Niger Delta: What Is The Problem?

My reponse may be foolish but you can only beat a thief if you know how a thief works, you can only defeat a lion with combat as you can only defeat this militants by force, i don't at all take your reply as an insult but rather as a reaction to my desperate suggestion -----------------peace------------

if you see a block speaking will you stay to hear it or move on?

At least there are some signs of progress, a lot of the hostages have been released and the government is paying more attetion.


Minister pledges speedy execution of Niger Delta housing scheme

Minister pledges speedy execution of Niger Delta housing scheme

From Florence Oretade, Abuja

A HOUSING blueprint for the Niger Delta presented to the Federal Government on Tuesday will be aggressively implemented, the Minister of Housing, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, has assured.
 
Receiving the report from the 15-man Federal Government Technical Committees on Housing Development for the Coastal States in Abuja, Mimiko said that the document would not be "left to gather dust on the shelf."

Mimiko said the development of the oil-rich region would go a long way in curbing the unrest in the area.

The government, he said, would not waste time in implementing the recommendation of the panel constituted to chart the course of solving the problem of housing in the Niger Delta.

He said: "Mr. President has demonstrated an incredible level of political will to address frontally the problem of the Niger Delta region. The solution to the region's housing has been brought to the front burner.

"A man that has a house is a fulfil man and the chances of his restiveness will also be reduced and we believe that the problem of housing in the Niger Delta can be tackled and I can assure you that Mr. President has the political will to do it."

Narrating the ordeal of the team during its visit to Kokokolo, a mangrove community in the Delta State, the panel's chairman, Mr. Fortune Ebbie, said the members saw the worst form of neglect in the area as the residents suffer in the midst of affluence.

According to him, the journey to the area on speedboat lasted for two hours before the members were paddled in a canoe covering one quarter of a kilometre followed by another one quarter kilometre walk in the mangrove before arriving in the village.

The village had no basic amenities and drink water from an 18-inche deep pond full of algae.

The village, he added, is surrounded by three oil wells but the residents send their wards to Sapele for primary education.

Ebbie charged the Federal Government not to allow the report to be treated shoddily.

Mimiko said the government would implement the panel's recommendations, including that of the stakeholders in the region.

The housing ministry, he said, would assume the role of leadership in the implementation of the report.

The committee, inaugurated on July 13, 2006, was to, among other things:

» Determine the communities in the coastal states of the Niger Delta to benefit from the intervention programme;


determine the housing needs (type and number) for each state and possibly, community in the region; and

determine the construction materials and the method of construction best suited to each state and where possible.

Source: http://odili.net/news/source/2006/oct/12/13.html

Shalom!

Ladies and Gentleman, i read in the Nigerian dailies today that MEND has confirmed the presence of foreign mercenaries in the region!!

The report gives a serious cause for concern. There is no doubt that the Niger Delta is a sad case of a neglected honey pot. However, recent events indicate that the original aim of people like Isaac Boro and Ken Saro-Wiwa has been hijacked by hoodlums. This leads one to the pertinent question: can guerilla warfare solve the myriad problems of this region? Though extremely bad and highly unjustified, nevertheless, the problems of the Niger Delta is a reflection of the greater Nigerian dilemma. It is what happens when a country fails to get the type of leader it deserves. Nigeria of today is being ruled by thieves and imbeciles who care pretty little about the well-being of its citizens. To further compound things for the Niger Delta, its supposed political leaders and traditional rulers are part of the Nigerian malaise - egocentric thieves.

Having said this much, would anyone consider the introduction of guerillas as a viable alternative? What does MEND stand to gain by blowing up the Third Mainland bridge in Lagos as threatened? In the event of this happening, who bears the brunt? Common people on the streets. Would that solve the problems of the Niger Delta? Another thing to consider is the history of bush wars in world history. History has taught us that thay hardly solve any problem. Rather they create more. War has never been a viable option to any human problem, be it social or political. This is something the people of this region should seriously digest.

The ecological and environmental damages caused in this region by oil exploration, gas flaring and sundry others are too numerous to mention. It is indeed a pathetic situation that warrants urgent priority from any responsible government, but not the Nigerian government. Half-hearted approaches and lip service has been the solution proffered by the vagabonds in power in Nigeria. Nevertheless, i have a sneaky feeling that the introduction of foreign mercenaries is taking the struggle to another dimension. One that goes beyond calling attention to the problems of this region. There is something sinister behind it all. The question is, what does MEND and other militant and non-militant groups in the region really want?