Date Published: 05/28/09
HOW THE ETHNIC MILITANTS LOST SOME OF THEIR SUPPORTERS
By Farouk Martins Aresa
Many people are wondering loud why the Niger Delta ethnic militants have acquired divided loyalty amongst their own people in particular and Nigeria in general in the face of the present onslaught on their areas. It is not that Nigerians are not repulsed by constant Armed Forces involvement attempt to wipe out all ethnic militias, which we all know it is impossible. That these ethnic militias create a world of their own meting out severe punishment of death, severe beating and mutilation create its fear.
We do not know how far or how long the Federal Government has gone or will go before they start attracting the sympathy of those who fear the ethnic militias. There must be some respectable citizens willing to put everything on the line to call the Government to order mainly because of the large number of civilian losses. It is always the civilians that always become the collateral damages in this type of war.
Some people are quick to point out that this may lead to another civil war. That view may be right but they may have underestimated the sympathy, support and preparation Ojukwu garnered throughout Nigeria before the civil war. Nevertheless, there are not many people in Nigeria who do not think Niger Delta has a cause. If that is so, why are we not seeing all the sympathy translated into development?
A good start could be a marshal plan to transform the area into another Abuja. Their detractors are quick to point out that they have wasted all the allocation given to them s o far to the point where one of their former Governor diverted about seventy-five percent of their allocation into personal use. Such level of corruption is not unknown in Nigeria but to a lesser degree in the south. It must be pointed out that some people from the same area condemned such egregious form of corruption, but that these looting governors have the support of the majority of their people is baffling.
Nobody in his right sense would embolden their detractors but this is what is going on in Niger Delta where politician and ethnic militias take the law into their hands milking and creating fear in their own people. The number of kidnapping of the very old, infants, children and women in their communities are appalling to say the least. They have mistaken their own people for the enemies while they dine wine and share loots with their oppressors. The power has gone into their heads so much that they act as drunks that have forgotten the root of their own problem.
Unfortunately, this is common to all our ethnic and religious militias in Nigeria. Somehow we expect the Niger Delta militias to behave differently because their problem is unique compared to those of others in our Country. The OPC in the South-west enjoyed so much grass-root sympathy during the time of Abacha that funding for their activities were coming from all Nigerians in and outside the Country. As they get too comfortable after Abacha era, they became divided from within splitting into factions. One faction started daring the other, inflicting pain, creating kangaroo courts where “justice” was dished out.
The same was true of the Bakassi Boys in the South-east. They got so confident that they started dictating to incumbent governors which taxes to collect and which one they have jurisdiction over. At the beginning they were praised as if they were the saviors everyone was looking for all these years because they were known for their fairness in the communities. Of course they got carried away as their counter parts from other parts of the Country.
The religious militias in the North created so many riots in that part of the Country that people were asking their relatives to come home. It is very difficult to just uproot and heed the call of your people when you know they have nothing reserved for you where they want you. Needless to say, the incessant riot after riot have invited the combined forces of army and police to restore peace and prevent the further destruction of lives, houses and properties. People are so tired of committees and probes that they have lost faith.
Consequently, some areas in the North have decided to start “deporting” trouble makers from their areas. You cannot come from other part of the Country and become agents of destabilization to those you met there for lack of land in your area. Equitable land ownership with environmental preservation is one solution to many of our problem in Nigeria. If they were kidnapping or “deporting” more Nigerians in Niger Delta than their own people, we will be crying at the top of our voices as the Fulani and well- meaning Nigerians are doing now. This is what happens when anything goes and disorder takes hold.
In Niger Delta, they are “deporting” their own people who20are very apprehensive of living in their own communities for fear of their own ethnic militias. They are also “deporting” people of good-will who came to make little contribution as teachers and community workers from around the world including from other parts of Nigeria by kidnapping their relatives. This does not excuse immoral accomplice oil workers. They have instilled so much fear in everyone, we are not sure what they are going to do to next.
The war of brothers against brothers from Warri between Ijaw, Itsekiri and Urhobo, has spread to Ilaje in Ondo State and other areas in the South-east. Brothers and sisters are denying one another left and right. Those children who refused to go to school are now recruited by ethnic militias for oil farming or bunkering, terrorizing their neighborhood. Those who went to school, paid their dues and should be in the fore-front to negotiate their people out of misery are now relegated to the back seat by extremists.
The elders20and the traditional rulers have not escaped the wrath of ethnic militias throughout Nigeria as their housed and palaces are desecrated by these misguided idle youths under the spell of their greedy leaders. That is what we get when traditional rulers are prostrating to young political money miss-roads. We have lost focus of what really ails us and the sale of oil has killed our intelligence so much that we can no longer deal with one another amicably.
Those who are looking for solutions to the problem of Niger Delta are buying arms from the same people that are selling arms to all sides. We are signing agreement with those who know little about us because they possess magical knowledge about Nigeria at Harvard and Cambridge universities: on how to govern and solve our problems inside our own Country. God have mercy. Our problem can never be solved from outside, our solution is within. Come out clean and say its for the sake of estacode overseas.
Our gut reaction tells us that the Federal Government must stop this=2 0exercise restore hope right away so that civilians can get relief. No amount of money should be spared to rebuild live, property and those who have unjustly lost loved ones. At the same time, the amount of weapons captured from these boys scared the hell out of us. Some of them may not be freedom fighters but those ready to break the Country and inflict whatever suffering they can on the masses.
We all know what our problem is. Go to any man on the street, he will tell you. We just refuse to face it and agree to move forward. Instead of blaming me, I blame everybody else. So?
