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Niger Delta: How Deliberate Mischaracterisation Clouds The Real Issues By Hamaseyo Mohammed The unfortunate situation in the Niger Delta (ND) is one of the most discussed issues among Nigerians today with various opinions, ideas and suggestions being put forward. The basic issue is that while oil from the ND accounts for over 80% of our government’s income, and over 95% of our export earnings, the people of the region are suffering neglect, underdevelopment and environmental pollution. This is the true situation on the ground, it is incontrovertible and I totally agree that this is the case. I have profound sympathy for the ordinary masses of the ND who are trapped in this situation and I believe governments at various levels must do everything possible to correct it. Having said this, I don’t agree with the analyses that are frequently put forward on the CAUSES of the ND crisis and the way to solve it. I think there has been an unfortunate and deliberate mischaracterisation of the ND problem and a refusal to acknowledge its most important causes by various commentators, advocates and campaigners. I’m not sure I know the motives for this mischaracterisation or whether it is even deliberate, but it is likely that it serves the selfish interests of some of these campaigners. I specifically object to the characterisation of the ND crisis in ethnic terms; that there is some ethnic animosity between the ND and the North or the Southwest, or that Hausa-Fulani or Yoruba people are to blame for the crisis or that the Sokoto Caliphate is conspiring to deprive the ND etc. Because of this characterisation among the campaigners, people in the ND have been made to belief that their situation is caused by some far-off enemy and local factors have no role in it. It serves the elite of the ND well if the masses believe this because they will then escape scrutiny and the consequences of that scrutiny. I believe that the poverty and deprivation in the ND is mainly caused by corruption, mostly at the state and local government levels but also at the federal level to some extent. Corruption is also responsible for the poor performance of the direct intervention agencies Ompadec and NDDC. Secondly, the federal government is generally inept and negligent in regulating the operations of oil companies in the ND and there was a delay in recognising the need for increased funding to the states of the ND (e.g. the 13% derivation fund) based on their peculiar circumstances. I don’t believe the federal government’s ineptitude has much to do with tribalism because the government is equally inept in many other aspects of its responsibilities like supplying electricity to Kano, controlling crime in Lagos or ensuring safety in aviation. The ineptitude of Nigerian governments is not selective and cannot be seen from the angle of tribalism. Following the implementation of 13% derivation and the dramatic rise in oil price on the world market, each of the states of the ND typically get 12-16 billion monthly. The local governments in the ND earn several hundred millions to over a billion each every month. How can states that have been earning these amounts for several years now have pupils studying under trees or have run down hospitals? Surely, the money must be leaking somewhere. This is what our campaigners choose to ignore because they often receive generous patronage from state governors. They cast the ND crisis in a tribal mould in order to generate heat and divert attention. Many of the governors of the ND states in the last government had serious corruption issues, from Alamieyesigha, to Odili and Ibori. The local elders of the ND equally maintain a cosy relationship with oil companies through which they reap huge financial rewards. If this is considered along with the federal government’s ineptitude, one could understand why regulation of environmental activities of oil companies is weak and pollution is rife. Another important local factor in the ND crisis is rampant criminal activities, especially oil theft, aka bunkering. There are numerous incidences of violent clashes between criminal gangs engaged in bunkering. Their godfathers are known ‘elders’ or ‘stakeholders’. These criminal activities are disguised as emancipation struggles. Kidnappings for ransom and bank robberies are additional dimensions to these criminal activities. Recently, the leader of one of the groups campaigning in the ND gave an interview to the Daily Independent newspaper in which he admitted the role of corruption in the ND crisis. In the interview, Joseph Amberkederim, leader of the South-South Elements Progressives Union also admitted that he could be a lone voice in admitting the role of corruption. I hereby reproduce part of his statements published in the paper’s 25th June online edition: “A lot of people know my position on this issue. Let me go back a bit to 1999 to date. The amount of money that has accrued to the South-South governors in the past nine years is enough, more than enough to transform the Niger Delta. What do we have today is nothing to write home about. You would see a governor embarking on a street light project and it becomes something that would be used for campaigns which you and I know, such projects fall under the purview of the local governments, if they were working well anyway. You will hear a government go and build and commission Corpers Lodge and they will tell you that it is an achievement, it is very pathetic. If monies are being used judiciously and religiously, the monies that have come to the governors of the South-South today, we would not have the problems we are having in the Niger Delta. Do you know what one billion naira can do in a community? What are these people asking for anyway? Roads, water, electricity, school buildings and furniture for these schools. Do you know that as I speak to you now, that there are still school pupils who sit on the floor to learn? Development is a continuous process, we are not saying that everything should be done in four years. Do your beat and let people see that you have done something for the people. Try and leave a legacy behind. The corruption among the governors in the South-South is enormous, the stealing is enormous, and I have stood as a voice even I would be the lonely voice that would tell them, so be it. And let them listen to the one million people that are clapping for them. Posterity will judge them”. This frank admission of the role of corruption is really rare. The typical response given by the ND campaigners whenever the issue of corruption by their leaders is raised is that they are not the only corrupt governors, and that the rest of the country is asking them to challenge their governors in order to cause in-fighting among ND people, so they won’t do it. The main problem with this failure to confront the real issues in the ND is that a solution is not likely to be found. Constant allusion to tribal victimisation prevents the forging of a national consensus on the issue. I’m sure people from any part of Nigeria will reason quickly with the people of the ND if issues of pollution and poverty are presented to them and the correct causes are articulated. However if the campaigners introduce the subject as ‘your tribe is oppressing my people’ then the people being blamed will feel alienated and will respond with indifference or even hostility and no consensus will ever be achieved. I look forward to the day when those campaigning for the ND will articulate the real issues only, i.e. poverty, environmental pollution and general neglect occasioned largely by corruption and government ineptitude. The problems will be easier to surmount once we all agree on the causes. Giving the ND crisis an ethnic colouration will only cause a needless distraction, generate unnecessary heat in the polity and delay the resolution of the problem.
Hamaseyo Mohammed, Yola. |