Restructuring: FG Playing Games With Our Destiny —Niger Delta Wails

A group, the Niger Delta Self Determination Movement (NDSDM) has lamented the nonchalant attitude of the Federal Government in tackling issues involving the Niger Delta region especially as it affects restructuring.

In a statement delivered to Elombah.com on Tuesday, NDSDM said that its demand for liberty, equity and justice in the past 67 years has fallen on deaf ears.

It also lamented that a “lot of innocent men, women, youths and children have died for this genuine call for liberty, equity and justice”, yet to no avail.

Rather, “Nigeria have taken the Niger Delta people and region for granted for too long, 103 years”, they stressed.

The group demanded “a referendum to enable all the different people of Nigeria north and south to take their destiny in their own hands, as the federal government is saying no to restructuring”.

NDSDM, in conclusion, reiterated its all-time demand that ‘the clean-up of the Niger Delta start in Ogoni land’ in earnest.

Read below the full text of the statement:

The Niger Delta Self Determination Movement (NDSDM) have watched with disappointment since the month of May 2015 till date the insincerity and disrespect with which the Federal Government of Nigeria have treated the very serious issues  the Niger delta people have been agitating against for years. 

We have demanded for Liberty, Equity and Justice in the past 67 years.

Agitation for justice and equity by the various different Ethnic Nationalities of the Niger Delta is not strange or new. 

A lot of innocent men, women, youths and children have died for this genuine call for liberty, equity and justice.  

From the days of Adaka Boro, Ken Saro Wiwa, Kiama declaration, Ogoni, Urobo, Ibibio, Itsekeri, Egi and Ikwerre and many other bills of rights, different groups and organizations have emerged, a few have been violent but a lot more have remained nonviolent.

That we have many and various groups is not primarily an indication of disunity in the Niger Delta which the Federal Government and International Oil Companies (IOC) have encouraged and exploited.

It is rather an indication that the Niger Delta is not of one or two ethnic nationalities rather it is an indication that the Niger Delta crisis has the potential to last long and must be approached with the utmost care, sensitivity, respect and great patience by the federal Government. 

The President, Vice President and the Ministry of petroleum  knows the Niger Delta agitation is not only about armed youths, traditional rulers, elders or nonviolent intellectuals from a few ethnic nationalities of the Niger Delta, but of all the ethnic nationalities of the Niger Delta and we are all asking for Liberty, Equity and Justice.

The Niger Delta agitation is not a platform to raise alarms, or blow whistle on any other Niger Delta group or ethnic nationality who are asking for liberty, equity and justice. 

The NDSDM is loyal to truth, the Niger Delta environment, the people and future of the region.

Yes the Niger Delta people are angry, Nigeria have taken the Niger Delta people and region for granted for too long, 103 years.

Flowing from the above, the Federal Government of yesterday and of today have manipulated the Niger Delta by choosing one group to recognize, favor and discuss with on the behalf of nearly 40 different ethnic nationalities and frustrate others into silence, violence and poverty.

The NDSDM is a grass root movement and have it on the best of authorities after nearly 4 years of mobilization and orientation that every indigenous people of the Niger Delta 6 states South-South political zones understand and above all desire to speak for themselves. 

No ethnic nationality has the mandate to speak for the other, though every ethnic nationality accepts that they will work together for the good of our region, environment, development, ownership of our resources and future of our children and their children, the different indigenous peoples of the Niger Delta are aware that Federal Government the past and particularly this government’s consistent show of bad faith to the unacceptable plight of our people and region. 

The political deceit of promising to clean up just a small percentage of the massive environmental damage of Ogoni nation land, swamps, mangroves, land, water and air instead of the whole Niger Delta is one such deceit, every inch of Ogoni land must be cleaned not just the area used by the United Nations as an entry point. 

The clean-up of the Niger Delta must start in Ogoni land.

The Federal Government may continue to pretend that it is only the areas mentioned in the UNEP report that is damaged by pollution, what is important is that we the victims of the joint partnership between the Federal Government and the IOCs know the UNEP report is unambiguous that there is a death sentence of unknown proportion hanging over the Niger Delta environment, people and their future. 

Indeed the Federal Government’s deliberate refusal to start the process of the Ogoni cleanup stands as the most damming proclamation of President General Buhari to the Niger Delta people with the world as witness in one of his initial outings to the USA as the newly elected president of Nigeria, when he declared that he will not do anything for the 5% that did not vote for him, we in the Niger Delta did not vote for Buhari, that choice not to vote for him is a right.  

The NDSDM have always believed that the President will do nothing for the Niger Delta region and people, based on the present political structure and the hold of the invisible hands holding and strangulating Nigeria we doubt that the Acting President is able to do anything for us.

The NDSDM believe it is disrespectful to our people to deceive them in the ways that we have so far been disrespected.

The long time sly method adopted by the federal government to continue to pacify our agitation with promises of palliatives, OMPADEC,NDDC, Amnesty, Ministry of Niger Delta,  controlled from Abuja through their willing collaborators in the Niger Delta, in exchange for crumbs. 

We know these are gimmicks and smokescreens to continue the criminal exploitation of our oil and gas resources, while allocating our oil wells to themselves. 

The current government is fraudulently revoking licenses of oil blocks previously awarded and operated by indigenes of the Niger Delta. 

These are predetermined actions and deliberate strategy from long ago to economically strangulate and exclude the people and region that own the resources they share amongst themselves, yet we bear the negative impact of environmental consequences of the exploration for oil and gas.

 So far 5 such oil blocks jointly owned by Niger Delta people have been seized under one fabrication or another, while all oil blocks owned by people from the North have been renewed. 

Another clear example of economic strangulation against the Niger Delta region and people is that of ASCON the Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria, the Federal Government despite three (3) Supreme court judgments in favor of BFIG the company that won in the bid in the sale of ASCON have refused to hand over the company to the legal owner of ASCON, this is because the homeland partners and promoters of BFIG are Niger Delta indigenes. Consequently the Federal government continues to disobey court judgment. 

Thereby willfully depriving the people of Akwa-Ibom particularly and Niger Delta generally of the thousands of jobs that can be created by BFIG, because some greedy Nigerians believe they must own the smelting company. 

This injustice is unacceptable and the Niger Delta people reject it and will continue to reject this unholy treatment.

Just as the PIB bill was turned upside down to favor the north more than the oil producing communities it was meant to compensate, the over 5 years call for modular licenses for the Niger Delta people have been given to people and companies who have never been involved in modular refining. 

This is a slap in the face of the Niger Delta people. 

Our people will reject the efforts by the cabal and Federal Government who are bent on destroying our homeland by the invasion of herdsmen into our farms and communities, to undermine the economic and infrastructural development in the Niger Delta.

The federal government criminalize terrorize and chase our sons and daughters into jails, exile and hiding. 

Our people continue to dwell in polluted environments and live in the worst level of abject poverty.  

The NDSDM states categorically that our minimum demand for our continued stay in the Nigeria union is the political, socio-economic and socio-cultural restructuring of Nigeria which will allow for total ownership, control and management of all our resources and determination of all our political destiny and development where all our human rights to choose are guaranteed. 

Failing the above we will be left with no other choice than to demand for a UN supervised referendum for our people of the Niger Delta.

The Niger Delta peoples Agenda and Ultimatum are no longer, palliatives, definitely not meetings after meetings. 

With all the best intentions in the world a few people cannot continue to claim to be speaking for all of us year in year out and yet our situation remains the same, in fact the situation of the Niger Delta is worst today than it was in the days of Adaka Boro, Ken Saro-Wiwa etc.

The Federal Government and the ministry of petroleum should not continue to dictate the time, place, and agenda to discuss the Niger Delta people’s demands. The Federal Government should not choose the people to discuss on our behalf.

The Niger Delta states are made up of:

– 23  LGAs in Rivers state

– 25  LGAs in Delta state

– 8 LGAs in Bayelsa  state

– 31  LGAs in Akwa Ibom state

– 18  LGAs in Edo state

– 18  LGAs in Cross River state.

These 123 LGAs covering 6 states shared by nearly 40 ethnic nationalities cannot be represented by four or five ethnic nationalities in such critical discussions to decide on restructuring, referendum and self-determination.

The Niger Delta people made up of nearly 40 different ethnic nationalities who have distinct differences in language, culture, food, etc. yet sharing a common destiny in desires to develop, their region, own and manage their resources and secure themselves have lost faith in the ability of the Federal Government to provide Liberty, Equity and Justice, flowing from the above Nigeria as a government is unable to guarantee free and fair elections where the political will of the Niger Delta is paramount. 

The Niger Delta self Determination Movement NDSDM hereby once again stand firm for the Niger Delta people and region and say loudly and clearly that we want a referendum to enable all the different people of Nigeria north and south to take their destiny in their own hands, as the federal government is saying no to restructuring let us have a UN supervised referendum.

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