There is no doubt that the Niger Delta Avengers are not a militant group that is in any way committed to the genuine environmental and underdevelopment issues of the south-south geo-political zone, from all intents and purposes and from their demands cum body language as well as modus operandi. It is pretty obvious that they are a violent political organization formed by disgruntled politicians mostly of Niger Delta extraction and with sympathizers and collaborators from other parts of the federation, bent on frustrating all the heart-warming efforts of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s government. Their fundamental objective is that, this present government must fail, so that, what they lost in the 2015 general elections they can slyly gain in the 2019 general elections through devious means.
The formation of the faceless and violent group is also meant to distract the present administration from comprehensively and conclusively pursuing the anti-corruption crusade which is undoubtedly yielding positive dividends for the country. Corrupt politicians can no longer steal like before; expectedly they are angered by the stance of government on corruption, secondly, the anti-graft agencies are recovering money and properties in different parts of the world from corrupt politician and fraudulent top government officials as well as their cronies in various other places are seriously vexed; as at the last count, over N3 trillion has been recovered, also, a top military officer promised to pay back N4 billion, while a politician volunteered to pay back the huge sum of N400 million to the coffers of the government, besides, other stolen funds are daily recovered with affecting people making voluntary confessional statements.
To President Buhari in the war against corruption there is no friend or foe, the underlying fact remains that, the right thing must always be done, the essence of public office is not to amass wealth or for personal aggrandizement; however the reason for justification for public is to serve the people which is predicated on selfless service. This is the new line of thinking in the country; it looks odd, but it is the right thing to do. Nigeria has no time to waste, as it must be a shining example to people around the globe, we must not forget the fact that, Nigeria is the largest concentration of people on planet earth, this means that, all black people all over the world are looking for Nigeria for inspiration and direction; and we cannot let them down.
Never before in the history of Nigeria has any government shown uncommon courage and determination in fight corruption. Corruption is largely responsible for the development of underdevelopment in the polity, in the past in the country, stealing was said not to be corruption, but now the present government is saying that, graft is the worst kind of human rights violation, moreover, the government insists that if corruption is not tackled and exterminated; then corruption will kill Nigeria.
This has been the basis on which the philosophical foundation of the present administration is premised, which is in tandem with the overall interest of the Nigerian state, with this new found verve and resolve, it is apparent that the country has a very bright and rewarding future. However, if the truth must be told those that were dislodged from government; from atrocious and voracious misappropriation of funds are very sad and are violently fighting back; trying hard to frustrate the government’s efforts and render it comatose.
It is for this reason that the government must act very fast and decisively by taking this group to the cleaners and routing out their sponsors as well as make them face legal prosecution. More than anything else, this explains why the so-called Niger Delta miscreants are wreaking havoc and causing mayhem in the country, from the looks of things, they have extended their tentacles beyond the south-south zone to the south-west social milieu. And, it was even Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who said that, when you fight corruption, when you touch the pocket of the people stealing money, they do not keep quiet; and this exactly what is going on and playing out in the country.
Therefore, the government must equally rise to the occasion and do what it has to do, which is to ensure the welfare and security of the citizens according to the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria. If the group is not promptly and effectively checkmated, it would embolden other such groups to spring up with warped motives and logic.
It is important to note that, Nigeria is greater than any individual or group of individuals, no individual or groups can therefore, take laws into their hands, there are legal and civilized channels through which people can ventilate their grievances and not crude and violent methods, this is because in the final analysis, disagreements or agitations are not resolved on the battlefield but on the roundtable, in the spirit of give and take. Nigeria cannot be dragged back by a group of desperados and hate-seekers; the country has a lot of catching up to do, as it lags far behind amongst the comity of nations in global affairs. Instead of blowing up oil and gas the pipelines, and destroying strategic economic interests of the Nigerian state, they ought to cooperate with the government of Nigeria under the leadership of PMB to fish out culprits that looted the funds meant for the growth and development of the south-south region, so that, such people can refund stolen funds which they have used to corruptly enriched themselves and their families, such funded would be methodically deployed to areas that will add far-reaching values to the lives and wellbeing of the people of the area.
To all intents and purposes, the Niger Delta avengers are trouble makers, fanning the embers of disintegration as well as ethnic discord and animosity. There is no doubt that, they are doing the bidding of some grumpy politicians who are desperate to continue to do what they are used to, using states funds and resources to feather their rapacious nests and gormandizing their insatiable appetites, as they get richer, the vast majority of the people of the region gets poorer.
Perhaps, the avengers have not considered the fact that, whereas the children of their sponsors are enjoying themselves in different parts of the globe, but the avengers are armed to cause mayhem and kill themselves for no noble cause. Hence, the PMB led government must act fast and deal decisively with this new wave of violence in our midst and restore peace and order to the south-south, for proper economic activities to start in the overriding interest of the Nigerian state.
From their activities and demands, it is logical and commonsensical to conclude that, since the person presiding over the affairs of the country at this material time is not from the Niger Delta region, this group was put in place by political traducers from that region, who were not favoured by the outcome of the 2015 general elections to make governance cumbersome and even impossible for the present occupiers of political office, perhaps, if they achieve their inordinate goals, they can maybe return to power somehow.
But the question to ask is that, is PMB and his government the real problem of the Niger Delta region? The so-called Niger Delta avengers should asked themselves, what and whom are they really avenging for and for what reasons or purposes? If they are not sponsored, they ought to have entered into constructive engagement with government or seek redress in local or even international courts or look for some other peaceful and constitution means to vent their spleen, instead of resorting to violence right from the onset. The group should also have pondered and ask what President Goodluck Jonathan did for the region for all the years he was in power, in terms of fundamentally addressing the diverse environmental issues in the region? They should have asked all the governors that presided over the affairs of the region since 1999 how they expended their annual budgets and 13 per cent derivation fund? They should ask the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) officials since its creation, what they did with all the huge budgetary allocations given to them? They should have asked the traditional rulers and community leaders in the region what they did with monies paid to oil producing communities by oil companies over the years.
Again, when the former governor of Delta state, James Ibori was jailed for massive looting and embezzlement of public funds in the United Kingdom, what did they do? When the late governor of Bagels State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha was discovered to have misappropriated state funds and even disguised like a woman to escape the long hands of the law, what did they do? They supported him to go to the senate before death aborted his plan. When the former governor of Edo State, Lucky Igbinedion did plea bargaining to escape jail term for glaring case of looting and corruption, what did they do? When the former governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili went to court to seek a court injunction to perpetually halt any prosecution against his alleged acts of looting, corruption and misappropriation of public funds, what did they do? These are just a tip of the iceberg as the list is seemingly endless, even the former minister for Niger Delta ministry, Elder Peter Godsday Orubebe is presently facing corruption charges from EFCC, so what happened to all the funds that were allocated to the Niger Delta ministry? It is also germane to note that Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC) before NDDC was liquidated because of fraud by people of south-south origin. The avengers cannot answer these questions; hence the purpose for their existence has been defeated even right from the beginning.
Since the governors are the chief security officers of their respective, it behoves on them therefore to ensure peace and security in their domain, in this regard; the president should talk to the governors of Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states to live up to their responsibilities in ensuring tranquillity and order in their enclaves, failure to do this within the next three months, a state of emergency will be declared in their states for one year in the first instance, the governors will be temporarily suspended for the duration and military sole administrators will be appointed to take charge to restore hope, security and peace to the states in question. This is perhaps the only way to restore normalcy to the situation in the country, we as a people and country can ill-afford to have people that will destroy and disorganize things that took years of hard work to build.
Governors and indeed political office holders cannot just occupy offices for the sake of occupying it, they have to justify the reason for which they were appointed or elected as the case maybe. Nigeria cannot be an exception to the rules on international best practices in the conduct of democratic governance. Insecurity in any part of the country is a threat to peace in every part of the country, and peace is a condition for development, therefore, the government must as a matter of responsibility create or put in place conditions that would guarantee peace not only for business and investment to thrive but peace for people to live harmoniously without let or hindrance of any sort, to be able to achieve their goals in life.
Written by Jide Ayobolu.
