Abdullahi M. Gulloma
Few days after it threatened to use force in the Niger Delta to tame activities of militants attacking oil and gas installations for months now, the Nigerian military, Wednesday, announced the launching of a series of tactical drills in Enugu.
The launching of the drills, codenamed: “Operation Crocodile Tears,” came about 48 hours after the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, warned the militants that the military would use force if peaceful approach adopted to get the militants to the negotiating table failed.
Expectedly, Buratai’s warning, made on Monday in Port Harcourt, was condemned by militant groups in the region, mainly the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).
But the notable condemnation came from Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, who said on Wednesday that the planned use of force by the military would not solve the problem of the renewed militancy in the Niger Delta.
Speaking after he met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Dickson said that the terrain and history of the Niger Delta militancy had shown the futility of military option in dealing with issues affecting the area.
According to him, dialogue and negotiations remain the best options to address the militancy issue which, he agreed, is impacting negatively on the nation’s economy.
He said: “I have said that the issues in the Niger Delta, the terrain, the historic nature of the issues and challenges are such that military solution may not be the way forward.
For us who are products of political system, at this level, we have a duty to mobilise communal and local leaderships, to support the work intelligence and security agencies are doing, to ensure that issues are better appreciated and fill the communication gap.
“…The military solution is not the right option, we are hopeful that the ongoing discussions will yield the desired result. I have always been in support of negotiations, of dialogue as the sustainable way forward. Dialogue will bring out the issues and then we will all unite around these common issues to move our country forward.”
If the governor had contacted the main bloc in the militancy affair, the Niger Delta Avengers, to see reason and engage in dialogue with government, he had not said so. But, it is doubtful if he did that or if, indeed, Dickson is convinced that Niger Delta Avengers is ready to negotiate peace with the government.
At least, for now, the group shows it is not interested in peaceful resolution of the crisis, if there is any. The Niger Delta Avengers has stated unambiguously what it is setting out to achieve:
“Our goal is to cripple Nigeria’s economy,” it said in a statement
After declaring what it called “Operation Red Economy” in February, it blew up an underwater pipeline forcing Royal Dutch Shell to shut a terminal which normally produces 250,000 barrels of oil a day
Last month, Shell declared a force majeure, which excuses a company from contractual agreements because events beyond its control, on exports of high grade crude oil after an attack on one of its trunk lines.
A few days later, US firm, Chevron, shut its Valve Platform following another attack, also claimed by the Avengers. And ahead of President Buhari’s planned visit to the region few months ago, the Niger Delta Avengers said it had blown up two Chevron export terminals.
These attacks have dealt a huge blow to the revenue of the Nigerian government, which says the renewed activities of the militants are seriously affecting oil production. In fact, the country’s production is said to have dropped to 1.65 million barrels per day, against the projected 2.2m barrels per day.
The military had long before now warned that it will deal decisively with any group fermenting trouble in the country, including those it described as “criminal elements in the Niger Delta.” But, this appears to have emboldened the Niger Delta Avengers into more attacks that have had a knock-on effect on the supply of electricity which depends on gas from the oil-producing companies.
No doubt, for the President, the Niger Delta Avengers presents another fresh security challenge to his government which has decimated the Boko Haram in the North-east. That the militants in the Niger Delta need similar approach to that adopted in dealing with the Boko Haram is no longer debatable.
For too long, the group’s members have hurt the economy of the country while the authorities, in the name of dialogue, failed to stop them. The military must act now to save the country from economically grounding to its knees.
At a time like this, when even the people in the Niger Delta region are suffering, state governments there are finding it extremely difficult to meet their obligations and life is becoming increasingly unsafe due to kidnapping etc, it is an act of cowardice, not wisdom, to fail to force anybody or group responsible for the nasty, despicable situation to accept peace or get decimated.
Of course, we all know that the Boko Haram members were forced to stop their carnage in the North-east. They didn’t stop terrorizing people voluntarily or on their own volition.
Why must the country wait for the Niger Delta Avengers, after all the entreaties made to them, to decide for themselves when to embrace peace?
They won’t. They never would. Why? Becasuse lawlessness, brigandage and militancy do actually pay in the short run. But short term reward is what perpetrators of illegality want and the risks are quite well worth taking. They are aware rewards won’t last forever or for long. Sometimes they may not even get caught and retire to enjoy their loot.
The Niger Delta Avengers and its backers may claim they have reason to protest, which could be genuine. But, the generality of the people of the country have genuine right to feel aggrieved, as far as their relationship with the government in the country is concerned. Yes, like the Niger Delta Avengers, other segments of the country also feel cheated and neglected by the government.
Still, we just can’t afford to do away with our sanity and decency by resorting to use of arms to make our grievances known to authorities.
To do so will be to stoop low to the level of our selfish, heartless and wicked leaders who take pride in exploiting and oppressing Nigerians.
Yes, they oppress Nigerians. To the exploitationists, it doesn’t matter if you come from the North, South, East or West. The common people, masses are all the same. And that’s true. The masses, regardless of where they come from, share similar pain and anguish and, if they make their plight worse, through such activities perpetrated by the Niger Delta Avengers, then the situation can be described as unfortunate and gravely disturbing.
What is reasonable, under the current situation in the country and, especially in the Niger Delta, is for the common people to agree to come together to join in the President’s fight against corruption, in all its ramifications, to build a country that we all can be proud to call our own.
If corruption, which is the bane of development in the Niger Delta, ceases to exist in that region, the effect will be felt in the entire South and North and masses will be the beneficiaries. Above all, the Niger Delta Avengers will cease to have any reason to take the law into their own hands to, as they claim, protect their region from gluttonies who call themselves leaders.
