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my smallvoice
by Hakeem Babalola
smallvoice@yahoo.com
*Global financial meltdown, Is Nigeria govt. in control? Read more
* They call me a prophet of doom Read More
*Nostagia for firing squad   Read More
Admiral Arogundade's civility & democracy   Read More
*Obama's Saga: A Challenge to Nigerian Americans to Build Own Nation.... Read
More
*The Scramble for African Funds...........Read More
*Open letter to Nigerian Ambassardor In Hungary..... Read More
*Let them Celebrate their October Self-Rule By Read More
*The Creation Of Appeasement Ministry  Read More
*The death of Nigerian Masses Read More
*The Influential Thieves Read More
*Heaven Awaits Nigerian Teachers, More
*Eulogy for Pa Adedibully  Read More
*No Cure for Colonial Mentality   Read More
*Tame Those False Democrats First Read More
*My Darling British Airways .........Read More
*Nigerians Are Ungrateful People..........   Read More
*Na lie, he no dey kampe                Read More
*Another Police Reckless Disregard for Lives .Read more
*Okiro’s readiness to die for Yar’Adua ..Read More
*Sacking Yar'Adua, Over Obasanjo's Dead Body   Read More

*Article previously published on African Examiner
other articles from Hakeem Babalola
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When citizens could no more stomach their government's insensitivity, dishonesty,
brutality, massive looting and inefficiency; and then took up arms in order to sing
emancipation, what should we call them? Criminals? Crusaders? Or both? And should
the govt - legal or illegal - folds it arms in discharging its primary duty of protecting lives
and properties? The Niger-Delta "war" is an intricate and confusing political situation.

Niger-Delta War: For Oil Or Freedom?
Hakeem Babalola
I quite understand that no government will ever tolerate any deliberate act of destruction
or disruption in which lives and properties are being damaged. The primary duty of any
government is to protect its citizens and their properties. And any government unable to
perform this mathematical function must be rejected with contempt. A government that
folds its arms when some people declare warfare against the state will only find itself to
blame. In fact, law abiding citizens should freeze off such government. Well, it is
another story if Nigerians find this an impossible task. A good government should not
take decision for popularity sake, or do things right instead of doing the right things.  

But the matter becomes ticklish when the government in question is illegal, or even
felonious. Or what would you call a government whose motto reads: Do or Die Affairs?
Or what do you call a government that deprives its citizens the right to choose their
choice? Or what do you call a government that takes a little surreptitious pleasure in its
citizens' intense unhappiness. The misery and wretchedness of this thought is
intolerable and must be rejected. It is even bedevilled if a tyrannical government in its
manipulation efforts portrays the participants or fighters as a gang of thugs. Who is the
crook? Is it the thief or the owner who is struggling to recover her stolen property?

I am talking about the Nigerian government's irascible response by declaring war in the
Niger-Delta, where the Joint Task force in its bid to wipe-out the "militants" has bombed
many places in the creeks of Delta State. According to the Guardian, there have been
civilian casualties. Women, children, the elderly, and members of the National youth
service Corps have been displaced from Oporoza, Gbamaratu, Okerenkoko, and other
riverine communities. Is this government showing mighty power because of the oil or
because of its primary duty to protect?

Yar'Adua and his advisers must be deceiving themselves if they actually believe they
are using state apparatus to destroy criminals in the Delta troubled region. No sir,
because the issue at stake is much more than mere rhetoric. It is much more than
deceit which has been our rulers' hallmark all along. The government of Alhaji Umaru
Yar'Adua can call the Niger Deltan fighters a bunch of criminals or whatever, but the
most important is the fact that these lads have the support of majority of Nigerians -
with the exception of kidnapping and raping. And this is a warning to the present regime
that Nigerians are sad and angry with the way things are going in their country. Many
Nigerians have even gone to the extent of calling the Nigerian government a bunch of
criminals.

Any government that uses the instrument of state to oppress its citizens will soon find
its Waterloo. However, it appears there's a certain place where instead of meeting its
final crushing defeat, such government is waxing stronger in its bids to conquer its
citizens. Of course, there are many things responsible for this, including the oppressed
who is satisfied with the remnants being fed. For a recent example, fresh facts have
emerged that the nude protesters during the Ekiti Governorship rerun fiasco were
alleged to have been paid ₦2,000 each, an equivalent of $20 to stage their protest,
according to pointblanknews.com. In an environment where citizens allow themselves to
be used for political thuggery, it would be near impossible to defeat such government.

When citizens could no more stomach their government's insensitivity, dishonesty,
brutality, massive looting and inefficiency; and then took up arms in order to sing
emancipation, what should we call them? Criminals? Crusaders? Or both? And should
the govt - legal or illegal - folds it arms in discharging its primary duty of protecting lives
and properties? The Niger-Delta "war" is an intricate and confusing political situation. It
seems a simple question but I doubt it. Niger Deltans, like other Nigerians, are
undergoing a tough time. They are suffering and they are suffering. They have adequate
water in their background but the government prefers to dry their well. Hum, the owner of
the well is thirsty while the thieves have enough water to swim in. This is a case of
abracadabra if you ask me.

We all know that the task before any government is always delicate and enormous and
that a good government will deliberate and deliberate before going to war against its own
citizens. If a government should take a drastic action to the extent of wasting the lives
of its citizens as we are seeing in the Delta region, such government must be sure of its
position in this regard. It must be the last resort and it must be done in good faith. This
is probably why death penalty is still legal in some so-called developed countries. The
punishment must meet the crime. But when a government decides to kill its citizens
just to show an impellent power, such government is only building public support and
sympathy for the victims. And we are all victims of a government which seems to be
deriving pleasure from inflicting pain on its citizens. A good government must know the
right time to kill and bury its citizens.

Moving on, a government that does not know that certain people will always take up
arms in a gallant effort to liberate themselves is not fit to remain in such sensitive and
important position for a minute. It is equally dangerous if a government does not know
that certain people may use the opportunity to advance their own innate ambition. The
duty of a good government though it may be difficult, is to be wise enough to distinguish
between the genuine freedom fighters and the fake freedom fighters. Any attempt to
lump them together will backfire. In fact, a discerning mind definitely knows that it is
possible for a government to cause further trouble by indirectly sponsoring the fake
freedom fighters in order to defeat the purpose of the initial struggle which is liberation.

Even a wrong thinking mind would like to know why the citizens, especially those in the
core areas where the nation derives much of its "wealth" cannot boast of basic
amenities like water, electricity, medical care etc? Both the federal, state and local
governments should once and for all tell us why people must remain thirsty in the midst
of abundant water? Does this make any sense at all? Does it occur to these
governments that the non-availability of basic amenities is enough to spark revolt - as
we are witnessing in the Niger Delta? And do these governments really care as long as
the ember of fire does not consume their mansions? What exactly is wrong with
Yar'Adua and co?

It is true that kidnapping and raping have been going on in the Niger Delta and that most
of these atrocities have been linked to the "militants", but as I said it is the duty of a
good government to seek the truth and act accordingly instead of the indiscriminate
bombing of towns and villages. The ultimate solution does not lie in deceiving the public
in order to gain support for the total destruction of the "militants". A good government
should understand that the spirit of fighting against injustice, or to free oneself from
brutal oppression can never be defeated; it is unstoppable when people decide to vote
for emancipation. It may take time but such spirit has never been crushed. Even the
spirit of Biafra is much alive.

It is even shameful for a government not to know how to appease genuine freedom
fighters. However, it is not surprising that Yar'Adua's led government is more concerned
about politics of oil than that of human welfare. Those before him did the same thing.
Any attempt by Yar'Adua to put the blame on foreign nationals saying, "the conflict in
the troubled Niger Delta is fuelled by the collaboration of foreign nationals with militant
elements in the area", is hogwash as far as I am concerned. A serious government
should never allow that to happen before putting its house in order!

I am of the opinion that a government that politicizes important issues like that of the
Niger-Delta is murdering injustice and shall have no peace. Subsequent governments
have promised and promised to find solution to the crisis in this oil region only to
renege. Such unfulfilled promises make one wonders if the Nigerian governments do
actually gain from the conflict in the troubled Niger Delta. Is the government laughing
now that the country is losing 150,000 barrels of crude per day as a result of the conflict
in the region? Yar'Adua and his wo/men must pause and think. They must ask
themselves if brutal killing of citizens ever solved or killed the spirit of any genuine
freedom fighters? The bottom line is this: No Nigerian government has ever cared about
its citizens. And by the time everything is settled, nothing would have been settled

Meanwhile, it should be noted that the struggle for freedom, fairness and injustice by
the Niger-Deltans began a long time ago, even before the civil war that could have paved
way for the Republic of Biafra. For the fact that injustice continues 43 years after the
civil war indicates that no Nigerian government - legal or illegal - is interested in finding
permanent solution to the crisis. In 1966, a young Ijaw man named Isaac Adaka Jasper
Boro began what seems to be a struggle for liberation when he declared the first
Republic within Nigeria called the Niger Delta Republic. His revolutionize mind had seen
beyond the surface; the young man had rightly predicted today's Nigeria, where one
man can steal a horse while another must not look at its halter. The Ijaw hero fought for
the cause he believed in even though it was brief, for he later fought on the side of the
federal troops against the Biafran soldiers. This, I suppose is the scale by which every
Nigerian government measures the seriousness of the Niger-Delta struggle. Perhaps
they think the so-called crusade is about chop make I chop. It's up to MEND to affirm
its initial vow.

Hum, the name is instructive: the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta
(MEND). For such struggle to have a meaningful end however, they must endeavour to
fight the enemy within. They must not allow traitors or spies to divert the course of what
they believe in. They must deal with the criminals among them otherwise the struggle
will be in vain. They must not give the kidnappers, rapists, blackmailers etc any chance
to hijack their genuine intentions. More importantly, Niger-Deltan genuine freedom
fighters must always remember the words of their hero who highlighted the honourable
path to follow more than four decades ago. His words were succinct enough to guide
any genuine freedom fighters in their crusade.  

"Today is a great day, not only in your lives, but also in the history of the Niger Delta.
Perhaps it will be the greatest day for a very long time. This is not because we are
going to bring heaven down, but because we are going to demonstrate to the world what
and how we feel about oppression. Before today, we were branded robbers, bandits,
terrorists or gangsters but after today, we shall be heroes of our land. For this reason,
and for the good name of the Ijaws, do not commit atrocities such as rape, looting or
robbery. Whatever people say, we must maintain our integrity. Moreover, you know it is
against Ijaw tradition to mess about with women during war. You have been purified
these many days. Be assured that if you do not get yourselves defiled within the period
of battle, you shall return home safe even if we fail".

Oh Jesus of Nazareth, Oh Prophet Mohammed of Mecca, Oh Ifa Olokun asoro dayo of
Ile-Ife! It would be cool if the criminals in both camps can be fished out and killed. This
is because there are fake militants as well as fake government representatives, and I
believe these are the twin crooks fuelling the ember of fire in the Niger-Delta region. You
should ask yourself the main wo/man who is supplying arms and ammunition to these
fake militants. Is it you? Well, who is going to fish them out when, as it seems, the
head of the Nigerian government enjoys seeing the civilian homes being destroyed by
his submarines. Do you think a good government should kill its erring citizens in order
to rule? Your honest answer will reveal your stand regarding the giant of Africa

Copyright 2009
mysmallvoice@yahoo.com
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