allAfrica.com * Let's Stop This Madness in Niger Delta This Day (Lagos) OPINION 4 January 2008 Posted to the web 4 January 2008 By Yusuph Olaniyonu Lagos Last Tuesday, Port Harcourt, the River State capital witnessed another orgy of violence unleashed by the people which we in the media, now refer to as 'militants'. In the confusion, some policemen and civilians were killed. Police stations and other government institutions were attacked. Many more individuals were wounded. And as if they were having a joke on the rest of the nation, the perpetrators of this carnage chose the New Year day when many people were relaxed and celebrating to create panic and destruction. The attack on Port Harcourt was a signal to show that the militants meant business in the New Year and would not hesitate to endanger the city anytime they feel aggrieved. In fact, the leader of the Niger Delta Vigilante Movement (NDVM), Tom Ateke, has been threatening fire and brimstone. He had told THISDAY in a report published last Wednesday that "I will try as much as I can to make the state ungovernable for the governor". But what Ateke and co refuse to acknowledge is that his anger though directed at Governor Rotimi Amaechi, the victims of the carnage he and other militants usually inflict on the people will not be the governor or anybody closely related to him. The governor is an embodiment of the state and therefore is usually well protected. The people who got shot by Ateke and his 'army' are ordinary citizens like himself. They are the people that Ateke and other militants said they are agitating for their welfare and better treatment by the Nigerian State. It should therefore be made known to Ateke and other militants that their war against marginalisation, neglect and deprivation of their people by the Nigerian state has now taken the form of a criminal attack on the people's psyche. The liberator has now become the persecutor. The noble cause of calling national and international attention to a national injustice has now become a curse. Those of us who feel genuinely aggrieved at the injustice which the Niger Delta issue has become over the years are no longer too happy with the turn of events. The frequent criminal activities and violence which now dominate the campaign for justice to be done in the Niger Delta is undesirable. This is so because the ordinary people who were victims of these long years of neglect are also victims of the war being unleashed on the society by militants who started as agitators and campaigners for the rights of the Niger Delta people. From the days of Isaac Adaka Boro to Ken Saro Wiwa, civilised and genuine efforts have been made to force the government of the day to pay more attention to the Niger Delta problems. In a criminal and insensisitive manner, past governments have treated the matter with levity. And this sustained injustice actually led to the crisis we now have. The agitations since the beginning of the democratic process have taken more violent, vigorous turns. First, there were attacks on oil installations which crippled oil supply locally and in the international markets. Then, the attacks were directed at persons as expatriates were kidnapped and ransome demanded. At this point, many commentators, including this writer, were warning government to halt this trend by speeding up the development process in the oil producing areas so as to eradicate the reason now being exploited by perpetrators of crime masquerading as agitators for the rights of the neglected people of oil producing areas. This is the point where the Obasanjo government and that of the various governors who ruled in those states can be blamed for not responding at the pace required by the emergency development. By the time the agitation now take the form of kidnapping of young children of wealthy people who are themselves indigenes of the neglected areas, then we know that it is now a question of 'Niger Deltan on Niger Deltan' violence. The criminals have hijacked the struggle. The new fad among the militants is the kidnap of old parents of well-to-do people in the Niger Delta. The motivation for this new phase of the struggle is no longer the emancipation of the people who live in abject poverty because of the despoliation of their land and the refusal to provide alternative means of livelihood and other necessary infrastructure which are taken for granted by other parts of the country. The motivation for kidnappers and oil bunkers who have now seized the fight for the rights of Niger Delta people is pecuniary. Some criminals are just having fun at the expense of the oppressed people, the genuine agitators and the entire Nigerian nation. They are exploiting the failure of the nation and its leadership to do that which is right and just. The kidnappers and those who perpetrate the criminal activities which are now the order of the day in the Niger Delta are helping themselves while functioning in a perverted system where the people need help. It is therefore important that the government should move fast in making immediate, concrete and genuine efforts to address the crisis in the area. The Yar'Adua administration actually listed the Niger Delta issue as one of the items on the agenda for his four-year mandate. The administration whose number two man is an indigene of the Niger Delta and a former governor in the area has also promised to hold an all-inclusive summit which will allow all concerned to ventilate their viewpoints. The summit is expected to allow government to have the input of the stakeholders in its development plan. The summit is also expected to be an avenue for all the various groups to sign a peace agreement which will end all hostilities and then create an atmosphere for construction work to commence without fear of disturbance by any militant group. With the seriousness President Umaru Yar'Adua has spoken on the Niger Delta issue during the campaign period and immediately after his election, I had thought the summit will hold within his first hundred days in office. But this is the administration's eighth month and the summit is still being planned. Several administration officials have explained the need for widespread consultations. There is also the talk of the need for proper planning so that the summit does not end up being a mere jamboree. While these explanations are logical, it is important that the administration should move fast to address the Niger-Delta issue. There is the danger that further delay in taking action will allow the criminals who pretend to be championing the cause of the people to further poison the atmosphere and make peace and development more difficult to attain. The delay in taking action is responsible for the present trends in which people with criminal intentions are running riot in the area. Genuine agitations can no longer be separated from sheer criminality. Politicians who form part of the regional and national leadership are also being accused of fuelling and sponsoring the activities of cultists who now wreck havoc in the area. And government security agents are now targets of attack. I have always believed that holding summits and other kind of deliberations on a matter like the crisis in Niger Delta is only good for symbolism. The more practical approach is for the tractors to move into the area and start translating the plans like the ones contained in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) master plan into reality. I am not sure that any body in these areas will oppose efforts to construct water projects which provide potable water for the people. Construction of road networks which will link one part of the areas to another and to the rest of the country will definitely be popular with the people, just as citing of well-equipped primary, secondary and tertiary health and educational institutions cannot be unpopular in the Niger Delta if the facilities are well distributed among the component communities. The construction efforts should also be well-directed to ensure they gainfully engage the millions of unemployed youths in those areas. There is also the need for poverty alleviation programmes which will help many of the petty traders, artisans, farmers and fishermen in the area to get back to business and eke out better living for themselves. The sooner government put its plans for solving the Niger Delta problem into action, the better for all of us. This blood- letting and criminality must stop and so is the continued anguish of the people after long years of neglect by successive governments. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2008 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------