The Niger Delta Region has once more been engulfed in a Kafkaesque nightmare, with odd cacophony of voices reminiscent of the glossolalia episode in the Apostolic age. This is expected because when utopian promises are made and expectations are high, those to share the spoils are usually divided; some may even become martyrs in their bid to outwit others. This has been the scenario in Lebanon between the Hezbollah and Hamaz on the one hand and the hard line Jewish extremists on another.
A popular Ijaw folklore has it that there existed a people bound by a sense of community, language, customs and traditions. The people also had common ancestry, but amidst that commodious, communitarian life, a hunter killed a hare and the game was used to cook pepper soup. The pepper soup was so tasty that there developed a profound sense of disillusionment and indignation among those who did not have the privilege of tasting the soup. Consequently, a conflict ensued, factions emerged and soon, like the biblical tower of Babel, the hitherto united people began to speak different tongues as they went their separate ways. It is only in this context that we can situate the looming disagreement among the repentant militants.
A fortnight ago, I had advocated a holistic, comprehensive approach to the amnesty programme. This is against the background of the several decades of neglect, economic exclusion and military brutalization of the oil producing communities. It is a well-tested fact that it takes a long gestation period to rehabilitate a people that have been brutalized, cheated and battered for a long time. Rehabilitation of a peoples psyche is easier said than done.
I have meditated on the issue of amnesty for the simple reason that it would be bad testimonial for my generation to bequeath a legacy of hate, stagnation and broken promises to our children and generations yet unborn. Ab initio, having examined the modus operandi of the Federal Government on the issue of Amnesty, I have nursed a deep-seated feeling that the deal would appear to succeed at the initial time , but would collapse like a pack of cards- which would automatically lead to the deterioration of the security problem in the Region.
Firstly, the Amnesty Programme was ill-conceived and the Federal Government rushed its implementation just to keep the oil taps flowing in the Region. The Niger Delta problem has spanned five decades, and a problem of this magnitude requires planning before stakeholders can arrive at well-thought out solutions and strategies of implementing the programme. Some of State Governors would not want the amnesty to succeed because they spend huge sums of money on security votes and the continued existence of militancy the only way to justify it.
Secondly, the approach adopted by the Federal Government is too peripheral. I was taken aback when it was disclosed that each repentant militant shall be paid the sum of Sixty-Five thousand Naira (N65,000.00) per months. It the Federal Government has set aside the sum of N10.2 Billion to be disbursed to militants, it means we are using expired drugs, which have lost their efficacy to cure a terminal disease. This is the same tokenistic, bullion-van induced approach that has yielded unintended consequences. The Problem with the Niger Delta Region is that of lack of transparency and accountability on the part of State Governors and Local Government Chairmen, and criminal neglect on the part of the Federal Government. The money-in-the-pocket approach is what the MEND leader Henry Okah has been criticizing.
Thirdly, the Federal Government’s idea of negotiating directly with militants is a monumental error. Every now and then, President Yar’Adua and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan sit at table to discuss with Boyloaf, Farah Dagogo, Soboma George, Ateke Tom, Tompolo, and others. Their meetings at Aso Rock are so frequent that, but for the face caps worn by the militant leaders, It is now difficult to distinguish between the top Government officials and the militants. But Nigeria is not the only country where we have militia or insurgency groups. They are everywhere: the Zapatista’s Mexico; the Moro Islamic Rebels in the Philippines; the Tamil Tigers in Sri-Lanka, Shin Fein in Ireland; the PKK in Turkey, Al Qaeda in Iraq, the Basque Separatists in Spain, Tu-Pac Amaru of Peru, the Taliban in Afghanistan, Hezbollah and Hamaz in Lebanon. In all these groups rebels or militants do not engage their government’s directly; they do so with the aid of persons appointed by the Militants and agreed by government. What is being demonstrated by the Federal Government is that the militant leaders should have been granted either food-nesty or naira-nesty or better still oil bloc-nesty for these are the likely products of the direct engagement. Another trend that may soon gain currency is that if militant leaders are over-rewarded, most university graduates may not bother to prepare their resume’ to seek job opportunities; they would rather form militant camps to seek negotiation such as that which is going on in Aso Rock.
Major General Godwin Abbey (Rtd), was one time military Governor of Old Rivers State and the leader of the Amnesty Programme. He is a military man who know the rules of such engagements. Again, Chief Timi Alaibe, the Special Adviser to the Presidency on the Niger Delta was the generalissimo of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), for upwards of eight years and he is very conversant with the mode of engaging the militants anytime they laid siege on the Commission. Timi Alaibe spent more than N35 billion to produce a document called Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan, and for that fraud, he has been rewarded with appointment at the Presidency. This is why they continue to tow the old, worn-out ways of the past, which did not provide lasting solutions to the monster of militancy in the Region? A nation that rewards criminality expects nothing less than stagnation, chaos and cyclical instability.
I am cock sure MEND appointed some eminent Nigerians like Real Admiral Mike Akhigbe Rtd. Professor Wole Soyinka, Mrs. Ann Kio Briggs, Sabella Abide and others to negotiate on behalf of the militants. If the Federal Government had respected this opinion, the discordant choruses about the acceptability or otherwise of the Amnesty Programme would have been avoided. It is because the Federal Government is directly negotiating with the militants that rumours such as promises of huge cash gifts, oil blocs and other juicy appointments are difficult to dispel. Not engaging the right people appointed by MEND is a fundamental flaw that is capable of truncating the process.
Again, because adequate consultations were not made, the communities which have suffered horrendous atrocities are not carried along. The repentant militant leaders are not neither Chiefs people recognized to represent their communities. What then is the basis for initiating a direct discussion with the repentant militants?. I tend to agree with Henry Okah’s analysis that the arms mop-up operations only succeeded in taking away about 10% of sophisticated munitions leaving behind about 90% poses an threat to resumption of hostilities in the Region. This shows that the Region is highly militarized. The demilitarization of the Region is necessary because we should not bargain for a Somalia situation in Nigeria.
But why has the institution of militancy enjoyed so much patronage and publicity by influential people in society?. Is it because the politicians understand only force as a means of redressing injustice? The implication of direct negotiation with the repentant militants is that militancy has been given official recognition at the highest level of government. Since that has been established, It is my humble suggestion that government should vote resources in the budget to sustain it to police the coastal boarders and to fight external aggression.
Indeed, the amnesty deal can fail until there is broad-based consultation with the most critical segment of the Niger Delta people. The approach adopted by the Federal has already alienated key stakeholders who can be instrumental to the success of the process. I would suggest that each of the four core oil producing States: Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta and Akwa Ibom should produce 3 persons: from the academia, industry and Civil Society to negotiate with the Federal Government on the way forward. The selection of these persons should be divorced from politics. The broad-based consultation should lead to the signing of a PACT, the provisions of which shall guide the comprehensive implementation of the process.
The PACT should contain the fundamental concerns of the Region such as true federalism, resource control and development of the Region. An all-inclusive process would not lead to the gathering of the mushroom cloud. The Nigerian State does not need a ‘smoking gun’ to resolve the Niger Delta Question. The demands are age long, the neglect is criminal and the ecological genocide is real, and no amount of therapy can be a panacea until the people are allowed to take total control of their resources.
As a veritable first step, government should demobilize the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) as a confidence building measure to demonstrate commitment to the Amnesty Programme. For many observers, JTF are conflict entrepreneurs who have been reaping enormous economic benefits from the conflict. This explains why the insurgency in the Niger Delta is deliberately being escalated by the soldiers deployed to the Region. The them freedom fighters in the Niger Delta are merely protesting against injustice, underdevelopment and marginalization.
A very critical dimension to the success of the amnesty deal is the role of the oil multinationals. The multinational corporations have created a rent-seeking class who either receive their rent or resort to violation of oil facilities and oil bunkering. The bunkering is being sponsored by high profile politicians including Governors and Ministers the top brass of the military. For the illegal economy to flourish, they will continue to implement an agenda of chaos. The existing legal regime does not compel the MNCs to execute their corporate social responsibilities. It is against this background that opinion leaders have expressed fears that the Federal Government may use the amnesty deal to blackmail the youths or as an instrument of buying time. The success of the deal requires the unswerving commitment of all tiers of government and the goodwill of the military apparatus.
Another success factor is the ability of the militant leaders to close ranks and work together. Once there are noticeable cracks among the leaders, we shall regress to the divide and rule phase of the politics of the development of the Niger Delta. Their division would lead to the endgame of coordinated militancy in the Niger Delta Region. It would also demonstrate that the so called militant leaders do not understand the fundamental ideology of the Niger Delta Struggle.
Nigeria is economically viable because of the crude oil from the womb of the Niger Delta Region. Oloibiri has been mined until the area has been abandoned like a castrated rooster. That will be the lot of the Niger Delta Region when the oil wells are dry. The Federal Government has to make frantic efforts to ensure uninterrupted flow of crude oil to lubricate the economy, lest the economy gasps for breathe. Although it is obvious that the Amnesty Deal was purposed to palliate the developmental challenges of the Region. This rickety thing called AMNESTY CAN FAIL because its a mere Greek Gift. After the Amnesty propaganda has been laminated into the psyche of the militants, the Federal Government would then use its intelligence network to eliminate the so called leaders so as to emasculate any further opposition.
Already the JTF is a Gestapo of sort, cheating, bunkering, extorting, swindling and raping. Under the rubrics of AMNESTY, criminality of whatever colouration would intensify and the Region would slide into complete anarchy. When this happens, the corrupt Nigerian democratic junta wearing the toga of the RULE OF LAW would suffocate the oil producing communities by a deliberate policy of militarization. The Nigerian army may then be supported by recruitments from AFRICOM. It is then that the true meaning of Amnesty Will Be Made Known To The People Of The Niger Delta Region. Those basking under the euphoria of amnesty would be the first victims of this ploy.
Idumange John, is a University Lecturer and Activist
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