Lagos – Chief Olabode George, a former Deputy National Chairman of opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to dialogue with the Niger Delta agitators in the interest of peace in the Niger Delta and Nigeria, just as a coalition of Ijaw ethnic nationalities has expressed pessimism at the sincerity of the president in resolving the crisis.
Rising from its National Working Committee meeting held in Akure, the Ondo state capital yesterday, the United Niger Delta Energy Development Security Strategy (UNDEDSS) decried President Muhammadu Buhari’s reluctance to encourage peaceful resolution of the crisis rocking the Niger Delta region.
While accusing the Federal Government of insincerity, the coalition in a statement signed by its Secretary-General, Tony Ipriye Uranta said despite the peace efforts and ceasefire reached by the Chief Edwin Clark-led group, the federal government, through the military has continued to harass innocent citizens through ‘Operation Crocodile Smile’.
Chief George, a retired Commodore in the Nigerian Navy, said the president should apply a reconciliatory move in finding a lasting solution to the issue rather than the use of force. That, according to him, is the best approach in a democratic dispensation.
“As a General and having been on both sides, the military and the civil life, I want to appeal to oga (Buhari) that the issue of the Riverine boys, the Niger Delta Avengers, I want to beg him that he should get the approach of a reconciliatory move.
“In other words, there are elders there, there are governors there, there are other stakeholders on either sides of the party. Let him call a conference on how to approach the issues. Both sides, that is, the military and the militants should ceasefire”.
“Everyone should sheathe their sword and come to negotiating table. Let them come and talk on the things that are annoying them. The president will also say his own. That is the best approach in a democratic dispensation.
“The long-term effect of the military operation will reduce our quota of production which in turn, will reduce our general income. It will affect the distribution of the resources for the betterment and upliftment of the people” said Chief George who is currently positioning to become the national chairman of the opposition party.
UNDEDSS in its statement decried President Buhari’s seeming disdain for peaceful resolution of the Niger Delta crisis, and concluded that the FG is insincere about desiring to end the Niger Delta imbroglio peacefully and expeditiously.
The statement reads: “The increasingly excessive and anti-people attempts by the Federal Government of Nigeria to seemingly intimidate and coerce the peoples of the Niger Delta, via military harassment, into submitting to what is perceived as an attempt to openly steal its resources and rights, worries all right-thinking people of the world; especially since all this is at a time that the Chief Edwin Clark-led Pan Niger Delta Group has succeeded in getting the armed agitators to cease fire unilaterally and express their collective readiness to embrace dialogue”.
It added that while the agitators have honoured the agreement for ceasefire which has resulted in non-bombing of oil installations, the federal government has not.
“The world should note that the armed agitators have kept faith with their ceasefire, and the creeks of the Niger Delta are relatively at peace, save for the Nigerian military ‘manoeuvrings’.
“We do not understand how any peace-intent Government would waste weeks before accepting any olive branch that would help free all Nigerians from the present nationwide economic hardship being suffered, when we can trace dwindling Government revenues, power instabilities and mass impoverishment directly to the ongoing imbroglio in our region.”
“Would we blame the men in the creeks if they lose confidence in the FGN’s sincerity? The delay in the FG responding to these positive peace moves from the region as a whole, is making many lose faith in the sincerity of this Administration to see Nigeria as its constituency; and has again resurrected the bogey of a virtual 97-5% dichotomy which Mr. President appears not to have progressively renewed his mind on.”
“Finally, whilst we want the world to know that there appears to be a myopic hawkish agenda at play within FG leadership circles, we unconditionally reiterate our 100% confidence in the Chief Clark-led Pan Niger Delta Group; we strongly reiterate our position that only a sincere embracing of the 2009 Yar’Adua Niger Delta/National Peace Template can comprehensively and sustainably bring this impasse to an end, once and for all”.
“We unequivocally condemn all continuing innocent harassment of innocent citizens and communities under the guise of a thinly-disguised military offensive, aka aptly as ‘Operation Crocodile Smile’.
“We urgently call on all international observers to keep keen watch on the FG and the Niger Delta; we advise Mr. President to show that he really is President of all Nigerians, and begin demonstrating true positive change that begins with him doing the right things at all times; and, we call on President Buhari to urgently issue a Presidential position embracing the peace overtures from the Niger Delta armed agitators, and summoning all to a negotiation table, so as to more help speedily ameliorate the hardship currently bedevilling most Nigerians nationwide.”
However, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said that violence would not solve the Niger Delta crisis, calling on those who disenchanted with the plight of the region to embrace peaceful tools of seeking redress.
In his comments at the command screening of the action thriller movie ”Oloibiri’ in Abuja on Thursday night, the Minister said that in violence, ”there are really are no victors, for whichever end of the divide one falls, there remain only the wounded and trauma of bloody memories.
”In its essence, ‘Oloibiri’ the movie speaks of the Niger-Delta to us Nigerians; to our essence as humans, as a nation, as students ‘ of history and hopes of our tomorrows. ‘Oloibiri’ in its form points out to us that in addressing wrongs, the place of diplomacy can never be successfully replaced with violence; for the violent creates victims of himself and others, and in all of these it is the land who loses precious citizens.”
He said the present Administration, in laying a strong foundation for the speedy development of the Niger Delta, has begun the implementation of the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland, which was launched last June.
Alhaji Mohammed also noted that the Federal Government has commissioned the Central Ogbia Regional Water Supply Project in Bayelsa, as part of efforts complete all abandoned water projects to improve livelihood.
INDEPENDENT
