NIGERIA MASTERWEB DAILY NEWS

*Nigeria: Post-Amnesty, Bombs & MEND

By Ifeatu Agbu

Perhaps, there is no greater evidence of the dissatisfaction of Niger Delta youths with the sluggish implementation of the Federal Government-sponsored amnesty programme, than the bomb explosions that effectively aborted the post-amnesty conference in Warri recently. The timing was professionally done. As the governors of Edo, Delta and Imo states were arriving the Delta State Government House Annex, Warri, for the talks, the first explosion went off. Before the governors and hundreds of participants already seated in the hall, could digest what was amiss, the second bomb was detonated. And hell was let loose. Everybody, including the governors dived for cover and scampered to safety. And that was the end of the much advertised conference organised by the Vanguard newspapers and sponsored by the Delta State government to discuss how best to breathe life into the nostrils of the amnesty programme that was seemingly comatose.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, a coalition of militant groups, claimed responsibility for the violent action. According to their spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, they carried out the attack to put a lie to the claims of the Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan and his Bayelsa State counterpart, Timipre Sylva that MEND was no longer in existence. That it was a mere creation of the mass media. Moreover, he said that the bombing was also meant to prove the point that Niger Deltans were tired of the “endless game and deceit in the name of conferences and dialogues which have never yielded any fruits.” Mr. Gbomo alerted media houses that MEND would bomb the conference venue at 11.30 am. True to his threat, the first bomb was detonated exactly at that time and the second followed 10 minutes later.

According to Gbomo, the third one, which was to follow immediately, was stopped when their operatives noticed that most people fleeing for safety were actually running towards where that bomb was planted. The irony of it all is that some of the politicians who were dashing for cover were the very ones who initially armed the militants. ( Continues below..... )

Photo Above: Map of Nigeria's Niger Delta Region showing Port Harcourt

It is a pity that the two persons who were reported killed and about a dozen others injured were ordinary Nigerians who played no role in creating the monster. There is no doubt that what MEND did was condemnable. Indeed, the perpetrators should be fished out and severely punished to serve as a deterrent. Nevertheless, the reasons they gave for their dastardly act should not be swept under the carpet. Professor Itse Sagay was probably right when he said: “Those in government who MEND accused of daring them erred. The governors should learn to accommodate the views of the militant groups instead of defying them.” While discussing the bomb blast in the Senate, Senator Effiong Bob corroborated the position of MEND when he said: “The time has come for the Federal Government to replace words with actions in the development of the Niger Delta. It seems to me that we talk too much about the development of the Niger Delta, while little or nothing is being done in practical terms.”

He cited the example of the East/West road, whose construction has been moving at a snail speed. The fear of Niger Deltans that the Federal government is not truly committed to the development of their region was confirmed by the Managing Director of Setraco, the contractors handling the East/West Road project, Mr. Michael Hachenberg. He told the South-South caucus of the House of Representatives recently that it would take 10 years to complete this all-important road. Reason: The Federal Government is not releasing funds as and when due. This nonchalant attitude of the government, which is quite evident in the criminal neglect of the region that produces over 90 per cent of the nation’s foreign exchange, is the greatest threat to the success of the amnesty programme. This is painful because it is the most ingenious device by the Yar’Adua’s administration to end the incessant violence and militancy in the Niger Delta.

Niger Deltans want to see the gains of amnesty translated to economic growth, infrastructure and human capital development. “We are tired of attending these meetings. We have exhausted whatever is needed to be said and we are beginning to wonder why we accepted having these meetings,” Dr. Chris Ekiyor, President of the Ijaw Youth Council, said. One can imagine the discomfiture of the Acting President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who held an emergency meeting with the members of the Presidential Co-ordinating Committee on the Niger Delta soon after the bomb explosions. Fillers from the closed-door meeting showed that Jonathan and members of the committee have come to terms with the reality that action is the name of the game and the antidote to militancy.

The Senior Special Assistant to the Acting President, Mr. Ima Niboro, told journalists at the end of the meeting that all agencies and bodies involved in the amnesty process have been charged to intensify their activities. “Of course, we know that the area of infrastructure development may take more time. But the Acting President has also directed the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs to fast-track all issues concerning infrastructure development so that the perception that the amnesty programme is sleeping is corrected. He has also appealed that all stakeholders, including militant leaders must be on the same page, since the amnesty is for the militants in the first place. “ ( Continues below..... )

Though the amnesty is for the militants it was surprising that the long list of participants published in the media as those invited to the aborted conference did not include the names of notable ex-militant leaders. Since from the outset, some factions of MEND refused to identify with the amnesty scheme, one expected the government to woo them and bring them into the fold. Exclusion, as was the case in the Warri failed conference would not wash.

Achieving the core objectives of the amnesty programme would have been a lot easier if the report of the Niger Delta Technical Committee, which synthesized all the previous reports and recommendations on the Niger Delta crises, was adopted wholly. Perhaps, the consequences of not fully implementing the recommendations of the committee are now beginning to manifest in the return to trenches by the militants.

The committee recommended the creation of a Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES) – where 2,000 jobs will be provided in each local government council in the zone, to keep the youths meaningfully busy and away from the temptations of militancy and other untoward behaviour. This is born out of the fact that the efforts at achieving rapid socio-economic transformation of the region will come to naught if our youths, including graduates, are allowed to roam the streets with little or no prospects of getting jobs. Of course, the most potent weapon against youth criminality is gainful employment.

The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Mr. Chibuzor Ugwoha sees the problem of finding jobs for the youths as the panacea to the Niger Delta debacle. "I can tell you that the problem will be over as soon as we are able to establish a connection between the people and the booming oil and gas economy in the region by gainfully engaging our youths and enhancing the general standards of living of our people." he said.

Getting jobs for the youths will be better achieved by the faithful implementation of the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan. But rather unfortunately, it seems that the much-applauded plan is not being accorded the desired attention by all agencies of development in the region as envisioned. There seems to be the mistaken notion that the NDDC which facilitated its drawing up, should carry the burden all alone. The federal, state and local governments, oil companies, donor agencies etc. should take seriously the implementation of the plan as well as the recommendations of the Mittee’s committee.

That is what is needed. Not endless conferences and dialogues where all that are being canvassed are no more than recycling the views already expressed in the master plan and the Mittee’s committee’s recommendations.

Mr. Ifeatu Agbu ( ifeatuagbu@yahoo.com ) writes from Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

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*Tags: Nigerians, Niger Delta, Abuja, MEND, Lagos, Yar’Adua, Jobs, Africa, Masterweb