Beyond Asari Dokubo

Beyond Asari Dokubo: Anatomy of the New Armed Struggle in Niger-Delta

Senior Fyneface

PORT HARCOURT

When an expatriate friend of mine described government policy as the act of “using big sounding grammar to explain stupid decisions”, he was not very far from the truth. How else can anybody explain the left-handed decision of the former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and his cronies in governments of some Niger Delta states particularly Rivers State to corn Asari Dokubo into detention? That singular miscalculation produced the near- state of anarchy and arms proliferation in the region.

Alhaji Asari Dokubo had dealings with the then Rivers State Government until the events leading to the April 2003 election when he publicly condemned the level of rigging and electoral injustices in the state. From that point, he went on a campaign to seek redress of what he perceived as outright denial or rather robbery of the constitutional rights of the people of the state.

When he insisted on thwarting that electoral fraud, it was alleged that “very top officials” of the then Rivers State Government raised a parallel armed group led by Ateke Tom to checkmate the rising power and fame of Alhaji Asari Dokubo. And what happened between Asari and the group allegedly sponsored by government created the continued –deteriorating security problem and current arms proliferation in Rivers State particularly in Port Harcourt . But this is not the matter under this discus.

Anybody who knew or worked closely with Asari would not be scared to get into Okija shrine to swear that sometime in 2005, the leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force genuinely became born-again both in his thinking and his actions. Rather than continue with his previous militant approach to the agitation for full resource control by the Niger Delta people, Asari risked everything he had including his life, wealth and loyalties of some of his most faithful subordinates to advocate for a political solution to the Niger Delta question. That was the point his organization metamorphosed into Niger Delta Peoples Salvation Front.

The turn-around Asari freely gave up arms and ammunition in his possession to the government-sponsored Niger Delta arms-recovery task force even in the glaring face of insincerity on the side of the government-backed Ateke Tom who only submitted useless arms to the Army Second Amphibious Brigade, Bori Camp, Port Harcourt. Asari himself on one of the arms destruction occasions was bitterly vexed when he openly protested that the guns the task force was destroying were not the new and fire-able ones he willingly surrendered. Some people in the then Rivers State Government were going to Aba to buy locally-made guns not only to exchange with the new riffles submitted by the repentant militants but to make huge money from the state government that paid about N250, 000 for every new AK or K-2 riffles willingly surrendered by the repentant militants.

Before Asari was tricked into a fake amnesty and subsequent detention he was fully enmeshed in the PRONACO campaign where he believed he can freely present and get genuine attention on the plight of the Niger Delta people on issues concerning decades of oil and gas extraction and criminal neglect of the region by successive central governments particularly the so-called democratically elected Obasanjo administration.

If the Government had anything that could have been likened to an intelligence apparatus whether SSS, NIA or even military intelligence they could have generated enough intelligence to confirm that as the time they corned Asari into detention, he represented a rallying point of all the aggrieved Niger Delta youths who were bent on seeking redress by whatever means. The NDPSF was highly respected by all the aggrieved youths no matter their affiliation because they have tested Asari’s intention and were convinced it was not selfish but for the good of all the peoples of the Niger Delta. Asari was well respected by all and rather than abuse his elevated position, he used it as a command and control mechanism to check the criminal activities of the different groups. He gave brotherly advice and instructions and nobody dares to disobey because of the grave consequences. But all that are history now as a result of the absence of the big brother from the scene.

Former President Obasanjo’s arrest of Asari created the existing pockets of armed groups majority of whom lack the discipline and focus which the earlier campaigners were known for, indeed, most of them could be rightly described as criminal and cult gangs that has also been involved in hostage taking. We now have groups like MEND and Authentic MEND, COMA (real and authentic), NDPVF, NDPSF and so on. In addition, people like the estranged Ateke Tom, the leader of the Niger Delta Vigilante Group who was declared wanted by both the Rivers State and Federal Governments can never agree to drop arms not to talk of taking instructions from Alhaji Asari Dokubo.

The estranged Asari’s second in command and also one time second in command to Ateke’s Vigilante group, Soboma George who allegedly escaped from Port Harcourt prison and is freely moving around Port Harcourt has successfully created his own army and may want to be seen as militants fighting for resource control rather than being labeled as street cult criminals.

Elsewhere in Bayelsa and Delta States, the vacuum of Asari’s disciplined leadership in the resource right campaign also succeeded in creating not less than ten groups though majority lack the expertise (in terms of education) and organizational structure to be seriously taken as organized militant groups but somehow, they organized enough to effectively carry out hostage taking and housing activities.

Although the picture in the Ogoni axis is exactly not clear but from recent incidents in the Afam Power Station and the Aluminum Smelter Plant at Ikot Abasi where expatriates were successfully taking hostage and housed for weeks, and considering the not-too-difficult terrain in the area, it is obvious that some groups in Ogoniland may have decided to abandoned the Ogoni-peaceful- approach to resource control agitation. Needless to say that the Obasanjo-led government successfully deceived the Ogoni people into thinking that the Hassan Kukah- led mediation team would address the resource control and environmental conflict between the people and the Anglo-Dutch concern, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria . Kukah’s Obasanjo assignment could best be described as a well packaged deceit to buy time, destabilize Ogoni people and force Shell’s re-entry into Ogoniland. And because the Kukah – led gang so far has failed to achieve anything, younger Ogoni people seems to be fast converting into armed militants rather than waiting for the Kukah messiah who spends more time conducting secret weddings between Obasanjo and Stella and other couples who are 70 years and above in age.

The most dangerous angle to the no-solution-in-sight-saga in the Niger Delta is the end of tenure and the EFCC threat on some governors and other elected officials of the region. These governors and politicians created majority of these armed gangs for use in their political coercion of opponents and with the EFCC on their heels, they may want to fall back to the short-time secured shield of the militant groups. This is all part of the jig-saw problem created by Obasanjo’s wrong approach to the agitation for resource control. Most of these politicians including some that are still in power would want to remain relevant not only in the scheme of the political affairs of the region but at the national level. So they may not easily give up their fraternity or patronage of the armed groups.

From his public posturing as was reported in the media, it was obvious that President Umaru Yar’dua wanted to quickly thrash out the Asari Dokubo matter. So he willingly agreed to an arrangement that would see the government drop the treason charges proffered against the NDPVF leader renounce his violent disposition towards the Nigerian state and play a critical role in disarming the various militant groups in the creeks and swamps of the Niger Delta. This was where ‘Umourru’ goofed woefully.

Truth be told, there is very little Asari can do now to dissuade some of the armed gangs. He can still dialogue with the organized groups but majority of the existing gangs would not listen to him as they may want to also show that they are strong forces to be reckoned with in their different domains. This is the big problem the un- informed arrest of Asari Dokubo has created in the Niger Delta. More so, some of the existing and well armed groups were dissidents from the well-discipline Asari-led NDPSF like Soboma George and others. Also leaders like Ateke Tom knowing fully well that the government want to eliminate him, as he earlier alleged, may want to continue his armed struggle not only to shield himself but also to earn a living.

Did Asari promised Yar’dua not to hold, address or participate in any political meetings? If yes, then this was a big lie. The leader of the NDPSF would hold, address, and participate in gathering/meetings not minding whether anybody would describe such meetings as political or socio-ethnic (Ijaw village meeting). Most of the strings given as conditions for Asari’s bail were not only laughable but could be rightly described as presidential jokes. President Yar’dua should know that nobody arrested Asari Dokubo rather the man walked with his legs into the Police headquarters in Port Harcourt . It would have been very impossible to arrest Asari in Port Harcourt or anywhere in Rivers, Bayelsa and some parts of Delta states considering the level of loyalty and acceptance he enjoyed across the region. So any dream of re-arresting him may be a mirage.

There is a strong rumour making the rounds across the region concerning the high level of suspicion in the entire Obasanjo-packaged and Yar’dua executed free-Asari – to-disarm-militant - programme. There is obvious indication that one of the aims of such sudden – twist by the Abuja government may be to pitch Asari Dokubo against leaders of some of the groups who may not be in a hurry to renounce their armed struggle and its attendant obstruction of oil and gas production in the region.

Well, whatever the Yar’dua Presidency compelled Alhaji Asari Dokubo to agree to, the truth is that from the real situation on ground, Asari no longer has the capacity to stop the armed struggles across the region and the former President, Chief Obasanjo should be seriously blamed for his mismanagement of the entire crisis.

Truth be told, there is looming catastrophe in the sure-to-escalate armed uprising and President Yar’dua should do Nigeria well to genuinely face the problem eyeball to eyeball by urgently addressing the demands of the region rather than doling out cash gift to a few individuals. In addition, the President should not even think that government whether Nigerian or American military might can address the problem. And if the federal government prefers to use the American military might to deal with the situation, he will succeed only in dislodging the protesters from the creeks into the streets of the various cities in the country and this would be more dangerous.

As was rightly pointed out in the media, it would be “instructive and immensely rewarding” for the Yar’dua Presidency to trace the history of the agitation and provide those basic things especially infrastructures that the people of the region are demanding. If the new president fails to show convincing sincerity in the matter, shorter than expected even with American military intervention, Nigeria may soon find it difficult to take oil and gas away from the Niger Delta and may be from the near and deep offshore production platforms.