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Niger Delta Militants: Rebels, Freedom Fighters Or Terrorists? By Tarella Brickks
There is no greater danger in Nigeria to anyone, whether they be military, civilian, foreigner, native man, woman, or child, than the danger presented by armed groups. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), one of numerous armed groups active in the Niger Delta region, professes to be freedom fighting for the freedom of her people, exhibits the character of a rebel movement, and operates in the fashion of a terrorist group.
Last week, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) issued a fresh set of warnings to companies in the Niger Delta, promising to blow up at least 20 facilities and abduct expatriate oil workers if they do not vacate the area within 72 hours.
With MEND’s latest warning came a fresh wave of fears in the Niger Delta. And a fresh set of concern for everyone – the government, oil companies operating in the area and other law abiding citizens of the Niger Delta. Apprehension and fear, tension and uncertainty hangs heavily in the air like a wet blanket.
Within hours, oil prices in the international market shot up to over $58 a barrel. With this arises a question we must all answer, one we cannot shy away from – are the militants of the Niger Delta really freedom fighters, rebels or have they transformed to terrorists? To attempt to answer this, we shall examine the characteristics of each of these groups.
Rebels, in many cases, strive for a noble cause, or are at least fighting against tyranny. They are usually respected and have at least a local group of staunch supporters. They operate using guerrilla tactics, making hit and run raids on the opposition, stealing supplies when possible and retreating into safety of the landscape. For the most part, they are disorganized; fighting in their own country against whomever or whatever they feel is imposing against them. Their cause is usually just and right and sympathy with their struggle is overwhelming. Most rebel forces are fighting for political causes.
Freedom fighters are also known for one thing – they fight against constituted authorities, usually for the liberation for their people. In most cases, they are driven by patriotism, nationalism and love for their motherland. In their fight, they do not kill wantonly, without due regards to lives and property, rather, they wage their wars from the jungles, advancing towards their objectives.
In most cases, they are fighting regular, well trained armies, not helpless civilians. Freedom fighter are willing to come to the negotiation table, when invited, and are willing to declare cease fires, when their grievances are being addressed.
The ANC, once a revolutionary group, waged a sustained arms struggle against the apartheid regime in South Africa until 1994, when they grabbed the opportunity to actualize their dream – abolition of apartheid. ANC transformed into a political party and participated in the process that formed the government of Nelson Mandela. This way, they were able to push their agenda for development through civil means.
Similarly, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a Ugandan rebel group, exhibited a similar sense of nationalism guided by ideology. A series of talks mediated by Riek Machar, the Southern Sudan Vice President, between the Ugandan government and the LRA resulted in a ceasefire by September 2006, when the government offered terms agreeable to the LRA.
But not terrorists. Unlike rebel groups, who for the most part engage their enemy directly, terrorists prefer to attack with bombings on civilian installations, assassination of political figures, and kidnappings. They are completely fanatical, willing, if not wanting, to die for their cause and take as many lives with them as possible.
They do not necessarily fight against any constituted authority, nor fight for a clearly cut cause. These men are faceless and dangerous. They pretend to have a cause but do not cease fire even the issues are being addressed. They do not honour invitations to any round table where honest discussions could be held towards finding legitimate solutions to their grudges. A clear example was presented by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) of Sierra Leone.
The RUF, led by Fonday Sankoh, displayed a staggering capacity for brutality. From 1991 – 2000, it used guerrilla, criminal and terror tactics, such as murder, rape, torture, mutilations, kidnappings to fight government, intimidate civilians and keep UN peace keeping units in check.
It is well documented that the RUF had no other motives for these than maintaining control of the rich diamond fields of Sierra Leone. The war in Sierra Leone was fought more over economic resources than ideology.
The activities of MEND since February this year follow exactly this pattern. MEND and other militants profess to be fighting for their people and to gain greater control of the oil, but their strategies and activities paint a gory picture of terrorism in a new form, a modern subtle form.
So far, they have abducted over 23 oil workers in 5 separate incidences. In fact in the latest incident alone, 50 oil workers were held hostage. They have engaged the Joint Task Force in several gun battles, leading to the loss of more than 20 lives combined and leaving countless others wounded.
Twice, the government had invited stakeholders in the Niger Delta to a round table to discuss the way forward but twice the militants refused to honour the invitation. Instead they continued to take away innocent lives violently, forcing law abiding citizens to live in perpetual fear and uncertainty.
The cost of their activities is enormous – the country is losing $295m daily on account of 700,000 barrels of crude oil being shut in, businesses are closing, companies suspend operations, the industry is losing its human capital, who were being kidnapped or killed by the militants and hundreds of man hours are expended to restore confidence in the region.
If MEND is fighting for the development of the Niger Delta as it claims, then the way to go about it is not through arms and violence. If truly they are fighting for the emancipation of the Niger Delta, why should they employ tactics that are unbecoming of statesmen, revolutionaries or freedom fighters?
The chance to participate in a legitimate process (elections) that will give them power to change what is wrong is here, but these men (MEND and their protectors) have shown no desire to participate in the process. Rather, they have issued a fresh set of warning, saying they would bomb 20 facilities and damage infrastructure if their demands were not met. This shows that their concern, just like the RUF’s, is far away from the issue of equity and justice in the distribution of resources. Their concern is more about their desires – controlling oil wealth, and not the people they claim to be fighting for or the development they want to see in their areas.
Nationalism, like all ideology, is progressive or reactionary, bourgeois or revolutionary. It is therefore important to distinguish between nationalism designed to serve the interests of an elite or an aspirant bourgeoisie and a nationalism, which is revolutionary and designed to serve the interests of the masses. So far, the activities of the militants in the Niger Delta seem to suggest a strong leaning towards the former.
Perhaps someone somewhere is benefiting from their criminal activities. Of course they are – they and their faceless godfathers as well as their politician protectors. Ransom for release of kidnapped workers runs in millions, but no one would accept that. This is by far more lucrative. Also, with bunkering, the risk is higher and the money is low and slow in coming. This leaves just one option – the terrorist approach.
For these guys, this is simply business. The plan is simple – blow up a pipeline, it leads to cuts in production and upsurge in world prices; grab a red skin or two in the process and get settled in millions for his release; fast bucks, no tax paid, no questions asked and life goes on. And men who earn a living by making others suffer are called TERRORIST!
But this cannot be allowed to go on. Kidnappings, abductions and bombings have never been treated anywhere merely as a political issue. It is a criminal offence, and the entire civilized world treats it as a law and order issue, not a political issue. The transformation of MEND into a terrorist group erodes the impression that theirs is a political struggle. MEND has become a terrorist group, sponsored by faceless godfathers and politicians in high places.
The government must employ all resources of its intelligence community to expose these faceless men and publish their names among those of identified and wanted terrorists in the world. The government should mobilize international efforts to track them and seek the cooperation of foreign government in the effort to apprehend them if they are domiciled outside the shores of Nigeria. Tarella Brickks Port Harcourt |