High chief mike loyibo, a member of the pa edwin clark-led pan niger delta elders and leaders forum, which is slated to meet with president muhammadu buhari on november 1, 2016 on the niger delta situation, speaks to vanguard ahead of the crucial parley.
Northern Region Editor Why is the country still witnessing pockets of bombing of oil facilities despite series of assurances by elders and leaders of the Niger Delta that they are working to bring about peace? What is missing in the peace process?
High chief mike loyibo, a member of the pa edwin clark-led pan niger delta elders and leaders forum, which is slated to meet with president muhammadu buhari on november 1, 2016 on the niger delta situation, speaks to vanguard ahead of the crucial parley.
High chief mike loyibo, a member of the pa edwin clark-led pan niger delta elders and leaders forum, which is slated to meet with president muhammadu buhari on november 1, 2016 on the niger delta situation, speaks to vanguard ahead of the crucial parley.
Let me say that all is still not well with the Niger Delta despite the intervention of the elders and leaders in the fractured peace process.
As you can see, there is a serious lack of trust and confidence among the leaders and people, a situation that breeds suspicion, division and voices of dissent instead of a united, coordinated and respected popular opinion.
So, we have a problem at hand, which the elders and leaders are trying stridently to resolve.
There are also divisions even among Niger Delta leaders and politicians going by the cacophony of voices over who they want and do not want to lead them? Well, that is also true but we have already taken steps to solve that problem.
When we observed that there were differences in opinion and direction and approach, we quickly came together early this month to forge a common ground and produce a coordinated position under the leadership of Chief Edwin Clark-led Pan Niger Delta Elders and Leaders Forum. We believe that we are on course to break the barriers that had held us back as a people.
I can tell you that we have resolved that the initial differences which led to some disagreement on who was qualified to summon a meeting or not.
As a result of our resolve to forge ahead, we now have a pan-Niger Delta forum which incorporates the King Diete-Spiff Dialogue Committee, Rotimi Amaechi Dialogue Group and the Pan Coastal Niger Delta Elders Forum led by PA EK Clark.
All these have been collapsed into one entity for the purpose of achieving peace. With this in place, we will be meeting President Buhari on November 1, as united Niger Delta front to discuss our problems and the way forward.
I can assure you that we will be speaking with one voice on that day. But why did some elders reject the initiative of the Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, to spearhead a peace meeting with Buhari, as if he is not also from the Niger Delta? Indeed, it was very funny to see such an ugly development.
Are you saying that there are people who are more qualified to be Niger Deltan than others even though they are from the same geographical area?
First, let me correct one impression here: Ameachi has not at any time claimed to be leading any Niger Delta group. That is very important to note.
What Amaechi was trying to do, was to explore means and ways of bringing the Niger Delta elders and leaders together with a view to having a meeting with the President on how to end the crisis in the region. He never led any Niger Delta group.
But we have our leaders and they are well known. There is no denying the fact that Ameachi is a leading figure in the present administration.
We also recognise the fact that as a former governor and speaker of Rivers State, he played prominent roles and that he also has the right to contribute his quota to the Niger Delta peace process. We know that he was disturbed and he called a meeting of the elders.
It might interest you to know that the same people he called are also the ones who have agreed to work together under the different committees we have put in place.
So, I can say again, there is no problem and that we are working as a team.
Chief check your records: There are very prominent people who said Amaechi was not qualified l to call a meeting of the people. So, what makes one Niger Delta minister more qualified to call a meeting than the other? No, I don’t share that view.
Whoever said that Amaechi was not qualified to summon a peace parley of Niger Delta leaders and elders with President Buhari might have expressed a personal viewpoint and not the position of the generality of the elders and leaders of the Niger Delta.
We have never taken such a divisive stance in all our meetings. Nobody can say that Ameachi is not qualified to host a meeting that can bring about peace and development in the Niger Delta.
So where is the peace process now, what level of achievements has it made in terms of ending bombings and restoring peace and sanity in the Niger Delta? I can say with a sense of optimism that we are making progress.
During our last meeting in Effurm, we were able to secure a ceasefire with the leading militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers and it really boosted oil production within the period.
Again, when the ceasefire expired a few weeks ago, we went back to the creeks and pleaded with them to keep the peace as we are working to achieve a lasting peace with the federal government.
You must also note that some of these bombings are being carried out by criminals and not by the youths we are talking with.
I can say that 99.9 percent of the genuinely aggrieved militant groups have given us their commitment and mandate to interface with the Federal Government and make their grievances known and we are going to do that with the hope that at the end of the day, the solution would be found to the Niger Delta crisis.
We are confident that after that meeting, we can begin the process of solving the Niger Delta problem once and for all.
But it does not appear as if the intervention of the elders is working given the continuous destruction of pipelines and other oil facilities by militants as late as Tuesday this week.
Does it mean the militants do not respect the elders? Look, for you to know that our intervention is working, go and check the level of oil production. What is the country producing now and what was it producing when the bombings were not controlled? These are hard and verifiable facts.
It may interest you to know that when this problem started, there was one time that production was less than a million barrels per day but after our intervention and the declaration of ceasefire by the militants production has steadied at 1.8million plus.
So the pockets of destruction you now see are not such that can cause a major setback as it was in the past.
I believe that those doing that are people who are still dissatisfied and just want to be seen and heard. Some of these people still feel that the government has not shown enough sincerity, commitment to the development of the Niger Delta.
They continue to argue that the government is looking at the Niger Delta as a conquered territory by constantly deploying the military to fight them.
As far as these set of youths are concerned, there should be no dialogue with the government but we have said there is need to discuss since Mr. President is willing to listen to us.
Many Nigerians are wondering why the militants did not discuss the issue of resource control or restructuring and special status with former President Jonathan, who could have speedily done that for the region where he comes from.
Don’t you suspect that the renewed bombings and agitation by militants are deliberately targeted at frustrating Buhari just like they did to YarÁdua, who consequently granted amnesty to Niger Delta militants? Let me tell you something.
In my view, nothing tangible has changed in the Niger Delta despite all the programmes and projects mentioned by various agencies with mandate to develop and invest in the region.
In reality, the Niger Delta problem has remained the same: the key issues of neglect and structural defect occasioned by the Constitution remain a thorn in the flesh of the people. I believe that as long as these issues are not addressed holistically, the agitation will continue no matter who is on the throne of Nigeria.
Why is the structure of the Niger Delta a problem to the people? On the surface, it does not appear as if it is a problem but the way the constitution of Nigeria is written, the Niger Delta cannot get any special advantage despite its enormous contributions to the development and growth of Nigeria.
That is the danger which must be urgently addressed for a lasting peace to prevail. So, the structure is a big problem, which many people from outside the area have not really appreciated.
You have to give special treatment in the law to the Niger Delta because of what it brings to the table everyday for the rest of the country. We feel cheated and not being give the attention we deserve given our prime contribution to the nation.
Most painful is the fact that the problems of the region are well documented and known but no concrete effort is being made by successive administration to transform the area.
It is really an anomaly that must not be allowed to continue any longer in the interest of peace and stability of the country.
But is it not surprising to you that this same feeling did not crop up at all throughout Jonathan’s tenure. Why? Well, that is to tell you and others that in a way, the Niger Delta struggle is also a political struggle.
I believe that the agitation died down naturally during President Jonathan’s time because we thought that as our son, who really understood the problem, he would use his office to address all the thorny issues affecting us but he failed woefully. In fact, Jonathan disappointed most Niger Delta people.
As far as I am concerned Jonathan failed the Niger Delta people particularly.
But that is now history and we must take steps now to change a bad situation before it is too late.
That is why we must put aside the issue of whatever Jonathan did and did not do and see how best Buhari can go in tackling the problems in the region.
I believe strongly that the Niger Delta elders as led by Pa Clark will succeed in pushing the agenda of transforming the Niger Delta with Buhari during the November 1 meeting in Abuja.
So what conditions are the elders going to table before Buhari in order to appease the Niger Delta militants and people? Well, there are many issues yearning for answers and we have to be frank and straightforward in discussing them so as to achieve the desired goal.
The issues border on both human capital and physical transformation of the Niger Delta region in accordance with the Willinks Commission, which had long stressed the need to give a special consideration to the Niger Delta in Nigeria’s scheme of things.
That is what we will focus mainly on and I believe that if there is a willingness on the part of the federal Government to do that, then all will be well.