₦airaland Forum

Drink your oil, we would eat our yams, Arewa chieftain tells Niger Delta ON JUNE 5, 20169:07 PMIN NEWS, POLITICSCOMMENTS 736 0 2 0 Senator Joseph Kennedy N Waku, (JKN Waku), the stormy petrel of the Middle Belt was elected senator for the Benue North West Constituency of Benue State,    on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in 1999. Not long after he came into national renown following his controversial call for a military coup on the claim that President Olusegun Obasanjo was derailing the democracy project. Since then he has been an unrepentant critic of President Obasanjo, and a major political figure in the North. Waku is not only a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC but also  of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF. In this interview, he speaks on current national issues. Excerpts: By Joseph Erunke What is your reaction to the renewed insurgency by militants in the Niger Delta? In the first place, what were the offences committed by these people before they were pardoned? Are they not criminals? If I were the president, I would jail them. So, are you ruling out dialogue as proposed by some people as a way of resolving the problem? What kind of dialogue? Let them bring to table what they want. Let them do what they are doing, they will also suffer it. Are they also not suffering when they ruin the economy? Are they not facing the same problem like you and I? They are talking of marginalization today. If you create Biafra today, is Biafra solidly Igbo’s? It’s not. When you go there, you would find a southern minority who will tell you that they don’t want to be part of it, even among the Igbo. Some Igbo will tell you that they don’t want it. If there is definitive kind of discrimination against certain segments of the country, that needs to be addressed because injustice creates dissatisfaction. If there have been injustices against one particular group in this country, let’s address it and not by taking the law into their hands. That is criminality. We are also affected but we want to take it in a matured approach. You cannot go and begin to destroy state apparatus in order to achieve your agitation, it is against the law. I am not in a position to talk about which contract was revoked because I am not involved in that. If those contracts were illegally awarded without going through the due process and the current administration wants to follow due process, what is bad about that? Go and do your investigation on that contract to see whether the old law that qualifies one for such contracts were made. What do you award contracts to militants for?    In the first place, the name ‘militant’    is criminality. It is only this country that somebody will come back and say I am a militant and then ‘you award him contract.’ If they claim to be agitators as they are saying, then let them come out with their demands and not by holding the state to ransom. Now, how would you want the government to handle this situation? My advice is that you can’t take government for ransom. If their livelihoods have been damaged considerably by the pipelines and they have nowhere to go, let there be adequate compensation to them. It is not to take laws into their hands. And by the way, let me be honest with you, this is natural resources; nobody owns it and nobody farms it but by virtue of the location that you find yourself. If there is ecological diversification and you need to do something for your livelihood, then you table this issue to the federal government so that there would be amicable resolution Giving the adverse effects of their actions, will it not be better to seek dialogue? What do they need? Let them come out and tell government that ‘this has been our farmland, it has been devastated, we have no land to farm anymore’ and then bring a proposal to the federal government. This is how it should be done than issuing threats. If I were the president, I would have ended that thing by now. How would you have done it? Yes, by closing the whole thing down. Before oil came, didn’t this country exist? So, what are you talking about? We have been blindfolded and Nigeria became so lazy, a nation of cheap money. Before the oil, we had cocoa, we had palm oil, groundnut and pyramid, and those were the things that actually helped to develop the oil. At a point, we in Benue challenged them that okay,’ let them go and drink their oil, we would eat our yams and then see who will survive.

Op is not detailed enough, in which state of Nigeria is Mbaise?
You see, not every one is from the East, talk more of from Imo state.

The motive behind the tradition is good but it's an indirect way of allowing these girls to play away matches and giving those loose girls hope of marriage, at least to a female husband.

President Muhammadu Buhari today hosted former President Olusegun Obasanjo at the Aso rock Presidential villa.



Although, the reason for the meeting is yet to be made public, here are reasons why Obasanjo may have visited Buhari.

1. Niger Delta Avengers and other security issues

Obasanjo probably just wants to drop some tidbit on how President Buhari can strong-arm the militants and other troublemakers into submission.

2. State of the Economy

The Nigerian economy under Obasanjo was better than one year under Buhari has been. Obasanjo most definitely has some magic tricks he could share with Buhari.

3. Check on Him

Rumour has it that ''President Buhari cancelled all his trips because he's a bit under the weather'' . As a good Nigerian elder, Obasanjo is probably just checking in to say ''Baba have you swallowed your Paracetamol today?''.

4. Looters list

Obasanjo most certainly wants to know if his name is on the looters' list that was supposed to be released yesterday.

ckmayoca:
You can stand as their shortee and bail them.

Dear it's surety, not shortee.
These cannibals are disgusting to behold.

@Op, you should have said commodities were doled out for free in the past instead of you crookedly cutting down the prices.
Mind you a bag of rice is sold for #12,000 in Agege just last week and for #8,000 in Owode/Ifo Ogun state this week.

abbey621:
The global economy crashed since 2008 but Nigerians under the disguise of corruption hardly felt the hit as government and political leaders were mortgaging your future and your children's future in order to maintain stability. You bought fuel at 86 Naira per liter instead of 120 or more, the government pays the difference. You refused to diversify from oil,so when oil price crashed, the government started using money meant for infrastructural development to accommodate subsidy and other unnecessary governmental spending but Nigerians don't care, as long as they got fuel at 86 Naira and imported rice and tomatoes at normal price. Nigerians don't want stable electricity, good roads and more jobs, these things don't matter as long as fuel is 86 Naira or below, I can see them now shouting "BRING BACK OUR CORRUPTION'

Where have been? I need more people like you in Nairaland, not those short sighted, children of hate, blinded by both religious and ethnicity bias

lanxlot:
This LATTER government that PRECEDED GEJ'S govt is sumtin else. Instead of Buhari of RISE to the occasion, what did he do? He RAISED the price of fuel. As a consequence, WEEKEND and HOLIDAYS av becum boring as pple find it hard 2 power generators. I MOURN when I hear some pple COMPLIMENT this administration of hardship, wait, when they sit in COUNCIL, does Buhari ever take COUNSEL? prices of goods have skyrocketed, the little u earn these days wud buy u lesser quantities of commodities, this may lead to a decline in MORALE of workers... Buhari, learn MORALS.

For ur mind, you are a lyricist.
Adonbilivit, you yaff tried indeed.

BUSHHUNTER:
Ibile Tongue

Correct! All join

BUSHHUNTER:
I have always been wondering where he gets his money from? Fuvk! Using public funds to finance your shitty home. . .no wonder e go marry omo a je okuta mamu omi. . . .

Oniranu afi ki o gbe awon omo olorigidigbo yen!

awa omo oduduwa ko e!

Spanish or German? What tongue are you speaking with?

Seyi Law?

Education is light.
Education is key.

Light: you will be enlightened, not groping in the darkness of life.
Key: you possess the key to open any door of opportunity opened to you in life.

Please, get educated, then follow your dreams and passion in life, with this you are saved.

ENDTIMELIFE:
i Love this kid, [b]no breastt, no big asss, no brazilian hair, no eye lashes, [/b]no long nails But Talented .

Nigerian fake Girls only knows how to do Oloshos , fake life

I know a pervert when I see one, thank goodness that you are not one.

Freeze is as clueless as dis man.....

LesbianBoy:
Lol...This APC government are very predictable! I told my friend that May 29th is coming and since this useless APC government has not achieved anything, they will hype this so called "rescued girl" upandan and say buhari the bastard is "working". And I was right! God
punish buhari and his supporters especially the ones here on nairaland

All the wicked deities will severely punish you in return, onyi'awurun.

knightsTempler:
The WARPLANES are not for Boko Haram. They say they have defeated them.

The WARPLaNES are not for murderous Fulani herdsmen. Not a single one is in jail for killings in Agatu and everywhere else. They killed another twenty people a day or so ago.

The WARPLANE is to kill southerners as Buhari and co say GEJ and IHEJIRIKA killed Northerners. They are THE EQUALIZERS

The WARPLANES are to kill minorities. It is to take out communities in the Niger Delta where militants are suspected to reside.

Militants of the Niger Delta are not an army like Boko Haram. They have not seized any territories. They are a group of young men of no more than 150 with guns and explosives.

They do not even kill anyone

WARPLANES are not needed to take out 100 or so boys. The army and Navy have enough to recon and chase criminals in the creeks

Death from the air is not needed against a GANG of boys.

Same way America stopped Ghadafi from using air attack against his people, America must not only DESIST from selling WARPLANES to Buhari, they must compel him to dialogue with angry groups and find lasting peace

Sign the petition. Sign it nowwwww.

Get others to sign

We have a limited time to hit 100,000 and get Obama to respond to us as required by American protocol.

Your precious write up can be described as Quiet unfortunately!

BreadandBeans:
Europe's Glory belongs to Spain

Yes o

Keneking:
But we are getting their mastermind this month

Some of their gorilla fighters are in the Nigerian army custody already .

Either guerrilla or gorilla attack method, I know the baboon would soon be soaked in blood

Really?

Thanks goodness, he is being kept at the underground interrogation room/office,
What if he was greeted with the Emma B's treatment.
Or extrajudicial killings by the efcc?

Deji Adeyanju, abeg park well.

It's waffle, bubble or hollow deck/slab
As said above, it's to reduce weight, especially in multi storey buildings.

It's common in Nigeria, I sighted first about 13 yrs ago when joined the construction industry.

What?
Hmm! Sovereign Wealth Fund doing well?
Anyways, let's keep alive!

doublewisdom:
Sauce?

Stew or Seasoning

Nairalanders, please can anyone of you legal gurus in the house differentiate between COURT OF LAW AND COURT OF JUSTICE.

Lalasticlala take note!

Thank God

Leicester City's Jamie Vardy named FWA Footballer of the Year https:///KLG9x6vs6T via @todayng https:///nY6W5N20hp

Somebody said it's photoshopped, but I think it's photo bomb, Trump photo bombed the bitch's poo

As for the governor's gesture, I reserve my comments.

This is good news to only the wise and frugals but it is a tale of woes to the spendthrifts, the next 30 days no be hia o!

dubemnaija:
If bubu have lived up to expectations by fixing the roads, just maybe, those doctors might still be alive


Since bubu assumed power, he hasn't constructed half a kilometer of road anywhere in Nigeria.
God bless GEJ anywhere he is.

Please try to remember that it was the road that GEJ failed to repair that killed his mother in law.
I mean the East-West road.

Congrats to me and all other Enyimba supporters.