COLLAPSE OF CEASEFIRE: MEND issues two-week ultimatum

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PAGE 10—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 10, 2016 Continued from page 9 terminal and Ibeno, host to ExxonMobil Qua Iboe crude export terminal. “These are just the export terminals not talking about the numerous oil and gas flow stations and the oil wells that crisscross the length and breadth of the Niger Delta. “Mr. President, come and see for yourself what the host communities are going through in the hands of Nigeria government and the multinationals”. Buhari, who had sent the Vice President to flag-off the Ogoni clean-up exercise, declined the offer. However, no sensible security team would advise him to visit the areas on the invitation of a militant group. How Buhari dumped dialogue with N-Delta militants Ultimate Warriors, others open up If NDA was being evasive on the reasons for breaking the ceasefire and Buhari not forthcoming on dialogue, the Ultimate Warriors, one of the militant groups in the region, broke the calabash. Its spokesperson, Sibiri Taiwoh, stated in an electronic mail to Sunday Vanguard before the ceasefire broke down that Buhari was kidding about Niger Delta, saying his policy would boomerang. The group stated: “It is utterly unfortunate that today Nigeria has a President that is just there enjoying the propaganda machinery of his party the APC, to the detriment of the economy and the purposeful governance that he promised during the electioneering campaigns. “Under Buhari regime, like in 1985 when he was thrown out because of this kind of archaic economic policy, Nigeria’s economy has finally slide into recession. This is because of your hopeless economic policies tailored to favour political associates and family members to the detriment of the entire country, particularly the Niger Delta region that sustains the nation with its oil resources. “How can the President claim that he will rebuild the Niger Delta region; whereas he is doing everything to annihilate us; whereas he is fanning the embers of discord in the region using his lieutenants. We are aware that this government is anchored on deceit and propaganda, but if they continue to shamefully pay lip service to us, we will surely protest by any crude means we can, including totally grounding the oil economy”. Dismissive strategy It went on: “Mr President, your unserious policy about the Niger Delta will soon boomerang on your head because the goodwill you have been enjoying has expired. You said you needed time and you declared a ceasefire to come out with something. We gave you time, but you did nothing… “What we saw is that you started deploying and redeploying soldiers to wage war the Niger Delta communities. You set up a Dialogue and Contact Committee and at the same time started deploying security agents to the Niger Delta. To do what? “You are using the money that you ought to use to fast-track already started projects in the region to empower committees, political jobbers, who are deceiving you and security agents in a bid to hunt down agitators, instead of doing the needful. That is a miscalculation. Ploy “Stop deceiving us because we are aware of every move the government is making. We do not want any committee, we are aware it is a diversionary tactic of the government because for weeks now, no tangible thing has come out of the socalled committee. We want concrete action, we want direct federal government pronouncement to our demands”. “We are, therefore, saying this to let the world know that President Buhari government is unserious about the Niger Delta and he should be held responsible for all incidents in the region for his missteps. Findings by Sunday Vanguard, however, showed that Buhari was initially excited about the Federal Government dialoguing with militants and stakeholders in the Niger Delta, but, along the line, seemed to have changed his mind, as he is no longer disposed to dialogue “If the Buhari government thinks approaching the Niger Delta conflict by divide and rule tactics is the best approach, let them continue to feast on the propaganda machinery of the APC, but we are assuring him (Buhari) that we will make sure he suffers bad luck since he sees us as conquered territory.” I don’t care attitude Speaking in similar vein, July 5, the Reformed Egbesu Boys of Niger Delta, in a statement, said: “Since we called off hostilities in collaboration with the Niger Delta Avengers, although reluctantly… we have observed the `I do not care’ attitude of the Federal Government on its much flaunted and publicized dialogue option with key actors of the crisis.” The group’s so-called General Tony Alagbakereowei said: “The Secretary to the Federal Government alleged that there are numerous groups and interested parties, who want to negotiate with the Federal Government and that there is no clear leadership that the Federal Government could trust and negotiate with. This is not only preposterous, but smacks off a predetermined mindset. “In as much as this could be true to some extent, we wish to state that the Federal Government allowed miscreants and meddlesome interlopers seeking relevance in Abuja to gain pipeline contracts and appointments to deceive key actors of the government.” Meanwhile, on Buhari’s stand that Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable, the Ijaw People Development Initiative, IPDI, a non-governmental organization, said: “Our attention has been drawn to a statement made by Mr President while breaking fast with Muslims leaders in Aso Rock, that Nigeria ‘s unity is not negotiable. He even went down memory lane on how General Yakubu Gowon handled the civil war.” Anger spreads National President of the group, Austin Ozobo, in a statement, said: “He then handed down a threat, which will further aggravate tension in the region when he said that he is passing a message to the militants that Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable. This does not go down well with some of us. Nigeria’s false marriage is now incompatible; it is not the duty of President Buhari to decide whether it is negotiable or not, and that can only be determined through a referendum, and that power rests with the electorate, not the President.” “His threat only implies that, in a nutshell, if the people of the region fail to see reason with him regarding his rigid position, Armageddon shall descend on the region. “We find Mr. President’s statement not only repulsive, but totally disrespectful to the millions of Nigerians, who, on daily basis, have been calling for restructuring, true federalism and self-determination, a fundamental right as clearly stated in United Nations Charter and Africa Charter and People’s Rights. I”President Buhari’s voice most of the time polarizes the country more. As a leader, listening to the cries of your people is far better than forcing your opinion based on ethnic and religious sentiment down our throats. “Nigerian state came into being through forcefully marriage under Sir Lugard, without the consent and input of Niger Deltans on how they should be governed and how they want to live with other ethnic nationalities. “We reject this ‘monkey dey work, baboon dey chop treatment’ from the Nigerian state. We once again join progressive minds calling for true federalism because this is the only way out of the currrent agitations from several quarters”. Buhari’s metamorphosis Findings by Sunday Vanguard, however, showed that Buhari was initially excited about the Federal Government dialoguing with militants and stakeholders in the Niger Delta, but, along the line, seemed to have changed his mind, as he is no longer disposed to dialogue. A source said some top security officials and politicians around the President convinced him that negotiating with Niger Delta militants would mean that government succumbed to their blackmail. The different interest groups mounted pressure on Buhari, who shifted from his earlier position. The militants, who were, according to sources, suspicious of government negotiators all along, reportedly saw the President’s latter-day reorganization of Operation Pulo Shield, now Operation Delta Safe, redeployment of security personnel from the North to the Niger-Delta on the grounds that those in the region were incompetent and the crackdown on militants, as a sign that government was no longer interested in dialogue. Our dependable source said: “The truth is that there were intrigues and power play, involved the details of which are better classified in national interest. But the President chose to hold his grounds against militants than yield to them in the name of dialogue.” Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, however, hit the nail on the head, on Friday, when he said government deliberately refused to discuss with NDA. Osinbajo, who delivered the second foundation lecture of Elizade University,Ilaramokin, Ondo State, said NDA members are not freedom fighters but economic warriors fighting for their own private pockets. “The so-called Avengers are not freedom fighters but fighting for their own economic benefits. They are avenging for their private pockets and that is why government is not talking with them”, he stated. The Vice President, however, said that the Federal Government had concluded arrangements to tackle the menace of pipeline vandalism in the Niger/Delta. While condemning the activities of the militants who claimed responsibility for the vandalization of petroleum pipelines in the oil-rich region, said “The previous government neglected the region for several years, hence the current challenges”.. Osigbo said government had put the machinery in motion to curtail the activities NDA. .He also lamented that attacks by the group on oil and gas pipelines were responsible for the epileptic power supply in the country as well as the inability of state governors to pay workers’ salaries due to the low revenue generated in the oil sector. Nwuche’s advice Meanwhile, a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chibudom Nwuche, has appealed to the NDA and all militant groups in the Niger Delta to sheath their swords. In a statement in Abuja, Nwuche appealed to the militants to cease campaigns of destruction of oil facilities in the region as that would have far- reaching negative effect on the people of the region, pointing out that the average Niger Deltan depends on farming and fishing for sustenance.
SUNDAY VANGUARD, JULY 10, 2016, PAGE 11 By Emma Amaize, Regional Editor, South-South THE Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, yesterday, gave the Federal Government a two-week ultimatum to respond to the demand for dialogue on the Niger Delta question or it would safely assume that government only responds to threat of violence and industrial action. This came on a day the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, accused the Federal Government of inconsistency in its bid to resolve the problem of renewed militancy in the Niger Delta. Also yesterday, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s statement that the Federal Government would not discuss with the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, and other militant groups in the Niger Delta to resolve the issues connected to renewed military in the oil-rich region, triggered a response from some militancy groups who said they would step up the bombing of oil and gas installations in their respective towns and villages. One of them, Niger Delta Revolutionary Crusaders, which claimed responsibility for the attack on the Brass Creek manifold at Peretorugbene community, Bayelsa State, last week, said it had given security personnel and expatriates working in Beni-seide and Ogbotebe , Tunu flow stations in Bayelsa an ultimatum to vacate the area or face its wrath. MEND, in a statement by its spokesperson, Jomo Gbomo, gave the reason it opted for dialogue and constituted Aaron Team 2, including ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, to discuss with the federal government and others on the way forward for the region, but regretted that government was obfuscating the Niger Delta crisis. It indicated that the group was not prepared to dialogue with the National Security Adviser, NSA, because his office does not have executive power, saying the issues surrounding the Niger Delta question were on the exclusive legislative list, and the proposed dialogue was not an interrogatory session. The statement read: “The attention of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has been drawn to an article titled: ‘President Buhari Sharpens Focus On Niger Delta,’ written by Mr. Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity. “We have carefully studied and analyzed the article. We wholeheartedly applaud and welcome President Buhari’s sharpened focus on the Niger Delta even though, in our estimation, Mr. Shehu’s article ironically did more to obtuse the focus. “Mr. Shehu’s piece was unfortunately marred by sweeping assumptions; hasty generalization; illogicality and poor analysis of the Niger Delta question and, above all, the article merely provided lame excuses for Government’s inability to proffer sustainable solutions to the Niger Delta FG’S NO DIALOGUE STANCE WITH AVENGERS MEND issues two -week ultimatum •Militants threaten more attacks crisis. “It was tactless of Mr. Shehu to arrive at a conclusion in his article that, Niger Delta militants were behind the killings of prominent individuals and attacks on some coastal communities in Lagos and Ogun states. This casual but hasty generalization from a presidential spokesperson is, to say the least, steeply divisive and capable of sparking a tribal war of unimaginable consequences between the Ijaw (whose youth are perceived to constitute a large number of the rank and file of Niger Delta militants) and the Yoruba. “Quite apart from the fact that none of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) operatives has, so far, been arrested by security agencies to establish Mr. Shehu’s sweeping assumption, the comment by Mr. Shehu is regrettable and infra dig his office. The problem with Buhari “Going forward, three salient issues which clearly reveal the seeming inability of President Buhari’s government to find sustainable solutions to the Niger Delta crisis can be distilled from Mr. Shehu’s article. “Firstly, he made heavy weather about the Punch newspaper editorial of July 1, 2016 as a basis to justify government’s reluctance to negotiate with the NDA and other militant groups. Thereafter, he cited National Security Adviser (NSA) General Babagana Mongunno’s alleged encounter with about 14 different militant groups who were all ‘claiming leadership to the renewed onslaught on the nation’s economic jugular vein.’ “Secondly, Mr. Shehu revealed in his article, the reluctance of government to take ‘the strongest possible military action’ against the NDA and other militant groups Going forward, three salient issues which clearly reveal the seeming inability of President Buhari’s government to find sustainable solutions to the Niger Delta crisis, can be distilled from Mr. Shehu’s article while appealing to elders and traditional rulers from the Niger Delta such as HRH King Alfred Diette-Spiff, the Amanyanabo of Twon-Brass in Bayelsa State, to beg the militants to ceasefire. “Thereafter, Mr. Shehu informed that President Buhari would take action (presumably, military action) after receiving reports from the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, who was interfacing with stakeholders; Special Adviser on Niger Delta/Co-coordinator, Presidential Amnesty Programme, Brigadier General Paul Boroh (retd); and the new management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). “Thirdly, Shehu, in his article, bemoaned the proliferation ofsolutions to the Niger Delta crisis while asking rhetorical questions, to wit: ‘How many of those agreements, joint statements, ceasefires and peace declarations do we have on record so far? Why have they not given us peace? What is wrong with those agreements that they do not last? Pot calling kettle black “Mr. Shehu failed to proffer answers to his own questions. He also failed to apportion blame on successive governments and the international oil companies (IOCs) who have repeatedly reneged on agreements entered with the people of the Niger Delta. For instance, Mr. Shehu needs to be reminded that government and the IOCs are owing the NDDC billions of Naira in withheld funds. But that is a discussion for another day. Negotiation different from dialogue “There is a marked distinction between negotiation with criminals and fraudsters who force concessions from government using the strategy of attacks on oil installations, on the one hand; and dialogue with genuine militant groups such as MEND who are committed to meaningfully engage government on the vexed Niger Delta question, on the other hand. “While the former engage in militancy for their personal aggrandizement, the latter are patriots who are fighting a just cause and are equally desirous of peace, stability and development of the Niger Delta region for the common good. “As unfolding events in Nigeria have since revealed, the major challenge of President Buhari’s government lies in its inability to distinguish between NEGOTIATION (emphasis supplied) with criminal elements, such as the NDA, who are sabotaging the nation’s economy and whose demands range from the mundane to the outright ridiculous, on the other hand. And DIALOGUE (emphasis supplied) on the Niger Delta question with a serious-minded group, such as MEND, on other hand. “The way and manner criminal gang as the NDA hold government to ransom and force concessions is exactly the same way pressure groups such as PENGASSAN, NUPENG or even the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), oftentimes, hold government to ransom regardless of the risks posed by their actions to the national economy and to the lives of ordinary Nigerians. “The only difference here is that, NDA ups the ante with their senseless and unprovoked attacks on oil installations. Willy- nilly, government must negotiate with them even though their belligerent and bellicose conducts may be inimical to the national interest”. Threat Also yesterday, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s statement that the Federal Government would not discuss with the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, and other militant groups in the Niger Delta to resolve the issues connected to renewed military in the oil-rich region, triggered a response from some militancy groups who said they would step up the bombing of oil and gas installations in their respective towns and villages. One of them, Niger Delta Revolutionary Crusaders, which claimed responsibility for the attack on the Brass Creek manifold at Peretorugbene community, Bayelsa State, last week, said it had given security personnel and expatriates working in Beni-seide and Ogbotebe , Tunu flow stations in Bayelsa an ultimatum to vacate the area or face its wrath. Osinbajo, who delivered the second foundation lecture of Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State, on Friday, had declared that the Federal Government will not dialogue with the NDA or any militant group for that matter saying, “The so called avengers are not freedom fighters but fighting for their own economic benefits. They are Continues on page 12
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COLLAPSE OF CEASEFIRE: MEND issues two-week ultimatum

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