Militants from Niger-Delta attacked an oil facility in Port Harcourt. The attack is reported to have taken the lives of 17 Nigerian security forces. 5 Koreans were also taken hostage. The militants are demanding the release of Dokubo Asari and Diepreye Alamiesegha in exchange for the 5 Koreans.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/06/07/skorea.kidnappings/index.html

This is getting messy. They are losing sympathy fast.

I'm sure they would be content with sovereignty, with or without our sympathy.

This is getting messy. They are losing sympathy fast.

There comes a time when actions speak louder than peaceful protests.The Niger Delta people have been docile for too long,lands have been seized,rivers polluted,wars both physical and verbal fought over what lies under the land of the People.
For the first time the people are getting organized to take on Nigeria and all her agents,it will only get nastier

If the people of Niger Delta think that violent criminals will give them the prosperity they desire, they are badly mistaken. These people want only one thing - to be in control of the wealth of the region at the expense of the people of Nigeria and the Niger Deltans themselves. Criminals will always find a way to justify their actions.

When the Nigerian military started killing politicians to get power, the people of Nigeria thought they were going to benefit, and of course they were wrong. Only a fool would look up to unrepentant murderers for justice.

Seun,
The Aso Rock gang has bought the leadership or should i say rulership in the Niger Delta.Its important you remember the origin of the Ogoni crisis,it was because some Cheifs were betraying the legitemate aspirations of the Ogoni people.
These Cheifs were spies against their own people and they conspired with maximun ruler Sani Abacha to keep the people down.
When they were found out,they got mobbed.this is the same story all over the Niger Delta,Cheifs and so called elders have betrayed their people.The present generation have decided to take matters in their own hands.

Seun,in most Niger Delta state capitals there are elders and chiefs from these long suffering communities under the protection of state governors because if they set foot on their own soil they would get murdered by their own people

they can never have sovereignty, if nigeria allows them to break off, i tell you cameroon will annex them quickly. its a pity it has come to this though, the govt should get serious and start fufilling their promises to the ND, that'll remove popular support for these militants and slowly the problem will fizzle out.

They should have learnt that violence never solve any problems. The government is only restraining not to use force, because it will amount to killing its own people he is governing, otherwise, a mere air raid is enough to dislodge all of them. Methinks, the best way out of this is still dialogue. They have capture the awareness of the entire nations already with their agitations and I tell you they have lots of sympathy, but violence will never solve or give them what they wants. If they want Asari-Dokubo releases and Alams, capturing of foreign nationals is not the best way, they should let the law take its course. Dokubo was invited to Aso rock and dialogue with OBJ, i dont know who reneged on their point of resolutions, but I bet OBJ will not turn around and arrest him if they did not find him to be a security threat. I want to believe OBJ is vindicated now becaue na so so kidnapping every time, perhaps it would have been worse if Dokubo is around. Alams on the other hand is a mere goose chase, have they come out to disprove all the allegations against him, or are they saying he is innocent of all those allegations? Niger Delta issue did not start with this government, and it will continue until people representing Niger Delta are not selling them out. The youth who have risen to the occasion now, can only do one thing, dialogue! They have made a statement with what they are capable of doing violence-wise, now is the time to dialogue, releasing dokubo and alams inclusive.

***Please observe 1 minute of silence for the murdered soldiers serving their country trying to make a living for themselves and provide bread for their families.***

I'm sure those soldiers would have children, wives, brothers, sisters and parents. The militants would not get the sympathy of Nigerians by killing nigerians.

twinstaiye, how can you say violence is not the answer to their problems? After all, the northerners that wanted Sharia in Kaduna killed 2 thousand Christians and forced tens of thousands of Christians to leave the State and they were rewarded with implementation of Sharia in their state. Anyone that claims violence does not work is deluding themselves. While it might not be the most pretty or civilized way of getting things done, there is little doubt in my mind that it is a tried and tested way.

This is not to be interpreted as meaning I support violence. I am merely stating an honest observation.

@ One Nigeria Brigade
The people in the Niger Delta have paid the price for your debt cancellationwhich by the way was not incurred in the Niger delta,your billions of dollors in reserve with have they got show for it!
Dialog my  A$$, northern Nigeria has killed thousands of people in their unquenchable taste for blood and what has happen to them?
Everybody is now scared that,their precious petrol and stipends from aso rock would stop because of the Niger delta situation,from 1960-2006
please tell me how the WAZOBIANS have dealt with the Niger Delta,dialog as equals or with contempt and violence in the failed state called Nigeria?
Nigeria even refer to the wazobians as TRIBES and the rest as ETHNIC MINORITIES

The secession of the Niger Delta is a dream and would be a dream for decades to come. Like I've mentioned earlier, the Niger Delta would have to win a war against the whole of Nigeria to be able to dictate to Nigerians.

Those militants are just being silly, they are giving the military a reason to come back or at best a reason to wipe them out.

_{please note, I said militants (those disgruntled elements and thugs that are pawns in the hands of those supplying them with limited ammunition)}

I think the frist thing will be for the Niger delta youths to take their leaders to task. in as much as we all agree that the Nigerian state has treated them unfairly, they should ask their Govs and representatives what they have done with what they have collected from the Federal Govt so far.

With all the 13% being allocated to each of the Niger Delta states, there is nothing to show for it. Nothing is happening in Delta state. no development whatsoever. Odili is busy buying airplanes and Peugeot 306 to run taxi (which many pple who bought have turned it to private cars anyway) and turning the Rivers Govt house into second Aso Rock (men, u need to see the new govt house. money enter there boo. maybe the man tot he will spend 3rd term there). Is it in Bayelsa, after all the money stolen by the former gov, I wonder what will be left. Infact among all the 9 Niger Delta states, it is only cross river (in my opinion) that seems to have anything going on for them. So I believe the Niger Delta pple are their own enemies. Their leaders are cheats and crooks. They deceive the illiterate youths and force them into violence while they go at the back to support govt and collect money. the ND youths should first identify these corrupt leaders in their domain and deal with them before turning to the fed govt. Someone whose house is on fire do not chase rats. The govs should show what they have done with what they have collected so far. 13% allocation might be small but what have they done with it?

And what has the FG done with the remaining 87%?

Me I don tire to dey talk.

I'm yet to understand how these attacks are suppose to gain any sympathy, these people attacking are nothing more than terrorist scum.
Why do other people's families have to come home to find that there brothers, husbands, fathers have been killed while trying to provide an honest living for the family.
The Korean's were trying to provide a better lifestyle for there families as well, they're not the ones to blame for the local's not getting what they want, so why do they have to put there families through it?

ono:

And what has the FG done with the remaining 87%?

Me I don tire to dey talk.

If you are interested you should have taken interest in the budget. It was broadcasted. I don't think anyone needs to be spoonfeed with information.

Afeni:

twinstaiye, how can you say violence is not the answer to their problems? After all, the northerners that wanted Sharia in Kaduna killed 2 thousand Christians and forced tens of thousands of Christians to leave the State and they were rewarded with implementation of Sharia in their state. Anyone that claims violence does not work is deluding themselves. While it might not be the most pretty or civilized way of getting things done, there is little doubt in my mind that it is a tried and tested way.

This is not to be interpreted as meaning I support violence. I am merely stating an honest observation.

You can preach violence because you are not in the shore of this country, perhaps you are the type who had taken along all his families and dont give a hoot what happen to Nigeria in the vent of vilence or breakups. But we still have a stake here, and will never preach violence. You must have forgotten what happened in Odi, where the Military level a whole town, just because the town resort to violence and so many soliders were killed before the soldies waded in with all their arsenal. The sharia issue you mention wasnt a violence, that was religious problems, and I cant remember such a news that muslim in the north were rioting just because they wanted sharia. There was indeed agitation for sharia, and OBJ put a deaf ear, because at that time he knew religious matters is a volatile issue. Now tell me, his reticent over the issue has really solve the problem, because those states agitation for sharia had died a natural death.
If the 13% derivations had nothing to show in Niger delta what proof do we have that if it was increased things will be done. The danger inherrent in it is that, some cliche will enrich themselves, which they will later use against Nigeria. They will be so rich that one day they may want to seccede again, or better still, threaten the integrity of this country. Dialogue, to me, is still the answer!
And what is this with kidnapping today, releasing them 2 days later. The whole thing is becoming a child play. From the look of this, they had started using kidnapping as a weapon of expression. This is taking them nowhere. Let them drop their guns, and get on dialogue table.

If you have the time, read Olusegun Adeniyi's comments:


Criminality in Niger Delta

Anybody who has been in the Niger Delta region where the oil wealth that sustains the nation comes from cannot but feel for the people. And as I have canvassed on this page, as most other commentators have done, there will be no peace in the country until the plight of the people is taken into consideration and properly addressed by all tiers of government. Notwithstanding that situation, however, nothing can justify the tendency towards criminality that is now euphemistically called 'youth restiveness' in the region with the current spate of kidnappings and killings.
While I am for real interventionist policies that would commit enormous resources to the development of the region, I do not know how the cause of the people of the Niger Delta will be served if innocent citizens and soldiers are wantonly killed as happened yesterday. All these acts of criminality can only make them lose the support of other Nigerians who are ordinarily sympathetic to their plight. I hope some people will have the common sense to realise that and stop the current madness that will, in the long run, be counterproductive. But like the president would say, where are the leaders of the Niger Delta to tell these 'restive youths', enough is enough!

Further still, if you have the time, read another person's comments:

Kayode Afolabi
06.08.2006 18:44
I am particularly touched by your comment on the situation in the Niger Delta because I used to think of myself as an \'uncompromisable\' defender of the cause of the people of the Niger Delta.However, for sometime now I have come to believe that our media commentators all right - thinking citizens of this country should take the cue and direct their focus to the real description of what is now happening in the Niger Delta: CRIME - of the most heinous type! Just yesterday after the news of the killing of five soldiers and the kidnap of five South Koreans broke on your paper\'s web site a group of us began discussion of the matter and our conclusion was not quite different from yours. However, we went further by identifying individuals from the region who had been priviledged to hold high offices with direct bearings to the area, at the local, state and Federal levels and wonder what contributions they have genuinely made to addressing the problems there. The trend has been the same:a one - time oil minister reputed for keeping lions in his mansion relocated outside this Country permanently to an European high fashion city immediately on leaving office in controversial circumstances;another visible leader of the area headed one of the interventionist agencies set up to address the problems of the area and took the same route as the oil minister in question.Or take the case of the erstwhile Governor of Bayelsa state, ALAM, and wonder what all the illegally acquired billions of naira traced to him could have contributed to that small state and the standard of living there - a colleague swore he[ALAM] has \'a once in a life time seen\' mansion in Port Harcourt whose expansive fence is rendered in pure marble!Immediately this was raised a middle aged man that reeked every inch a security operative sitting across our table at the restaurant where the discussion took place confirmed this and made an eye opening analysis for us beginning on a near macabre note:he supplied the name of the one time oil minister we were all trying hard to recall and disclosed that with all the wealth he accumulated he has been battling with prostate cancer!And that the true situation from security analysis is that there are several dollar billionaires in the area who had made their money from years of illegal bunkering and that it was when Obasanjo got there the backbone of this illegal trade in Nigeria crude was broken with the reaction being to fight back and make governance difficult for him hence the sudden emergence of all the new dimensions to the problem of the area under his administration. Thanks to the Honourable Minister of Finance that has now made it a point of duty to publicise monthly what goes to each local and state governments from the Federal purse, in the last seven years if all these monies have been prudently deployed the areas we are talking about should be havens where other citizens of the country will be yearning to go and live and make a living.If it is from the \'paltry\' allocations states like Bauchi have been getting that such projects that were commissioned by the President when he recently visited there were executed, it stands to reason that something is decidedly wrong with the leadership in that area.Unfortunately, the security organs of the Nation has over the years become so complacent that through a disastrous intervention in Governance that it has become near impossible for them to tackle the on-going criminalinity there effectively. And the poor foot soldiers are being made to die very needless deaths.If it becomes necessary we should close our eyes to the dignity of sovereignty and invite outside help so that our young men will not continue to die aimlessly, sacrifices to gods they do not understand and may never fathom! The crimes going on in the Niger Delta must stop now, for heaven\'s sake!

twinstaiye:

If the 13% derivations had nothing to show in Niger delta what proof do we have that if it was increased things will be done.

Word!

twins,
All I can do for the now is to refer you back to my (and other well meaning people) earlier contributions on the Niger delta problems. I will like you to read up dakmanzero's write up too. They are indeed insightful, and revealing.

When you're done with that, I bet you'd have a change of heart. Right now, I'm very busy.

Buhari why!