Nigerian youth employed to guard oil pipelines

Nigeria's government has employed 12,000 young people to protect oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta.

Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke said the youth would patrol some 5,000km (3,000 miles) of pipeline to stop it from being vandalised.

She said it was part of the government amnesty programme offered to the region's militias who were fighting for a greater share of oil revenues.

Locals and criminal gangs often try to pierce the pipes to siphon off oil.

Ms Alison-Madueke's announcement comes after at least two people died this week in Sapele, Delta state, in an explosion at a pipeline damaged by villagers trying to steal the oil.

Few residents of the Niger Delta, home to Nigeria's oil industry, have benefited from the area's oil wealth.

Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producers, but attacks by militants on oil installations led to a sharp fall in output during the last decade.

The thousands of fighters who laid down their weapons in a government amnesty in 2009 were promised training and jobs.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13581459

thats progressive. 12000 folks with jobs. kudos

The next logical step is to arm them.

Beaf:

The next logical step is to arm them.

. . . . with 'submarines' so they can thwart the activities of the oil bunkerers.

(GEJ Keep it up - at least the money now flows to Nigerians and the Nigerian economy)

jmaine:

With kpaco ( stick) or with guns and cutlasses . . if it's the later then we are looking for trouble . . .

Nigeria's biggest bunkerers are evil men like Atiku and IBB. These sort will not hesitate to spill anyone spying on their activities in the name of "youth patrols."
If we see injuries or even deaths, the next line of action would be to arm the youth, or at the very least, make them a part of an armed paramilitary structure.

I don't get what you mean by "we are looking for trouble" tho, cos we've got to stop oil bunkerers at some point if we are serious about siezing the future of the country and harnessing resources for development. We need to confront and tear down the powers that be and rip their structures apart; it is high time the youth were armed. Let it be fire for fire.

An idle mind they say is the devil's workshop. I will prefer a liason between them and the security forces. They should only be armed with communication radios enough to alert the intervention forces whenever they sight suspiciuos persons along the pipeline route.

Equally they should be paid regularly while further creating the opportunity for vocational training in various oil and gas low to mid level skilled force.

odiaero:

Which submarine, the one you bought for Nigeria Navy?

the one that will go and malfunction and bury its passengers alive, dont mind him. honestly this is a step in the right direction but it obviously is not enough, these guys need to be trained while on the job to enable them take up more profitable occupation and when they move on it would create room for others to be employed and trained as well. the danger is that the youths could aid the activities of miscreants as well as being vey susceptible to any attack from MEND

na wa oh! gatemen for pipelines now! only in Nigeria

i hope they dont turn around and steal us hard this time around.

@ Post
It's a good starting point
more to come

12000 youths off the street! that's something, anyway, lets see how it works

good development indeed but better to employ more and more in order to get the idle one off the street.

I ll like to know more about the structure put i place.
But, from the few experience i have from atlas cove depot. It seems we just legalised pipeline vandalism. Am sure that a good percentage of the 12000 can be easily bribed with gallons of oil.

After the mend bomb attack in atlascove. Soldiers posted to maintain order arrested pipeline vandals including members of the then opatrol team, the navy and casual workers of the depot such as drivers. The soldiers recovered over 1000 kegs of 50 litres filled with petroleum products. The soldiers noticed it is easier to vandalize when you know the movement of the patrol team.