Like most well-meaning Nigerians, we
are worried at the upshoot of violent activities in the Niger Delta. The
relative peace the nation has enjoyed since 2008 when the Movement for the
Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and other militant groups accepted the
amnesty offer by the late President Umaru Yar’ Adua’s government came to a
screeching halt a few months after President Muhammadu Buhari assumed power and
served notice that he would move against certain arrangements put in place by
his predecessors which had accommodated the ex-militants as stakeholders in
some economic and security activities in the area.
These included the termination of
pipeline security contracts given to some ex-militant leaders and intentions to
transfer same to the nation’s security forces. It also involved a review of the
amnesty programme towards its early wind-up, which did not go down well with
some beneficiaries, some of whom were studying in institutions abroad.
It also included the prosecution of
some individuals alleged to have been involved in some contract scams during
President Goodluck Jonathan’s regime. Some highly placed stakeholders in the
Niger Delta who were named in the alleged misdemeanours also complained about
plots by some individuals close to the Bbuhari administration to extract some
pounds of flesh from them over local quarrels.
In the past eight months or so, there has been
a proliferation of militant groups in the creeks, with the Niger Delta Avengers
(NDA) being the most prominent. These groups have been destroying the oil
infrastructure and thus crippling the capacity of Nigeria to meet her 2.4
million barrels per day OPEC quota. All the oil producing companies have
suffered setbacks and huge losses.
Nigeria has lost huge sums of money
since the resurgence of militant activity. The Monthly Financial and Operations
Report of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) indicated that in
April 2016 alone, 34 billion Naira was spent on pipeline repairs. The gas
supply to the thermal electricity generation companies (GENCO’s) has plunged,
thus worsening the power supply outlook in the country. With the gloomy
statistics breathing down on the Nigerian economy as a result of these
disruptive sabotages, the 2016 budget may fail, and efforts to revamp the
economy may miss the mark.
We call on the Federal Government to deploy
all political, diplomatic and leadership skills at its disposal to win back the
confidence of all stakeholders and end these disruptions. We also prevail on
the militants to see reason and submit themselves to efforts to bring peace to
the Niger Delta in the interest of all Nigerians. All efforts must be made to avert
a full-scale military solution to this problem. The costs to this nation cannot
be foreseen.
source:vanguard
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