Niger Delta had always been a battlefield. I belong to the northern region, I have never asked myself why these people would not want to share their OIL with the rest of the us until recently. We thought the Niger Deltans are so greedy, hated everyone, we thought they were unfriendly because we were being deceived, tricked to believe that these people carry guns for no reason other than not willing to share. With the recent emergence of the boko haram sect, that changed the way I thout about this dear region. So many questions regarding the existence of the richest region in Nigeria remained unanswered, and made me go ‘shopping’ (for answers, of course). To be sincere with you, a lot of my folks down here in the north do not know what the Niger Delta means, but I do, to me, it means ‘Graveyard’.
The Niger Delta, in southern Nigeria is a very under-developed region today, and that supposed not to have happened because, it is in the Niger Delta that Nigeria derives its oil wealth which accounts for more than 80 percent of the government revenue generation. But poverty, Infrastructural underdevelopment, political marginalization and suppression of freedom of speech among others are part of what fuel the agitations for the creation of various freedom groups in the region, some of wich proved to be dangerous in recent years.
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If we could all do justice to ourselves, we may have to be in the Niger Deltans frame of reference, I mean so many social injustices and cases of human right violations have occured in the region by the watch of series of Nigerian regimes. A few among many are;
1. Ogoni land Crisis
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As I gathered, economical petroleum exploration in Nigeria began in 1957 in the Ogoni land, and through that to date, so many sorrowful moments happened under the watch of the Nigerian government; for example, Forcing the natives of the Ogoni land to abandon their homes and lands without consultations and paying negligible ransom. Sadly, that tragic incidence was supported by the Nigerian constitution in 1979 amendments.
By the 1970s to 1980s, the Nigerian government have made countless number of failed promises to the Ogoni people.
On May 21, 1994, the Nigerian government killed four of their chiefs. By mid-June, the Nigerian security forces had razed about 30 villages, detained about 600 people and killed at least 40. This figure eventually rose to roughly 2,000 civilian deaths and the displacement of around 100,000 internal refugees.
In May 1994, nine activists from the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), among them Ken Saro-Wiwa, were arrested and accused of incitement to murder following the deaths of four Ogoni elders. Saro-Wiwa and his comrades denied the charges, but were imprisoned for over a year before being found guilty and sentenced to death. The trial and death of these activists was influenced by some major oil company through the use of bribe given to the military as well as bribing witnesses to testify against them.
In so many instances, the government blocked so many gatherings, weddings that were long been prepared for were cancelled, people were suppressed, civil rights thrashed in the name of maintaining law and order.
Although the government had ordered a "ceasefire" on the innocent inhabitants of the Ogoni land, however no attempt was been made by the Nigerian government or any international community to investigate such prosecutions and war crimes against the sons and daughters of the Ogoni Land.
2. Ijaw Revolt
between 1999-1998 the Ijaw people received their fair share of Nigerian government injustice. the Ijaw youth Conference simply wanted to negotiate with the oil companies at first by writing a long letter to the oil companies demanding a settlement for making them evacuate their homes and lands in the name of oil exploration, instead, it lead to a point where the Nigerian government sent over ten thousand troops to occupy their land in search of the youths, that lead to the death of so many innocent people. please note that these shameful act of injustices did not stop there, the murder of an Ijaw leader confronting the military to negotiate, together with a seven year old girl and a few others are among the most brutal memoirs of the Nigerian government as far as Niger Delta people are concerned.
In summary series of massacres followed those events, as usual so many cases of rape by the Nigerian military were recorded, the Odi massacre happened then, so many social gatherings were terminated, and countless more.
3. The failed Promises
The Niger Delta Development Commision was a mess. NDDC was established in 2000. The 25-year Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan (NDRDMP) was designated to be implemented by NDDC, eventually, the overall performance of the commision was a fraud because the large federal appropriations for the commission did not actually reflect the effort put by NDDC. More than 700 billion naira (about $3.5 billion) was owed by NDDC from the Obasanjo and Yar’Adua administrations (1999-2010). Two factors actually lead to the falure of the NDDC to meet its designanted target, Corruption and the governement lack of interest.
Ministry for Niger Delta Affairs was created in 2008, the ministry was conceived as a federal mechanism to formulate and execute programs and projects for development and security in nine oil-producing states. 35 Its priorities are road construction; establishment of skills acquisition centres; water supply and electrification projects; housing schemes etc. Sadly, as if history writes itself, there is nothing to show that actually tells us yes, this is what the ministry does.
Nonetheless, trillions of naira have been alloted to Niger delta region for the sole purpose of developing the region, however such huge sum was nowhere to be found.
4. The Confusion
That more than eighty percent of the oil wells in the niger Delta are owned by the northereners is a terryfiying truth. I magine what that would be to someone who was born there, his parents born there, his grandparents and on and on.
The consequences
The incessant supression of the Niger Delta people by various Nigerian government lead to the creation of violent militant groups. These groups were responsible for crippling the Nigerian economy in many instances in time and caused enormous lost to the government and individual oil companies as well, on such account
1. The Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force (NDPVF) was formed by ‘Mujahid’ Asari Dokubo, a former IYC leader who was tired and eventually embraced arms. Together with Ateke Tom of the Niger Delta Vigilante (NDV), they have formed smaller groups (allegedly over 100) of ‘sub-militant’ groups that monitor and implement various violent acts against the Federal Government and the Oil companies, some of the most prominent among these acts include, pipeline vandalism and several kidnappings of oil workers. These groups of a secret crime network advanced to a more intelligent act popularly known as ‘oil bunkering’, a process in which an oil pipeline is tapped and the oil extracted onto a barge. That, to the Nigerian government was a serious.
2. The declared “all-out war” with the Nigerian government by Asari Dokubo’s NDPVF caused the Nigerian government high.
8% of the total landmass of Nigeria lies in the Niger Delta region, that percentage contains about 31 million inhabitants, although different tribes, but united by land. It was a mistake in the first place for Nigerian government to neglect living beings occupying such a relevant percentage with such a huge population.
Although the war cost Nigeria high, as I mentioned earlier, to also cost the Niger Delta innocent indigenes higher, for the drastic number of negative effect caused by the war between both sided, oil spillage and environmental pollution among others.
More militancy, more military actions
By around 2008, the Niger Delta had became a battleground, a red zone, a no go area. One cannot precisely tell the size of ‘wasted’ resources and lives in the region.
Niger Delta Today: a Dilemma to the Nigerian Government
To the Nogerian government, Niger Delta is a dilemma, if she goes to a full frontal war with the region the world will surely disown her. It might be a valid option, but I can’t guaranty it is the best option. If the government leave the Niger Delta be itself, then more troubles, more pipeline vandalism, more crimes, more kidnappings, more of everything to the Nigerian government.
The Sin of the Nigerian Government
It was very clear, from the aforementioned tragedies that, Nigerian government was very cruel, and inhuman to the Niger Delta people. In my view, no human being or group shall be exposed to such unimaginable hardship the way the Niger Delta people did.
If I belong to the region, I will definitely fight, but how? Thats what matters.
But Militancy is not an option
It is very wrong for the Niger Delta people to carry arms in order to counter attack a government. Individuals cannot fight government, especially for a segregated region like Niger Delta. Please note that so many social injustices and civil rights suppression have happened in the history of Nigerian existence in various communities by the people in power, not only Niger Delta, the most prominent among those struggles in the Northern part of Nigeria was the one experienced by The Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU), the first political party in Northern Nigeria. Instead of embracing violence, they insisted on the use of peaceful protests demonstration and resistance that does not involve the use of arms, eventually there was a success.
I still insist, Niger Deltans have a reason to fight
If I were a Niger Deltan, I will surely fight, but not with arms. I realized that carrying arms doesnt solve anything, a popular saying in hausa goes by “Abinda zaman lafiya bai kawo shi ba, rashinta bazai kawo shi ba” roughtly meaning, “War cannot change what peace failed to change ”. Rather, let them be heard by uniting themselves. I strongly believe that two factors made all Niger Deltants efforts in vain; Disunity and Corruption. For the Niger Deltans to force the govenrment to address their issues, the is a need to cleanse themselves in every way; give up corruption, it was corruption that lead to the failure of NDDC and The ministry for Niger Delta, same corruption lead to the failure to have provided the region with infrastructural elements despite all the allotments given to the region by the federal government through those government agencies. The various ethnic groups that made up the Niger Delta must;
1. Resolve their differences, unite and speak as one. Together, they will make up a voice of over 31 million Niger Delta indegenes.
2. Discourage their corrupt traditional leaders as well as their political leaders who sell their freedom for a relatively few amount of Naira.
3. Organize controlled peaceful protests constantly until the government listens to them.
4. File a lawsuit against the federal government and the oil companies on any discrimination experienced.
5. Elect good representatives that can speak for their people in national assembly.
6. Always remember that Nigeria belongs to all of us, including the Niger Deltans.
We Shall all remember
That Nigeria belongs to all of us, each one of us has something to contribute to the existence of Nigeria as a whole. While a few people think of an option to break away from the mother nation, we shall all understand that such a decision will be impossible. A lot of us cannot afford to lose our country because of some individual interests.
As the most powerful African nation in the world, that’s a rare gift that doesnt usually come everyday, and when you have such a gift, you will do whatever it takes to preserve it. Nigerians cannot afford to reduce in size, cannot afford division, I am not saying this as my opinion, but as it appears to be. Lets all stay together and build our nation, together we remain stronger.
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