BY
FAMOUS DAKOLO
The POOR STATE OF AFFAIRS IN THE Niger Delta could be better understood when put side by side with the recent shell BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the attendant colossal damage it is causing the global environment. The PEOPLE OF THE Niger Delta have lived with this festering wound of oil spillages for decades since oil was first discovered in the nation in Oloibiri in 1956. This was why the administration under Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua went all out to confront the problem with all sincerity through the Amnesty initiative in June 2009. When the Federal Government announced the Amnesty programme for the militants not a few persons took it with a pinch of salt.
At the peak of the crises, Nigeria was said to have lost N8.7 billion daily while production slumped from 2.3 million barrels per day to just about a million barrels. With the Amnesty programme now in full swing and ex militants receiving rehabilitation, reintegration, training and certification at Obubura, Cross River State since June 28, this year, it is important that the issues which led them to take up arms, in the first place are frontally addressed . At the last count, over 20,000 militants were said to have thrown in the towel. No doubt, the success of the Amnesty programme is underscored by the large turnout of militants at the various arms collation centres across the Niger Delta and the staggering trench of ammunition AND OTHER ARMS recovered so far. Equally commendable is the fact that since the commencement of the programme sporadic outburst of violence in the region has BEEN DRASTICALLY reduced. But the Stakeholders must never rest on their oars as there is still a lot of work to be done.
The recent upsurge of kidnapping across the eastern parts of the country is evidence that it is not yet Uhuru. Efforts need to be redoubled in curbing the increasing wave of violence by addressing the fundamental causes of crime namely the abysmal poverty and high level of unemployment. According to Abraham Maslow, the basic physiological needs of food, clothing, shelter and safety needs must be provided for citizens in a decent society before crime rate could drop significantly. As a first STEP therefore, government and those entrusted with the arduous task of prosecuting the Amnesty programme must be seen to be transparent and credible in discharging their mandate. There is a whole world of difference between actual militants and miscreants who cash in on the volatility to perpetrate heinous crimes. This group of people should not be included as militants. What is important now is FOR the ex militants to be properly and effectively demobilized and adequate training given to them to make them beneficial to the society.
But beyond that, there should be a mechanism to ensure that new militants are not created in the future. The recent protest by ex-militants who arrived the outskirts of the Federal capital Territory in droves to register their displeasure over the exercise is worrisome. The issue of fiscal federalism should be looked into just as there is need to revisit the derivation percentage to the oil producing states. More importantly, certain sections of the fundamental objective principles of State Policy bordering on the environment should be reviewed to halt the litany of environmental challenges of communities hosting oil multinationals in the Niger Delta. The enactment of the Petroleum Industry Bill into law would, no doubt make the communities stakeholders in the oil business and hence reduce tension between companies and their hosts. The Local Content Act 2010 should be effectively enforced to ensure compliance. The changing dynamics of global economics demand that the nation diversify her revenue base away from oil.
Virtually every State is endowed with a resource which if well harnessed could add value to the economy. If this is done on the basis of fiscal federalism, there would be less tension, greed and avarice over the proceeds of oil at the centre.
Source: recorded live from FRCN daily commentary
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