Abdullahi M. Gulloma
President Muhammadu Buhari, this week, met with leaders from the Niger Delta. The reasons for holding the meeting were clear to all – the federal government wants to end militancy, criminal activities in the region, increase oil production and raise its amount of revenue.
Among the people from the Niger Delta who attended the meeting were prominent politicians, militants, traditional rulers, elder statesmen, opinion leaders, youth leaders and civil society activists. The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, too, attended the meeting which at the end of the gathering, stakeholders of the region, led by Chief Edwin Clark and King Alfred Diette-Spiff, presented a list of 16 demands to President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to Clark and Diette-Spiff, if government meets their peoples’ demands, which include review of the amnesty programme, allocation of oil blocs to the Niger Delta indigenes, halting of militarisation of the region, proper funding of the Niger Delta Development Commission, entrenchment of physical federalism, returning of oil companies headquarters to the region and stoppage of gas flaring, peace will reign in the region.
Diette-Spiff, who presented the demands, said they are quick-wins that “can be achieved and can restore hope and confidence in a region that has grown skeptical of dialogue and engagements that have hardly produced tangible results.”
Clark said that those who attended the meeting had the blessings of militant groups, including the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), to represent their interest.
And, we pray so. For too long, peace has eluded the Niger Delta, due mainly to the activities of militants in the region who, it can be argued, have benefitted immensely from perpetration of unwholesome activities.
Regrettably, their illegal activities had, expectedly, impacted negatively on the finances of the country. Specifically, unlawful actions of the militants had hampered activities of oil producing companies, making it almost impossible for Nigeria to reach its oil production capacity.
The implication of that development, of course, it’s better imagined than said. Nigeria lost billions of dollars through its inability to extract and sell its oil, at a time when the country fell into economic recession and needs money to jump out of it.
In fact, some economic analysts attribute militancy in the Niger Delta as a contributory factor for the country’s recession and their argument, to me and my ilk, makes sense. After all, Nigeria largely depends on oil for its revenue and, therefore, thwarting its oil activities must have telling effect on the revenue base.
No doubt, others say, government ought not to have engaged the region’s militants in dialogue and describe the militants’ activities as an economic war against the state of Nigeria.
Others, who can be considered uncharitable to the militants, liken their activities to those perpetrated by the Boko Haram insurgents in the North and particularly the North-east region.
Yet, the truth remains that while militancy in the Niger Delta ought to have been attacked in a similar way to how the Boko Haram insurgency was handled, it makes sense for the government to explore avenues of dialogue with those sabotaging its efforts and ruining and displacing its citizens, rather than opening new theatre of war, even in the face of wild provocation.
It is for this reason, therefore, that the meeting should be seen as an opportunity for the Niger Delta militants and the federal government to build sound basis for achieving peace in the troubled region.
Agreed, the militants have their own reasons for turning against the state, but they should henceforth use windows expected to be opened as aftermath of the meeting, to make their grievances known to the authorities.
The militants must be made to realise that, for Nigeria to get out of its economic difficulties and particularly end the economic recession, which is part of the reasons responsible for neglect of the Niger Delta region by the government, it needs to uninterruptedly get its oil to the market.
Agreed, also, that the country wants to diversify its economy from the dependence on oil to mainly agriculture, but the fact is that, oil is the mainstay of the economy now and may remain so for many years, thus, making the Niger Delta veritable region for growth of the nation’s economy.
It is, no doubt, heartwarming that in his speech at the meeting, the President expressed government’s readiness to work with stakeholders from the Niger Delta to end the current environmental and economic sabotage in the region.
But it is crucial for the government to march its commitment with action geared towards ending the crisis in the Niger Delta, if only because in the past there were huge commitment deficits. Hopefully, the government can start by bringing back to life, the moribund Warri, Koko and Burutu ports in the region which used to provide employment to people.
It is also important for the government to encourage the IOCs to relocate their headquarters to the region, end gas flaring and provide job opportunities for youth as demanded by the leaders of the region.
In this vein, the government should establish industries using hydro-carbon as raw materials in order to tackle youth restiveness in the area. Above all, the federal government must initiate measures to check corruption in management of resources meant for development of the Niger Delta.
It is regrettable that many projects embarked on by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs were poorly executed or abandoned due to official corruption.
The leaders of the Niger Delta, on their part, must impress it on the militants to end their violent activities and allow peace to reign, without which development cannot occur in the seemingly neglected area.
