D-Explorer:
If the now President, comes up with a plan to respond to yearnings of the people like he did, is that your defination of fcking plan? If yes, then you probably should have been a victim of mass elimination

WTF?

Is Asari Dokubo 'The People's' spokeman?
Or Boyloaf?
Or Tompolo?

And by paying such ridiculous amounts to them, can 'The People' be seen to be benefiting from this windfall?

Have these bandits Changed or Improved the societies they live in?

Have they used thier monies to build schools and empower youths like they want the Government to?

Do you belong to the Creek gang?

Or are you just a natural f00l?

cheddarking:

I didnt know that bribery now amounts to 'reasonable engagement'.

From a pragmatic point of view, paying these warlords is a viable short-term solution to keep the infrastructure running.

But going as far as saying that Tompolo and Co. DESERVE these payments is tantamount to declaring your Stup1ty to the public.

By your logic, Boko Haram DESERVE compensation for all their members killed or incacerated so far...

...Yeah I though so too...

Mr. Man, if you have got eye defect please go get binoculars. Read my post again and reply carefully from the summit of your mental capacity.

diluminati:
sir permit me to say you are an ETERNAL FOOL.

nw tell me wat point av u made by been abusive. he made is point n u cldnt,cos u gat acess to d net doesnt gve u d ryt to insult pple.:::caveat:::::::

It is obvious that the only language our government understands is VIOLENCE. Going to school is just for the sake of knowing your rights. I have vowed never to leave this country for any other country in search of greener pasture. I will make it here in naija. All it takes is to be STRONG and learn to say NO when the authorities say YES and vice versa.

I'm getting tired of this country day by day.

Our community have a saying that "when one refuses to pay to God, he or she will definitely not avoid paying to the devil".

The point here is that when the Niger-deltans where clamouring peacefully for the development of their communities, the Nigerian state was busy hobnobbing with the oil companies and killing those who dared speak out.The oil companies themselves thought that with the government by their side there's 'no shaking'.

Now, the Nigerian state and the oil companies 'll not only continue to make these payments but 'll forever be at the mercy of these militants and the ones yet unborn i.e. if they are interested in oil revenue.

cheddarking:

WTF?

Is Asari Dokubo 'The People's' spokeman?
Or Boyloaf?
Or Tompolo?

And by paying such ridiculous amounts to them, can 'The People' be seen to be benefiting from this windfall?

Have these bandits Changed or Improved the societies they live in?

Have they used thier monies to build schools and empower youths like they want the Government to?

Do you belong to the Creek gang?

Or are you just a natural f00l?

so who's duty is it to empower youths or build schls like u mentiond? asari or tompolo. mayb u vote for them in d nxt general elections since u made the funds giving to them as ua country budget

cheddarking:

Ignoring your ridiculous assumption that Asari Dokubo shares his largesse equally with his fellow brigands....

Isnt this a case of chucking cash at the problem and hoping it would go away?
Are you suggesting that the only way to ensure national security is to bribe people to NOT commit crimes?

Are you suggesting that I should get paid by GEJ so I dont come back to Nigeria to blow your ass up?

Are you well?

Thank you for being an intelligent son of your father. When folks like Boboedom talk, I see glaringly the problems facing Nigeria vis-a-vis the haphazard, adhoc and logic-defying approach seen from those who have no business being anywhere near power yet find themselves in the most important jobs in Nigeria.

What is the amnesty program for if not an attempt to provide a cohesive and lasting rehabilitation of former militants that will make them useful and productive members of society? Is the plan now about making them millionaires , who never have to do an honest day's work, simply because a whole Nation is afraid they will pick up their guns? Why should any other financial arrangement be created outside the amnesty package? What kind of madness prompts these large payments to militant bosses for 'their boys'?

Is it not obvious that this is nothing but a cynical bribe to keep the 'boys' in ogogoro, prostitutes, cars and anything that distracts them from disturbing the income that sees a small percentage of Nigerians smiling to the bank daily?

The Government, as if it is a powerless shopkeeper controlled by a Mafia-like extortionist, is simply paying 'protection levy'. Is it not obvious there are far better, far more intelligent and substantially more enduring ways to run a Country , to ensure continuous equity and development, than this vacuous attempt to throw money at everything?

The plan was to retrain and rehabilitate militants. Not pay massive bribess to a few, to buy 'peace', while some swathes of the ND region remains cesspits of pollution, deprivation and hideous underdevelopment. Nothing good comes from such arrangements and ordinary Nigerians, as usual, will be the losers in the long run when these massively rich militants are also wielding political power to match their financial clout.

Too much insanity in Nigeria. Paying militants so they cld use d money to buy more arms. Will youths be encourage to study & work hard in dt region?
I hope truth will prevail in Nigeria one day. So sad.

cheddarking:

WTF?

Is Asari Dokubo 'The People's' spokeman?
Or Boyloaf?
Or Tompolo?

And by paying such ridiculous amounts to them, can 'The People' be seen to be benefiting from this windfall?

Have these bandits Changed or Improved the societies they live in?

Have they used thier monies to build schools and empower youths like they want the Government to?

Do you belong to the Creek gang?

Or are you just a natural f00l?

How do i convince this barbarian? How do i tell this lunkhead that whoever leads a movement is the spokesman? How should i define NDDC to this product of a local community school? How best will you understand that amnesty is a working plan? Too many questions dude, your head must be over-heating by now.

Is Nigeria d only country with natural resources? Yet we dont hear of such crazy govt interventions in countries far richer than us. I believe there are beta approaches to N/Delta than bribing mere criminals.

Super1759: ehmmm. Mister man, this why I don't like argument. Children that don't know anything. Was MEND killing people or kidnapping? MEND neva had intensions of killing, if they did. OBJ forced their hands on it. They are freedom fighters and not bomb agents like your brothers in the north. OBJ sent soldiers to "shoot at sight" and it worsen the case. Go and read your books,perewinkle

Like I have called you early,"you are a compound FOOL" for saying mend never killed or kidnapped innocent people, which OBJ forced their hands? The various armed robbery that token place back then, are they robbery for justice too, in the year 2004 during the infancy stage of mend, there was a robbery incident in Sapele whereby closed to 4 different banks where robbed & scores of people where killed by the same criminals that metamophased into mend, was it obj that pushed them into robbery or what about the various foreigners that were held hostage at different times, what about the ransom that was also paid, what will u call it? Fool.
I know how many friends & friends relatives that died in the hands of those criminals you called freedom fighters, perhaps know this, you are not more Deltan than Me, I am a full born Deltaner & I also want to inform all criminals parading themselves as fighters that the reign of the ijaw's will soon come to an end, faster than they could ever imagine then the true born of niger-delta will take their rightful place not does illiterate & criminal mind ijaw youths giving us bad names.

How I wish BUHARI is †нє president. How I wish

bigboy3:

make all of us dey carry gun dey threaten the peace of the nation be that, this my job no pay again o....but on a serious note your piece is interesting but i dont support your line of thought, in as much as it looks like the easy thing to do, it is not the ideal solution unfortunately. If our government keeps shying away and handling issues by bribing instead of trully addressing the fundamental problems and empowering them, then we can justify what Boko Haram is doing and get them paid too. This things don't end, they are quiet now because their brother is in charge, wait till the power shifts.....I fear for naija

Idealism and Reality are two different things. Idealism is what you say you would do before Reality hits you. Reality is what you actually and always get to do.
Forget ideals. Face reality. The immediate solution is what is pertinent. We can take of the resultant effects over the long run.
If you know the consequences of having these guys back in the creeks, you would forget idealism in an instant. Think about it. If a crises starts in the Niger Delta today, which soldiers are you going to send to protect the oil installations? We have just 80,000 troops most of whom aren't even trained in combat in a Mangrove Delta kind of environment.
So which is better? Face reality and pay them the $50 Million yearly or go for Idealism and collapse Nigeria? The choice is clear!

Demdem: President Jonathan's High-Priced Militants: Asari Dokubo, Tompolo, Ateke Tom Paid Millions of Dollars Annually


America’s Wall Street Journal today revealed [/b]the mind-boggling million dollar sums that the Nigerian government has been paying Niger Delta warlords to keep them off the oil pipelines in the past 12 months.

[b]Mr. Dokubo Asari, the former warlord that first shot to national limelight collects $9million every year to keep his estimated 4000 soldiers at bay. ‘General’ Ateke Toms and ‘General‘ Ebikabowei Boyloaf Victor Ben collect $3.5million apiece while General Government Tompolo Ekpumopolo is the most priced of all: he gets $22.5 million yearly.

The newspaper said the figures were gotten from senior officials of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, which makes the payment direct to these warlords.

While Dokubo shrugged off the huge payment he receives, about N1.44 billion, as nothing unusual, there is the belief that the selective payments have bred some jealousy among other militants, not so rewarded, who in reaction continue to pillage Nigeria’s crude oil pipelines. Nigeria loses no less than 10 per cent of its crude production to oil thieves on prowl in the Niger Delta, despite the programme of pacification called the Amnesty Programme.

By Shell’s account, no less than 150,000 barrels of Nigeria’s production are stolen daily, a very low estimate in the eyes of many Niger Delta watchers.

The Wall Street Journal said in its report that government plans to spend $450 million on the amnesty programme this year alone, despite the increasing theft of crude in the region.

Said the respected journal: The gilded pacification campaign is offered up by the government as a success story. But others say the program, including a 2009 amnesty, has sent young men in Nigeria’s turbulent delta a different message: that militancy promises more rewards than risks.

http://saharareporters.com/news-page/prpresident-jonathans-high-priced-militants-asari-dokubo-tompolo-ateke-tom-paid-millions-d

I really should have been a militant when I had the opportunity!!!!

slap1: Just like T.A Orji, who bought keke for the Aba 'Yorkers' (the largest union of hemp smokers in Nigeria, in my opinion), bought a bus for them and fenced their 'bunk' so they'd smoke in peace. . .pathetic country!

For real?? , and thats why he is not performing,
Back to d topic, IMO I am not justifying this spending but its still better than 960 billion budget for boko haram security check.

Another angle we have to look at is the fact that this not a Niger-Delta amnesty program rather it's an Ijaw Amnesty program because they were the one causing trouble. I've never seen an Ikwerre Militancy group or an Itsekiri militancy group or an Edo militancy group. We never saw them granting amnesty to anyone from Abia, Imo and Ondo. Anything Niger Delta has always been about the Ijaw and the Ijaw only.

Ejiekwu 1: How I wish BUHARI is †нє president. How I wish

Then Boko Harams will be the one collecting these monies now

Demdem: These MEND foools told us they were fighting for the emancipation of the Niger-delta however recent events has revealed that they were indeed fighting for the emancipation of their pockets. Actually, nothing is wrong in fighting for ones pockets but when one remembers that innocent lives were lost in achieving these selfish desires of theirs, one is forced to call for justice on behalf of families that lost loved ones as a results of these foools acts.

The ND region still needs to be emancipated. The vast majority of the people are suffering and there hasnt been any real efforts by the govts to help them till date. Amnesty money is simply going to crooks. Amnesty to me is a fraud and its not in anyway solving the problems of the Niger-delta.

No wonder Timaya said in one of his songs that if to say his a freedom fighter, em for be Asari Dokubo...Oh well, I get the picture now.

2ru-talk:
It is obvious that the only language our government understands is VIOLENCE. Going to school is just for the sake of knowing your rights. I have vowed never to leave this country for any other country in search of greener pasture. I will make it here in naija. All it takes is to be STRONG and learn to say NO when the authorities say YES and vice versa.

Naija na jungle and has no place for gentlemen.Tis either you thrive or die. At the same time tis a land filled with opportunities if you know your way around.

afam4eva: Another angle we have to look at is the fact that this not a Niger-Delta amnesty program rather it's an Ijaw Amnesty program because they were the one causing trouble. I've never seen an Ikwerre Militancy group or an Itsekiri militancy group or an Edo militancy group. We never saw them granting amnesty to anyone from Abia, Imo and Ondo. Anything Niger Delta has always been about the Ijaw and the Ijaw only.

Why do you think many now derisively refer to GEJ as the "Ijaw President"?

I am still shocked beyond words that some Nigerians continue to justify this ridiculous and utterly capricious crime against the Nigerian people. Why for the love of me are we not putting pressure on the government to fast-track the clean-up of the Niger Delta and the development of infrastructure and amenities in the ND (so as to remove all legitimate grounds for a return of MEND to the creeks)? Why have we not demanded a full account from government as to how much has been spent on the amnesty programme from 2009 till date, how many ex-militants benefited, what new skills they have learnt and how they have begun to deploy these skills? When did the amnesty programme include paying such ridiculous amounts to armed militia for doing absolutely nothing? Have we considered the unspoken message being sent here, that it pays to tow the path of violence in Nigeria? Do you know how many potential MENDs and Boko Harams are watching these events with interest, smacking their lips at the opportunity to take up violence with the promise of a share of the "national cake"?

The fact that we're accepting this is so shocking, I'm lost for words.

taharqa: Shee some of u guys have been saying that Amnesty was the signature(some say ONLY) achievement of the Yar'adua's regime? Oya na, see achievement ni!!...by the way, why is it paining some people sef? Who get the Oil in question? Abi those ppl who own more than 90% of the oil wells in another man's backyard get 10 heads? So if the argument is not about the Appropriateness(or otherwise) of the Amnesty itself and how we "negotiate" differences in this country, I dont see why anybody should be disturbing him/her self. Compared to others these monies small jor

How about the indigenous residents of the ND communities. Any payment for them? Otherwise more terrorists would spring up to collect their share. What community services are there to better the lives of these ND people? The FG approach leaves little to be desired.. Bribery and corruption as usual. You can these terrorists are quiet as long they are being paid.

@Op Wnat's the fuzz . When did Nigeria ever become a law abiding place? Crime always pays from the top to the so called bottom.[b] Lootocracy [/b]is the norm. Besides, in a perverse way, they are justified . What ever happened to our past/present professional looters? . Nigeria is slowly degenerating to the level of Colombia, Mexico and Guinea Bissau/naco state). The chicken will certainly come home to roust whether we like it or not. Lucky Joe is no fool as most NLs think .

dr.laykay:

Nice talk bro.
That's the main reason am against a divided Nigeria.because the same people(who re intersted in their pocket only)will stil be the ones in power in every teritory.

In a divided Nigeria, no one is use the excuse of blaming someone else ever again. The corruption of your sons and daughters becomes your only. A lazy mother will always have an excuse for her kids midnight super if someone else is doing the cooking.

Many of you had been brainwashed into this collective failure inside Nigeria.
If a single nation that emerged from Nigeria does better than Nigeria, it will be better than this lets keep messing about together.
The greatest man's handicapped in all facet of life is always about the fear of the unknown. No man would have used his last/only worth in the world to borrow money to started a business if he is thinking of "what if".

You guys should stop using the fear of tomorrow to keep our people inside this pot of hate and no progress. If you kept looking at the rate of divorce as we speak, no young person will ever get married.

In the last 3 yrs that means these 4 guys have collected over $100m

If the pump this $100m into the creeks and provide good water, schools and basic amenities, i am sure the inhabitants would have a better life than dishing money out to a group of miscreants

dayokanu: In the last 3 yrs that means these 4 guys have collected over $100m

If the pump this $100m into the creeks and provide good water, schools and basic amenities, i am sure the inhabitants would have a better life than dishing money out to a group of miscreants

You can hardly blame them, as no one knew about basic amenities in the creeks when others had been siphoning the same money for close to 46 years and now its their turn, we are telling them about being reasonable. It doesn't work like that.
Wait until its the turn of the Igbos proper, if ever, that is.

Eziachi:
You can hardly blame them, as no one knew about basic amenities in the creeks when others had been siphoning the same money for close to 46 years and now its their turn, we are telling them about being reasonable. It doesn't work like that.
Wait until its the turn of the Igbos proper, if ever, that is.

But we Southerners claim that when northerners rule, they find a way of awarding road contracts and developmental projects to themselves.

In addition to the derivation of the Niger Delta, A Special money is also being given to militants.

If after Jonathans regime, the Life of the Niger Deltan has still not improved then who is to blame

PapaBrowne: Ok so these guys are paid like 50million dollars yearly. How is that a big deal? Or should they go back to the creeks? When they were in the creeks they were earning much more. Nigeria was producing just 700,000 barrels daily. Today we have added 2 million barrels to that. Because these guys are paid 50 million doillars yearly, we are now earning approximately 200 million dollars daily which is 70 billion dollars yearly.
My brother, it is only common sense to pay them. The FG doesn't have the capacity to manage another Niger Delta crises. The country will collapse in a second if that happens again. Trust me, this era is different from 2008. In 2008, we didn't have 18,000 as minimum wage neither did we have the Boko Haram scourge!
Anything to keep them off the creeks is just fine. Trust me that figure is way below the real figures. Over 1 Billion dollars is spent to keep them off the creeks. But it is worth every penny as we can see in our improved oil earnings!

You've said it all. The choice is ours, give them the money and have unlimited access to the oil or withhold the money and no access to the oil.

as long as they're enjoying and rolling in naira, dollars and euros, there's no problem, is there?

govt bonanza will sooner or later reach the poor people as well.

in any case, how do we know the story is true.

50 million per month is a lot of money.

ldpele: And u are wat? smh

I dont have any problem with government giving millions of dollars to these ex militants- afterall Oil will still flow- I DONT CARE. But what I dont like is that I HAVE many relatives and friends particularly from Ondo Edo Delta and cross river who are regular University graduates. they have tried to work in their state of origin but did not find real work, only to return to LAGOS.

ITS A SHAME- i just hope the youth in from oil areas dont see militancy as a means of living financially stable.