The way forward :Niger Delta militants
From what we read in the newspapers and hear from radio and television, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) do not use bullets for their destructive operations. So, perhaps even a silver bullet may not be adequate to fix them. Maybe Nigeria needs a silver rocket for this huge problem. But no! Really, we do not need any form of military hardware to fix this very existential problem.
Several decades ago, Ken SaroWiwa (may his soul rest in peace) and several other elite of the Niger Delta told Nigerian leaders that the revenue allocation and distribution formula in Nigeria was hopelessly rigged against the minority peoples from whose soil the black gold that was nourishing and sustaining the nation came from. They warned that the system needed to be urgently fixed to stave off an impending militancy by hoodlums from the Niger Delta. Indeed, the irrepressible Ken went further to tell the world that Nigeria’s oil money was blood money and that no good will come to the nation from the petro dollars unless and until the injustice done to the people from whose soil the oil and gas was stolen was redressed. For his efforts, Ken and his compatriots were hanged by General Sani Abacha’s regime.
Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution as amended has given the oil-bearing States 13% of all oil and gas accruals. The people who bear the brunt of oil and gas pollution and degradation consider this percentage miserable while people from other parts of the country think the people of the Niger Delta are undeserving of even this pittance. Indeed, some otherwise educated persons from the East, North and West of Nigeria have called for a reduction of even this amount because, according to them, over the years, the governors and political leaders from the oil rich but wretched Niger Delta rather than develop their place, have stolen and continue to steal their people dry. They cite, among others, the examples of former governor of Delta and Bayelsa States, James Ibori and D. S. P. Alamiesiegha, respectively.
The Nigerian State, having killed or silenced the men and women of reason from the Niger Delta, was left with hoodlums and warlords to contend with. The militants, many of whom have very limited education and scarcely any profession or handwork, were easy to deal with:. All it requires is to stuff their leaders’ pockets with money and find some change for their boys and Nigeria could afford to joggle along and continue to perpetrate violence and injustice on the environment and the lives of the people of the Niger Delta. And so, it came to pass that former President Musa Yar’ Adua and his Niger Delta-born Vice quickly offered the ‘bad boys’ an amnesty programme that required them to sheath their sword for a fraction of the oil money paid into their pockets while the open sore of the Niger Delta continued to fester.
Let us make no mistakes about who is at fault here. It is not a Hausa/Fulani thing. Nor is it a Yoruba or Igbo thing. It is a Nigerian elite thing. As with other problems in Nigeria, the elite are ready to seek out quick fixes that ensure that they are able to continue to take undue advantage of the system to the detriment of the entire nation. Rather than addressing the injustice done to the people of the Niger Delta and their environment, the Nigerian elite from all the six zones of the federation have continued to connive and conspire to steal the fast-depleting wealth of the Niger Delta people. This rape of our people and indeed our nation has been going on since our pre-mature independence.
As they say, inevitably, the chicken has come home to roost. It is only natural that we have to come to this pass. The over-flogged cliché about pushing a man to the wall was bound to come into play. Nearly everyone from the Niger Delta will tell you that they do not support the actions of the NDA with a big BUT at the end of their reservations. Behind closed doors, many in the zone are hailing the audacity of the NDA who have vowed that they do not want to kill or maim their opponents but to stop all oil and gas activities in the region until their grievances are properly addressed.
Here is my simple solution and I have raised these with several governors from the Niger Delta in the past and even the last President of Nigeria. President Mohammadu Buhari and the National Assembly can set a timeframe of no more than six months from today to settle the vexing issue of fiscal federalism or derivation or revenue allocation or whatever name you choose to call it. In the interim, the NDA should stop the use of their guns and dynamites while this constitutional amendment is carried out. The people of the Niger Delta care that the other five zones of the federation should survive. There is no hunger in the zone today for a separate republic of the Niger Delta. But the longer this wound festers, the easier it will be for the people of the region to start harbouring the thought that with their wealth they could do even better than UAE if they unbundle themselves from the yoke of an uncaring and oppressive giant called Nigeria.
What do the people of the Niger Delta want? Simple! They want 50% of all oil and gas revenues from their soil and from the sea that surrounds them. They don’t want this in one fell swoop. They realize that the rest of the nation will need time to adjust. It is suggested here that the rise be graduated over a 10 year period beginning from January 2017. In the first year, the oil-bearing States should receive 15% instead of the current 13%. Thereafter, over the next 9 years there should be a yearly, increase of 3.8% until we cap it at 50%.
Again in the 10 year period, the allocations to such nanny contraptions like NDDC and the Ministry of the Niger Delta should continually be reduced until they are dissolved. If we must tell ourselves the truth, bodies such as NDDC are created for the big politicians in Abuja and the Emirs, Obas, Ezes, chiefs and elders from all over the country to fester their nests and not for the purported development of the Niger Delta.
The implementation of this process is surely going to be messy. The 50% will also percolate to the LGAs and the local communities on whose soil our black gold is extracted. But it is doable. It will require leadership of an uncommon variety. President Buhari will face very stiff opposition from even his closest allies and backers from all zones of the federation who have been weaned on easy money from oil and gas over the years. But this will also be an opportunity for him to drastically curtail the involvement of the Federal Government in too many aspects of our national life.
The percentage that will be shed by the Federal Government will go to the States and local governments to take care of their people at the grassroots level. The Niger Delta militants have presented President Buhari with a golden opportunity to show leadership. He must seize it with both hands. It is not weakness to see reason and to act in a just manner.
Source :The Tide
Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution as amended has given the oil-bearing States 13% of all oil and gas accruals. The people who bear the brunt of oil and gas pollution and degradation consider this percentage miserable while people from other parts of the country think the people of the Niger Delta are undeserving of even this pittance. Indeed, some otherwise educated persons from the East, North and West of Nigeria have called for a reduction of even this amount because, according to them, over the years, the governors and political leaders from the oil rich but wretched Niger Delta rather than develop their place, have stolen and continue to steal their people dry. They cite, among others, the examples of former governor of Delta and Bayelsa States, James Ibori and D. S. P. Alamiesiegha, respectively.
The Nigerian State, having killed or silenced the men and women of reason from the Niger Delta, was left with hoodlums and warlords to contend with. The militants, many of whom have very limited education and scarcely any profession or handwork, were easy to deal with:. All it requires is to stuff their leaders’ pockets with money and find some change for their boys and Nigeria could afford to joggle along and continue to perpetrate violence and injustice on the environment and the lives of the people of the Niger Delta. And so, it came to pass that former President Musa Yar’ Adua and his Niger Delta-born Vice quickly offered the ‘bad boys’ an amnesty programme that required them to sheath their sword for a fraction of the oil money paid into their pockets while the open sore of the Niger Delta continued to fester.
Let us make no mistakes about who is at fault here. It is not a Hausa/Fulani thing. Nor is it a Yoruba or Igbo thing. It is a Nigerian elite thing. As with other problems in Nigeria, the elite are ready to seek out quick fixes that ensure that they are able to continue to take undue advantage of the system to the detriment of the entire nation. Rather than addressing the injustice done to the people of the Niger Delta and their environment, the Nigerian elite from all the six zones of the federation have continued to connive and conspire to steal the fast-depleting wealth of the Niger Delta people. This rape of our people and indeed our nation has been going on since our pre-mature independence.
As they say, inevitably, the chicken has come home to roost. It is only natural that we have to come to this pass. The over-flogged cliché about pushing a man to the wall was bound to come into play. Nearly everyone from the Niger Delta will tell you that they do not support the actions of the NDA with a big BUT at the end of their reservations. Behind closed doors, many in the zone are hailing the audacity of the NDA who have vowed that they do not want to kill or maim their opponents but to stop all oil and gas activities in the region until their grievances are properly addressed.
Here is my simple solution and I have raised these with several governors from the Niger Delta in the past and even the last President of Nigeria. President Mohammadu Buhari and the National Assembly can set a timeframe of no more than six months from today to settle the vexing issue of fiscal federalism or derivation or revenue allocation or whatever name you choose to call it. In the interim, the NDA should stop the use of their guns and dynamites while this constitutional amendment is carried out. The people of the Niger Delta care that the other five zones of the federation should survive. There is no hunger in the zone today for a separate republic of the Niger Delta. But the longer this wound festers, the easier it will be for the people of the region to start harbouring the thought that with their wealth they could do even better than UAE if they unbundle themselves from the yoke of an uncaring and oppressive giant called Nigeria.
What do the people of the Niger Delta want? Simple! They want 50% of all oil and gas revenues from their soil and from the sea that surrounds them. They don’t want this in one fell swoop. They realize that the rest of the nation will need time to adjust. It is suggested here that the rise be graduated over a 10 year period beginning from January 2017. In the first year, the oil-bearing States should receive 15% instead of the current 13%. Thereafter, over the next 9 years there should be a yearly, increase of 3.8% until we cap it at 50%.
Again in the 10 year period, the allocations to such nanny contraptions like NDDC and the Ministry of the Niger Delta should continually be reduced until they are dissolved. If we must tell ourselves the truth, bodies such as NDDC are created for the big politicians in Abuja and the Emirs, Obas, Ezes, chiefs and elders from all over the country to fester their nests and not for the purported development of the Niger Delta.
The implementation of this process is surely going to be messy. The 50% will also percolate to the LGAs and the local communities on whose soil our black gold is extracted. But it is doable. It will require leadership of an uncommon variety. President Buhari will face very stiff opposition from even his closest allies and backers from all zones of the federation who have been weaned on easy money from oil and gas over the years. But this will also be an opportunity for him to drastically curtail the involvement of the Federal Government in too many aspects of our national life.
The percentage that will be shed by the Federal Government will go to the States and local governments to take care of their people at the grassroots level. The Niger Delta militants have presented President Buhari with a golden opportunity to show leadership. He must seize it with both hands. It is not weakness to see reason and to act in a just manner.
Source :The Tide
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