In a statement made available, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has given
two-week ultimatum to the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. It reads:
“We are sounding it as a warning to the military personnel and sympathizers
working with the Nigerian nation residing in the Beni-seide region that their
safety is no longer guaranteed.
We are warning them because our mission is not
to take innocent souls, but if they take our warning as an act of weakness, we
feel very sorry for their wives and children whom they shall leave behind to
mourn them.” At the same time, Daily Post reports that the ultimatum was given
to open negotiations with its “Reach out to ‘Aaron Team’ or face consequence.
The group
also answered to a recent piece written by the presidential spokesman titled
‘President Buhari sharpens focus on Niger Delta.” MEND said that Niger Delta
militants are not behind the killings and attacks on some coastal communities
in Lagos and Ogun. The militants called on the president to act fast in
addressing issues it had earlier raised and listed names of those the
authorities must negotiate with, warning that “if we don’t hear from the
Federal Government, MEND shall safely assume that it is truly not sincere about
dialogue on the Niger Delta question and responds only to the threat of
violence or industrial action”. The statement further reads: “It was tactless
of Mr. Shehu to arrive at a conclusion in his article that, Niger Delta
militants were behind the killings of prominent individuals and attacks on some
coastal communities in Lagos and Ogun states.
This casual but hasty generalization
from a Presidential spokesperson is, to say the least, steeply divisive and
capable of sparking a tribal war of unimaginable consequences between the Ijaws
(whose youth are perceived to constitute a large number of the rank and file of
Niger Delta militants) and the Yorubas. “Quite apart from the fact that none of
the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) operatives have so far, been arrested by
security agencies to establish Mr. Shehu’s sweeping assumption, the comment by
Mr. Shehu is regrettable and infra dig his office.” MEND stated that the key
problem of President Buhari’s administration lies in its inability to
distinguish between NEGOTIATION (emphasis supplied) with criminal elements such
as the NDA who are sabotaging the nation’s economy and whose demands range from
the mundane to the outright ridiculous, on the one hand; and DIALOGUE (emphasis
supplied) on the Niger Delta question with a serious-minded group such as MEND,
on the other hand. “The government is therefore at liberty to negotiate with
arm-twisting unions and criminal groups like the NDA so long as such
negotiations were done in the national interest. After all, even in the United
States and other Western countries, professional negotiators were often engaged
by those Governments to negotiate with criminals who may have held innocent
citizens hostage; while at the same time, placing snipers on standby to take
out the threat to national security whenever the opportunity presented itself,”
it said. READ ALSO: We should learn lessons from Niger Delta – Minister “MEND
is therefore not opposed to government’s plan to negotiate with the
recalcitrant NDA through the office of the NSA. However, Government must not
delude itself into thinking that negotiation with the NDA was tied to the
resolution of the Niger Delta question. Negotiation with NDA is merely a
temporary respite, as another opportunistic group is lurking in the shadows.
But dialogue and resolution of the Niger Delta question is a sustainable
solution for all stakeholders. “MEND have repeatedly reiterated that the Niger
Delta struggle was beyond attacks on oil installations. In fact, destruction of
oil and gas pipelines is an elementary course in guerilla warfare which can be
carried out by any militant group. MEND, therefore stopped attacks on oil
installations more than two years ago when the group unilaterally declared a
ceasefire of hostilities on May 30, 2014, against Nigeria’s key economic and
strategic interests. Since then, the group had relentlessly sought to engage
Government in a sincere DIALOGUE (emphasis supplied) on the release of
Prisoners of Conscience, including Henry and Charles Okah, as well as
addressing the root issues bedevilling the Niger Delta region, without
success.” The group listed the names of people with who President Buhari must
hold talks.
“Regardless of the fact that there is a consensus of opinion that
the Federal government is not sincere about the kind of dialogue advocated by
MEND, the group has nevertheless, named an Aaron Team comprised of the
following persons:
i. Henry Odein Ajumogobia, SAN (Rivers) – Team Leader; ii.
Bismark Jemide Rewane (Delta) – Awaiting re-confirmation; iii. Senator Florence
Ita-Giwa (Cross River); iv. High Chief Government Ekpemupolo (Delta) – Awaiting
confirmation; v. Ledum Mitee, Esq. (Rivers); vi. Lawson Omokhodion (Edo); vii.
Ibanga Isine (Akwa Ibom); viii. Senator Adolphus Wabara (Abia); ix. Alfred
Isename (Edo); x. Timipa Jenkins Okponipere, Esq. (Bayelsa) – Team Secretary
“For the avoidance of doubt, the MEND Aaron Team shall not dialogue with the
NSA given that the office of the NSA lacks executive power.
Given also the fact
that the root issues surrounding the Niger Delta question are on the exclusive
legislative list. Given further, the fact that the proposed dialogue is not an
interrogatory session. “We, therefore, hope that the Federal Government shall
reach out to “Aaron Team Leader” Mr. Odein Ajumogobia to signal Government
intention to commence the dialogue. If after two (2) weeks from the date of
publication of this Right of Reply we don’t hear from the Federal Government,
MEND shall safely assume that Government is truly not sincere about dialogue on
the Niger Delta question and responds only to the threat of violence or
industrial action.” The Niger Delta Avengers have claimed series attacks on oil
and gas pipelines in the last three months as part of what they frame a battle
for independence. They have given oil firms until the end of this month to
leave the region. The Nigerian government announced the decision talk to
leaders in the Delta region to address their grievances while cracking down on
militants who have staged a wave of attacks oil pipelines there.
Post a Comment