I am in new Zealand doing a law paper on international terrorism. I am researching the Niger Delta region and the recent kidnappings etc, the mainstream online papers have focused on Ijaw militants and the MEND, I need some help as to whats going on over there. My main thesis is that although the actions of the attackers can be considered terrorist acts and have so been labelled by your government but that the old saying "one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter" is also applicable. I am interested in whats going on cause it seems to be a conflict not just along traditional ethnic/religious/nationalistic lines but also of environmental/human rights mixed with the question of whether corporations should care about all those issues. I am also confused as to whether the consistution was actually amended so that the government does not have to set aside oil revenue to the state.
ANY enlightenment would be great. Its difficult trying to gauge the "truth" from the other side of the world.

We have no terrorists here in the Niger Delta Point of correction, that is where i Lived, we a peace loving people fighting for our right, so who come you are labeling us that name, if you want to get information about terrorist go to www.bbcnews.com and click on the middle east then do your search there

Fair call and I imagine that it is a small percentage commiting attacks, however the Nigerian government has labelled the recent actions as terrorist actions and kidnappings, all depends on how you define terrorism I guess. Thanks for the feedback though but I think you missed my request, the BBC reports only on what the government is preaching, I am just trying to look beneath the political rhetoric and am trying to see what motivates people to commit violent acts against not only military actors but also civilians

Is it what motivate people to commite violent in the Niger-Delta or Nigeria in General?

Nigeria in general, but especially in Niger Delta, do people generally support groups like MEND or the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force, I understand their stance, but do they have popular support?

when it comes to Nigeria as a whole, we the Niger Delta are tight brothers and sisters

charlisco:

when it comes to Nigeria as a whole, we the Niger Delta are tight brothers and sisters

yeah. like ijaws and itsekiris, ijaws and ilajes, urhobos and itsekiris. they luv each other to the death. if you cant elighten chanel do not give us bulls#!t.

otitoloju,
you are so damn right. Their love is so strong, only death do them part, which seems to happen far too often!

charlisco,
do yourself a favour and check up what terrorism means, if you had any clue whatsoever, you would know that the acts committed by MEND are terrorist acts. Maybe you are a wannabee "freedom fighter" and cannot or will not accept the truth?

Their are many other means to resolve the issues without violence. But first and foremost, lets remember who brought the wealth to Nigeria? Yes, the oil has always been there, but who explored and who turned it into something Definitely not your beloved "brothers & sisters"!

The multinationals have always paid HUGE amounts of money over to the communities in which they operate, just a damn pity that the so called leaders (Chiefs, Kings, Princes, etc, etc, etc) keep the money for themselves and dont distribute it amongst THEIR people like they should!

And then come the political leaders, governors, etc, as corrupt as can be!, and your own NNPC! Majority of the multinational oil companies have to pay over 60% to the NNPC. Where is the money going?!? And then, just to top it off, the oil companies still haveto assist the NNPC with their own facilities, beacuse they "dont have the funds"?!?!?!?!?

Oyibo1
You have certainly spoken the truth. The 13% derivation going to the S/S states has really not been put to good use yet. In as much as I support the need for these areas to be developed. I will not subscribe to the act of kidnapping and bombings as being carried out by MEND.
If the 13% derivation is put to good use, the 9ja delta region would certainly be more developed that what it is now. In fact if there is need for any kidnapping, then it should be the leaders and governors of the 9ja delta region that are supposed to be held captive.

oyibo01:

otitoloju,
you are so damn right. Their love is so strong, only death do them part, which seems to happen far too often!

charlisco,
do yourself a favour and check up what terrorism means, if you had any clue whatsoever, you would know that the acts committed by MEND are terrorist acts. Maybe you are a wannabee "freedom fighter" and cannot or will not accept the truth?

Their are many other means to resolve the issues without violence. But first and foremost, lets remember who brought the wealth to Nigeria? Yes, the oil has always been there, but who explored and who turned it into something Definitely not your beloved "brothers & sisters"!

The multinationals have always paid HUGE amounts of money over to the communities in which they operate, just a damn pity that the so called leaders (Chiefs, Kings, Princes, etc, etc, etc) keep the money for themselves and don't distribute it amongst THEIR people like they should!

And then come the political leaders, governors, etc, as corrupt as can be!, and your own NNPC! Majority of the multinational oil companies have to pay over 60% to the NNPC. Where is the money going?!? And then, just to top it off, the oil companies still haveto assist the NNPC with their own facilities, beacuse they "don't have the funds"?!?!?!?!?

Damn, this is too damn good!! It's false that the oil companies haven't been giving the communities money, they have. It's been the so called leaders in that region whom are depriving the area of improvements,  by steeling the money given them by the Oil companies and government.

Now that I think about it, it's not an army of military men whom need to be sent into the delta, but an army of EFCC and SSS men instead with a mission to track down and strip all of those kings, princes, and other simple village leaders of the mass of wealth thy obviously have stashed away in those swamps and abroad. Wealth that was supposed to have been used to build new roads, bridges, schools and other necessities for their people.

In fact, it's mighty odd how this MENDS situation would escalate to such an heightened level right at about the same time the EFCC began steamrolling their operations of hauling in corrupt leaders, before then no one really heard of the group, and that was because before then they weren't forging about on terroristic raids all over the place, and they didn't have the weaponry to do so.

I'd bet a fortune that these corrupt village leaders whom have been steeling the money given to them by the oil companies and government have funded this priorly miniscule group to go out and cause ruckus, so to stall their prosecution by the EFCC who they knew would soon be hot on their tail for their thievery. Matter of fact, I'm positive of this conclusion.

Wat ever anyone will say,
the fact still remains that militants are terrorists

Muza:

what ever anyone will say,
the fact still remains that militants are terrorists

I agree but add the gworo chewing militants that reigned terror on Jos residents last week!

@post

http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2008/03/26/politics-war-0 will solve some of your questions. The militancy in the ND has been usurped by dubious politicians to do their bidding. They no longer fight for the rights of the common ND man. They fight each other over rights to collect royalties from 'bunkering' and allowances from corrupt politicians. The only good thing to come out of this current fiasco is that the world's attention and more importantly Nigeria's attention has been drawn to the plight of the citizens who live in that area.

I guess the real debate is who is more terroristic.

U want terrorists? Go to Jos Plateau.

Go to Aso Rock

MEND are internationally recognized as a terrorist group, kidnapping lil kids and foreigners, oh yes we are interested in oil u have that u dont know how to make use of it,

.

Chanel, the line of distinction is very thin between crude-oil smuggling gangs on one hand, and bonefide Niger Delta militants, who have taken to arms in response to a half century of being grievously short-changed by the Nigerian federal government, on the other hand.  Geographically, the disparate armed groups occupy overlapping terrain in the mangroves, oil fields and swamps, with ever-shifting territorial boundaries that are fought over with infantry weapons and single minded savagery.

To further muddy the waters, a clandestine "parallel government", comprising crude oil smuggling gangs who operate at the behest of government officials, has existed for decades, in sufficiently organised form to maintain fleets of trucks, ships, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft, and well funded enough to have constructed numerous airstrips and dedicated asphalt roads that are plied by convoys of tankers tasked with smuggling crude oil to neighboring West Africa countries, as a supplement to the "ghost" ship tankers that set sail for Europe laden with oil, covered by falsified documents that "authorize" their cargos to be fenced by private individuals.  Those smuggling highways and landing strips, hewn out of tropical jungle, do NOT appear on any official maps.

The intrigue, skulduggery, betrayal, anarchy, corruption, greed and gratuitous violence that characterize Nigeria and the Niger Delta would provide action novelist Tom Clancy with enough inspiration for a whole series of tales, and I have for a while now been working on a semi-fictional book loosely based of the goings on there, in the hopes of scoring a buck or two before the whole country implodes, along with my story sources.

Chanel:

Nigeria in general, but especially in Niger Delta, do people generally support groups like MEND or the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force, I understand their stance, but do they have popular support?

Why not come to Nigeria? a lot of people will show you the way to the creek, that way you'll see the millitant face to face. why d focus on nigeria, afghanistan is anoda good case study.
you oyibos chooses not to see anything good in africa.

NIGERIA IS NOT A TERRORIST NATION!

Chanel
Like you said one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. Don't expect to get the true picture from nigerian because the niger delta is a minority. If the niger delta is given what they are fighting for, others regions, states and people who form the majority in the country will not be able to survive because these other regions depend mainly on the revenue from the oil pumped from the niger delta.  There is a saying that the ant will never be found innocent (even if it is) among the gathering of chickens otherwise the chickens will have no food for lunch.

Most nigerians who call the MEND terrorist are not from the niger delta. They are the majority. But in truth, that bombing on Oct 1 that killed innocent lives was clearly a terrorist act. But even before that bombing, most nigerians have always had a dislike for the niger delta militants because they somehow see their demands of resources control and devolution of power as a threat to their livelihood. Surprisingly, the US and europe are yet to call MEND terrorist. I think its because the whole world know that MEND are fighting for a just cause, at least on paper. The whole world saw how the former military leader hung late Ken Saro Wiwa who was fighting peacefully for the exact same cause MEND now claim to be fighting for. Most nigerians outside the niger delta though acknowledge that there is a legitimate cause but they insist MEND is just using it as a front to achieve their own criminal activities. Whether this is true or not is yet to be seen. But MEND have always wanted to negotiated with the government so that the crisis can end but the government have rebuffed their offers. Some people point to this as a proof that MEND are fighting a true cause. They say why would a terrorist organization be itching to sit on a round table to solve the crisis? Another signature of MEND that may have endered them to the international community is that they always send warning of impending attacks so that civilians casualties can me minimized. But the attacks themselves, especially the last one squarely falls in the domain of terrorist act as the world knows it. This fact make many nigerians who are in the majority say MEND have lost any legitimate cause they may have been fighting for. But is this an opportunist reason to dismiss MEND by people who already have a bais againt them? Its hard to tell.