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Genocide in the Delta?[/size]

Much as we would want to wish it away, the end is not yet in sight for peace in the Niger Delta region. The Federal Government announced last month that Nigeria loses a whopping N8.7 billion daily owing to the instability in the area, as a result of militant activities that have recently assumed unfathomable proportions. The activities of the militants have forced down production of crude oil for export by about half of the country’s 3.2 million barrels per day. Attempts to dislodge the militants are similarly costing the nation lots of lives and property. So far, more than 900 persons, many of whom are said to be women, children and non-militants, have lost their lives within the last one month. This is a sad tale in a country which is already in the throes of economic hardship and absolutely inadequate infrastructure necessary for development.

We have talked of Niger Delta issues in the recent past but, new developments in the saga continue to keep it in the front burners. For instance, the main rebel group, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), has warned of an imminent civil war in the region if any of its camp is again targeted by government forces. In an email sent to The Times of Nigeria website and other media organisations by the group’s spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, MEND said it will join “the fray between the military Joint Task Force (JTF), and angry youths from oil bearing communities who retaliated an unprovoked attack by overwhelming and abducting four service men and leaving three naval ratings dead along the Nembe creek of Bayelsa State.

“We wish to warn that should any MEND camps be attacked, the entire Niger Delta region will become a theatre of another civil war. The same position will be taken if the military carries out any punitive invasion on the impoverished communities that protested against Shell which led to this current crisis. The re-entry plans of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), into the oil fields should not even be considered as we can not guarantee the safety of their staff and equipment,” The statement concluded. Going by stories emanating from the region relating to their past suicidal tendencies, these can hardly be considered empty threats.

In recent times, the war stories have shocked Nigerians and the entire world community alike, prompting protests and calls for cessation of violence, broaching the need for more meaningful dialogue as a preferable option. Despite being undaunted in their “mission”, the government and its military forces are not letting up. About 300 homes were razed by the JTF on Wednesday in Oporoza, the largest Ijaw community and headquarters of the Gbaramatu clan in Delta State. Another offensive took JTF to Okerenkoko in search of militants holding Nigerian and foreign hostages. But the Ijaw National Congress (INC) and prominent Ijaw leaders like Godspower Gbenekama and Bello Oboko lamented that there is a plan to wipe out all Ijaw communities.

They said their intelligence report showed that the attacks would be taken to Egbeme in Delta State and other Ijaw settlements in Edo, Ondo, and Bayelsa. Oboko alleged that "the JTF is no more fighting but on the rampage because all the people in the affected communities had fled before their homes were razed. Military air bombers and war ships were reportedly moved into Oporoza at about 8.30 a.m. and set the town ablaze. But there was no report of casualty of the villagers, since all had fled some days back.
Troops shot at homes in the NPA Waterside area of Warri, killing a young man and leaving a lady with serious gunshot wounds. Some survivors who fled into the forest died. A man named Boyle lost two children aged 11 and 13 in the woods - where, ironically, some pregnant women gave birth.

On their part, the militant group, the Joint Revolutionary Council (JRC), has vowed that the Army will pay dearly for the destruction in Delta State. It also joined those demanding the resignation of Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, for failing to stop Abuja from launching the attack. Its spokesperson, Cynthia Whyte, said in an interview that events of the last few weeks only demonstrated that Nigeria is a sick country governed by sick leaders who have no consideration for the masses. The JRC comprises the MEND, the Martyrs Brigade, and the Reformed Niger Delta Peoples’ Volunteer Force (RNDPVF).

It is such hard views and threats like those being bandied on both sides that give some of us, who saw the three-year-old Nigeria – Biafra civil war, the shudders as we do not wish to experience any similar event in our lifetimes. There is therefore the need for wise counsel to prevail in this seemingly dog-eat-dog war in the creeks of the Niger Delta. Meanwhile, has anybody actually taken the time to find out the real demands of these Niger Delta peoples in the face of such determination to kill or be killed, if their wishes are not fulfilled? How have these miltants been able to amass such fire-power that they can conveniently confront the country’s armed forces with such ease and for so long? Who are the sponsors of these dare-devil youths? What is the possibility that there would be peace in the region if the present crop of militants is wiped out? Do we know if there are others willing to continue the struggle if the grievances are actually deep-seated? There may presently be no answers to any or all of these questions. The truth, however, is that this is where to start finding solutions, if indeed the country is sincere in trying to curb the excesses in the Niger Delta. There have been allusions as to how the situation we witness today developed in the first place.

The House of Representatives puts the blame on the multi-national oil companies operating in the area, which show little concern for the well-being of the people by neglecting their corporate social responsibility and; plans to probe the activities of Shell Petroleum as well as Chevron, Agip and Exxon-Mobil, among others. They are also working on the premise that international oil bunkerers fuel the crises in the region by buying stolen crude and exchanging it with supply of arms and ammunition to the militants. If this is so, has any real effort been made to check the illegal bunkering?

A foremost constitutional lawyer, Professor Ben Nwabueze, however, blames the escalation of the agitation on former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who, he said, manipulated the Supreme Court to rule on the issue of littoral states during his administration. “That was the origin of the problem in Niger Delta. The people of the Niger Delta are facing a lot of problems. The harm has been done with this entire concession thing,” he added.

Recently, the Delta State House of Assembly called on the Federal Government to stop further bombardment of Ijaw communities of the state. As Chief J. P. Clarke, an Ijaw leader put it: “When you bombard a village, you cannot be sure if it is only militants that would be hit. There are also women, children and other innocent citizens (that could be killed in the process).”

However one looks at the situation, there is the need for wise counsel on both sides of the divide. As warlord Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu once said: “No one goes to a war he does not hope to win.” In this case, while the military invading the militants in their creek hide-outs, intend to prove their military might, the militants seem undaunted in the determination to win their own battle for social justice. The result would only be a furtherance of the carnage that does no one any good. This do-or-die stance must not be allowed to prevail. It is to the benefit of all, not to. http://www.tribune.com.ng/15062009/wed/Pros&Cons.html

Since then, what lessons have been learnt?

@posta,
hopefully they will start with your village first.
Rubbish

donjon:

@posta,
hopefully they will start with your village first.
Rubbish

haba.

donjon:

@posta,
hopefully they will start with your village first.
Rubbish

Why are we "Nigerians" so quick to wish heartless things on our "fellow Nigerians"? What manner of country is this? We really need to search ourselves, from child born to the last adult. We need find out what has created the donjons, who can just spit out (maybe even carry out) any scary position or evil wish without batting an eyelid.

@beaf,
what right does he have to predict genocide & destruction on my people?
I hate it, when people swallow panadol for another persons headache.
Four years ago, USA predicted that Nigeria will divide! Have we divided?
People should stop yarning rubbish about niger-deltans!

Dont worry, after we completely halt production of crude oil in the country for one full month!
Nigeria will come to her senses & start looking for other means of making money besides oil.

donjon:

@beaf,
what right does he have to predict genocide & destruction on my people?
I hate it, when people swallow panadol for another persons headache.
Four years ago, USA predicted that Nigeria will divide! Have we divided?
People should stop yarning rubbish about niger-deltans!

Sorry about what I said, I mis-read your words.

No probs

No probs