Date Published: 10/06/09
October 2, 2009
IJAW FOUNDATION
IJAW SOLIDARITY, POWER, LIBERTY, PEACE AND PROGRESS
IZON EBE SERI KENI WENIMO |
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PRESS RELEASE AND OPEN LETTER TO Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, President Federal Republic of Nigeria And The Commander-in-Chief Of The Nigerian Armed Forces
The Amnesty and the October 4, 2009 Deadline: A Pretext for a Genocidal War on the Niger Delta.
We the Ijaws all over the world hereby give the Yar’Adua Administration and the Nigerian State a very firm and stern Notice that we will hold the Nigerian State and its agents collectively and individually responsible and legally liable for any military attacks against our Ijaw people!! We are still recovering from the horrendous genocidal massacre of 4,000 innocent Ijaws, mostly women and children in the Gbaramatu Kingdom during the JTF onslaught that began on May 13, 2009 in Oporoza, Delta State. We will not tolerate a repeat of the Gbaramatu Genocide on any part of Ijawland or anywhere in the Niger Delta.
We unequivocally affirm Chief Anthony Enahoro’s and Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka’s demand that these atrocities and crime against humanity must stop and must never, and never again be repeated anywhere in the Greater Niger Delta oil producing communities. The use of war planes, warships and gunboats against impoverished people of the Niger Delta who have, over the years, borne the brunt of crude oil extractive activities, is an aggression that egregiously violates natural justice and international law.
Consequently, the comprehensive military operation of air, land and sea scheduled to commence at 12:01 a.m. on October 5, 2009 must cease permanently and forthwith. It is an irresponsible, unconscionable act of criminality, and we shall not standby to see our people slaughtered as disclosed by Alhaji Mohamed Ibu N’Allah, an influential and leading member of the Nigerian National Assembly. We are ready, willing and able to take all measures including legal action to bring the perpetrators to face justice before the world community.
Ijaw Foundation, a platform for collective action by all Ijaws and all Ijaw organizations in the Diaspora and the Ijaw homeland, issues this warning because we are:
Aware of t he well documented grievances of th e peopl e of the Niger D e lta which include the expropriation of t h eir rights to resources found within thei r domain by me a ns of oppressive laws suc h as T he Petro l eum A c t of 1 969 a n d the Land Use Act of 1978, the exclusion of indige n e s of host commun i t ies a nd impacted are a s from economic activities in their n e ighborhood a nd anc e stral land; pervasive cor rup tion in all strata of Nigeria n society, especi a ll y in th e states and local governme n ts o f oi l - b ear in g commun i t i es, w h ich den i es them b a sic amenities such as healt h , education, potab l e water, electricity and etc. Aware of e nvironment a l d e spoliation; mass i ve unem p loyment; absence of polit i cal w i ll in the co u ntry to effectivel y addre s s t h e i r fundamental problems; absence of basic infrastruct u re and soc i o - economic facil i ti e s; f ea r o f w h at wou ld b efa ll them after the o i l a n d gas w i ll have d r ied up, reported l y, in less tha n 30 y e ars. Aware of c ultural violation and collapse of moral fabric and community cohesion; abject poverty; inadequacy of compensation paid for land acquired; socio-cultural dislocation; and economic di s tortion due to oil exploitation. Aware of economic disenfranchisement, hunger, poverty and diseases due to pollution of our land, waters and creeks. Aware of the undue militarization of communities by politicians and the Federal might that has brought our communities near collapse of law and order. Aware of the poor living standards of the indigenes of the oil producing communities, gas flaring with its attendant phenomenon of "permanent daylight"; oil spills and other ecological disasters that have plagued the region as a result of the activities of the oil prospecting companies. Also aware of the absolute ownership of mineral resources (that is, oil and gas) in the Niger Delta by the Federal Government without corresponding Federal ownership of solid mineral resources in other parts of the country; thus feeling among the communities of being cheated, neglected, marginalized and alienated in the distribution of the wealth of the oil produced from their lands and waters.
The above facts were publicly admitted and confirmed by the former President of Th e F e d e ral R e public of Nigeria, President Olusegun Obasanjo who indicted the nation as follows:
“Compared to the enormous oil reserves of the region, however, how much of modern development is evident in the area, and how have we seized on the resourcefulness of the people and the region’s other natural endowments to turn it into a region of great sufficiency ? I hasten to admit, in truth, that as a result of insincerity, lack of foresight and commitment of all stakeholders in the past, not much of the desired transformation was evident. Rather, what we had was the harvest of failed policies typified by absence of basic infrastructures like roads , electricity, health services , capacity deficiencies arising from a failing school system, army of unemployed and unemployable youths, environmental degradation etc . The cumulative effects of these are anger in the land and easy pre-disposition of the population, especially the youths, to violence”. Source: Official Address by President Olusegun Obasanjo on April 16, 2004 at the Niger Delta Youth Stakeholders Workshop held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Dismayed that despite the public indictment of the nation by its leaders for gross injustice and inhumanity against the Niger Delta Ijaw oil and gas producing communities lasting for almost 50 years, is now paired with “60-day amnesty” ultimatum scheduled to end on October 4, 2009.
Absolutely dismayed, that such a rush to Military bombardment of the communities is preferred instead of finding a lasting solution to the following eleven Life Threatening Findings of the United States Department of Energy Report, disclosing that (1) about 4000 oil spills discharging more than two million barrels of crude have occurred in the Niger Delta since 1960; (2)Oil slicks cover the region (3) Blow- outs and leaks affecting creeks , streams and related traditional sources of livelihood, poisoning the water supply, destroying the mangrove forests, eroding soil plots and killing aquatic life. The report further discloses that: (4) hundreds of well sites have flares, which come from the burning of associated gas. The flares heat up everything nearby and turn day into night, releasing 25 million tons of CO2 and 12 million tons of methane annually. (5) Resulting sulfuric acid mists damage plants and forests. (6) Flares pollute rain water, cause acid rain and contribute to climate change. (7) Many residents suffer from oil poisoning. (8) Crude oil enters the body through skin absorption, ingestion of food and water, and inhalation of oil and dust particles. (9)Oil poisoning also causes respiratory ailments. (10) In addition, residents suffer from a plethora of water borne diseases such as malaria, dysentery, tuberculosis, typhoid and cholera. (11) Life expectancy is low and child morbidity rates are high.
In light of these facts, and in support of the position of the 64 Nobel Laureates on peace, equity and development, the United States Secretary of State, Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton bluntly stated that the “primary” focus of the Nigerian Government should be on trying to resolve the legitimate concerns of the people of Niger Delta Ijaw Communities where most of the oil and gas reserves are found.
Horrified that instead of addressing the injustice, mitigating the suffering of the people and preventing the conflict from escalating, the Defense Minister is issuing warning terminating all avenues to continue peaceful resolution of a 50-year old national crisis. There is refusal to understand that the issue is not “testing the will of government” but advancing its will to eschew corruption, injustice and oppression which undermine economic growth, development, human rights, peace and progress. The issue is not “threatening the existence of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and its sovereignty”, but the emancipation of the hapless Niger Delta people from economic and political violence and genocidal military aggression. Consequently, his horrifying public warning on the expiration of the amnesty period is a coded Declaration of War to continue “the shoot on sight policy” against the innocent people of the Ijaw territory.
Saddenedby the long struggles of the Ijaw people against economic exploitation, ruthless oppression, environmental destruction and genocide, we are determined to reverse the negative trend of history.The Portuguese first ventured into the Niger Delta and were later followed by other European Countries who not only changed but destroyed the societal landscape, culture, economy and indigenous technologies of the Ijaws with the introduction of slavery between the 14 th and 15 th century. The thriving indigenous economy comprising of fishing, farming, salt making and other indigenous technologies of the Ijaw City States was turned into a slave economy for the next 350 years. A horrendous period of African history!
With the abolition of slavery in the 19 th Century, the same Europeans introduced Palm oil trade into the Niger Delta and thus, began the political and gun-boat harassment and intimidation of the Niger Delta Chiefs by the malevolent British duo, George Dashwood Goldie Taubman and Frederick Lugard. In 1884, this duo bombarded Brass, Patani and Asaba into economic submission. The strongest opponents of these British Mercantilist Thugs, King Jaja of Opobo and Chief Nana were deported to the West Indies and present Ghana respectively. King Jaja died in 1891, on his way back from the exile.
“If we brass people die through hunger, we had rather go to them and die on their sords”. With these words, King William Koko of Brass attacked the British in Nembe in 1895 to stop the same British Mercantilist Thugs from starving his people of Nembe to death through their monopoly of the palm oil trade. The prayer of Ijaws during this period was, “May this evil of palm oil not get to our children”.
71 years later, in February 1966, Isaac Adaka Boro, Samuel Owonaru and Nothingham Dick declared the Niger Delta Republic because of the same economic strangulation and emasculation of the people of the Niger Delta. About 30 years later, and with the continuous economic disenfranchisement of the Niger Delta by the Nigerian State, Ken Saro-Wiwa appeared and was hanged in November 1995. This hanging radicalized the Niger Delta struggle for political and economic emancipation from the neo-Colonial Nigerian State.
Then came the Kaiama rebellion by Ijaw youths in 1998, and the eventual Kaiama Declaration. Just like Umaru Musa Yar ‘Adua today, the then Military Ruler, Abdulsalami Abubakar warned in September 1998, “Government will not tolerate any acts of lawlessness by youths and others in these areas”. On December 30, 1998 Ijaw youths in Bayelsa, protesting the economic and environmental devastation of their land were massacred by the Nigerian Security Forces. Then came Asari Dokubo and his group, and then the present MEND, all fighting for the same political and economic emancipation of Niger Delta and her citizens from the clutches of neo-Colonial Nigeria. More than 550 years of political and economic emancipation struggle.
The Amnesty Programme of the President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Administration is not a genuine effort to achieve peace in the Niger Delta because it deliberately fails to address the fundamental causes and issues of the Niger Delta Conflict. It is unrealistic, confrontational, and inciting violence and war, hence, counterproductive. It is doomed to fail because it woefully fails to address the God-given and inalienable rights of the Ijaw people to self-determination, socioeconomic justice, environmental protection and survival.
The Amnesty Programme is fundamentally unjust and unconscionable because it presents the unacceptable scenario whereby the Nigerian State that perpetrates heinous violence and genocidal military attacks against the Ijaws would keep and enhance its arms and ammunition so that the Nigerian State would, in an aggravated and accelerated manner, kill defenseless Ijaw people, destroy their habitat and means of sustenance, and rob them of their God-given wealth of crude oil and natural gas! It is crystal clear, therefore, that the amnesty is an instrument of subjugation and enslavement. It is intended to break our collective resolve. It is a phony promise of peace while it sets the motion for a military bloodbath!!
It is ironical and unacceptable that the fighter jets, warships, naval gunboats, grenades, artillery and bombs that have been unleashed on our hapless Ijaw people are bought with Niger Delta oil money! It is unacceptable that our God-given wealth is being used to exterminate us!!
Resolved to unite together and stop the barbaric murder and genocidal military expedition against the Niger Delta Ijaw communities, we demand that the October 4, 2009 so-called amnesty deadline should not be a pretext by the Nigerian Government to carry out a Darfur-like genocidal massacre of the Ijaw people. The Gbaramatu Genocide must not be repeated. Ijaws will respond swiftly and appropriately. This is a firm warning to the Yar ‘Adua Administration. Ijaws are not slaves to anyone in the entity called Nigeria. As a peace loving people, Ijaws want to develop their own economy and take care of their lives, security, families, communities and society like the rest of humanity. Peace in the Niger Delta will only come when Nigerian rulers deal with the substantive issues listed above, justly, transparently and honestly. Empty promises, corrupt and fraudulent development schemes as well as bogus contracts will no longer work.
Pictorial views of the economic, social and political marginalization of the Niger Delta oil and gas producing communities: The pictures below distinctly show the level of development in Ijawland, at least since Independence, compared with the level of development of Abuja, an artificial city that is on a lifeline to the oil and gas resources of the Niger Delta. The picture on the left shows a typical dying Ijaw village and the one on the right shows a growing modern Abuja.
The pictures below are even more pathetic and dramatic. Simply beyond human comprehension that a society will forcefully enslave the owners of the real oil and gas and keep them under such horrendous conditions while talking about senseless Amnesty.
This is man’s inhumanity to man. Injustice of gargantuan proportions and the core cause of the militancy. Until this monumental injustice is corrected in the Niger Delta, especially Ijawland, there will be no peace in the Niger Delta and in Nigeria.
Beside all the JTF atrocities, and the Polio and AIDs viruses now killing Ijaws, the greatest danger to them (Ijaws) is environmental pollution. The pictures below tell the story. No human being will live under such polluted and horrible conditions but Ijaws have been forced to live under these horrendous conditions for the past 50 years plus. Rather than finding a solution to the tens of thousands of Ijaws being killed annually by Environmental pollution, Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua is giving a phony Amnesty Deadline.
These pictures of environmental pollution are quite revealing and shameful for a country that prides itself as the giant of Africa. A giant of pollution and corruption indeed.
The Niger Delta Conflict is a political conflict, and it demands a political solution rather than a military one. It cannot be over-emphasized that the only just and effective solution to the Niger Delta Crisis is the granting of political autonomy to the Niger Delta people to enable them have control and responsibility for the exploitation of their natural resources, including oil and gas, as well as the protection of the Niger Delta habitat on which they depend for their survival. To this end, we call for the immediate convocation of a Sovereign National Conference to restructure Nigeria and give political autonomy to every ethnic nationality with a view to enthroning True Federalism.
In the short-term, this is what Ijaws want from the Central Government,
Give semi-autonomy and economic self-governance to the Niger Delta as China did to its citizens in Guan Dong, Pearl River Delta, Dalian, Hong Kong, and Macao (which are now some of the most powerful manufacturing and technologically advanced centers in China); as India did to its citizens in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad and Gao (the most technologically advanced centers in India); as Spain did to its citizens in Mondragon region which is also one of the most technologically advanced and developed areas of Spain. This semi-autonomy and self-governance must encompass the allowance of Niger Deltans and Ijaws in particular to create, own and control their own Banks, Power Generation Systems, Environmental Protection and Cleanup Operations, Properties, Telecommunication Systems, Education, Business Licensing, Security and Infrastructure Development.
For the immediate term, we call on President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and the Nigerian Stateto abandon the unrealistic and treacherous Amnesty program and replace it with a general national disarmament, to create genuine peace in the Niger Delta. The Amnesty is not possible without demobilization of the callous JTF which is increasingly, a very provocative and occupation force. We urge President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and the Nigerian State to begin this process immediately while implementing the recommendations of the Niger Delta Technical Committee.
Signed:
Dr. Ebipamone N. Nanakumo
President, Ijaw Foundation Board of Directors
Mr. Lincoln B. Snithers
Secretary, Ijaw Foundation Board of Directors
549 LEFFERTS AVENUE, BROOKLYN, NY 11225, USA * Phone & Fax: (718) 778-0536*
Website: www.ijawfoundation.org, Email: board_of_directors@ijawfoundation.org
Ijaw Foundation is a charitable nonprofit organization with Section 501 (c) (3) Tax Exempt Status granted by the United States Internal Revenue Service.
