| Home | Sports | Interview | Politics | Business | Letters | Social | Photo | Archives | Polls | Adverts | Entertainment | Contact us | About us |
We need to flush out corrupt political leaders in Niger-Delta
-Comrade Ofehe
| African Examiner | Posted: Jan. 13, 2011
-Comrade Ofehe
| African Examiner | Posted: Jan. 13, 2011
| Please use the form below to send in your comment about this story. Make it clean. Our Editors will remove all vulgar and abusive languages (Note: valid e-mail is required but will not be published) |
__________________________________________________________________________
| Top Stories |
| Copyrights © 2007 All Rights Reserved African Examiner Online is owned by RD Frontline LLC, a state of Maryland registered company P. O. Box 11582 Baltimore, MD, 21229, USA Tel: 443-904-1239 |
| Home | Sports | Interview | Politics | Business | Letters | Social | Photo | Archives | Polls | Adverts | Entertainment | Contact us | About us |
| Online media |
+THE GUARDIAN
+THE STAR
+THE PUNCH
+NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
+TIMES OF ZAMBIA
+THE SUN
+DAILY GRAPHICS
+THISDAY
+MAIL & GUARDIAN
+VANGUARD
+D/INDEPENDENT
+234next
+The nation
+Daily trust
+Ghana Times
+PM News
+THE STAR
+THE PUNCH
+NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
+TIMES OF ZAMBIA
+THE SUN
+DAILY GRAPHICS
+THISDAY
+MAIL & GUARDIAN
+VANGUARD
+D/INDEPENDENT
+234next
+The nation
+Daily trust
+Ghana Times
+PM News
| Newspapers |
__________________________________________________________________________
Comrade Sunny Oghale Ofehe is a Nigerian born social crusader living in The
Netherlands.
In wake of the Military clampdown on Pro-democracy activists who were
protesting the annulment of the election, and the execution of a renowned
author, playwright and a Human Rights activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and others
popularly known as the Ogoni Nine(9), Comrade Ofehe fled Nigeria for the
Netherlands where he sought political asylum on the 26th November 1999.
In 2005, Comrade Ofehe founded a non-governmental Organization, Hope for
the Niger Delta Campaigns (HNDC) in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
HNDC’s objective is to set a new paradigm for restoration of Hope and the
establishment of a peaceful Niger Delta safe for the host communities, multi-
nationals, the International Community and other stakeholders.
In this interview Comrade Ofehe speaks passionately about the problem of the
Niger Delta and the activities of his group, Hope for the Niger Delta.
Excerpts:
When and how did you come about with the formation of this
organization, Hope for Niger Delta Campaign?
I arrived The Netherlands precisely the 27th of November 1995, and after living
in the country for many years and finding out that despite Shell International
being headquartered in The Hague, The Netherlands, many of the people
including the press didn’t know much about what was happening in the Niger
Delta with respect to the environmental impact as a result of Shell Nigeria oil
operations in the Niger Delta region.
As an activist from the Niger Delta who has experienced the environmental
impact and human rights abuses resulting from oil operations in the region,
which have only benefited the Nigeria government and the oil giants with untold
hardship on the people whose environment has been greatly damaged, I felt the
need to initiate a campaign to raise much awareness on the untold sufferings of
the Niger Delta people in The Netherlands.
It would be recalled that after the 2003 elections in which greedy politicians
freely spread weapons among youths to violently win the flawed elections, it was
clear that the Niger Delta was heading towards another violent phase. This
further reinvigorated my resolve to begin a campaign within The Netherlands. I
needed an official platform to carry out this campaign and decided that setting
up a nongovernmental organization will help lend the voice that the region
needs internationally.
Hope for Niger Delta Campaign (HNDC) was eventually founded in 2005 in
Rotterdam. The organization has since then grown from strength to strength with
much awareness already raised. We are not relenting as much effort is being
made to expand the campaign to other European countries through much
participation in the EU activities.
As a Nigerian in the Netherlands, what was the perception and
impression of the Dutch about you and the organization in the early
stage and now?
At the beginning, as a Nigerian trying to spearhead this daunting task was not
easy. I had to fight many stigmatized factors. The only story that gets air
attention in The Netherlands has always been how Nigerians are involved in the
scam business (419) and banks related frauds. Nigerians have been profiled to
be dubious and criminal.
These factors affected the early stages of my campaign as many people saw it
as being backed by fraudulent intensions. When you attended meetings, you
were confronted with the issue of trust and most readily prepared to be turned
down. Whenever you raised any initiative, your background is quickly checked
and when it’s known that you are a Nigerian, you are quietly alienated.
I was determined to prove that in as much as I will agree that few Nigerians are
involved in vices inimical to the image of our country, there are still many
descent and hardworking Nigerians scattered all over the world. I never allowed
the stigma to weigh me down and kept believing in the cause. I felt a sense of
God’s hand in the cause, because I was surprised at how all the obstacles were
being outmanoeuvred.
I have always grown up knowing that no success is achieved without first
overcoming the challenges and in this case the challenges were fighting the
stigma of being a Nigerian. My determination paid off after I was scrutinised by
many and they all found out that my agitations were genuine and devoid of any
unscrupulous and dubious tendencies.
Today, I feel very satisfied looking back at those horrible beginnings and also
using my campaign to prove to Nigerians that your genuine actions can most
times help to improve the already battered international image of our great
country Nigeria. Today, I see myself as not only fighting the Niger Delta cause in
the most nonviolent and peaceful way but also helping to raise the standard of
how Nigerians are being looked upon outside Africa.
The struggle for resource control has been on for a very long time now,
do you believe it can be realized?
I am a strong supporter of resource control but with a very simple condition that
the leadership of the Niger Delta region must first free themselves off the hands
of our current corrupt political leaders. The biggest corruption in the Nigeria
polity today is taking place in the Niger Delta!
We must realise that apart from the statutory federal allocation to all Nigerian
States, the Niger Delta also receive 13% derivation from profit made in crude oil
extraction. Can we now say that the Niger Delta States have seen more
development since they started receiving this increase in federal allocations?
The answer is capital NO! Where is the money and what has been done so far?
The budget of River State alone is higher than that of many African countries. Is
there anything in River State that you can see today that equates what they get
from the Federal government? What about Bayelsa and even my own Delta
State?
Is there any political leader today in any of the Niger Delta States that can stand
out with transparent honesty and say he is corrupt free? When names like the
Odilis, Iboris, Igbinedions, Alamaseighas and other past Ministerial nominees
from the Niger Delta are mentioned, what readily comes to people’s mind is
corruption and greed.
I have been told by many people that we need an increase in derivation from the
current 13% to a minimum of 25%. I am a proponent of this increase only on the
basis of proper utilisation of the current 13% otherwise we will be fighting an
increase that will only swell the pockets of the few current oligarchs.
We can only achieve and win the battle for resource control if we can prove to
other parts of the country that we are ready for zero tolerance when it comes to
corruption. Its election period now and I hope we can vote for the right
candidates who will have the ordinary people in mind and rule with the fear of
God knowing that service to the people is service to God. Until then, the call for
resource control should not be our ultimate goal for now. The people of the
Niger Delta are not ready yet until we flush ourselves of the greedy political
leaders that we now have.
The coming of oil companies to the Niger Delta region has undoubtedly
affected the lives of the people in that region negatively. Their farm
lands and water have been destroyed as a result of oil spillages. To you,
what is the way out of this inhuman treatment?
It is simple, first the oil multinational companies must realize that people exist
where they extract oil and as such must conform to internationally accepted
standards of operation. It is sad to see oil pipelines that dates back to early 60s
and 70s still crisscrossing the Niger Delta and most are running above ground.
This is against internationally set standards and must be rejected.
These oil majors cannot dare this same practice in their home countries
otherwise their operating licenses will be withdrawn and contracts revoked.
These are the major causes of oil spillages but the role of sabotage cannot be
denied also. The companies’ responses to spills from oil leakages and sabotage
must be swift and prompt to avoid devastating environmental consequences.
It is a known fact that the oil companies complain of violent youths preventing
them from getting access to such sites to carry out remediation. This is always
the excuse when such locations are not of huge commercial benefits but when it
affects a major money spinning pipelines, they know how to get there with the
escort of military (JTF) backed security teams.
The Nigerian government is also bearing much of the blames as most of their
environmental impact assessment agencies are failing in their duties to report
and punish companies when they fail to exercise their duties of remediation.
In summary, old pipes must be replaced and buried underground. The
government must carry out a proper oversight using their agencies. The
communities must have greater involvement in the oil sector by having
employments which will create a sense of involvement. When the youths in oil
bearing communities have direct or indirect participation, it will reduce the risk of
pipelines sabotage.
Gas flaring is one of the greatest problems in the Niger Delta region.
What is the remedy to this wastage?
Millions of dollars are wasted every year by the oil companies from the burning
of associated gasses in the Niger Delta. The oil companies prefer to burn this
gasses because it is cheaper and economical for them. In Western countries,
these are often used as domestic gasses supplied to homes.
This flaring and venting processes produces more greenhouse gas emission
than any other single source in sub Saharan Africa. This flaring of poisonous
gasses is responsible for the chronic health and environmental problems
affecting the people of the Niger Delta region.
There has been a ban on gas flare in Nigeria since the early 1980s but the oil
companies have consistently shifted the end date since then and the
government have lacked the political will to enforce this ban.
During my recent visit to the Niger Delta with a Dutch Member of Parliament, I
was told by her that Shell took her to a project that is aimed at reducing gas
flaring by as much as 70% in the coming years. I cannot comment on this
because Shell refused my presence in that visit for reasons that are still not very
convincing.
The current Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project is a good solution. The wasted
gasses can be channelled into production of energy which the country currently
lacks. What about helping the communities and urban areas with domestic gas
burners and sending part of it for domestic cooking use?
For the sake of the health consequence of gas flaring, it must end now! I visited
Oben Community with the Dutch MP and I remember how she felt coming close
to the heat from the flare. She asked, how long has this been flaring like this?
The Youth leader of the Community answered, “since 1972,”and she was
shocked. The people of the community have lived with that flare for 38 years!
Must we trade the health of our people for oil profit? Those who are even
benefitting from the oil don’t even live anywhere close to feel the environmental
impact and health consequences. Who is playing God here?
Who should be held responsible for the unending crises in that region,
is it the government, oil multinational companies or the traditional
rulers?
I always say that the blames and responsibility are tripod; the Nigerian
government, the oil multinational companies and the local leaders under which
the traditional rulers fall.
The Oil companies cannot continue to mess the environment without the support
of the Nigerian government. Remember, they are in a Joint Venture agreement
and the oil companies are the operators of this joint venture. When the oil
companies continue to operate at their whims and caprices and the government
lacks the political will to regulate and enforce the basic tenets that guides their
operations, it then means they are Siamese twins collaborating to milk the
environment at the expense of the health and livelihood of the people.
The local leaders have been torn apart by greed and corruption. The oil
companies practice of divide and rule which tends to divide community leaders
have also heightened the crisis in the region. This has been responsible for
clashes among separated communities.
Honesty and transparency amongst these three tiers will help alleviate the
causes of the crisis and becomes the home run for a sustainable peace in the
region.
Do you see the Federal Governments Amnesty programme as a genuine
one?
The intensions of the Late President Yar’Adua were clear. He was honestly
committed to resolving the problems of the region with his Amnesty programme
but I think he had around him people who were out to use the process to
achieve their greedy political goals.
When you look at how the budget for the Amnesty program was arranged, you
will see that most of the funds were geared towards their own benefits and very
little was left for the implementation of the programme.
The process seems to be disguised success at the moment because certain
people are receiving money to abstain from practices inimical to its success. The
moment the flow of this money stops, we will see escalation of violence again.
Look at what happened in the case of John Togo, he got dissatisfied with the
process and went back to the creeks and we have all seen what the results have
been.
I think with the exit of Timi Alaibe the body should be re-organised. Fresh blood
should be injected and they should be monitored by international crisis monitory
experts preferably the UN or EU. Much emphasis should be placed on the re-
integration phase and community development programmes, and youth
empowerment structure should be implemented. When this is done, the public
confidence can now grow and the programme will begin to yield dividends.
Some people from the region have argued that they do not need
Amnesty because they did not do anything wrong but only agitating for
their rights in the struggle. What is your take on this argument?
If there is one man I have respects for, it’s Alhaji Mujahid Asari Dokubo. We
might differ in our opinions on how we see the Niger Delta problems but I see
him as a man who has passion for the region. He is one person that spoke
openly against the programme and refused to take part backing his argument
with your question.
I think the issue of crime before amnesty shouldn’t arise at all. We understand
that in the process of their militancy they ran against the law and ordinarily
would have been charged for some offences. The idea behind the amnesty is to
sound a wakeup call and say listen, whatever you may have done wrong is
forgiven. Come out clean and let’s find a way to resolve the differences.
The process gave them the chance to be “born again” and come out without
facing any prosecution. I support the amnesty programme but very much against
how it’s been managed. The programme still has the chance of recording
success.
We must not forget that the Niger Delta Technical Committee Reports headed
by Mr. Ledum Mitee still holds the key to the overall success of any programme.
This is because it encompasses all the nitty gritty of the region and of which the
amnesty programme is just one of the many recommendations.
As somebody from this region, how do you feel when you see these
things happening to your people as the major producers of the nation’s
wealth?
I feel deeply saddened and more so very depressing when I see how oil
extraction is taking place here in The Netherlands where I live. I will echo the
voice of Hillary Clinton again when she said she cannot understand why a
country like Nigeria which is one of the largest producer of crude oil still import
crude products from outside its country.
We live in penury and yet we are considered an oil giant. The country has
enjoyed oil boom for many years and yet we still live under $1 dollar per day
which is World Bank definition of poverty. After more than 5 decades of over
reliance on oil revenue we must have a paradigm shift from the status quo and
begin to set our country in line with the emerging economical giants like China
and India.
The government of Nigeria must begin to look in the direction of other naturally
endowed resources for income generation. This is vital now in the time when the
world powers are looking at alternative source of energy dependence.
We must learn from Malaysia who once relied on timber importation from Nigeria
and today are the largest producers and suppliers of timber to the world.
Whatever runs must one day dry up. I still believe that we have the chance for a
better Nigeria and it is that believe that is motivating me to do my bit as a
Diaspora who has not forgotten his home country.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Netherlands.
In wake of the Military clampdown on Pro-democracy activists who were
protesting the annulment of the election, and the execution of a renowned
author, playwright and a Human Rights activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and others
popularly known as the Ogoni Nine(9), Comrade Ofehe fled Nigeria for the
Netherlands where he sought political asylum on the 26th November 1999.
In 2005, Comrade Ofehe founded a non-governmental Organization, Hope for
the Niger Delta Campaigns (HNDC) in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
HNDC’s objective is to set a new paradigm for restoration of Hope and the
establishment of a peaceful Niger Delta safe for the host communities, multi-
nationals, the International Community and other stakeholders.
In this interview Comrade Ofehe speaks passionately about the problem of the
Niger Delta and the activities of his group, Hope for the Niger Delta.
Excerpts:
When and how did you come about with the formation of this
organization, Hope for Niger Delta Campaign?
I arrived The Netherlands precisely the 27th of November 1995, and after living
in the country for many years and finding out that despite Shell International
being headquartered in The Hague, The Netherlands, many of the people
including the press didn’t know much about what was happening in the Niger
Delta with respect to the environmental impact as a result of Shell Nigeria oil
operations in the Niger Delta region.
As an activist from the Niger Delta who has experienced the environmental
impact and human rights abuses resulting from oil operations in the region,
which have only benefited the Nigeria government and the oil giants with untold
hardship on the people whose environment has been greatly damaged, I felt the
need to initiate a campaign to raise much awareness on the untold sufferings of
the Niger Delta people in The Netherlands.
It would be recalled that after the 2003 elections in which greedy politicians
freely spread weapons among youths to violently win the flawed elections, it was
clear that the Niger Delta was heading towards another violent phase. This
further reinvigorated my resolve to begin a campaign within The Netherlands. I
needed an official platform to carry out this campaign and decided that setting
up a nongovernmental organization will help lend the voice that the region
needs internationally.
Hope for Niger Delta Campaign (HNDC) was eventually founded in 2005 in
Rotterdam. The organization has since then grown from strength to strength with
much awareness already raised. We are not relenting as much effort is being
made to expand the campaign to other European countries through much
participation in the EU activities.
As a Nigerian in the Netherlands, what was the perception and
impression of the Dutch about you and the organization in the early
stage and now?
At the beginning, as a Nigerian trying to spearhead this daunting task was not
easy. I had to fight many stigmatized factors. The only story that gets air
attention in The Netherlands has always been how Nigerians are involved in the
scam business (419) and banks related frauds. Nigerians have been profiled to
be dubious and criminal.
These factors affected the early stages of my campaign as many people saw it
as being backed by fraudulent intensions. When you attended meetings, you
were confronted with the issue of trust and most readily prepared to be turned
down. Whenever you raised any initiative, your background is quickly checked
and when it’s known that you are a Nigerian, you are quietly alienated.
I was determined to prove that in as much as I will agree that few Nigerians are
involved in vices inimical to the image of our country, there are still many
descent and hardworking Nigerians scattered all over the world. I never allowed
the stigma to weigh me down and kept believing in the cause. I felt a sense of
God’s hand in the cause, because I was surprised at how all the obstacles were
being outmanoeuvred.
I have always grown up knowing that no success is achieved without first
overcoming the challenges and in this case the challenges were fighting the
stigma of being a Nigerian. My determination paid off after I was scrutinised by
many and they all found out that my agitations were genuine and devoid of any
unscrupulous and dubious tendencies.
Today, I feel very satisfied looking back at those horrible beginnings and also
using my campaign to prove to Nigerians that your genuine actions can most
times help to improve the already battered international image of our great
country Nigeria. Today, I see myself as not only fighting the Niger Delta cause in
the most nonviolent and peaceful way but also helping to raise the standard of
how Nigerians are being looked upon outside Africa.
The struggle for resource control has been on for a very long time now,
do you believe it can be realized?
I am a strong supporter of resource control but with a very simple condition that
the leadership of the Niger Delta region must first free themselves off the hands
of our current corrupt political leaders. The biggest corruption in the Nigeria
polity today is taking place in the Niger Delta!
We must realise that apart from the statutory federal allocation to all Nigerian
States, the Niger Delta also receive 13% derivation from profit made in crude oil
extraction. Can we now say that the Niger Delta States have seen more
development since they started receiving this increase in federal allocations?
The answer is capital NO! Where is the money and what has been done so far?
The budget of River State alone is higher than that of many African countries. Is
there anything in River State that you can see today that equates what they get
from the Federal government? What about Bayelsa and even my own Delta
State?
Is there any political leader today in any of the Niger Delta States that can stand
out with transparent honesty and say he is corrupt free? When names like the
Odilis, Iboris, Igbinedions, Alamaseighas and other past Ministerial nominees
from the Niger Delta are mentioned, what readily comes to people’s mind is
corruption and greed.
I have been told by many people that we need an increase in derivation from the
current 13% to a minimum of 25%. I am a proponent of this increase only on the
basis of proper utilisation of the current 13% otherwise we will be fighting an
increase that will only swell the pockets of the few current oligarchs.
We can only achieve and win the battle for resource control if we can prove to
other parts of the country that we are ready for zero tolerance when it comes to
corruption. Its election period now and I hope we can vote for the right
candidates who will have the ordinary people in mind and rule with the fear of
God knowing that service to the people is service to God. Until then, the call for
resource control should not be our ultimate goal for now. The people of the
Niger Delta are not ready yet until we flush ourselves of the greedy political
leaders that we now have.
The coming of oil companies to the Niger Delta region has undoubtedly
affected the lives of the people in that region negatively. Their farm
lands and water have been destroyed as a result of oil spillages. To you,
what is the way out of this inhuman treatment?
It is simple, first the oil multinational companies must realize that people exist
where they extract oil and as such must conform to internationally accepted
standards of operation. It is sad to see oil pipelines that dates back to early 60s
and 70s still crisscrossing the Niger Delta and most are running above ground.
This is against internationally set standards and must be rejected.
These oil majors cannot dare this same practice in their home countries
otherwise their operating licenses will be withdrawn and contracts revoked.
These are the major causes of oil spillages but the role of sabotage cannot be
denied also. The companies’ responses to spills from oil leakages and sabotage
must be swift and prompt to avoid devastating environmental consequences.
It is a known fact that the oil companies complain of violent youths preventing
them from getting access to such sites to carry out remediation. This is always
the excuse when such locations are not of huge commercial benefits but when it
affects a major money spinning pipelines, they know how to get there with the
escort of military (JTF) backed security teams.
The Nigerian government is also bearing much of the blames as most of their
environmental impact assessment agencies are failing in their duties to report
and punish companies when they fail to exercise their duties of remediation.
In summary, old pipes must be replaced and buried underground. The
government must carry out a proper oversight using their agencies. The
communities must have greater involvement in the oil sector by having
employments which will create a sense of involvement. When the youths in oil
bearing communities have direct or indirect participation, it will reduce the risk of
pipelines sabotage.
Gas flaring is one of the greatest problems in the Niger Delta region.
What is the remedy to this wastage?
Millions of dollars are wasted every year by the oil companies from the burning
of associated gasses in the Niger Delta. The oil companies prefer to burn this
gasses because it is cheaper and economical for them. In Western countries,
these are often used as domestic gasses supplied to homes.
This flaring and venting processes produces more greenhouse gas emission
than any other single source in sub Saharan Africa. This flaring of poisonous
gasses is responsible for the chronic health and environmental problems
affecting the people of the Niger Delta region.
There has been a ban on gas flare in Nigeria since the early 1980s but the oil
companies have consistently shifted the end date since then and the
government have lacked the political will to enforce this ban.
During my recent visit to the Niger Delta with a Dutch Member of Parliament, I
was told by her that Shell took her to a project that is aimed at reducing gas
flaring by as much as 70% in the coming years. I cannot comment on this
because Shell refused my presence in that visit for reasons that are still not very
convincing.
The current Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project is a good solution. The wasted
gasses can be channelled into production of energy which the country currently
lacks. What about helping the communities and urban areas with domestic gas
burners and sending part of it for domestic cooking use?
For the sake of the health consequence of gas flaring, it must end now! I visited
Oben Community with the Dutch MP and I remember how she felt coming close
to the heat from the flare. She asked, how long has this been flaring like this?
The Youth leader of the Community answered, “since 1972,”and she was
shocked. The people of the community have lived with that flare for 38 years!
Must we trade the health of our people for oil profit? Those who are even
benefitting from the oil don’t even live anywhere close to feel the environmental
impact and health consequences. Who is playing God here?
Who should be held responsible for the unending crises in that region,
is it the government, oil multinational companies or the traditional
rulers?
I always say that the blames and responsibility are tripod; the Nigerian
government, the oil multinational companies and the local leaders under which
the traditional rulers fall.
The Oil companies cannot continue to mess the environment without the support
of the Nigerian government. Remember, they are in a Joint Venture agreement
and the oil companies are the operators of this joint venture. When the oil
companies continue to operate at their whims and caprices and the government
lacks the political will to regulate and enforce the basic tenets that guides their
operations, it then means they are Siamese twins collaborating to milk the
environment at the expense of the health and livelihood of the people.
The local leaders have been torn apart by greed and corruption. The oil
companies practice of divide and rule which tends to divide community leaders
have also heightened the crisis in the region. This has been responsible for
clashes among separated communities.
Honesty and transparency amongst these three tiers will help alleviate the
causes of the crisis and becomes the home run for a sustainable peace in the
region.
Do you see the Federal Governments Amnesty programme as a genuine
one?
The intensions of the Late President Yar’Adua were clear. He was honestly
committed to resolving the problems of the region with his Amnesty programme
but I think he had around him people who were out to use the process to
achieve their greedy political goals.
When you look at how the budget for the Amnesty program was arranged, you
will see that most of the funds were geared towards their own benefits and very
little was left for the implementation of the programme.
The process seems to be disguised success at the moment because certain
people are receiving money to abstain from practices inimical to its success. The
moment the flow of this money stops, we will see escalation of violence again.
Look at what happened in the case of John Togo, he got dissatisfied with the
process and went back to the creeks and we have all seen what the results have
been.
I think with the exit of Timi Alaibe the body should be re-organised. Fresh blood
should be injected and they should be monitored by international crisis monitory
experts preferably the UN or EU. Much emphasis should be placed on the re-
integration phase and community development programmes, and youth
empowerment structure should be implemented. When this is done, the public
confidence can now grow and the programme will begin to yield dividends.
Some people from the region have argued that they do not need
Amnesty because they did not do anything wrong but only agitating for
their rights in the struggle. What is your take on this argument?
If there is one man I have respects for, it’s Alhaji Mujahid Asari Dokubo. We
might differ in our opinions on how we see the Niger Delta problems but I see
him as a man who has passion for the region. He is one person that spoke
openly against the programme and refused to take part backing his argument
with your question.
I think the issue of crime before amnesty shouldn’t arise at all. We understand
that in the process of their militancy they ran against the law and ordinarily
would have been charged for some offences. The idea behind the amnesty is to
sound a wakeup call and say listen, whatever you may have done wrong is
forgiven. Come out clean and let’s find a way to resolve the differences.
The process gave them the chance to be “born again” and come out without
facing any prosecution. I support the amnesty programme but very much against
how it’s been managed. The programme still has the chance of recording
success.
We must not forget that the Niger Delta Technical Committee Reports headed
by Mr. Ledum Mitee still holds the key to the overall success of any programme.
This is because it encompasses all the nitty gritty of the region and of which the
amnesty programme is just one of the many recommendations.
As somebody from this region, how do you feel when you see these
things happening to your people as the major producers of the nation’s
wealth?
I feel deeply saddened and more so very depressing when I see how oil
extraction is taking place here in The Netherlands where I live. I will echo the
voice of Hillary Clinton again when she said she cannot understand why a
country like Nigeria which is one of the largest producer of crude oil still import
crude products from outside its country.
We live in penury and yet we are considered an oil giant. The country has
enjoyed oil boom for many years and yet we still live under $1 dollar per day
which is World Bank definition of poverty. After more than 5 decades of over
reliance on oil revenue we must have a paradigm shift from the status quo and
begin to set our country in line with the emerging economical giants like China
and India.
The government of Nigeria must begin to look in the direction of other naturally
endowed resources for income generation. This is vital now in the time when the
world powers are looking at alternative source of energy dependence.
We must learn from Malaysia who once relied on timber importation from Nigeria
and today are the largest producers and suppliers of timber to the world.
Whatever runs must one day dry up. I still believe that we have the chance for a
better Nigeria and it is that believe that is motivating me to do my bit as a
Diaspora who has not forgotten his home country.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
| Evil Genius! |
__________________________________________________________________________
Comrade Sunny Ofehe, Founder, Hope for the Niger Delta Campaigns (HNDC)
Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Rotterdam, Netherlands.
ANPP demands
investigation of N3
billion Donated To
Jonathan by six govs
By CHUKS EHIRIM |
African Examiner | Posted:
Jan. 07, 2011
investigation of N3
billion Donated To
Jonathan by six govs
By CHUKS EHIRIM |
African Examiner | Posted:
Jan. 07, 2011
Uduaghan wins
Delta rerun, as
Ogboru rejects
results
African Examiner |
Posted: Jan. 07, 2011
Delta rerun, as
Ogboru rejects
results
African Examiner |
Posted: Jan. 07, 2011
Newly elected
Uduaghan wins PDP
Governorship
primary in Delta
Femi Kehinde | African
Examiner | Posted:
Jan. 12, 2011
Uduaghan wins PDP
Governorship
primary in Delta
Femi Kehinde | African
Examiner | Posted:
Jan. 12, 2011
I'm not quitting PDP –
Reps spokesman
Akanimo Sampson, Port
Harcourt | African
Examiner Posted: Jan. 12,
2011
Reps spokesman
Akanimo Sampson, Port
Harcourt | African
Examiner Posted: Jan. 12,
2011
PDP screening
committee grills
Jonathan, Atiku,
Jubril
Femi Kehinde | African
Examiner | Posted:
Jan. 12, 2011
committee grills
Jonathan, Atiku,
Jubril
Femi Kehinde | African
Examiner | Posted:
Jan. 12, 2011
Agunloye dumps LP
for ACN in Ondo
Femi Kehinde | African
Examiner Posted: Jan.
12, 2011
for ACN in Ondo
Femi Kehinde | African
Examiner Posted: Jan.
12, 2011
