PapaBrowne:

Who told you the militants care one inch about the villages. They've made more than enough money and moved into the cities.
Asides the villages have long been destroyed by those fires from gas flaring by the multinationals.

I thought they were fighting for the people or are they fighting for their pockets?

It's safe to say the people of Niger Delta are grass trampled in a fight between greedy obese elephants.

Nelson Mandela was not raping girls and kidnapping kids

Its unfair to compare Mandela to the thugs we have in Nigeria

bawomolo:

I thought they were fighting for the people or are they fighting for their pockets?

It's safe to say the people of Niger Delta are grass trampled in a fight between greedy obese elephants.

Whether for their pockets or for the people, the fact is there is an oppression and that oppression and deprivation must end wshether by fighting for the people or for their pockets, the important thing is they have are fighting a cause.

mikeansy:

Nelson Mandela was not raping girls and kidnapping kids

Its unfair to compare Mandela to the thugs we have in Nigeria

MEND has never been known to rape girls or kidnap kids. MEND is domiciled in Delta state and there has almost never been a record of kidnapping or raping in Delta State. The kidnapping of kids is done by criminal gangs in Rivers and a few other states where MEND has no jurisdiction.

the problem in the niger-delta is something that every nigerian is unhappy about. most nigerians dislike the injustice metted to those guys by the fed govt. and this is a fight the niger-delta will need the rest of the country to engage the fed govt. but when we see kids kidnapped, money demanded . . over and over again and again and again, that sympathy for the hardship of the niger-delta fades away.

if they think they can use violence to fight such a reasonable issue. . . it is unfortunate. very unfortunate.

Someone ought to try and  revive Patient Yar Adua from his permanent sick-bed, so that he can be propped up to listen as this letter is read.  Hopefully, after he digests the contents of MENDs message, El Presidente will not just issue another bizarre declaration for Nigerian youth to embark on farming.

jakumo - won't you start farming or are you hell bent on starting your church

Wonderful I can see some comment here It is very surprising. If those stupid Politician loot Billions out of the Country No Nigeria Citizen can Challenges the Fed Govt Or the State Govt But they always know those Who is Kidnapping and Rape Girls. I don't believe those Mend Rape Girl or Kidnap Nigeria except those Foreign I know ,  Stop fooling yourself around because those Politician Know How to FOOLS NIGERIA A LOT and get away with it easily. Thanks you. I don talk my own for the matter

Jakumo:

Someone ought to try and  revive Patient Yar Adua from his permanent sick-bed, so that he can be propped up to listen as this letter is read.  Hopefully, after he digests the contents of MENDs message, El Presidente will not just issue another bizarre declaration for Nigerian youth to embark on farming.

But seriously, wont it be a leap ahead if El presidente is able to convince the MEND youths to embark on farming instead of bombing?


@topic

Honestly, neither sides is going to win this war.

If they generalise what is happening in the N.Delta as criminality,
thereby justifying bombing all of them,equally,they should move over to
all government house,all the ministries and infact all sector of Nigeria and shoot everyone-blow up 9ja.
the ex-governors who stole billions are walking free,the people who made it impossible for us
to enjoy NEPA are never touched etc etc.N.Delta fight is a legitimate one and anybody who supports injustice
MUST be visited with injustice.

PapaBrowne:

MEND has never been known to rape girls or kidnap kids. MEND is domiciled in Delta state and there has almost never been a record of kidnapping or raping in Delta State. The kidnapping of kids is done by criminal gangs in Rivers and a few other states where MEND has no jurisdiction.

Put differently MEND does not represent the Niger Delta but Delta State, is that correct? If yes, then the name should be MEDS and not MEND and as such should not concern itself with any oil facility anywhere outside Delta State.

Then it will be left for Delta State to decide whether MEND/MEDS is representing them or not.

IS MEND a tribal, regional or private setup?

LOL at the hungry people who fall for this bullshit, while MEND commanders are collecting hundreds of millions of naira from the state governments in the region, depriving the people of the Niger Delta of the resources available to them. Go find out the amount of land grabbed by Tom Polo in delta state, or the palatial mansions these crude oil thieves live in.

MEND can NEVER dissociate themselves from kidnapping for ransom. They brought this scourge to Nigeria, they opened this Pandora's box. just as we must place some blame for the anarchy and chaos in Iraq on George Bush, we cannot fail to place great blame on MEND for bringing this evil to us.

Finally, as someone said, it's funny how MEND conveniently failed to place the blame also on the Local and State Governments in the region. They know where their bread is buttered, afterall.

may souls 2 be lost rest in peace in advance!

I thank Supreme commander JOMO GBOMO, for his excellent leadership and all our Freedom Fighters for their heroic fight to emancipate our people from the hands of Dirty Stinking Hausa/Fulani North and their corrupt collaborators Western Nigeria's. As we Fight for Justice victory is ours. They can call Freedom Fighters any name they like, its just a smear tactics, but we will not succumb to their propaganda. It's our duty to do any thing possible to free our people from the hand of THOSE DEVILS.
To Dirty Stinking Hausa/Fulani/Yoruba ugly looking Moronic Soldiers, We will keep killing you worthless Chimps until you Leave the land that is not yours, any of you captured again will be Food for our Crocodiles.

WilyWily:

I thank Supreme commander JOMO GBOMO, for his excellent leadership and all our Freedom Fighters for their heroic fight to emancipate our people from the hands of Dirty Stinking Hausa/Fulani North and their corrupt collaborators Western Nigeria's. As we Fight for Justice victory is ours. They can call Freedom Fighters any name they like, its just a smear tactics, but we will not succumb to their propaganda. It's our duty to do any thing possible to free our people from the hand of THOSE DEVILS.
To Dirty Stinking Hausa/Fulani/Yoruba ugly looking Moronic Soldiers, We will keep killing you worthless Chimps until you Leave the land that is not yours, any of you captured again will be Food for our Crocodiles.

And what has been the gain to your people from this fight?
Even after all the pesky attacks by MEND, the lot of the people have not improved one bit, the so-called freedom fighters live off the state resources like parasites, oil pollution has increased due to the activities of bunkerers and pipeline thieves that work under MEND's protective umbrella. Yet there has not even been a 1% increase in derivation allowance!

All these people have done is to bring death and destruction to the people of the region, install ineffectual, corrupt local and state leaders, kill innocent people in cold blood and introduced the scourge of kidnapping to a nation - a scourge that i fear will NEVER end.

Excellent leadership, eh? That explains why the MEND forces have been losing key bases to the JTF in recent times, and have long since resorted to the 'brave' act of attacking defenceless pipelines.

This is all crap! This only goes to show that the recent descent by the Military on these terrorist groups has dealt a big blow on them.

Didn't they know how to pick up pen and paper before they decided on the gun? Didn't they refer to the Nigerian soldiers as dummies and zombies but now their brothers they become.

This is propaganda 101 and though civilians can easily fall for this, unfortunately regular army personnel have since after World War 1 been trained to laugh at this type of cheap brainwash.

What has King David got to do with Sarkin Yaki? All the soldiers at the front do not even share the same barracks let alone know their wives. This is absolutely stupid.

I don't know why Mr Jomo didn't have the time to explain the stealing of the crude by his comrades, the kidnapping of kids, the raping of NYSC chicks, and the use of ransom money and hard currency from bunkered oil to buy jeeps?

If in fact the criminality present in every government agency and parastatal, what now shows that they'll perform differently from what we've seen over the past 50 years?

The language MEND spoke to Nigerians, the Federal Government and the Law Enforcement Agencies was violence and they have been replied with violence, then suddenly they realise they can speak English and that they have the special talent of explaining. They will all die. Nonsense. Even in Benin, one cannot stay in peace without hearing one kidnap or the other. The last person kidnapped before I left that 'city' was ransomed at N80,000. After so much ruin to our nation and permanent destruction of our culture and disruption of our peace, we are now brothers?

Please let's continue to speak MEND's mother tongue.

we should not be sentimental when it comes to say the truth that region has suffered alot war will never end the violence there.

This govt and d one's preceding it has never listened to the voice of reason.
No matter how nicely worded MEND's letter may be,I can bet whatever is there to bet
that it will not solicit dis govt's sympathy.

Incase MEND has 4gotten so soon,u dont appeal for your right,u fight for ur right.

The divide in Nigeria is very clear even here in Naira land.

To some, MEND are heroes and to others, they are criminals.
To some, Iwu the (INEC magition) is a hero, to others he is a criminal.
To some, OBJ is a hero, to others he is a criminal.
To some, Ribadu is a hero, to others he is a criminal.

To some, Nigeria is great nation, to others Nigeria is an unfortunate amalgamation.

Nigerians as a people do not have any common ideals and so we cannot have common interests.
The sooner we agree to talk, the better.

No body imagined that after 40 years of civil war, somebody will still have the guts to mention Biafra. The killing of Sarowiwa would had stopped all forms of agitation from the Niger Delta, but today the agitation has taken a more dangerous turn. Mind you, Sarowiwa was not hiding in the creeks and neither was he kidnaping. Yet he was killed.

The fact is, wipe out MEND and destroy their relatives. Sooner or later another more dangerous and daring than they will arise.

No matter where we stand, the circle of blood will continue until we come together to discuss whether Nigeria shall be indeed one or not.

For now, we can continue to play the cat and mouse game.

its a pity some people come out here to encourage MEND and praising the letter. these people are self serving. what kind of freedom fighters will kidnap people. . . . it doesnt matter if they kidnapped whites or locals, kids or elderly, kidnapping civilians is evil. it is terrorism. and using them for ransom is corruption. period.

let me repeat what i said earlier on, i get only one message from that letter . . . the military action in the niger-delta is hurting MEND badly. violence will bring more violence and societal breakdown for . . . . . . . . . .the niger delta people. want violence? keep it up.

those guys could have done this thing with common sense. politically. mount intense pressure on the political leadership of the niger-delta for a start . . govs, senators, reps etc. then those guys will take it to abuja where they can persuade their corrupt friends that things get to change small. . . that way they will get some support from other parts of the country and things will change.

believe it or leave it, corrupt nigeria can also have a conscience when challenged. and it didnt take violence to stop OBJ from being life president, anambra gov used our courts to get his mandate, i know people who sued their universities and got justice, the issue of niger-delta is sooo obvious that they can win this fight without violence____only if they had common sense and worthy leaders in this fight. they should have fought the iboris, alamis, odilis . . three of the most corrupt people in the history of nigeria.

Kx:

This govt and d one's preceding it has never listened to the voice of reason.
No matter how nicely worded MEND's letter may be,I can bet whatever is there to bet
that it will not solicit dis govt's sympathy.

Incase MEND has 4gotten so soon,u dont appeal for your right,u fight for ur right.

And was it by war that the ANC took over in south africa? What did their violent tactics achieve for them?
Was it by violence that the MDC secured their joint sharing power agreement with Zimbabwe's ZANU-PF?
Did Gandhi achieve his aims through violence?

Have the Palestinians achieved their statehood through violence? Can they feasibly achieve this through violence?

Obviously Pres-elect has never heard of Saro-Wiwa. Using shoddy examples such as Anambra (where the security situation is comparable to Niger-Delta) and Obasanjo shows how stunted your reasoning is. Like someone said on this thread, you can label all you want, e no bala us. Like I said before, your motives are clear . . . . so buzz off.

Texazzpete is another stunted individual whose motives are clear. On the other thread, he was laughing at the fact that the proceeds from Niger-delta oil were described as blood money, giving the excuse that we all eat from this blood money. I know you eat from the blood money, but the same does not apply here. To show how stunted his reasoning is, he brings up the ANC as an example of peaceful protest. Maybe the doofus never heard of Steve Biko or Umkhoto se Sizwe.

I wonder why these idiots choose to focus on the Niger-Delta issue so fastidiously. Can you cry more than the bereaved? Let those of us from Niger-Delta stock say what the struggle means to us and decide who we choose to support or not.

ken saro wiwa was doing a good job b4 violence came in. . . and he blew it all, lost his life and the struggle waned after his death. if he were alive, he would have achieved more, especially now that we have ''democracy'' in nigeria. we have courts, ''elected govs'' etc do u think any of these govs would not give an ear to ken? he would have been more efficient if he were alive.

once u kill people, or kidnap people, you loose broad based support for your struggle. sorry. in this king of struggle, you need that broad based support. without it, the struggle gets harder and longer.

pres-elect:

ken saro wiwa was doing a good job b4 violence came in. . . and he blew it all, lost his life and the struggle waned after his death.

It is better not to talk about sturvs you don't know about. . . . sciolism is a disease. . . Saro-Wiwa did a good job from start to finish. . . . violence never came into his struggle, not even for one minute. . . . he organised a peaceful march, and helicopter gunships showed up to mow down the protesters. . . . this was followed by the deployment of troops to Ogoni land and the arming of Andoni and Okrika tribes to fight against the Ogoni over some hitherto settled land disputes. . . . it was a sorry, sorry situation and laid a perfect template for how the Nigerian Government kills peaceful protest by stigmatising and labelling Niger-Delta peoples as criminals. . . . then finishing them off. . . .

Ibime:


Texazzpete is another stunted individual whose motives are clear. On the other thread, he was laughing at the fact that the proceeds from Niger-delta oil were described as blood money, giving the excuse that we all eat from this blood money. I know you eat from the blood money, but the same does not apply here. To show how stunted his reasoning is, he brings up the ANC as an example of peaceful protest. Maybe the doofus never heard of Steve Biko or Umkhoto se Sizwe.

I wonder why these idiots choose to focus on the Niger-Delta issue so fastidiously. Can you cry more than the bereaved? Let those of us from Niger-Delta stock say what the struggle means to us and decide who we choose to support or not.

Once again you show your limited comprehension skills. I stated that the ANC did not achieve victory through violence. Was there a civil or rebel war going on when the whites left power? What's the point of bringing up Steve Biko in this discussion?
The point is clear; it was not threat of violence and/or murder that brought about the end of white rule in south africa. It's a simple point, clearly made. It's a pity you're too dense to understand.

Ibime:


I wonder why these idiots choose to focus on the Niger-Delta issue so fastidiously. Can you cry more than the bereaved? Let those of us from Niger-Delta stock say what the struggle means to us and decide who we choose to support or not.

As i've noted before, i live in the Niger Delta. In fact, i've lived there for the past four years now. I am directly affected by the insecurity caused in part by the criminals you idolize.
One wonders why you haven't come back to assume your rightful place in the creeks, joining in the fight instead of staying safely afar and cheering able-bodied young men to their deaths.

texazzpete:

Once again you show your limited comprehension skills. I stated that the ANC did not achieve victory through violence. Was there a civil or rebel war going on when the whites left power? What's the point of bringing up Steve Biko in this discussion?
The point is clear; it was not threat of violence and/or murder that brought about the end of white rule in south africa. It's a simple point, clearly made. It's a pity you're too dense to understand.

ANC did not achieve victory through violence. . . . but the same violent militants such as Joe Slovo, Mandela and Zuma were the ones the whites called when they wanted peace right?. . . . how does this fit in with your point?. . . . look, don't confuse issues. . . . the whites left power because they were facing a revolution which was reaching critical mass, both on the streets and on the international scene. . . . whether there was shooting at the time of power hand-over is irrelevant. . . . violence was a legitimate tool of the ANC so stop talking out of your backside. . . . the Niger-Delta is not trying to defeat Nigeria, so you can have no qualms over violence. . . .all sabotage operations are to bring Nigeria to the negotiating table. . . . when Nigeria is at the negotiating table, then you can start to make unfavourable comparisons with ANC if violence continues. . .we are not at the negotiating table. . . . the negotiation is non-negotiable. . . and that negotiation is about federalism. . . . until discussions open on that, there will be no cessation to the sabotage. . . .and if soldiers stand in the way of that sabotage, the direct consequence is violence. . . and Saro-Wiwa's story should pre-empt any stupid thoughts you might have that Niger Deltans are not the ones seeking dialogue. . . . time and time again, your government has proved that it is the one avoiding dialogue. . .

texazzpete:

As i've noted before, i live in the Niger Delta. In fact, i've lived there for the past four years now. I am directly affected by the insecurity caused in part by the criminals you idolize.
One wonders why you haven't come back to assume your rightful place in the creeks, joining in the fight instead of staying safely afar and cheering able-bodied young men to their deaths.

I couldn't give a rats-ass where you live. You chose to be there. Just do your work and forget the political arguments.

Ken Sarowiwa sabotaged the first attempt at true federalism, when he woke up from his slumber Ojukwu greeted him Goodmorning.

The Ijaws will not make progress on this matter except they recognise their dismal role in prolonging the failed state called Nigeria and then change course. Given the stightest opportunity you will hear them bragging about how they supported ONE NIGERIA. Well if you are for ONE NIGERIA as it was designed then, then be grown up and live with it.

The only way to change course is to recognise the failure of their grand fathers during the civil war. Exploit the UN Convention which states that if a country have cessation disputes for over 30years then they should be given a referendum to say whether they want to be part of the state or not. If they want to make this struggle about MEND and Ijaw Nation, well the latest crisis started in 2005 and this particular UN Convention that I am talking about may only take effect earliest 2035.

The Ijaw do not necessarily need to cesede. But by launching a court case at the Hague using the first Civil War, that can force a political negotiation back home for true federalism at the NASS. To do that all representatives and senators of the south need to be on one page.

But so long as the Ijaws continue to deny the impunity their fathers engaged in during the first civil war, this cat and mouse game will continue and will be handed to the next generation.

For God sake the Yorubas where initially allies with the Igbos in the First War. We can negotiate a vote where the South as a whole (including South-South, South-West, South-East) decide to go their own way.
We live in a country where the South is willing to embrace civilization while the North continue to rebuff civilization just because of religion.
We can not continue to lick their bum. We have to move on or remain quiet in ONE Nigeria forever.

folks grow up

ANC was operating in a black majority country
when true democracy came, ANC can only be the default winner as SA was a black Majority country.

Ijaws will not win a National vote, they need other regions.

Ibime:

ANC did not achieve victory through violence. . . . but the same violent militants such as Joe Slovo, Mandela and Zuma were the ones the whites called when they wanted peace right?. . . . how does this fit in with your point?. . . . look, don't confuse issues. . . . the whites left power because they were facing a revolution which was reaching critical mass, both on the streets and on the international scene. . . . whether there was shooting at the time of power hand-over is irrelevant. . . . violence was a legitimate tool of the ANC so stop talking out of your backside. . . . the Niger-Delta is not trying to defeat Nigeria, so you can have no qualms over violence. . . .all sabotage operations are to bring Nigeria to the negotiating table. . . . when Nigeria is at the negotiating table, then you can start to make unfavourable comparisons with ANC if violence continues. . .we are not at the negotiating table. . . . the negotiation is non-negotiable. . . and that negotiation is about federalism. . . . until discussions open on that, there will be no cessation to the sabotage. . . .and if soldiers stand in the way of that sabotage, the direct consequence is violence. . . and Saro-Wiwa's story should pre-empt any stupid thoughts you might have that Niger Deltans are not the ones seeking dialogue. . . . time and time again, your government has proved that it is the one avoiding dialogue. . .

Agreed!!

MEND can be blamed for not holding local leaders accountable but I still think that 'SNC' needs to be held and even if it means grinding oil production to a halt for that to happen then so be it.

I couldn't give a rats-ass where you live. You chose to be there. Just do your work and forget the political arguments.

OYB MEND. . . . I take issue with your suggestion that Saro-Wiwa sabotaged federalism. . . . I don't wanna put my family history on the internet, but Saro-Wiwa was a family friend of ours as was GB Leton, his rival in the Ogoni movement. . . . the ONE Nigeria that Saro-Wiwa advocated for was a ONE-Nigeria under federalism. . . .of course, that was reversed only a few years after the war. . . . I do not know whether Ojukwu wanted to run Biafra under a federal structure, but whichever way, Saro-Wiwa and his compadres at the time never kicked against federalism. . . the ONE Nigeria they were under was a federal one. . . and in fact, there is no reason for that to change. . .

what has MEND achieved though?

The ANC had international sympathy, MEND doesn't.

even the ANC had to abandon it's violent attacks.

bawomolo:

what has MEND achieved though?

The ANC had international sympathy, MEND doesn't.

even the ANC had to abandon it's violent attacks.

considering the fact that mend started off by kidnapping foreign nationals, i doubt if they will ever get international sympathy.

the moment you resort to violence, you have lost the moral high ground and you have given your persecutors an excuse to hit you with everything they have.

Question: all the revenue from kidnapping, all the protection money form the state governments, what was done with it?

have mend built any schools, rehabilitated any communities , built any hospitals?

have they done anything other than as i call it 'emancipate naira and dolla'?

its easy for people beyond the shores of nigeria to glorify and romanticize mend, but i wonder what the people at ground zero think of them.