Tom Ateke, Icheoku says, whatever you do, do not crawl on your knees to genuflect before your oppressors! You must not surrender and be taken prisoner by your oppressors; otherwise what you stood for and fought for, with so many peoples' lives sacrificed and some now dependent thereon, would have been in vain. Remember Biafra and what the Igbo man is forced to deal with in today's Nigeria because of that single mistake of an unfinished, inconclusive war? Why not cultivate a different fate for yourself and your people of the Niger Delta and persevere in this struggle? Please reject President Umaru Yar'Adua's amnesty, it is an omnious trap!
Remember that the North does not keep her promises; and if in doubt, ask what happened with the promised three Rs of of Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction by Yakubu Gowon at the end of the civil war? Remember the promise of federal character principle which was the pivot of all federal postings and appointments; and check for yourself how far President Umaru Yar'Adua is keeping to that promise? Remember Umaru Yar'Adua's promised power emergency declaration and see how fast he had declared that much needed power emergency in Nigeria? With Umaru Yar'Adua there is no honor in his dictionary, so he will at the convenient time, once again, renege with his promise to grant you unconditional amnesty when his minions find a convincing reason to eliminate you. If truly you have worked for the State Security Service, then you know exactly what that midnight police escort out of the cell portends? Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida conducted the freest election ever in Nigeria but when
the time came to keep faith with the result, he reneged and annulled it? Sani ABacha would not even entertain dialogue and hung Ken Saro-Wiwa without any justification whatsoever, except to remove him from his opposition to injustice of the Hausa-Fulani?
Tom Ateke, only cowards go to their captors in chains, so be a brave man and think about Ken Niweigha and do the right thing. If you surrender now, when what motivated your militancy has not been resolved or addressed, the whole world will see you as an opportunist, waiting to be acknowledged and possibly rewarded? Such a u-turn will show, you do not have a core and that you are an unprincipled man who would abandon his followers mid-stream; once convenient? Think about all the boys who call you leader and laid their lives pushing through your agenda? Is it fair to now tell them that you were wrong all this while?
Instead of your surrender, if the Fulani-Hausa North is serious, let they convene a sovereign national conference to iron out all the issues afflicting Nigeria including the Niger Delta? At best if the JTF's heat is too much for you, go under and lay low or even leave Nigeria for the time being, like your compatriot Tompolo; but to surrender to these feudalistic lords is simply sacrilege as it will show that you never had convictions in the first place? The Hausa-Fulani North made their kinsmen both the Petroleum Minister and Managing Director of the NNPC and they want to talk amnesty with the owners of the oil? My question to you Tom Ateke is, what makes you believe that this time, they will be different; more-so since your freedom activities had claimed some lives and disrupted so much ever since? What makes you think that they will not shoot you and blame armed robbers for so doing? Did you ask what happened to Ken Niweigha who was shot at the back and killed in cold-blood?
Icheoku wants you to know that with the Hausa-Fulani, they only know one thing, and one thing only, conquer and plunder?
Please Mr. Ateke, Icheoku asks you to think through the ramifications of this purported move of yours to capitulate and go prostrate before your Hausa-Fulani tormentors. It does not matter the term of the surrender or how finely it was couched and worded as a presidential amnesty; the real question should be, what has changed since you decided to pitch battle in the struggle for the emancipation of the peoples of the Niger Delta? If you believe in something and you are not prepared to die for it, then an opportunist might as well be your other name. The Hausa-Fulani has not shown any serious interest at a genuine reconciliation. They are still holding Okah captive; they are ravenously looking for Tompolo? They have killed Ken Niweigha? Several other Niger Delta youths, women and children have died since the struggle as a result of their scorch-earth aerial bombardment of the Niger Delta? Several palaces of traditional rulers have been decimated in the Niger Delta, a thing you cannot
imagine with the emirs or sultans yet it is ok with Niger Delta royals?
So what makes you think that as soon as you surrender, that the events of the Niger Delta will change for good? Please do not be fooled by these empty promises of amnesty, because if President Umaru Yar'Adua does not kill you on direct orders, someone-else somewhere would, may be someone who may feel betrayed by your defection or even the feeling of it? Rivers State's Governor Amechi is already raising objection about your amnesty, so you can now tell that some freedoms are not worth the free in them?
Tom Ateke, please do not surrender your manhood; it is cowardly to accept this amnesty! Look at Biafran-Igbos who are still suffering in Nigeria almost four decades after, because of a similar mistake which Philip Effiong led them into in 1970? If you must know, the world is putting pressure on President Umaru Yar'Adua to end the Niger Delta invasion; and he is trying to placate them with this his rushed offers of amnesty to quickly end the struggle of the brave youths of the Niger Delta? So why make it easy for him now when a little perseverance is all that is needed for a third party's conciliatory proceedings? If Umaru Yar'Adua is serious and sincere about the plight of the Niger Delta, why is he not addressing the issues fueling the activism? Why would he appoint both the minister of petroleum and managing director of NNPC from the north and not the Niger Delta that owns the oil? Instead of a slavish surrender, demand for talks/conference and condition the amnesty thereon; it is
more productive than accepting a condescending amnesty like a beggarly person. Tom Ateke, Icheoku says, there must be no retreat and no surrender! The nearest hour to dawn is always the darkest but your daylight as well as the greater Niger Delta peoples', is nearer today than it was yesterday and you must not capitulate now! www.icheoku.com says, Aluta continua, Tom; your people of the Niger Delta appreciates your bravery!
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