The recent mass disarmament of virtually ALL the militant factions of the Niger Delta's oil fields, with encouragement from the administration of Nigerian President Yar Adua, is nothing short of a miracle, when viewed in context of the decades-old duration of the Niger Delta insurgency, and the sheer preponderance of armed factions that till now infested the area in pursuit of objectives ranging from the political to the purely criminal.

Given that the demolition of natural gas pipelines in the Niger Delta  has long been identified as the PRIMARY reason that Nigeria's predominantly gas-driven electricity generating power stations have spent the past few decades in various stages of disuse, the sudden and unanticipated cessation of all hostilities in the area bears the hallmark of diplomatic genius and quiet perseverance, the likes of which Nigeria has not witnessed in its entire history as an independent nation.

Already, communities, towns and cities, spanning from the Atlantic coastline of Nigeria to her northern  reaches on the fringes of the Sahara desert, are beginning to see the delivery of mains electrical power in fits and starts that MAY in fact turn out to be the early stages of a modern day African industrial revolution that will put unprecedented numbers of previously idle hands to productive work, and in so doing, reduce Nigeria's current epidemic of violent crime to a level previously unimaginable to even the most optimistic observers.

President Umaru Yar Adua has confounded the sceptics with this bold masterstroke of diplomacy and statesmanship that has engendered a tentative peace in the Niger Delta's killing fields, laying the groundwork for a new era of LASTING prosperity for a nation that many, including this writer, had once written off as a cursed land devoid of hope or redemption.

I am tempted to give Yar'adua some praise too, but I think this will be pre-mature. I hope that this stops militancy in the Niger Delta, but the real work of building a country must not consist of merely putting down insurrections or queling negatives. The day Nigeria gets a REAL peoples government, it would be clear from day one. There was so much hope, but that is fading by the day. However, there is half of a term left for real work on the part of the Yar'aduan Presidency. For the sake of the average Nigeria, I am hope for the best.

@poster, u simply like to make a lot of noise these days!

Carrot and the Rod. Works most times. I think what happened in Gbaramatu was really scary so the opportunity to give up violence was embraced quite well.

I wouldn't call Yar'Adua a hero yet because a big problem lies in how to deal with the militants and criminals who still retain their weapons in the Niger Delta. If they are attacked at any time, for any reason, the world will assume that the disarmament was done to make the militants powerless so the the government can annihilate the people of the Niger Delta.

Then secondly, let's see how fast development in the Miser Delta is going to take.

I agree that the jury is still out, Nex, as to how durable this promised outbreak of peace in the Niger Delta will ultimately prove to be.  The recent amnesty and subsequent disarmament of most of the main militant groups there is by itself an occurrence that is almost without historical precedent, and which bodes very well for Nigeria and the entire subregion.

With the global broadcast of news footage showing battalion-strength militant forces emerging from the Niger Delta swamp forests in speedboats, to submit their tools of industrialized death into the custody of soldiers with whom they may well have traded gunfire mere days earlier, the guarded optimism one must have about the resolution of all such guerrilla conflicts will grow with every day and month that the remaining guns in the area stay silent, provided, of course, that the sabotage of those vital natural gas pipelines also ceases as promised under the terms of the current armistice.

The generation and nationwide transmission of grid electricity, that crucial and key variable in the equation of all civilized human existence, now lies tantalizingly within the grasp of Nigeria's current administration under President Yar Adua, and by charting the course of lasting peace and REAL, VISIBLE development of the Niger Delta as he is currently doing, Yar Adua may well yet be remembered as one of the country's most effective leaders till date, taming, as he is, the inherited  chaos of his fatherland, to produce a rising star economy from the ashes of what could easily have been defeat for all.

One thing is for sure.  If Yar Adua does ever deliver uninterrupted electrical power to Nigeria to restart her floundering industrial sector, he will be voted back into power again and again, overwhelmingly,  and in complete disregard of any protestations he may file on account of his health.

@ Jakumo

I hope u are not on the pay-roll of dollar doling internet loving Turai Yardua, with this your write up, come to think of it , omo!!! I am on a 3 months mortgage repayment arrears I would, nt mind some of that largesse.

I Secretely Appluad the president too

Also heard oil communities might be given 5% royalties

KnowAll:

@ Jakumo
I hope u are not on the pay-roll of dollar doling internet loving Turai Yardua, with this your write up, come to think of it , omo!!! I am on a 3 months mortgage repayment arrears I would, nt mind some of that largesse.

A top dollar job from Yar Adua would do me just fine, Knowall, and I would jump on such a chance like a sailor in a LovePeddler-house, knowing that the wave of goodwill now building under Yar Adua's surfboard is bound to give me a nice long ride straight into my offshore bank manager's office.

siddon look with cautious optimism

which development going to niger delter, is like u guys are sleeping,do u think oil will be the one that will develop niger delter, if u look how the people of that area think i dont think they are capable of offering anything by themself.i hv been mornitoring the physical development of most states in nigeria there human resourcess are not capable of doing anything,their mental capacity is not improving in terms of been creative and productivty in their said region,natural resourcess does not develop a people,human beings does the development, according to the way they reason,The ibos of nigeria have always proven a point in nigeria anywhere they go, i will always notice the tread of human and creative ablity for self development.go to all the happening area in nigeria today observe it its where the same tribe operate.the whiteman came to africa and brought us education,what have black people use there education for,exacpt cheating oneother so niger delter u people should look beyound ur oil.and work harder or else the whiteman will contiue to exploit it.

The southern governors are looters whatever is meant for development will end up in their London accounts.

The southern governors are looters whatever is meant for development will end up in their London accounts.


It is sad when one considers the amount of money misappropriated by Odili and Ibori, these men has no love for their people. Why cant our Politicians be contented with a little. If these men stole only  $10 million dollars they would still be better off than 85% of the population of the UK or the US. To steal billions of dollars is sad and incomprehensible.