By Saminu Ibrahim
Abuja
Second Republic lawmaker, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, yesterday, urged President Muhammadu to stand firm and confront renewed threat by the Niger Delta Avengers, saying the group is reportedly not interested in peace and development.
Speaking in a chat with Blueprint, Mohammed claimed that the recent threat is by the political master class, are allegedly behind the Niger Delta Avengers, who are financing them and wanting to use the group to blackmail the federal government into making political concession for them.
He observed that in spite of the billions and trillions of money spent on Niger Delta insurgents in the past, the group is undaunted, alleging that the Avengers want to go for the jugular, “they want to be masters of economic, political and security reality of Nigeria.”
Mohammed said in dealing with the insurgents, most of whom are victims of the economic and political realities of Nigeria today, “government must pay attention also in dealing with political agitators who are allegedly recruiting and training the insurgents and paying them.
“In dealing with the Niger Delta insurgents, they should also deal with the political master class who are behind, who are financing them and who want to use them to blackmail the federal government into making political concession for them and the sooner they do that the better, because, these boys and their masters are like Oliver Twist; the more you give them, the more they come back.”
He continued: “What the government needs to do primarily is to make sure that those who want to live in peace are allowed to live in peace, that is, people who are not involved in terrorism in the Niger Delta should be allowed to live and transact their legitimate businesses.
According to Mohammed, “There are other ancillary considerations, one is the fact that the armed forces have been corrupted, particularly under the Jonathan administration, and of course there is this pervasive feeling within certain elite or political circle in the Niger Delta that because the oil is found in their area, they have a divine right to it. I don’t believe it is so.”
