‘Only true federalism can put an end to militancy in Niger Delta’

Against the backdrop of the emergence of a new militant group calling itself Ultimate Warrior of Niger Delta (UWND), Ann-Kio Briggs, an environmental rights activist, has called for the adoption of true federalism as panacea for militancy in the Niger Delta.

Social injustice and inequitable distribution of resources in the Niger Delta region, according to her, rank high as reasons for the resurgence of bombing campaigns in the region.

“We must sit down and find a way round how Niger Delta people will have opportunity to utilise what is in their region to develop themselves and secure their future. The people are complaining that all the oil wells in the Niger Delta, apart from the ones that the Federal Government is sharing with oil companies, about 90 percent or more of those oil wells, for the past 20 to 30 years, have been in the custody of Nigerians who are not from the Niger Delta region,” Briggs said.

She added, “They are not contributing to the development of the communities where they are making these billions of dollars. If anybody is saying we are not being reasonable by feeling offended by such captivation, we are moving round in circles because people will continue to feel aggrieved.”

“It doesn’t matter where the resource is. If it is handled and shared and denied the people the way it is being denied the Niger-Delta people, it doesn’t matter where in Nigeria, those people will actually agitate. And, these are the core reasons and we must address the core reasons,” said Briggs, Spokesperson for Ijaw Republican Assembly (IRA) and United Niger Delta Energy Development Security Strategy (UNDEDSS).

The environmental activist, who also throws her support for dialogue with the militant groups, argues that such move would only yield good result if government would consider the militants’ agitation.

At a time when the Nigeria Federal Government, battles the militant group known as Niger Delta Avengers, the new group (UWND) emerged to further wreak havoc and cause more damage to oil and Gas facilities in the region, thereby putting Nigerian economy on standstill.

The group, as one of their conditions for ceasefire on the destruction of oil installations in the region demanded among others that 60 per cent oil bloc should be allotted to indigenes of the Niger Delta region.

In a statement by the group’s spokesperson, ‘Gen’ Sibiri Taiowoh Wednesday, who threatened to continue the attack on oil facilities until the $16billion Export Processing Zone (EPZ) project as well as the Federal Maritime University established by former President Goodluck Jonathan are completed and start operations.

In that regards, UWND gave FG two weeks ultimatum starting from Wednesday, June 9 to meet its demand and/or have Chevron BOP, Okan Platform, MEREN Gas Gathering Compression Platform shut down and blow up Chevron Tank Farm.

Goddey Odin