Military solution not the way forward, Dickson insists

Resorting to the use of force, as the Nigerian military has proposed to do if dialogue with the Niger Delta militants fails, is not the best way forward to solving the crisis, Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson cautioned on Wednesday.

The Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, had while appealing to the Niger Delta militants to use democratic means rather than resort to violence to make their demands known, said the Nigerian Army would not hesitate to use force if the dialogue between the Federal Government and militants failed.

The newly emerged militant group, Niger Delta Avengers, who have renewed attacks on oil and gas installations in the country, have continuously denied ongoing dialogue with the Federal Government.

Dickson, who says he strongly believes that the ongoing discussions would yield result, said because of the complex nature of the issues in the Niger Delta, the military solution was not right.

“I have said that the issues in the Niger Delta, the terrain, the historic nature of the issues and challenges are such that military solution may not be the way forward. ‎For us who are products of political system who are at this level, we have a duty to mobilise communal and local leadership, we have a duty to support the work of intelligence and security agencies are doing, we have a duty to ensure that issues are better appreciated and that we fill the communication gap.

“And where there are issues those issues need be addressed and is also our duty to network like I’m doing to ensure that problems that are identified as the route cause of some of these challenges are looked into.

“The military solutions as I have always maintained is not the right option, we are hopeful that the ongoing discussions will yield the desired result. I have always been in support of negotiations, of dialogue as the sustainable way forward. Dialogue will bring out the issues and then we will all unite around these common issues to move our country forward,” he said.

Fielding questions from journalists at the Presidential Villa after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, the governor said he and the President exchanged ideas on the way to resolve the issues.