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The Niger-Delta Crisis: Drifting Into Civil War Again? By Ndiameeh Babrik Without sounding and being tagged alarmist and the fact that I am not a prophet of doom but all the indices in Nigeria today appear and are gradually sliding toward a civil war one more time. We are use to the adage that history has a way of repeating itself except that probably it will be in a slightly different way in Nigeria of today. In the days of General Gowon, it was go on with one Nigeria but I do not think that can be possible now. I am prompted to write this article after reading the communiqu é of the South West legislators meeting held in Akure calling for true Federalism. I began to ask myself who is actually afraid of this true Federalism in today’s Nigeria? Looking at our chequered history as a Nation, the various regions did better between 1960 and 1966 while every region was autonomous. Those were the days of the ground pyramids in Kano, the cocoa industry in the South west and the Palm oil in the South east and the foremost yam festival in the South east and Middle belt region. Hardly did the military come to power and it has never been the same again. The military regimes encourage reliance on Federal allocation from petroleum resources and made the Federal government more central based than Federal in structure the outcome of which we can all see today. Because of the injustice so pronounced in this present system of Federalism there is clamour for true Federalism from all quarters with the exception of those who are benefitting from the present injustice called the Federal Government of Nigeria.The Niger-Delta youth couldn’t stand it any longer and they decided to take up arms in frustration I believe. The Federal Government on its part decided to send in its troops. In my little understanding this prelude to another civil war considering the fact that that was how the 1967-1970 civil started. Matters are made worst when some self acclaimed and self imposed Northern leaders try to tell us that all the money that has been allocated to the Niger-Delta states were never well utilized. That I believe is adding salt to injury as if the billions allocated to some Northern states are better utilized. Suppression and oppression has never worked in history and the Nigerian Niger-Delta cannot be different. It did not work in Sudan against the Southern Sudan people. It did not work in South Africa. It did not work even in Australia against the Aborigines let alone here in Nigeria where there is more clamor than before for true Federalism. The civil war was fought then because people were naïve and did not know that some other section of the country had hidden agenda. Now that the chicken has come home to roost and the agenda has been laid bare, no other section of this country will go to war on behalf of another. To make matters worse all effort being made to review this sham called constitution is still being resisted by yet again those benefiting from it. Justice I believe can only be delayed but surely cannot be denied. I believe and sincerely that refusing to tackle the Niger-Delta crisis now is just play the ostrich and postponing the evil day. If the report in the media is true then the Nation is losing approximately 250,000 barrel of crude oil pay day because of the crisis which at today’s crude oil price per barrel is 250,000 X 140=$35 million US Dollars per day. I mean what a colossal waste. Probably if the so call 25% derivative is approved to the Oil producing states it may not up to the above amount per month. In addition and similar vein, the National Assembly promised the Nation since last year that they will commence the review of the defective 1999 constitution in the first quarter of this year, at the time of writing this piece the second quarter of the year has finished and yet nothing has happened. It is true the Senate formed its committee for the Constitution review and we therefore commend the President of the Senate for being proactive but what is happening in the House of Representatives? After all we were told the constitution review was halted the last time because of Obasanjo’s third term business. For now even Yar’adua’s first term is still dicey talk less of second term let alone third term therefore the House of Representatives should get cracking and form its own constitution review committee immediately and get down to business. If by the middle of this third quarter they have not formed their own constitution review committee we will exercise our rights as enshrined in the constitution to recall them back and let them go to farm for us. We did not send them to Abuja to go and drink tea only but also to represent us very well. I use this medium to urge President Yar’adua the apostle of the rule of law to appeal to the National Assembly to hasten the constitution review please.
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