The fact that the Niger Delta region that produces this revenue is one of the poorest regions in the world may be news especially to Nigerians, majority of whom, outside the Niger Delta do not know the situation on the ground. The Niger Deltans out of frustration have resolved to control their own resources (and rightly so) and they are called militants. If demanding what is rightly yours makes you a militant, then should it not be so? Imagine if this crude oil was in Northern Nigeria, will ‘Derivation’ (Resource Control) not be a major factor in revenue sharing in Nigeria.

I have decided, wherever possible, to pictorially present my opinions on the Nigerian situation, for a picture represents a thousand words, it graphically brings home to readers the real situation, as it is, on the ground. The real deal.

Dear readers below are pictorial representation of the situation in Niger Delta today (Courtesy of BBC Online and www.unitedijawstates.com), the goose that lay the Nigerian golden eggs that are squandered hundreds of miles away from where the goose lays. This is what the Niger Deltans are fighting against and in demanding’ rightly’ for what is rightly theirs, they are called ‘militants’.

Be the judge.
Though i do not support the activities of the Niger DELTA YOUTHS but they are have a strong and genuine struggle.

What in your opinions are the best possible ways to stop the unrest in the region.

Be the judge.
Though i do not support the activities of the Niger DELTA YOUTHS but they are have a strong and genuine struggle.

What in your opinions are the best possible ways to stop the unrest in the region.

Best solution is to go after BABANGIDa and collect most of his ill gotten wealth and use to develop this region.

Please let those people who said that 25percent derivation would be given to Niger delta over their dead bodies see the pictures and let God speak to their conscience.Before some regions got 50 percent of thier resources to develop their regions,but today 25 percent is too much to be given Niger Delta.Again let NNDC be scrapped because the small amount given to them has been mismanaged by the indignenes of Niger Delta eg Alaibe who is only interested in looting the commision.

This is injustice of the highest order. What economic activity could possibly be carried out on these lands that have been made barren by a satanic combination of oil spillage and gas flaring! He who wears the shoe knows where it pinches. The Niger Delta people who daily watch helplessly how their waters, which have hitherto been thier source of livelihood, have been polluted with the aquatic life therein destroyed definitely have sad stories to tell. It is so easy to accuse the youths from Niger Delta of not being educated but education doesnt come as a free commodity. The lands which would have been utilised for farming and the waters for fishing have all been destroyed. Where then do the money to educate the youths would come from. How could people be subjected to this sort of depravation on thier own lands, in their own country and we expect them to maintain peace. What we would rather get can best be described as the peace of the grave yard.

It is time the Federal Govt and the Niger Delta state governments take a more serious and commited look at this situation. How could the governors who were in power for the past eight years embezzle funds meant for the development of these ares and watch their poeple die of lack and poverty. I guess there isnt anything called conscience in the minds of these ex-governors any more. What a pity!

some nigerians would condemn militants without knowing the situation on ground,not many are ready to go there to see things for themselves especially those who living in the north.As far as oil exploration is uninterupted so that money can be shared ,niger delta people are free to die.VIK,you said you dont support the activities of the youths in the region,well iam 100 percent in support of these guys and i bet you more people are joining them. please let us increase the tempo of voilence so that they will hear us.the militants should also strike outside niger delta.

How the Oil Money is Spent

@vikiviko

Why not post pictures of the mansions and hugely expensive cars and planes owned by the so called Niger Delta leaders.

True talk Mariory

niger-delta people charity begins at home. start this fight by hitting hard at your leaders. when your leaders are on your side, i tell you, even the fed govt + army+navy+police+etc will not be able to stop the momentum b/c the evidence of gross injustice are damn too overwhelming.

darfur:

niger-delta people charity begins at home. start this fight by hitting hard at your leaders. when your leaders are on your side, i tell you, even the fed govt + army+navy+police+etc will not be able to stop the momentum b/c the evidence of gross injustice are damn too overwhelming.

Yep you're right, only from one perspective. From a much broader perspective, we are all Nigerians and should not just watch and allow the demons among the "Niger-Delta Leaders" ruin an entire section of Nigeria. We all should bring down such leaders.

The problem is that this may expose the ethnic fault lines in Nigeria. If a Yoruba politician or an Hausa police office or an Igbo prosecutor moves against these so-called Niger-Delta Leaders, many of the Niger-Delta people may stand up to defend the thieves in blinded ethnic loyalty to a criminal responsible for much poverty and desolation. Sad!

If ALAMS is welcomed like king after 'serving his sentence' despite looting his own people, what kind of signal is our brothers and sisters in the Niger Delta sending out to the whole nation.

Maybe it may not be such a bad idea if combination of None Niger deltans are use to formulate whatever development is required with the advice of local people rather than leave it to the Chiefs who are not interested in the ordinary people of ND.

Howsover we get the place develop should be the priority of the present government.

1. Electricity

2. Niger Delta

3. Transport network, as in Infrastrutures- Roads, Railways, Water Transports and Airports and safety.

4. Regional business Zones- we can use the 6 geo political zone as basis of the development.

We have the branins, the money, what we lack is the decisive POLITICAL WILL.

Mr. president Yar A'dull are you listen or someone should tell him after 7 months we need vision and his plan to give confidence to Nigerians.

In Nigeria a problem in an ethnicity is treated with nonchalance by other ethnicities . That is the kind of attitude we have used for like ever. It's because it's a matter of oil that's why there's so much noise. During the Ife /Modakeke crisis, it was the problem for them to solve rather than a "Nigerian problem." Most of us _{including me} exhibit a nonchalant attitude because it's not our ethnicity that is involved. A Yoruba man's problem is not an Igbo man's problem and and we sing and chant along with Onyeka Onwenu one love keep us together. Who am I deceiving?

RichyBlacK:

Yep you're right, only from one perspective. From a much broader perspective, we are all Nigerians and should not just watch and allow the demons among the "Niger-Delta Leaders" ruin an entire section of Nigeria. We all should bring down such leaders.

The problem is that this may expose the ethnic fault lines in Nigeria. If a Yoruba politician or an Hausa police office or an Igbo prosecutor moves against these so-called Niger-Delta Leaders, many of the Niger-Delta people may stand up to defend the thieves in blinded ethnic loyalty to a criminal responsible for much poverty and desolation. Sad!

You have a very good point there.

akpanbaba:

Please let those people who said that 25percent derivation would be given to  Niger delta over their dead bodies see the pictures and let God speak to their conscience.Before some regions got 50 percent of their resources to develop their regions,but today 25 percent is too much to be given Niger Delta.

The only people blocking (25% or 50%)derivation are the Hausa/Fulani(North) and their ally conspirator Yoruba(West), this people don't want to see one single development in Niger Delta, they want to see N.D people die in poverty, IJAW tribe the main target. That is why we have to encourage and congratulate our heroic Freedom Fighters (M.E.N.D, NDPVF,NDRF,JRC,Ikwere RF,CROSS River Patriotic F,Ogoni LF, AKWA IBOM L.A. etc) for their good work to emancipate our people from this Devil Paradise called Nigeria.

Lets be pragmatic when dealing with the Niger Delta people and their issues. For more than 50 years, the Nigerian state have been sucking crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids from the region.

I did a rough approximation of the volume of petroleum resource Nigeria have taken from the Niger Delta lands since 1957. It's more than 40 billion barrels of oil equivalent (i.e. oil and natural gas resources). I used a conservative average rate of 1.8 million barrels of oil equivalent perday production since 1957.

In monetary terms, Nigeria has realised some 2.5 trillion dollars, using a conservative average of about $40/barrel of crude.

The question beggin for answer is the fraction of this amount of money that has been ploughed back by the Nigerian state into the delta since oil began flowing from this region. Well, from my view point, it's less than 13% - including all the monies stolen by the leaders from the area and the ones given to them by the FG.

Of the remaining more than 87%, IBB and OBJ used nothing less than 30% of that to facilitate such things like building Hiltop Mansions at Minna and Aboukuta GRAs, buying over bonds and shares, running chiken farms, globetrotting, buying shares in Transcorp, building Bells group of schools and Obasanjo Holdings, hiring thugs for political parties, etc etc.

Gowon used part of that 87% in constructing roads and retiring to his Plateau state home. In short, the rest was spent on Nigeria.

Now, which of you guys will see this kind of injustice happening to your region and will not carry arms?

@ Ono

The whole matter bowls down to corruption. If a leadership is corrupt or perceived to be corrupt there will be corruption multiplied in many fold.

I am very happy that there is one thing that you cant put at Yaradua side is corruption. Now Ono you have to know when you take out corruption and put rule of law very little will be plenty.

I have lived in other places that have no oil but they are doing well. if the Niger delta can convert themselves into a business block by Their ownselves and not sell their birthright then they can make it.

Yes the Business of oil has gone far now you need to organise yourself. Carrying guns will only make you get raw cash that you will end up spending and you will go for more.

You need to Own the OIL BUT IT MUST BE ECONOMICALLY OWNED NOT MILITARILY. If you have the local expertise to explore oil you will be able to be useful to nigeria when oil is discovered in other places. Your experise is needed you need to build yourself up.

we should have had 4 petroluem universities by now in the NIGER DELTA they should be turning out petroleum engineers in the world.

If they give you all the oil money you may end up killing yourselves. OWN THE OIL ECONOMICALLY!

Owning the oil ''economically'' is like telling us to hold the tail of a hungry lion. Some tribes have said they're ready to declare a Jihad if anything like that happens.

And I know the Yorubas will not allow such things to see the light of the day. The Igbos might consider such thing happening cause they are affected by the present lopsided nature.

I thought you were savvy to understand how to ask how. This cheap tribalism you play don't move me. You want to kill people to own the oil?

Which yorubas? Oh they make a meeting to say you should not own your oil economically. They say you should not build schools where you only learn about Petroleum?

The resources that have been given we know where they are. don't push that here we are smarter than that. dont make it look like we dont know anything about the delta. My step mum was a deltarian.

OK then, tell us how to own the oil economically . . . . . . .I'm all eyes and ears.

My dear Ono


To Own The oil will take Sincerity Honesty and commitment among people of this area. Because of the corruptibility of the adults it is better to use the young men.

What you do is to set up chains of cells that will be an enterprise.

The aim and objectives will be

1) Education in Business of Oil
2) Technical exoertise in Oil Exploration
3) Advanced Expertise In Oil Exploration( OIL SCIENTIST and Engineers)


Education is the Business aspect of Petroleum


When you set a company with men that can handle the finance aspect of oil you have a corporate entity that can stand in the Niger delta people will run to the Niger delta.

You set up a company with softer terms that other would give.

You know the workings of selling oil and you are more efficient than any one else.

You miust train youths in the area of economics that will be selfless because the goal is to dominate the oil business.



Technical Expertise

This will involve training young men FREE of Charge. Setting up a Petroleum Training Institute set up By the people of the delta no white man or government. The people must look for means. and the trained people are employed by the companies set up.

You will say that people will not give you the Job no they will because you have trained your people with lots of code of ethics.

@Backslider - how do you get funding for this? It is not a bad idea BUT this is exteremely capital intensive and the only people who have enough money to do so right now are politicians, those who own oil and wealthy entrepreneurs. Who will pay for the millions of POUNDS needed to set up universities and fund mining expeditions for this without wanting to make their own profit or own some if not all the oil themselves? You see the problem?

All the same I don't buy into MEND how long have they been doing this the people who REALLY REALLY own the oil and have the power to make a difference can never be caught by such militants the people who are caught are the semi-rich Nigerians who aren't even well educated about the full plight of the people and small children and ambitious oyibo (perhaps greedy but greed in itself is not so bad as long as you are not stepping on the heads of others).

The government are the ones who are supposed to fix things. Even if they don't want to hand over oil, they can take these oil companies to court and use the money to build up and clean the area, provide education etc. So that they will care more about the people and environment. These pictures are worse than 9/11.

Anyway I would not wait for that to happen. Just pray for me to become rich I will develop the area myself!

ono:

Owning the oil ''economically'' is like telling us to hold the tail of a hungry lion. Some tribes have said they're ready to declare a Jihad if anything like that happens.

And I know the Yorubas will not allow such things to see the light of the day. The Igbos [b]might consider such thing happening cause they are affected by the present lopsided nature. [/b]

Are you forgetting history already?

Pre-civil war Nigeria had no law that took away property owernership from individual as soon as oil was discovered.

Some short sighted elements(you know who) in the Niger delta supported and encouraged the Gowon and then the Obasanjo regime to enact land use decrees and boundary manipulations they thought 'would finally finish off the Igbos'

Today, the evil those people did has come back to hunt them and their children.

No, the Igbos don't consider such things happening because of the present lopsided nature. That's where you have refused to see reason, probably because of your individual experience.

The real reason why the Igbos would consider such is because that has been their position all along; before and after the war.

By simple law of proximity, any environmental disaster in the Niger delta would affect the Igbos faster than it would affect the Hausa/Fulani man in Sokoto or Maiduguri.

That is one reason why the Igbos feel the pain of the Niger delta people more than any other part of Nigeria.

Another reason maybe the cultural and blood ties to the Niger delta people. A lot of Niger deltans are actually Igbos- let's not forget.

naijaking1:

Some short sighted elements(you know who) in the Niger delta supported and encouraged the Gowon and then the Obasanjo regime to enact land use decrees and boundary manipulations they thought 'would finally finish off the Igbos'

One of such elements was your brother at Asaba, Chief Philip Asiodu, the then Permanent Secretary in the ministry of energy, mines and power. I didn't know he wanted Igbos (his brothers and kiths) finished off so badly.

@Ono
that was a good start, don't forget the Adaka Boros, the J.P Clarks, Diete Spiffs, and so on.

Some of these people transformed their individual problems in the former Eastern Nigeria into a wholesome retribution/persecution of the Igbos.

At the end, the Niger deltans and the Igbos are united by more than just crude oil and abandoned property.

So, once again, the Igbos don't just support better compensation for the people from whose land oil is taken, most Igbos think that the land decree that removed ownership from original owners just because oil was discovered should be discarded.

People on whose land oil is found should be the people mining the oil just as it's done in TX, OK, LA, and other parts of the World.

However, the hope of Nigerians, Africans in general, and the West could be shattered or dashed if the Niger Delta situation vis-à-vis revenue allocation and development are not resolved in a manner that is beneficial to all stake holders. The Western nations, particularly Britain, and the United States, have a moral responsibility to persuade Nigerian power-wielders to amicably resolve the Niger Delta issues so that the country does not fall apart or become an economic basket case due to continuing mismanagement, excessive corruption, and the unjustifiable distribution of the oil revenue. The region presently holds the economic key to the survival of Nigeria as a viable state. Oil, which is mostly found in the Niger Delta, accounts for "50 percent of Nigeria's gross domestic product (GDP) and 95 percent of the country's foreign exchange earnings

Backslider:

My dear Ono


To Own The oil will take Sincerity Honesty and commitment among people of this area. Because of the corruptibility of the adults it is better to use the young men.

What you do is to set up chains of cells that will be an enterprise.

The aim and objectives will be

1) Education in Business of Oil
2) Technical exoertise in Oil Exploration
3) Advanced Expertise In Oil Exploration( OIL SCIENTIST and Engineers)


Education is the Business aspect of Petroleum


When you set a company with men that can handle the finance aspect of oil you have a corporate entity that can stand in the Niger delta people will run to the Niger delta.

You set up a company with softer terms that other would give.

You know the workings of selling oil and you are more efficient than any one else.

You miust train youths in the area of economics that will be selfless because the goal is to dominate the oil business.



Technical Expertise

This will involve training young men FREE of Charge. Setting up a Petroleum Training Institute set up By the people of the delta no white man or government. The people must look for means. and the trained people are employed by the companies set up.

You will say that people will not give you the Job no they will because you have trained your people with lots of code of ethics.

in other words. . . . . they will never own the oil

toshmann:

in other words. . . . . they will never own the oil

Tosh,
Pronto!

Vikiviko,

Please send the pictures to Ibori in prison and the rest to Odili.Then they will know the damage they have done to people of Delta region.
Then elect Dokubo-Asari(a 2 time university drop out) as the president of proposed Niger Delta nation.

99.999999999999% of Nigeria look like this so we are not shocked at these images.

Please next topic!

almondjoy:

99.999999999999% of Nigeria look like this so we are not shocked at these images.

Please next topic!

That's not true. I can take you to VGC and some areas at Maitama in Abuja . . . . . . places largely built up with oil money. Yet you come here to say everywhere is like the Niger Delta. Abeg hold ya self o!

So will kidnappings and killings lead to the restoration of the polluted lands? Militancy is at best a stupid response and at worst sheer nihilism to the defilement of the Niger delta regions.