund this struggle and take care of your boys?
It is a volunteer group and I'm only a volunteer in this struggle. I don't have
boys, we are all volunteers. We are only following the path of the hero of this
struggle- the late Isaac Adaka Boro, the pacesetter of this struggle.
The volunteers all over the world are funding us. We are also using the
resources of our land to fund this struggle.
We also give some to our people to confront General Olusegun Obasanjo and other
people in government.
At a recent stake holders meeting held at the Government House in Port
Harcourt, the government alleged that some governors in the neighboring states
are funding you. Who are these governors?
It is not true. I'm not being immodest They are far from the truth. They know
that I'm using the resources in our land and the efforts of the Volunteers all
over the world to fund this struggle.
How would you react to insinuations that your members swear to an oath-using
blood-to pledge loyalty to your struggle?
How can you say that kind of nonsense?
I'm not the one saying so. I'm telling you what people are saying...
Those saying that are bloody liars. Those saying that are the ones who belong
to cult groups. I'm a practising Muslim. I don't take blood oath. Members of
the NDPVF don't take blood oath. Ninety percent of the members of NDPVF, and
Ijaw people who are followers of the Egbesu don't take blood oath. Others are
Christians and I'm a Muslim.
Whoever said we take oaths must be sick.
We learned the Joint Internal Security made up of the Army, Navy, Police and
lately the Air Force have been bombarding your strongholds. What is the level
of casualty in your camp?
Last week Monday, the army attacked Ogbakiri, Tombia and Buguma. Ask them why
they ran away? Members of the Air Force bombarded us for about seven hours. Ask
them why they ran away. They ran away on their own. The Navy also ran away,
leaving their ammunition behind. We had not started shooting at them when they
ran away. They ran and abandoned one of their boats and some of their
ammunition in it.
They should have been asked why they ran away around 2.am.
We are still in full control of all the liberated Ijaw territories.
It is claimed in some circles that you possess some mystical powers...
I don't have mystical powers. I'm just a devout Muslim that is all I know. But
the Ijaws are believed to have mystical powers through Egbesu. And there is a
belief that Egbesu will protect anyone fighting for justice. That is all I
know. As a Muslim, I observe religiously all the five prayers. pray and also
wake up and read my Qur'an.
That is what I do as an individual. Other volunteers who are Christians pray
the Christian way. I don't have any other mystical power as Alhaji Dokubo
Asari.
What is the morale of the people after the series of bombardments from the Air
Force. Do they regret following Dokubo Asari?
Everyday, we have more and more volunteers joining the struggle. If the morale
of the people was low they would have been running away like the soldiers who
are always running from the battle front whenever we confront them.
The army is demoralized. When we came to Port Harcourt the last time and saw
the Navy, they complained that their war boats had broken down. We seized their
arms, rescued them and their boats, escorted them and after that we gave them
back their arms.
Many people seem not to understand what the struggle is all about and what has
led to this struggle?
There are so many things. This is just the first time the Ijaws have taken up
arms against the Federal Government, and the Nigerian State. It is not
surprising that the Government is lying against people fighting for justice. In
Iraq, is America not lying? Are the Russians not lying? Anywhere people stand
up to fight for freedom, those in power must lie against freedom fighters. This
struggle is the emancipation of the Ijaw people. Lying is an established
pattern of dictators. The reason for our struggle is very clear. We are not
disturbed about the propaganda against us because it is not new. What is
important is that the struggle is for the emancipation of the Ijaw people and
this is very clear. If the Nigerian State wants peace, it should convoke a
Sovereign National Conference. The people are lying about the convocation of a
Sovereign National Conference. But until that is done to discuss the affairs of
the Nigerian State, it will never know peace and honour. We must sit down to
discuss whether the way the Nigerian State being governed is acceptable to all.
Another demand from us is that the Government of Rivers State should stop
funding and sponsoring cult groups. If it continues, we will continue to resist
it. We the Ijaw people of Rivers State, will resist because cultism is
unacceptable to us. The Rivers State Government has been doing so in the last
four years.
You are a married man, blessed with six children. How has this struggle
affected your family?
Members of my family are scattered everywhere. Some have been killed. This is
the price you pay for standing against evil.
Who are the heroes you look up to for inspiration in the struggle?
Isaac Adaka Boro; the Great King Amachree, my ancestor, and Osama Bin Laden.
Are you linked to any of the Islamic fundamentalist groups?
I don't know what you mean by Islamic fundamentalists.
People who are inspired by Islam to engage in armed struggle.
All Muslims who observe daily prayers, and fast during the months of Ramadan,
read their Q'uran and pay Zakat and say Lailah Illah because these are
fundamentals of Islam.
If by observing these basic tenets and fundamentals of Islam makes me a
fundamentalist, then that is what I am.
This is not an Islamic struggle. This struggle has nothing to do with Islam.
Ijaw Muslims are less than one percent.
It is not an Islamic revolution. It is purely an Ijaw struggle. It is just by
fate that an Alhaji Dokubo Asari is leading it. If it is purely an Islamic
revolution, we wouldn't be talking about Egbesu and so on. My religion will not
count in the struggle for my people. I am a leader today, tomorrow it might not
be me. Islam is personal to my family and me and it has nothing to do with this
struggle.
I admire Osama Bin Laden because of his stand against western imperialism and
the corruption of the minds of the people of the world, desecrating the morals
of the people of the world. This should appeal to any discerning mind and that
of any person who stands against evil.
In Africa, I have Nelson Mandela as my hero. But in this present struggle,
Isaac Adaka Boro, the great king Amachree and Osama Bin Laden are my heroes.
How has your switch from Christianity to Islam affected your attitude towards
life ?
I believe that this struggle is the way God wants it. It is God who has
destined and decreed that this struggle will go on. I have no power to decide
it. I only take the decision of God. If God destined that I, Alhaji Dokubo
Asari, should lead this struggle, I have no powers to question God. If He
decides that I should die in this struggle, and somebody better than me take
over, I have no power to question God. God has been favorably disposed to me,
despite all the odds against me in the past few months.
We have totally liberated five Local Councils from the grip of cultists. If not
that we have been magnanimous, we would have taken over all these councils and
taken total control from the Chairmen. But this is not the time for that. This
struggle is in phases. When the time comes we will come to that.
Could you react to the allegation by the Rivers State Government that you're in
this struggle because you and your members are into illegal bunkering and you
are fighting to protect your turf?
They are sick and they're liars. Are they not the ones involved in illegal
bunkering in the high seas? What is illegal bunkering? Who brings the vessels
on the high seas? Is it Alhaji Dokubo-Asari that brings the vessels?
Who protects the Nigerian territorial waters? Is it Dokubo-Asari? Are they not
the big guns in power?
They think Nigerians are gullible. I am not an illegal bunkerer. I am taking
what belongs to my people and giving it back to them. How can petrol sell at
N45 per litre in Abuja, and Lagos and today in Buguma and Nembe it is sold at
N200 per litre? This same oil I am refining it and selling at N15 per litre in
the riverine areas. It is N15 per litre. That is the price at which, I sell it
to them. They are happy because I have emancipated them from Obasanjo and
Odili's slavery. I give oil, which belongs to the people back to the people.
Are they not the ones who have been diverting the derivation money belonging to
the people. Where is all the money derived from the Niger Delta going? Have you
bothered to ask? Why do they think people are supporting us? When they sell
N200 per litre and we now sell to them at N15 per litre, do you see the
difference? Who amongst those accusing us about bunkering are not engaging in
it from the highest level down?
You are known to have a close relationship with Governor Odili before now. What
made you part ways with him?
I was close to Governor Odili. There is no doubt about it and I cannot be
apologetic about it.
What went wrong?
Before the general elections of April 2003, we agreed that they should not rig
the election for Olusegun Obasanjo in the Ijaw areas of the Niger Delta. We
appealed to all the Governors of the states where Ijaws are found not to rig
election for Obasanjo, that they should stick by the rules governing elections.
But there was no election. They colluded with INEC and allotted votes to
themselves. There was no election in Ijawland. So, as the President of IYC, I
stood up and condemned the election in a press statement published as
advertorial. The Government of Rivers State asked me to denounce it, and I said
I would not do that.
From that day, they declared me an enemy and I became a marked man. And on the
22 May 2003, the convoy carrying my father's corpse was attacked at Choba by
gunmen. Six IYC members were killed.
On 12 October 2003, in Port Harcourt, Ateke Tom and his gang of cultists were
sent to eliminate me. But by the grace of God, they did not succeed in killing
me. And on the 23 November 2003, they also came to Buguma to kill me, and it
was then I decided that enough was enough. I told them you can kill Marshall
Harry and nothing happens, A. K. Dikibo nothing happens. But when you try to
kill Dokubo Asari, something will happen. You cannot kill somebody like Dokubo-
Asari and think that nothing would happen. And since then, the Rivers State
Government and the Federal Government have seen that there is nothing they can
do to Dokubo-Asari. They are facing the consequences and the wrath of Ijaw
people now.
Assuming you are killed now that you have been declared wanted dead or alive,
what do you think will happen?
If I am killed, Rivers State will be in flames. Let them continue to send their
helicopters and continue their bombings. I have not been killed. But the little
operation we targeted to wipe out cultists only, they are panicky. If I am
killed it is better imagined than described here. They will be surprised they
will be surprised. If Odili allows them to kill me, what will happen?. It is
better imagined.
We learned that subtle moves are being made for you to stop this struggle, what
is your reaction to that?
There have been messages sent to me to abandon this struggle. But the
fundamental issues are not being addressed. The stands of Ijaws are clear. We
have made our points clear in the Kaiama Declaration. This has not been
addressed. The fundamental issue of the Nigerian question has not also been
addressed. The issue of convocation of a Sovereign National Conference where
they will discuss whether they would want to remain as one Nigeria, has not
been addressed. In the treaties that our forefathers signed with the colonial
masters in Bonny in the 1920s, there was nothing like the amalgamation of the
Southern Protectorate.
There was nothing like the amalgamation of Northern and Southern Protectorates.
There is nothing like 1960 Independence. Nigeria, as far as we are concerned,
is a dubious geographic expression. We must have a Sovereign National
Conference because Nigeria is a nullity and does not exist. We cannot be in
Nigeria by force of arms and coercive powers of the Nigerian State. So, whoever
is talking about peace, should first address the burning issue affecting my
people.
There is now an attempt to start enumeration of people that would lead to ward
delineation. Assuming they decided to conduct elections in Ijaw land what would
you do?
There have never been credible elections in Ijaw land.
All they do is to concoct results and allot votes to themselves. They cook up
figures and submit. Let us wait until that time and see them conduct elections
in Ijaw land.
The police claim that the Joint Internal Security are closing up on you and may
get you soon. Is that true and how has that affected your safety and movement?
They claim they are closing up on me, but I am moving freely. I was in Delta
State on Monday, last week. On Tuesday morning around 1a.m, I was back to
Rivers State.
So they claim they are closing up on me. I see them but they don't see me. I
passed Bayelsa that Monday and drove to Delta and back to Rivers, yet they are
closing up on me! My people were at Isaka and in Port Harcourt on Friday 3
September. Everyday I travel, I meet the Navy and Army on the high seas. My
people who smoke exchange cigarettes with them and greet each other and we
discuss and we move.
We don't disturb each other, or shoot at each other.
Whenever they are sent after us, they just shoot in the air and run away. What
is this thing about closing up on me? As I'm talking to you, I'm at Nembe Jetty
which is less than 10 minutes drive to NNS Okemini's base. What do they mean by
closing up on me?
What do you want Nigerians to know about your struggle, which you think they
may have misunderstood?
I would like Nigerians to know that the basis of this struggle is very simple
and that is that Nigeria as a state is illegal. And the people in authority
should know that Nigerians have the right to sit down and decide on a Sovereign
National Conference to make Nigeria legal. Who made the so-called constitution
that we are using today?
Is it not the military who forced it on us? Our struggle is that this
conference must be convoked so that different ethnic nationalities could decide
whether to be in Nigeria or not. And whatever is decided must lead to a
referendum and whatever the people of Nigeria decide should be the basis for
the existence of Nigeria that is what I want to tell them. Nigerians should
know that people are dying everyday in Rivers State. I have written to the
National Assembly of the Nigerian State and I knew when I was writing that
letter that nothing would come out of it. But I decided to do that for the
records, and I thought that a stitch in time saves nine. Yet, they did not act.
And as far as I'm concerned, the only option left to us now is to stand up
against this evil called the Nigerian State, which Obasanjo represents.
We must agree to live together. For instance, the Tivs and the Jukuns, the
Ijaws and Itsekiris, all the ethnic nationalities must sit down and discuss. If
not, there will be no peace in Nigeria.
What is your relationship with Ateke Tom now?
I don't have any problem with Ateke Tom. Ateke Tom was asked by the Rivers
State government to kill me. Ateke Tom is just a diversion as far as I'm
concerned. I have no problem with Ateke Tom. If you ask Ateke Tom, he will tell
you that we have never quarreled.
At the stakeholders meeting, prominent people, including Dr. Abiye Sekibo, whom
you've accused of being behind Ateke Tom, called for a probe to unmask the
sponsors of cult groups. What is your reaction to that?
If they asked the security agents to investigate, will they investigate
anything? Even if they blind the eyes of the security agents to investigate
Abiye Sekibo, he will not be able to prove that he had no hands in terrible
things that have happened in Okrika, his home and in Kalabari land He says he
is innocent Let them investigate now. How can the chicken investigate the
chicken? It is impossible. They would not investigate. It is me they are after.

   

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