Even Henry Okah, who has long been considered a MEND leader and was released from prison last month in what seemed a test run of the amnesty deal, denied that the effort would work. “How many weapons have been recovered?” Mr. Okah said in a telephone interview. “What makes it a success? Where are the weapons? I think it’s all just a joke.”

The outcome is of far more than academic interest to the United States. West Africa was supplying about 15 percent of daily oil imports by the middle of this decade, and Nigeria, as the world’s 11th largest producer, was by far the biggest regional source, according to a 2007 paper in International Policy Report by three American experts.

Little of that wealth has made it down to the Delta, however. The same experts cited figures showing that 80 percent of oil money goes to 1 percent of the Nigerian population.

Joseph Harry, who spoke on behalf of the group at a press conference held in Abuja, expressed the readiness of all the “generals and commanders” under the Tompolo’s command to embrace the amnesty with a condition of government’s readiness to buy-back their weapons, provision of accommodation and allocate some shut-in oil wells to them among other demands.

JomoGbomo2:

. . . ND youths need to be educated not begged to be educated, ND youths needs to be more serious. . .

Beaf:

That is insulting.
These are literacy rates (in any language, including Yoruba) for Southern Nigeria. In English, the figures would be dramatically different. As you can see, ND does quite well. Nobody is begging ND people to be educated, thank you.

[table]
[tr][td]State[/td][td]Literacy Rate[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Lagos[/td][td]89.90[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Rivers[/td][td]82.60[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Akwa Ibom[/td][td]81.60[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Abia[/td][td]79.90[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Anambra[/td][td]77.80[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Edo[/td][td]77.00[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Ondo[/td][td]76.60[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Enugu[/td][td]75.60[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Cross River[/td][td]75.50[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Ekiti[/td][td]75.00[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Osun[/td][td]74.80[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Delta[/td][td]74.40[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Ogun[/td][td]69.60[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Bayelsa[/td][td]68.10[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Ebonyi[/td][td]57.70[/td][/tr]
[/table]

JomoGbomo2:

@ Beaf, please dont take this personal, i just want to ask you this question.

Do you beleive the numbers you posted is the actual reflection of what we have out there in the soceity? if so i take that clause back but if not then we have to find the gap  and bridge it.

Another thing i will want you to acknowledge is that 90% of 50 is far less than 50% of 200 and thats why i dont like percantage in maths, it doesn't give the true reflection of numbers in their whole sense. (thats y the banks use them to confuse us the more: apology to my banker folks).

Then lastly, everything i said is not just from the outside, especially when it comes to education, ND is my Alma-mata, thats the place i call "home" whenever i use that word. Everything my dad has is there. so pardon me if you dont like my choice of words.

Tompolo is a highly-organised person from what was seen at Camp 5 and his Oporoza home showed he is a man of taste. Virtually every room in the apartment, which some sources said is the community's guest house is luxuriously furnished. The house has between 17-20 rooms with three sitting rooms.

The militant leader has a communication room in the mansion, where he keeps in touch with the world and things happening around him globally. Major General Yarkin-Bello was interested when one of his men picked up a photograph of a jet fighter, suspected to have been downloaded from the internet by Tompolo.

It was discovered from the avalanche of newspapers in his room that Tompolo could be an avid reader of newspapers for virtually the copies of every major national newspaper were found there and he also downloaded news stories published by newspapers on the internet inside his house. The JTF told newsmen earlier that it recovered a cyber cafe used by the militants.

Governor Uduaghan also marvelled at various findings the JTF commander said he made in the house, particularly the arms found in the ceilings and the laundry room.