The Federal Government should continue
to discuss with the militants. Right now, the militants are not gaining
ground because Niger Delta leaders are not supporting them. The recent
statement by (Edwin) Clark that the government should continue with the
dialogue in spite of the provocation is a good support.
There was an understanding between the
FG and the leaders of the Niger Delta. These leaders made 16 demands.
None of the demands is impossible to meet. None of them encourages the
breakup of Nigeria. They all appear to be committed to one, united
Nigeria. The problem is they (the militants) have their grievances.
Whether genuine or not, the grievances should be looked into. Government
should accede to what is reasonable and solve the problem.
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The Federal Government should not listen
to those who want war against the militants. It should take the
opportunity of this time when the militants are weak politically,
militarily and even economically. Leaders from the region are talking to
them because the economy of the region is being destroyed.
There was a time they ceased bombing
when negotiation was going on. The government should return to dialogue.
Whatever the government does is for the good of the country. These
people have a stake in the future of Nigeria. If this war continues,
Nigeria may be destroyed and they too may be destroyed.
•Balarabe Musa (A former Governor, Kaduna State)
First of all, I’m not happy about the
continuous bombing of oil facilities in the Niger Delta. The act is not
portraying us in good light before the comity of nations. I cannot but
plead with the people (militants) doing these things to give peace a
chance. Having said that, let me add that the attitude of the government
in the past few weeks has not been encouraging.
The Niger Delta question has not been
given the desired attention it deserves in this country. Nothing has
come out of the discussion some respectable leaders of the Niger Delta
region held with the Federal Government’s team three months after the
discussion. We have been begging government for a forum to discuss these
issues but government has been playing politics with it.
The Pan-Niger Delta Forum’s meeting with
President Muhammadu Buhari was the crowning of the various efforts to
discuss with the FG. The government’s excuse was that there were too
many groups. The highest demand of PANDEF was for government to set up
its own team to talk to the Niger Delta people but it has taken
government more than three weeks just to set up a team to talk to the
people while government is begging Boko Haram to talk to them.
Nobody is ready to make any sincere
effort in dealing with the issues of the Niger Delta. We do not deserve
the treatment we are getting from the government. Let the FG show good
faith by setting up its team as we have done rather than sending more
troops to the Niger Delta region to kill more people in the name of
guarding pipelines.
If I may ask, have the increased
military gunboats and soldiers’ presence been able to deter the bombing?
Well, for me, the way forward is for the government to set up an
inter-ministerial committee to discuss with the leaders of the Niger
Delta. •Godspower Gbenekama (Acting secretary, Gbaramatu Traditional Council, Delta State)
There has been a resistance to the
control of national resources. There has been an agitation for reforms
and an agitation for the devolution of power. I think the time has come
for the FG to take a holistic approach to all these issues of insurgency
whether on bombing of pipelines or any other kind of insurgency. There
is the need for us to discuss the issue of restructuring so that those
who have certain resources can benefit directly from those resources.
The time has come to discuss and take a
decision in a way that will show this country belongs to all of us.
There should be devolution of power in a way that ensures equity for
everybody. For those who are recommending a greater use of force, they
can only postpone the evil day. For as long as people perceive there is
inequality and injustice, there will continue to be agitations. It is
our collective responsibility to ensure that these issues are discussed
in a way that is satisfactory to all.
- Wale Oshun (Chairman, Afenifere Renewal Group)
The most logical way is to negotiate
with the Niger Delta citizens and come to some kind of agreement just
like the late President Umaru Yar’Adua did. At the end of the day, the
cost of such a negotiation will be lower than the cost of repairing
destroyed pipelines. Pipelines take time to repair and oil spillage will
cause environmental pollution, apart from economic loss.
It is impossible to negotiate with
everybody in the region. The government should use informants within
the Niger Delta to look for the leaders, who are in the best position to
speak for the region. Once those leaders agree, peace will reign.
Yar’Adua set the agenda by bringing all the leaders together, they all
agreed, they were given contracts and there was peace. So, the
government has to negotiate with the leadership of the gangs and the
region. How the government negotiates with the leadership is a function
of trust. Those guys in the creeks will not come out easily. It takes
time. But through some indirect negotiation, they will come out and
reach an agreement with the government. There are informants within them
who can make this possible. •Prof. Leo Ukpong (Lecturer, Department of Financial Economics, University of Uyo)
The elite of the Niger Delta are showing
interest in negotiating with the government, but the youths are not
showing interest. What happens is that we have various agitators from
about six different groups which cut across the region. We have the
Ijaw, Itsekiri, Uhrobo, among others. It is difficult for one group to
be settled and other groups neglected.
It seems the Federal Government is not
carrying most of the youths along. The youths felt that most of the
leaders negotiating with the government have parochial interests. There
is no way we can resolve the crisis in the region without trying to make
out how it was managed under the Yar’Adua administration. If the
Federal Government wants to continue to benefit from oil without crises
from the militant groups, there is the need to soft-pedal on the use of
force.
The mere presence of the military in
pipeline areas makes the aggrieved youths to be volatile. There is no
need to impose any force on them. Rather, the government should look
into the real causes of their agitation. It is only when we look into
the causes that true negotiation can come on board. • Dr. Idowu Johnson
(Lecturer, Department of Political Science, University of Ibadan)
What is happening right now is very sad.
The bombing of the economic strength of the country is not acceptable.
But the Federal Government should not use military force because it will
not solve the problem.
The FG should embrace dialogue. The
politics of Nigeria is becoming more complex and despite the fact that
we have had a President from the Niger Delta, the level of poverty in
the region remains high.
I can never support the Federal
Government to use force or violence. It does not pay to return violence
for violence. The amnesty programme will yield a good result and I think
the government should improve on it.
On whether the continued bombing of oil
installations will stop if Tompolo is released, I think the law should
take its course. The problem of the Niger Delta region goes beyond
Tompolo. The people from the area are saying they have been treated
unfairly despite providing the nation’s huge resources. In all, I think
continued dialogue and favourable policies for the people of the region
will be a solution to the ceaseless bombing of oil facilities. •Prof. Beke Sese (Lecturer, University of Port Harcourt)
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