Babel of Selfishness in the Niger Delta

I had posted on Nigerians and Refusal to Accept Reponsibility

Now, read the report below, which appeared in Vanguard newspaper of June 19, 2016:

Niger Delta Crisis: Militants write Kachikwu, mobilise against Avengers, MEND

Assuming you have read the Vanguard report above, will you disagree with me that the Niger Delta is  now a "Tower of Babel"?


What is the "Niger Delta Struggle"? Is it an Ijaw fight,  Itsekiri aggitation or the Urhobo or Ogoni " peaceful intellectualism"? And there are yet many more ethnic groups in the Niger Delta, As I have already stated in an earlier post, the Niger Delta militants (ex-or current) DO NOT represent the Niger Delta, but their bellies. They serve not the basic interests of the poor Niger Deltan in the creeks, who is in need of clean water, health facilities, good schools, clean air, and a healthy ecosystem. Furthermore, the Niger Delta is certainly not one homogeneous (linguistically, socially, or politically) group. There are tensions between various ethnic groups, as testified in the Vanguard report.

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) became a honey pot for a few people who used Niger Delta identity to steal for themselves. The Niger Delta Ministry has not improved the economic and social wellbeing of the people either.

Today, militant groups are springing up like ants, claiming no noble values of development beyond an ability for violent destruction of their neighborhood! Such militant groups are not the ones government should "negotiate" with. By the way, what is the content of such "negotiations" beyond the cliche "resource control", which I doubt many of them understand its substance or implication.

This is my suggestion to President Buhari's government:

1. Do not negotiate with any "militant groups". They are all impostors.
2. Call for and organize a quasi-national conference of ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta, which should focus on three items:
     i. Infrastructural development of the oil-producing communities of the Niger Delta. Those communities must be provided the same amenities that Oil Companies operating within them provide for their expatriate staff.
     ii. Investment in manufacturing and processing plants related to oil and gas within oil- and gas-producing communities within the Niger Delta: That is, a set of job-creating  productive measures must be discussed and agreed upon, with an agreement that subsequently, violent attacks on such investments and oil and gas infrastructure must be paid for with allocations due to such host states from the Federation Account.
    iii. Adequate compensation of and security in the oil-producing communities: How do we compensate the Niger Delta people in the oil-producing communities directly rather than allow those corrupt middlemen called "militants" to foul the waters; and protect those communities and provide them with  the incentives to protect oil and gas infrastructure in their communities as their personal assets?

3. After the conference, reward peaceful communities that maintain peace, and punish the belligerent ones, including State governors of such troublesome States. Deduct from their allocations from the Federation Account to pay for damages inflicted on oil and gas infrastructure in those States.