"The missile is not invented that can kill an ideal" so said, General Omar Torrijos the onetime president of Panama. I’m highly agitated by the ceiling to floor, blanket criminalisation of the Niger Delta freedom fighters by the Obi of Owa from faraway Borno State. His Highness should’ve erred on the side of caution in sifting the criminals from the legit resources fighters before badmouthing all gung-ho.
It’s awkwardly sad that a high-up Southerner like the Obi of Owa Emanuel Efeizomor from Agbor in Delta State, is now keeping up with a small bunch of Joneses in the North in calling Niger Delta freedom fighters militants, who should be punished for their crimes.
The Obi of Owa made his sheepish comment lately when he visited the Royal family in Borno State according to ThisDay Newspaper of 04.05.09. There is a sense of disturbance by sane people from the South, who’re now questioning the sense of purpose behind defaming Delta fighters instead of condemning a statement attributed to a House of Representatives member from the North whose lust for carnage, egged him on to beg Yar´Dua to obliterate 20 million Deltans for the sake of oil. The Arewa Consultative Forum also green lighted the decimation of Deltans so as to keep oil flowing to the pleasure of the few cabals.
One is baffled asunder that neither political movers and shakers from the South nor from the North have deemed it fit to call senator N´Allah to eat his comment and make amends by apologising to Deltans for contemplating Holocaust in Nigeria in this 21st century. What is the rationale in kowtowing to the dictates of few Northern cabals who see Nigeria as theirs for the taking and ruling? Must the Royal Highness poodle himself to please his Northern co-persons? There’s something in milk that’s not white!
Why had the ACF, Obi and his Northern superstars always shied away from their social crusade anytime Southern Christians are being murdered by Northern faith-heads? How nice it´d be in the future, to see these bunch of people roar all over the places to label Muslim fanatics who kill Christians for sport as criminals, worthy of decimation too. To keep mute when Northern deviants disturb the peace and security of Nigeria and get gung-ho anytime there is breach in the South is affront upon Southerners and a dent on the well being of fairness.
The struggle in the hinterland of Delta is approaching a religion, if it’s not one already. Those in the mix put their faiths and solidarity in Godheads such as Isaac and Ken Saro Wiwa just as Christians have Jesus; Muslims have Muhammad and Rastafarians, Hail Silesia. The gunboat mentality of Yar´Adua´s regime is incapable of stifling any such ideology with solid taproot. Pocket of hardcore believers of gut men and women bog America down in Iraqi despite Her superior firepower, let alone self-appointed weak and sleeping giant of Africa.
Developing Niger Delta in a manner resembling Abuja is the most tasteful policy for this regime to toe. The Obi of Owa should instead of badmouthing Delta freedom fighters, be asking the question, why is core school of petroleum located in Kaduna and not Niger Delta from whence the oil flows? Why is the Ministry of Niger Delta chucked in yonder faraway Abuja?
Obi is on lonely street by himself, where talk is cheap and the price isn’t in a hurry to steep. The totality of Agbor citizens and reasonable Niger Deltans refuse to take a cue from him in cursing Delta resources control cohorts. The reason why he’s siding with his questionable ilk to colour resources fighters bad, is his personal cup of tea.
If Arewa Consultative Forum and few close-knitted cultists from the North are not calling out their God delusional jihadist in the North to eliminate Christians, they’re goading their tribesman president to decimate Southerners. The saddest trend is that, some diabolical higher-ups in the South cheer and clap to the wayward amusement of the ACF and suchlike, just for the nickel and dime they get from those birthed by "destiny" to rule Nigeria.
The problem Nigeria has is daredevil leaders, not the dangerously improvised folks from both the North and the South who’re in the wrong country at the wrong time. I think it’s time to convoke and discuss how’ll march on coherently on a straight line as a nation. Enough of this makeshift creature called Nigeria.
There are legit Freedom Fighters in the Deltas as well as criminal buccaneers. It’s worth the while to apart them. The fact that there’s not enough hats to go round do not mean that some heads has to be chopped off.
S. Njokede writes from The European Union
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