Full-scale war imminent in
Nigeria - APC chief
Editor’s note: President Muhammadu Buhari
declared the war on militant group the Niger
Delta Avengers. On its own part the group
listed some conditions that should be met by
the government before peace can be returned
in the Niger Delta.
Joe Igbokwe, chairman of the Lagos Wharf
Landing Fee Collecting Authority and publicity
secretary of the All Progressives Congress
(APC) predicts bloody war in Niger Delta and
gives reason why the war is imminent.
Niger Delta militants remain a serious threat
in the blighted region
Unless senior citizens of the Niger Delta and
patriots rise now to talk sense into the
empty heads of the people that call
themselves the Avengers and the Concerned
Militant Leaders, a full-scale war is imminent
in the Niger Delta, and it is going to be
bloody and destructive.
The struggle for the liberation of the Niger
Delta
I have been an active advocate and
supporter of people in the Niger Delta to get
a fair share of the oil resources in Nigeria
found 90% in their soil. In 1999 I wrote in my
book, Heroes of Democracy that: “I cannot
pretend that I do not know the level of
atrocities and man’s inhumanity to man that
has been going on in the oil-rich region of
the Niger Delta neither have I closed my
eyes to the tragic stories of the bloodbath in
the region.”
The struggle for the liberation of the Niger
Delta, which has suffered 42years of criminal
neglect did not start yesterday. On February
23, 1966, Major Isaac Idaka Boro with some
50 men of the Niger Delta Volunteers
Service (NDVS) declared an Ijaw secession
from Nigeria. Nigeria instead of listening to
their grievances declared war on Isaac Boro
and his men and eventually crushed the
rebellion.
Ken Saro-Wiwa picked up the
campaign from where Isaac Boro stopped in
the 80s and 90s until General Abacha
murdered nine prominent Ogoni sons
(including Ken Saro-Wiwa) and others in very
bizarre circumstances. The tragedy attracted
both local and international condemnation,
but it was not enough to stop the human
carnage and degradation in the Niger Delta.”
I have preached justice, equity, and fair play
for the people of the Niger Delta but 17
years after I am beginning to have a rethink
about the inhabitants of the Niger Delta and
their antics. Yes Nigerians asked for justice
in the Niger and in the past 17 years we saw
the massive deployment of resources to that
very important region via NDDC, Ministry of
Nigeria Delta, and 13% derivation to oil
producing states. In spite of all these huge
interventions, I saw former president
Obasanjo blackmailed.
I saw former President Yar’Adua blackmailed
and intimidated. Yar’Adua was compelled to
negotiate with them, and he put together
billions of naira for reconciliation,
rehabilitation, training and financial support
to enable them to stand on their feet without
resort to violence and brigandage to get
attention. I saw former president Jonathan
blackmailed to the extent that he had to
cede oil wells and dole out billions of naira
and dollars to the militants led by Tompolo,
Asari Dokubo, Boyloaf, etc. in six years
Jonathan was in power, these criminal
militants thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
They were big boys in town.
They knew that no serious president will
condone their excesses
They talked tough, they walked tough and
painted the cities of Abuja and Lagos,
Bayelsa, and Port Harcourt red. They
became laws unto themselves. Power,
money, influence, position, connection,
contacts, etc. began to becloud their senses
of reasoning. During the 2015 presidential
elections, they threatened fire and brimstone
that if the rudderless and clueless Jonathan
loses the election. They knew that no
serious president will condone their
excesses, blackmail, impunity, and
brigandage if their man Friday losses. Oil or
no oil, every ethnic group has something to
put on the table in Nigeria.
There are no zero zones in this country.
While the Niger Delta region produces oil and
gas, the north of the country provides
Shiroro Dam, Kainji Dam, cows, beans, yams,
goats, Ram, potatoes, chicken, cucumber,
watermelon, tomatoes, carrots, sweet
potatoes, groundnut, onions a, etc.
The
North feeds Nigeria. Yoruba have offered
Nigeria cocoa, commerce and industry, and
in fact have provided some 40% of Nigeria’s
workforce.
The technocrats, best lawyers and other
professionals in Nigeria come from the
Yoruba nation. They are the fathers and
mothers of Newspaper industries, Radio and
Tv stations. They were the first to receive
the white man’s education. Their own Lagos
is the undisputable center of civilization.
They control all the professional bodies in
Nigeria. In fact, there is no ethnic group in
Nigeria better placed to show the light in
Nigeria. And for the Igbo, let me reproduce
here what the late Chief Gani Fawehnmi
said about the Igbo in 1998. Hear Gani “ The
Igbo by their contribution to the economic
development of this country are otherwise
called the Jews of Nigeria. They are very
hard-working, very industrious, very
innovative and very articulate people. The
economic development of this country owes
much to their contribution.
Niger Delta is a nation within a nation
I don’t like the way they have been treated
since 1970. They still bear the scars of the
Biafran crisis, and they are still being treated
as if the civil war is still nascent, which is
wrong. They have been kept out of the
security forces of this country at the
strategic levels, the law enforcement of this
country at the most strategic levels, they
are ignored, despised by the cabal. Even in
the civil service, I do not know how many
permanent secretaries are Igbo. I am not
sure how many senior police officers are
Igbo, and same goes for the Navy, Air Force,
and the army. They are one of the largest
groups in this country. In fact, it is a nation
within a nation. The major manpower pool of
this country
I was so angry when Abacha came to
establish the Provisional Ruling Council
(PRC) and the Igbo were not represented; I
went to court to fight the cause of the Igbo.
It was after my suit in court, challenging
Abacha and asking that PRC composition be
set aside by the court until Igbo were given
their rightful place that Abacha then
reversed the composition of PRC and
appointed some Igbo.” This country is what
it is today because all have sacrificed
something even blood to make it what it is
today.
Now the Niger Delta militants are destroying
oil platforms. They have crippled power
stations that run on gas. They have
destroyed their own landscape and polluted
the waters and aquatic life. Apart from
NDDC, Ministry of Niger Delta and 13%
deprivation, the militants from the region
have been granted amnesty by the Federal
Government and have been on the payroll for
close to 10years now. Jonathan was the
President for 6years, and he used the
exalted position to provide massive
empowerment to the people of the region.
There is no hope for these bloody idiots who
call themselves the Avengers
Apart from making the militants multi-
billionaires for doing nothing, people from
the region were made heads of juicy MDAs.
What else do they want? There is no hope
for these bloody idiots who call themselves
the Avengers. They are a bunch of
reprobates and common criminals. They are
too small and too insignificant to hold this
responsible and responsive government to
ransom through blackmail and intimidation.
They blackmailed Obasanjo, Yar’adua ,
Jonathan and now Buhari.
They have reached their final bus stop and
the point of no return. If the president can
crush Boko Haram, these useless Avengers
are damned too small. I foresee war in the
Niger Delta, and it will bloody and
destructive. Niger Delta has nothing to offer
Nigeria anymore except, criminality,
sabotage, destruction of oil platforms,
murder, brigandage, and corruption. This the
time to stop the criminals who have had it
call. Apart from Niger Delta Ministry, NDDC,
and 13% derivation, the idiots and the
leaders of Niger Delta have cornered oil
wells; they have stolen crude oil worth
billions of dollars, Nigeria has spent billions
training thousands of the so-called militants
and their cronies in Nigeria and beyond. Now
this cycle of stupidity must stop. To me oil
is nothing, and Nigeria is diversifying for
good. Look at what these animals are doing
to their environment in the name of avenging
the federal government. Ah, ah, I see war. I
see war. And I hope the human rights
community are seeing the damage and the
open confrontation.
Disclaimer:
This article expresses the authors’ opinion
only.
Nigeria - APC chief
Editor’s note: President Muhammadu Buhari
declared the war on militant group the Niger
Delta Avengers. On its own part the group
listed some conditions that should be met by
the government before peace can be returned
in the Niger Delta.
Joe Igbokwe, chairman of the Lagos Wharf
Landing Fee Collecting Authority and publicity
secretary of the All Progressives Congress
(APC) predicts bloody war in Niger Delta and
gives reason why the war is imminent.
Niger Delta militants remain a serious threat
in the blighted region
Unless senior citizens of the Niger Delta and
patriots rise now to talk sense into the
empty heads of the people that call
themselves the Avengers and the Concerned
Militant Leaders, a full-scale war is imminent
in the Niger Delta, and it is going to be
bloody and destructive.
The struggle for the liberation of the Niger
Delta
I have been an active advocate and
supporter of people in the Niger Delta to get
a fair share of the oil resources in Nigeria
found 90% in their soil. In 1999 I wrote in my
book, Heroes of Democracy that: “I cannot
pretend that I do not know the level of
atrocities and man’s inhumanity to man that
has been going on in the oil-rich region of
the Niger Delta neither have I closed my
eyes to the tragic stories of the bloodbath in
the region.”
The struggle for the liberation of the Niger
Delta, which has suffered 42years of criminal
neglect did not start yesterday. On February
23, 1966, Major Isaac Idaka Boro with some
50 men of the Niger Delta Volunteers
Service (NDVS) declared an Ijaw secession
from Nigeria. Nigeria instead of listening to
their grievances declared war on Isaac Boro
and his men and eventually crushed the
rebellion.
Ken Saro-Wiwa picked up the
campaign from where Isaac Boro stopped in
the 80s and 90s until General Abacha
murdered nine prominent Ogoni sons
(including Ken Saro-Wiwa) and others in very
bizarre circumstances. The tragedy attracted
both local and international condemnation,
but it was not enough to stop the human
carnage and degradation in the Niger Delta.”
I have preached justice, equity, and fair play
for the people of the Niger Delta but 17
years after I am beginning to have a rethink
about the inhabitants of the Niger Delta and
their antics. Yes Nigerians asked for justice
in the Niger and in the past 17 years we saw
the massive deployment of resources to that
very important region via NDDC, Ministry of
Nigeria Delta, and 13% derivation to oil
producing states. In spite of all these huge
interventions, I saw former president
Obasanjo blackmailed.
I saw former President Yar’Adua blackmailed
and intimidated. Yar’Adua was compelled to
negotiate with them, and he put together
billions of naira for reconciliation,
rehabilitation, training and financial support
to enable them to stand on their feet without
resort to violence and brigandage to get
attention. I saw former president Jonathan
blackmailed to the extent that he had to
cede oil wells and dole out billions of naira
and dollars to the militants led by Tompolo,
Asari Dokubo, Boyloaf, etc. in six years
Jonathan was in power, these criminal
militants thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
They were big boys in town.
They knew that no serious president will
condone their excesses
They talked tough, they walked tough and
painted the cities of Abuja and Lagos,
Bayelsa, and Port Harcourt red. They
became laws unto themselves. Power,
money, influence, position, connection,
contacts, etc. began to becloud their senses
of reasoning. During the 2015 presidential
elections, they threatened fire and brimstone
that if the rudderless and clueless Jonathan
loses the election. They knew that no
serious president will condone their
excesses, blackmail, impunity, and
brigandage if their man Friday losses. Oil or
no oil, every ethnic group has something to
put on the table in Nigeria.
There are no zero zones in this country.
While the Niger Delta region produces oil and
gas, the north of the country provides
Shiroro Dam, Kainji Dam, cows, beans, yams,
goats, Ram, potatoes, chicken, cucumber,
watermelon, tomatoes, carrots, sweet
potatoes, groundnut, onions a, etc.
The
North feeds Nigeria. Yoruba have offered
Nigeria cocoa, commerce and industry, and
in fact have provided some 40% of Nigeria’s
workforce.
The technocrats, best lawyers and other
professionals in Nigeria come from the
Yoruba nation. They are the fathers and
mothers of Newspaper industries, Radio and
Tv stations. They were the first to receive
the white man’s education. Their own Lagos
is the undisputable center of civilization.
They control all the professional bodies in
Nigeria. In fact, there is no ethnic group in
Nigeria better placed to show the light in
Nigeria. And for the Igbo, let me reproduce
here what the late Chief Gani Fawehnmi
said about the Igbo in 1998. Hear Gani “ The
Igbo by their contribution to the economic
development of this country are otherwise
called the Jews of Nigeria. They are very
hard-working, very industrious, very
innovative and very articulate people. The
economic development of this country owes
much to their contribution.
Niger Delta is a nation within a nation
I don’t like the way they have been treated
since 1970. They still bear the scars of the
Biafran crisis, and they are still being treated
as if the civil war is still nascent, which is
wrong. They have been kept out of the
security forces of this country at the
strategic levels, the law enforcement of this
country at the most strategic levels, they
are ignored, despised by the cabal. Even in
the civil service, I do not know how many
permanent secretaries are Igbo. I am not
sure how many senior police officers are
Igbo, and same goes for the Navy, Air Force,
and the army. They are one of the largest
groups in this country. In fact, it is a nation
within a nation. The major manpower pool of
this country
I was so angry when Abacha came to
establish the Provisional Ruling Council
(PRC) and the Igbo were not represented; I
went to court to fight the cause of the Igbo.
It was after my suit in court, challenging
Abacha and asking that PRC composition be
set aside by the court until Igbo were given
their rightful place that Abacha then
reversed the composition of PRC and
appointed some Igbo.” This country is what
it is today because all have sacrificed
something even blood to make it what it is
today.
Now the Niger Delta militants are destroying
oil platforms. They have crippled power
stations that run on gas. They have
destroyed their own landscape and polluted
the waters and aquatic life. Apart from
NDDC, Ministry of Niger Delta and 13%
deprivation, the militants from the region
have been granted amnesty by the Federal
Government and have been on the payroll for
close to 10years now. Jonathan was the
President for 6years, and he used the
exalted position to provide massive
empowerment to the people of the region.
There is no hope for these bloody idiots who
call themselves the Avengers
Apart from making the militants multi-
billionaires for doing nothing, people from
the region were made heads of juicy MDAs.
What else do they want? There is no hope
for these bloody idiots who call themselves
the Avengers. They are a bunch of
reprobates and common criminals. They are
too small and too insignificant to hold this
responsible and responsive government to
ransom through blackmail and intimidation.
They blackmailed Obasanjo, Yar’adua ,
Jonathan and now Buhari.
They have reached their final bus stop and
the point of no return. If the president can
crush Boko Haram, these useless Avengers
are damned too small. I foresee war in the
Niger Delta, and it will bloody and
destructive. Niger Delta has nothing to offer
Nigeria anymore except, criminality,
sabotage, destruction of oil platforms,
murder, brigandage, and corruption. This the
time to stop the criminals who have had it
call. Apart from Niger Delta Ministry, NDDC,
and 13% derivation, the idiots and the
leaders of Niger Delta have cornered oil
wells; they have stolen crude oil worth
billions of dollars, Nigeria has spent billions
training thousands of the so-called militants
and their cronies in Nigeria and beyond. Now
this cycle of stupidity must stop. To me oil
is nothing, and Nigeria is diversifying for
good. Look at what these animals are doing
to their environment in the name of avenging
the federal government. Ah, ah, I see war. I
see war. And I hope the human rights
community are seeing the damage and the
open confrontation.
Disclaimer:
This article expresses the authors’ opinion
only.
No comments:
Post a Comment