Militants may endanger Niger Delta If…
…Fear grips Niger Deltans
Given the manner many militants are responding to the amnesty offer by the Federal Government, there are growing concerns among ordinary Niger Deltans who want peace that a showdown between federal troops and those claiming to be freedom fighters may be inevitable.
Should that happen, those who feel this way say, their region might be converted into a theatre of war.
The general feeling before amnesty was announced was that the militants operating in the region would likely seize the window of opportunity offered by the authorities and abandon the creek war that has achieved very little in terms of development and progress in the region.
There were even strong feelings among analysts that the militants themselves had become tired of waging the campaign in the creeks.
But the way things are turning out, based primarily on the utterances of the militants, no one is so sure what would happen after sixty days when the amnesty offer expires.
Rather, a morbid fear among the people, backed by reports of measured attacks targeted at oil facilities have gradually become the order of the day since the Federal Government made its move to pardon militants in exchange for a properly planned disarmament scheme.
MEND in its latest statement is claiming that the Federal Government which recently announced an unconditional pardon for all militants, including those standing trial, is offering its commanders as much as one billion naira to embrace the amnesty deal
The Federal Government has denied this but MEND insists its claim is true.
According to Jomo Gbomo, “Even though our commanders are constantly being bombarded with enticing monetary offers, as much as N1 billion per camp, only those who are willing to sell their birthright for a bowl of porridge will accept while the rest of us will continue the struggle until justice is achieved.
“The impression the government is trying to give, that commanders are negotiating independently, is another propaganda aimed at causing confusion.”
Until the Federal Government began its amnesty move, the general impression was that every one carrying a gun and claiming to be a freedom fighter was one.
That perception is gradually changing as militants now draw a distinction between criminal minded elements and what they say are genuine freedom fighters.
Cynthia Whyte, spokesperson for the Joint Revolutionary Council which oversees the activities of the enlarged MEND, reformed Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force and Martyrs Brigade fired the first salvo when she noted that the amnesty would bring succor to criminal minded elements within renegade ranks.
MEND has since taken up a similar posture with Jomo Gbomo making claims that sound the same way as well.
Professor Tam David-West, a notable social critic in his reaction said Yar'Adua's offer of amnesty is doomed to fail.
He told the Sun, a national tabloid that it was wrong for the Yar'Adua administration to have negotiated with proxies, saying such a process was not capable of engendering sufficient confidence especially among the militants.
But in the Niger Delta where there is growing uncertainty, the question is, if the Yar'Adua amnesty package fails, what would happen next?
Is it possible for a sovereign nation such as Nigeria to allow other countries like the United States, Britain and France to play leading role in the resolution of differences within its borders?
MEND and other groups are pushing for an international dimension to the settlement of the crisis in the Niger Delta region.
Professor David-West equally hinted at such a possibility in his interview with the Sun newspaper.
In the meantime, in parts of the Niger Delta, those who know how to pray are doing so. They are praying for God's intervention and praying that God would touch the hearts of the militants to accept the amnesty offer.
In Bayelsa, most who are on their knees asking for God's favour are women and sources say they are not giving up in their prayer request as they try to see how best to avert the possibility of their environment turning into a theatre of war.
While the Federal Government waves the olive branch, MEND spits fire and claims its forces have done more damage to oil facilities in the region.
The group claimed it struck at a Shell facility at Forcados off-shore platform in Delta State on Monday, with Cluster 11 and 30 going up in flames after an explosion.
It also claimed it sank a gunboat with about 20-23 soldiers, after heavy confrontation.
But spokesman for the Joint Military Task Force (JTF), Colonel Rabe Abubakar, who confirmed that a Shell platform was attacked, denied the attack on a military gunboat and the alleged killing of military men.
As at the time of going to press, a spokesman for Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Precious Okolobo, confirmed the attack on its facilities.
“We have received reports of an attack on two well clusters at our Estuary field in Western swamp operations”, Okolobo remarked, “Some production has been shut in as a precautionary measure, while we investigate to determine what really happened.”
