* MEND claims 23 soldiers killed
*No soldier was killed – JTF
By Emma Amaize
WARRI – MILITANTS in the early hours of today bombed an off-shore platform of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) located at Forcados in Delta State and purportedly sunk a military gun boat carrying between 20-23 soldiers, a claim that the Joint Task Force (JTF) on the Niger-Delta promptly denied.
Spokesman of the Movement for Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (MEND), Jomo Gbomo who confirmed the bombing of Clusters 11 and 30 of the platform and clash between militants and soldiers in an online statement, yesterday, also said its commanders were being enticed with up to N1 billion each to lay down their arms.
His words, “Even though our commanders are constantly being bombarded with enticing monetary offers as much as 1billion Naira per camp, only those who are willing to sell their birthright for a bowl of porridge will accept while the rest of us will continue the struggle until justice is achieved”.
Coordinator of the Joint Media Campaign Centre (JMCC) of the JTF, Colonel Rabe Abubakar , however, said MEND was fabricating a story concerning a clash between soldiers and militants in the state, as nothing of such happened.
He said the militant group was striking at isolated pipelines that were not in use and which soldiers were not guarding, all to create the impression that they were still potent, whereas, it was clear that the security outfit was dislodging the militants from their various camps..
Colonel Abubakar said that no military gunboat was sunk, not to talk of 20 -23 soldiers losing their lives as claimed by the MEND.
The JTF spokesman wondered why the boys carrying out the attacks should not take the opportunity opened by the Federal Government by the proclamation of amnesty to drop their arms and live a good life, saying, he was surprised that they were still going ahead with the destruction of the nation’s economy and pollution of the environment of their people despite the government’s gesture.
MEND in a drawn out statement said Shell Forcados off-shore platform attack at about 3.30 am was a continuation of its Hurricane Piper Alpha, pointing out, “Cluster 11 and 30 are currently on fire after a massive explosion”.
Gbomo said after bombing the two clusters, “A military gunboat patrol on noticing the fire stumbled upon heavily armed fighters and the confrontation resulted in the sinking of the gunboat with all the occupants numbering between 20-23 soldiers”.
According to him, “We have made it clear that patrols must not open fire at us as our target is the oil infrastructure. This unheeded warning resulted in the death of these soldiers”
MEND disowns representatives
In a related development, he said, “MEND wishes to state that Mr Innocent Iboroma and Mr Cletus Arerebo are not representatives of Farah Dagogo and Boyloaf at high level talks.Therefore, the said meeting held in Port Harcourt between them and the Minister of Internal Affairs is a fraud”.
“MEND”, he maintained, “will negotiate as a group when the right time comes. The impression the government is trying to give that commanders are negotiating independently is another propaganda aimed at causing confusion”.
Arerebo, Boyloaf fault Jomo Gbomo
Vanguard contacted Mr. Arerebo and he explained he had the mandate of Boyloaf to attend the meeting. His words, “It is Boyloaf that called me to represent him at the meeting, I did not know about the meeting before, he was the one that called me and I know that many people called him to find out whether he sent me to the meeting and he told them he was the one, so I don’t know what Jomo Gbomo is driving at. I even spoke to Boyloaf this morning .
Also speaking to Vanguard, Boyloaf said, “Cletus Arerebo has been representing at several meetings, I sent him to represent me in this one in question”.
MEND raises fresh query on Okah
The militant group also picked holes in government’s sincerity on the release of its detained leader, Henry Okah. According to Gbomo, “The sincerity of the government of Nigeria came into question again on Friday, June 26, 2009 after the Interior Minister, General Godwin Abbe (rtd) informed the nation that the release of a sick Henry Okah would now depend on consultations with the dictators and despots ruling Angola and Equatorial Guinea”.
“The minister also lied when he said Okah travelled to Equatorial Guinea. The fact is that Mr Henry Okah has never set foot in that country; not even as an airport transit passenger.
“In the case of Angola, the authorities in that country had severally wanted to release Okah and Atatah because they had no case to answer, but were prevented by the Nigerian ambassador in Angola from doing so”, he noted.
“It is important to remember that Edward Atatah, arrested with Henry in Angola has long been set free because nothing incriminating came out of that business trip. If it were true that Okah went to purchase weapons as claimed, then Edward would not have been set free because both men traveled together to inspect the fishing trawler in Luanda, Angola which Henry wanted to purchase.
Demands compensation for Green and Pepple families
“Many Nigerians are unhappy that the Yar’Adua government has brushed aside the call for inquiry into the extra-judicial murder on 08/08/08 of Messrs Boma Green and Stanley Pepple by the JTF in Bonny, Rivers state”, he added.
He continued: “The fact they have not seen reason to investigate the killings that was caught on tape means that the perpetrators have been given a license to kill innocent civilians. The region is not safe in the hands of such licensed armed killers called the JTF who we understand is now threatening the families to shut up or risk being killed”.
“The government should use part of the 50 billion Naira amnesty fund as compensation to the families of these men since they left behind children that must be educated and wives that must survive with a trade.
“A fraction of what was wasted for travels, hotels, allowances and entertainment by the Niger Delta Technical Committee whose report has joined the long list of shelved reports since 1960 could have gone a long way in helping the two families.
“Justice for the two men will become an integral part of any future negotiations we will have with the government until the perpetrators of that evil act are brought to book”, he said.
Amnesty‘ll separate criminals from freedom fighters
On the amnesty for militants, he reiterated that it was directed at criminals and not freedom fighters, saying, “If successful, the on-going amnesty exercise directed at repentant criminals in the Niger Delta region will no doubt create an enabling environment for dealing with the Niger Delta question which freedom fighting groups such as MEND is waging”.
“It will separate the wheat from the chaff and allow the government to focus on the root issues instead of tying militancy with criminality as an excuse for not addressing the grievances of the Niger Delta people.
“Because criminals in other parts of Nigeria may hijack the struggle again after the region is rid of them, we call on political thugs, armed robbers, kidnappers, pirates etc from other states in Nigeria to take advantage of the governments offer by travelling to one of the centers in the Niger Delta and trade their weapons for amnesty.
“Come with the whole gang and get rehabilitated with gains of free education, money to start legitimate businesses etc. This is a unique opportunity in a country where so many graduates cannot find jobs and girls no longer marry for love. Remember to use a name that strikes terror, like Osama bin Laden, 9/11, Taliban, Mujaheddin etc.
“The certificate the Inspector General of Police (IGP) will personally hand over will be your life saver. One last thing, take a picture shaking hands with the IGP as proof, frame the picture and leave it on your car dash board to avoid future harassment by the police at illegal road blocks.
“We hope that after this exercise is over the government will begin a genuine bilateral peace process with the involvement of the international community and every stakeholder to address the agitation of the region such as fiscal federalism amongst others”, the militant group asserted.
…Rehabilitation for criminals in public office
“We also hope that rehabilitation of criminals from past public office holders to the present ones, including the armed forces and police will be put in place so as to bring sanity back to the decayed system.
“Past heads of state and governors from the military era should also participate in the program too. The Jerry Rawlings type of rehab against
MEND continue in ur fight 4 freedom and development. Take d bull by d horn and watch if d bull wouldn’t surrender.
PLEASE PEOPLE OF THE NIGER DELTA LET US ALL COME OUT AND SUPPORT MEND IN THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM.NIGER DELTA IS FOR US WE CAN MAKE IT BE LIKE THOSE COUNTRY THEY ARE CARRYING OUR OIL MONEY TO.
How many bellies has MEND OF AFRICA opened? Please, MEND did not but the Hausa JTF were only being stubborn and deserved what they got. My advise, the families of the remaining ones shld commence all night prayer, just in case
How many bellies has MEND OF AFRICA opened? Please, MEND did not but the Hausa JTF were only being stubborn and deserved what they got. My advise the families of the remaining ones commence all night prayer, just in case
PLEASE CAN WE KNOW ABOUT THE LIST OF PEOPLE FOUND IN TOMPOLO”S HOUSE,BEFORE WE WE GO AHEAD.I THINK WE HAVE FEARFUL PRESIDENT.HE SHOULD GO BACK TO HIS HOUSE.
A CASE FOR THE NIGER-DELTANS
When you are hungry, you don’t think of honour. A hungry person is not afraid of the sword. (Desperate times call for desperate measures. When it’s a question of survival, there are no rules, regardless of dire consequences. What is there to lose?)
The region of the Niger delta have been pushed into what we have today as social unrest, the years of abuse and bastardization of its land in the name of oil exploration and the continued marginalization of this same people in governance of the nation could only amount to the inevitable calls for arms, this is not rocket science to say the least. It’s a known fact that a person who spends time with people who are lame, Learns how to limp. (Your environment influences your behaviour.) To the Nigerian government i say, it’s what you put in your pot that comes to your spoon!
There is however still room for a lasting solution in this whole saga of national disgrace as it is today looked upon in the western world. To add my voice into the un-going proffered solutions for this region, i will advice that the government of president Yar adua considers a national apology to these legitimate sons and daughters of our grate country for the years of injustice perpetuated on them. The second crucial step is to initiate a day of mourning for all those who lost their lives in this struggle. I believe that with such robust gesture for peace, all views of possible table for dialogue will have a chance.
Is the ravaging military expedition in the Niger Delta of Nigeria the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end of the oil-war in the area, which has so far, defied military solution? Icheoku says, the war which has been going on ever since oil was first discovered at Niger Delta’s Oloibiri in 1958 and just recently escalated into a full blown shooting-war by the Dracula of Aso Rock, President Umaru Yar’Adua is not the answer? The war which previously included all manners of psychological-intimidation, repression, protestation, agitation, intermittent police action has now suddenly escalated due to the excesses of the Hausa-Fulani hijackers of Nigeria who decided to kill-off Niger Delta people in order to covet their oil? Niger Delta people, who they consider a pain in the neck and hence had to roll in their tanks, airplanes, war ships and other weapons of mass destruction to completely annihilate, and blood flowed and is still flowing? Even one of this Hausa-Fulani mallam was quoted as saying that killing off 5 million of the Niger Delta people for the sake of the rest of 145 million Nigerians should be considered a reasonable option? And you ask yourself, what manner of blood-hounds are these mallams? Ka-ji-kwo?
But how could an otherwise agitation for such a good cause as resource control, gone so awry that sympathies have been since been lost and won respectively? How could the world, especially other Nigerians pretend that what is going on in the river-rine Niger Delta is merely a skirmish by a government trying to quell some recalcitrant dissidents aka militants? When and how did Niger Delta freedom struggle lose the propaganda war in the crisis to the Hausa-Fulani machine?
A few years ago before this current crisis snowballed into the inferno it is today, many Nigerians as well as other peoples of the world paid real attention to the brewing crisis in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. Unfortunately the vanguards deviated or rather their struggle was hijacked by a few miscreants who careened it off course and turned it into a criminality of kidnapping and with it, they succeeded in turning off the generated interest and sympathy of these third parties. Icheoku recalls that world-media Cable News Network, CNN, did a documentary on the Niger Delta struggle, anchored by Jeff Koinange then CNN’s Africa correspondent, responsible for reporting for CNN from across the African continent; which they later followed up by dispatching Lisa Ling with a full camera crew from New York, Georgia, United States of America on a fact finding visit to one of the militants’ camp inside the belly of the beast in the Niger Delta. The reporter/war correspondent was not impressed by what she saw and heard; and concluded that these guys are not serious, they are disorganised, rudderless and without a common purpose. In short they are a bunch of hooligans and criminals, indiscriminately shooting off guns and intimidating people? Put in another way, they are a bunch of menacing thugs and Tompolo is in hiding?
After watching this rather sorry commentary on the Niger Delta struggle on CNN, we concluded immediately that it was the end of the road for the struggle? Borrowing from Jesus Crucified, ‘it is finished’ and so it was, that the days of the militant’ struggle were numbered? Icheoku says, bad press is rather too cancerous and anybody, including those supposed freedom-fighters in the Niger Delta, who ignores it, does so at their peril. The Niger Delta agitators ignored the power of the press and today, they have paid and are still paying dearly for this stupidity and unforgivable ignorance. What a hefty prize, indeed, that their noble and courageous struggle was branded a terrorist-militant dissidence, forcing the world to look the other way while the Hausa-Fulani marauders slaughtered them and pillaged their society?
Icheoku have opined on the best ’sea-route to India’ regarding the Niger Delta struggle but they were not heeded. We advised on the need to have an organized centralized commanding authority divided into both political and armed wing, to pursue the struggle in a dualized fashion but t was not heeded. The Irish example buttresses this point? We also advised against the kidnappings going on in the Niger Delta, of people of Niger Delta by people of the Niger Delta masquerading as militants; yet it was not listened to? We posited that a house that is divided among itself is bound to fall after the kidnap and release of author Elechi Amadi; yet it was not heeded and today, what remains of the struggle is a mere house of cards, that will topple with with further squeeze; with Tom Ateke begging for amnesty? We advocated taking the struggle outside the Niger Delta area, to the Hausa-Fulani peoples of northern Nigeria in their Northern enclave but it was not heeded? We also canvassed that the Niger Delta freedom fighters avoid pitching a direct battle with a brutal earth-scorching Nigerian army as they are not a match both in equipment and viciousness; but it was not heeded? We also advised the understudy of the Irish Republican Army, Sons of Iraqis/ Mujaheddin as well as all other freedom struggles in history; and how it is suicidal to take head-on an organized centralized army of any nation; but it was not heeded. We warned that the North will use their divide and conquer strategy to have their way in the Niger Delta and today, the rest is history as so many militant-wings mushroomed and none of them could be said to be the authentic bastion of the peoples struggle?
The result is an earth-scorching invasion by President Umaru Yar’Adua’ s army which have killed, maimed, vandalized and burnt the areas known as Niger Delta. We also advised on the need to pursue propaganda vigorously; and the need to engage some public relations firms to sell the struggle to the world but it also was not heeded? What happened, the north succeeded in branding the struggle as a bunch of disgruntled terrorists-militants fermenting trouble who must be got rid of; the world acquiesced their tacit approval and the dogs of war were let loose upon defenseless peoples of the Niger Delta. Icheoku says it is because the Niger Delta struggle lost the propaganda war, yielding their freedom fighters status to mere militants that they have not fared well in the current campaign in the delta? Henry Okah is in inhuman military detention, captive of the feudalistic north? And who wants some bunch of weed-smoking, AK47 totting militants in their neck of the wood, when the atrocities of Pakistan, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq flood our television screens daily? Who wants to be beheaded or kidnapped for ransom or forced to live a particular type of regimented life under an Islamic Mujaheddin Asari Dokubo control? Not this writer and not anyone I personally know. This was the picture painted of the “trouble-makers” of the Niger Delta and the world left them on their own, so you see?
There is no manners of words which has not been employed to describe the mediocre-struggle of the Niger Delta militants:- disunited, disorganized, dysfunctional, clueless, incoherent of objective, inarticulate, lacking strategy, rabble-rousers, trouble-makers, criminals etc and the list goes on ad infinitum? For a country which has fought a civil war before against the people of Biafra who were forced to defend their right of peaceful existence in Nigeria, today’s escapade in the Niger Delta does not bode well for Nigeria united? So far the Niger Delta freedom fighters have given a good account of themselves with their brilliant performances both against the invading soldiers and the arrogant oil companies? About 18 Nigerian soldiers and 3 officers dead or missing as a result of militant activities is no small achievement under the circumstances considering the investments made to bring these soldiers up to the fighting machine which they supposedly were? Reliable sources has it that so many other soldiers were also gravely wounded and these are fellow Nigerians pitted against their fellow Nigerian of the Niger Delta because some Hausa-Fulani oligarchs are being very unreasonable in asserting obtrusive control on other peoples natural resources? What a display of feudalistic arrogance by these mallams of the Nigerian far north?
As Icheoku mourns the foreseeable end of an otherwise worthy struggle, which was terribly mismanaged and/or sabotaged; as well as the devastation wrought by the Major General Sarkin-Yarki Bello led Hausa-Fulani invading army of the north, we sympathize with the people like Ken Niweigha who laid their lives for this struggle. Let us hope the people of the Niger Delta have learnt their lessons and the next time around, it will be a very different approach. Also it is important for Niger Delta people to understand where their biggest and best alliance in Nigeria is? It is also essential for them to understand where to align themselves in Nigeria – with the only big brother who they truly have, the Igbos! In the Igbos lies their destiny if they must succeed in their struggle and no amount of their ass-licking of the Hausa-Fulani or the Yoruba will make them worthy of equal acceptance in their eyes? The people of Niger Delta saw how dismissive they were in the eyes of these Northerners,when one of them mouthed that they are disposable and just five million of them can be and should be sacrificed for the greater welfare of other Nigerians? Are you scared? Icheoku says, as you suck your wounds, oh Niger Deltans; now you know what not to do!
However, we must acknowledge the courage, gallantry and bravery of the resistance at Okerenkoko, Gbaramatu Kingdom in Delta State. At least they achieved somewhat victory as every trained Nigerian soldier’s life was worth a lot in this lopsided hostility between them and the militants and 18 of them were forced to drink of their potion as they paid the supreme sacrifice, including a major, and a lieutenant colonel? Icheoku says, if an ill-equipped and out-numbered resistance could wreck such quantum of havoc on the Nigeria army; it finally explains why the authorities in Abuja hurriedly handed off Bakassi to Cameroon, because they were deathly afraid of the chances of their army pitched in a battle against the Cameroon gendarmes?
Regrettably too, the palace of the monarch of Gbaramatu Kingdom was ransacked and razed down by the invading Northern soldiers which forces Icheoku to ask, were it in the North, could any of these soldiers have ventured into the emir’s or sultan’s palace? This is one of the burning issues that need resolution in Nigeria – the equality of Nigerians?
Icheoku also disagrees that money is being lost as a result of the activism in the Niger Delta, as the oil which is not being exploited and sold off today, is merely being deferred for future earnings! What is the use of selling off the oil today under the very highly corrupt government in Nigeria which will as usual fret it away and without addressing the pressing needs of the people for whose primary benefit, God put the resources under their grounds?
Finally, Icheoku says, no matter how the current military rampage in the Niger Delta concludes and while sympathizing with the unnecessary loss of lives, the bravery of those sons and daughters of Niger Delta were not in doubt. As they struggle through whatever is left of their pitched battle with the feudalistic Nigerian armed forces, struggling to free themselves from the shackles and take back what belongs to them, their oil resources, we wish them Godspeed! Peradventure, providence will remain on their side until a somewhat victory is achieved in due course. All that is needed is some perseverance, a show of resolve and the will to carry-on; and eventually the world will be forced to step in to call for a truce and possibly a conference will be called to settle the lingering problems afflicting the Niger Delta? If the Hausa-Fulani accedes the control of the natural resources, that will be alleluia?
To the people of Niger Delta, let it be known to you that the nearest hour to dawn is usually the darkest and the last laps of a marathon is usually the toughest; but if you persist, you shall surely cross the finish line. Victory is within reach as Port-Harcourt and Warri refineries crude oil shortage is a sign that your effort is beginning to yield dividends? Also President Umaru Yar’Adua cannot be so desperate for amnesty if he is not afraid of losing the current showdown? But first, you must stop kidnapping your people, your kinsmen, your women and children; so that you can regain their goodwill, the support of the world and stop being seen as mischievous miscreants bent on disrupting oil flow to Western countries? Reassert yourself for what you are, – the freedom fighting crusaders of the Niger Delta! Icheoku says, try not to lose your focus and the ideals of fighting for the freedom of your people and God will see you through; with hope that we have not seen the last of you, the beginning of the end of your struggle?
The people of nigerdelta have suffered enough. Why must their be violence before the goverment hear d cry of the people?
When will their be an end to this ethnic marginalisation?
The truth is that the JTF can not stop the nigerdeltans.
THIS AMNESTY CRAP OF A THING WAS SOLD TO THE PRESIDENT, BY THE INDICTED AND CORRUPT EX GOVERNORS, EXPECIALLY THOSE FROM THE NIGER DELTA, THROUGH THEIR FRIEND THE AGF AONDOAKAA. THESE CORRUPT AND INDICTED EX GOVERNORS RECOMMENDED THE AONDOAKAA FOR THE JOB OF THE AGF AND WE ALL KNOW HIS VERY CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THESE CORRUPT EX GOVERNORS. THESE SAME CORRUPT AND INDICTED EX GOVERNORS ALSO RAISED AND ARMED THE CRIMINALS NOW TORMENTING AND KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE FROM THE NIGER DELTA AND OUR UNIFORMED PERSONS. WHY CAN’T MR. PRESIDENT SEE THROUGH THESE EVIL PERSONS.
MR PRESIDENT I HOPE THAT THERE IS NO HIDDEN AGENDA, WITH THIS AMNESTY OF A THING. IT APPEARS THAT THE WAY YOU ARE PURSUING AND PROGRESSING IT, IS BECOMMING WORRYING AND I HOPE YOU ARE NOT UNDER EXTREME PRESSURE, FORM THE CORRUPT AND INDICTED EX GOVERNORS, AS MOST OF THEM ARE THE BACKERS AND COLLABORATORS OF THE CRIMINAL ELEMENTS IN THE NIGER DELTA. THEY ARE MAKING BLOOD MONEY. IN ADDITION TO THE ONE THEY LOOTED AND STOLE FROM THE TREASURY. THESE CORRUPT AND INDICTED EX GOVERNORS AND THEIR COLLABORATORS STAND TO BENEFIT MASSIVELY FROM THIS BLANKET AMNESTY OF A THING. YOU SHOULD ALSO REMEMBER THE UNIFORMED PERSONS YOU SENT TO THE NIGER DELTA AS THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF NIGERIA, TO MENTAIN THE PEACE AND SOME OF THEM WERE SLAUGHTERED IN COLD BLOOD BY THE CRIMINALS.
THESE CORRUPT AND INDICTED EX GOVERNORS, ARE THE SAME PERSONS, WHO CLAIMED THAT THEY BANK ROLED YOUR ELECTION AND THEY ARE NOW SAYING THAT THEY WILL ALSO, BANK ROLE YOU 2011 ELECTION. MR PRESIDENT YOU MUST CLEAR THE AIR. NIGER DELTA DOES NOT WANT AMNESTY, AS AMNESTY IS FOR THOSE THAT COMMITED CRIMES, WE IN THE NIGER DELTA DID NOT COMMIT ANY CRIME BY HAVING CRUDE OIL AND GAS. I AM SICK AND TIRED OF PEOPLE PATRONISING US AND THIS MUST STOP.
AMNESTY IS NOT AMNESTIA. WHAT IS REQUIRED IN THE NIGER DELTA IS IMMEDIATE MASSIVE ECCONMIC DEVELOPEMENT OF THE AREA AND IMMEDIATE AND MASSIVE ECCONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF THE PEOPLE OF THE NIGER DELTA. USE THE EXCESS CRUDE MONEY, USE PART OF THE EXTERNAL RESERVE, INTRODUCE WINDFAL TAX ON THE COMPANIES THAT CAUSED THE PROBLEM AND USE THE MONEY TO PROGRESS AND DEVELOPE THE NIGER DELTA. WE NEED AN IMMEDIATE MARTIAL PLAN IN THE NIGER DELTA. PURSUE THIS MARTIAL PLAN, WITH THE SAME ZEAL, VIGOR AND ENTHUSIAZM, AS WAS USED IN BUILDING ABUJA AND ENVIRONS. NO MORE SLOGANS, NO MORE TALKS, NO MORE TITLE TATLE, NO MORE INFANTILE APPROACH TO THE PROBLEMS OF THE NIGER DELTA. NO MORE POSTPONNING OF ACTIONS, NO MORE PROMOSES. IF THEY ARE CRIMINALS JAIL THEM, NAME AND SHAME THEM. NAME THEIR SUPPORTERS AND COLLABORATORS. WE WANT ACTION! ACTION!! ACTION!!! AND WE WANT IT NOW! NOW! NOW!!! NOW!!!. MISS THIS OPPORTUNUTY TO RIGHT THE PAST WRONGS AND MISS IT FOR EVER. MAKE HISTORY MR PRESIDENT. ABUJA WAS CREATED IN LESS THAN TEN YEARS, WITH MONEY MADE FROM THE NIGER DELTA, WHY NOT THE NIGER DELTA WHERE ALL THE MONEY OF NIGERIA WAS MADE, THIS INCLUDES EXCESS CURDE AND THE HUGE EXTERNAL RESERVE.
STRAT THE IMMEDIATE MASSIVE DEVELOPEMENT OF THE NIGER DELTA NOW!!!!!!
WHEN A CHILD FOUGHT A FIGHT WHERE PEOPLE ARE PRESENT TO INTERVENE,HE FEELS THE URGE TO FIGHT AGAIN;ONE WITH A SMALL ANUS DOES NOT SWALLOW THE SEED OF CHERRY OR UDALA;THE DEATH THAT WILL KILL A DOG DOES NOT ALLOW IT TO PERCEIVE THE SMELL OF SHIT;ONE WHO DOES NOT KNOW THE EFFICACY OF HERBS CALL THEM MERE VEGETABLES;A FLY THAT HAS NO ADVISER FOLLOWS THE CORPSE TO THE GRAVE.
All the above wise sayings/proverbs of my late grandmother are for the Federal government of Nigeria,in its military campaign against the Niger Delta militants.Where on earth has violence been used to quel a genuine agitation?When the Nigerian government took war to the door step of the Niger Deltans,I know for sure that it has started a war that it cannot finish.I had expected president Yar’adua to treat the Niger Delta issue with utmost sincerity and commitment immediately he took over as president,but very unfortunately,he opted to thread the path of his predecessor.Before 1999,there was nothing like kidnapping for ransom in the Niger Delta.But today,negligence of primary responsibilities by successive governments has made kidnapping a striving and lucrative venture,not only in the Niger Delta,but also in some other parts of the country.Who knows what we will wake up one morning to witness in this country,after kidnapping for ransom?.Many criminally minded people have highjacked the Niger Delta struggle to make brisk money for themselves and their families.But this wouldn’t have happened had the government been sincere.
The question of accepting amnesty or not should be left for the militants to answer.They are the ones at the fore front of the struggle.If they accept it fine,and if they rebuff it,it is still OK because they have been fooled for long now.No wonder why the dog said WHY HE RAISE ONE OF HIS LEGS WHILE URINATING IS TO LET THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD KNOW THAT HE HAS GOT NO TUMOUR BETWEEN HIS LEGS.The patience of the Niger Deltans has been over stretched,and like in science,it has exceeded the elastic limit.What we are witnessing today is the REACTION to the ACTION of the Nigerian government towards the people.
I hope it is not true that the JTF was still searching for militants,even when the so called amnesty has been offered.Is it that the soldiers were trying to force the militants to accept it or what?To compound the whole situation,the spokes person of JTF went to spread falsehood about the happenings in the Delta.Why is he afraid to tell the world that the soldiers have lost the battle?Oil pipelines were exploded by MEND and he was telling the world that what were exploded are old oil pipelines that contain nothing.My question to him is why is Nigeria’s OPEC quota dropping abysmally if no oil pipe line has been tampered with?Is it an oil sucking demon that is responsible for that?I used to think before now that the Nigerian government has learnt its lessons,but it appears it has even forgotten the little it has learnt.It is still playing double standard amidst the search for peace.That smacks of unseriousness and deceit.Mend should be weary of the amnesty offer that is being dangled by FG.IT SHOULD LOOK VERY CAREFULLY BEFORE IT LEAPS,IF IT SO DESIRES.