The tension and uncertainty in the Niger Delta caused
by recent violent attacks against oil installations and facilities in the area
by resurgent militancy has created doubts about the diplomacy and peace-making
ability of President Muhammadu Buhari. In the minds of some people mostly
detractors of the President and even ordinary Nigerians whose views are coloured
by the prevailing and excruciating hardship in the country, the President is
seen as something of a war-monger. This however, is far from the truth.
President Buhari’s attitude, posturing and utterances
about the Niger Delta situation is affected by the fact that as a lover of
Nigeria, who is pained by the sorry state of the nation, the anti- corruption
crusader finds it difficult to make the link between any form of agitation for
restitution for wrongs done any group, with the destruction and damage of
national infrastructure especially those that benefit everyone let alone,
infrastructure and national property cited in those parts of the country from
where the agitations are coming.
Yet another reason why PMB is perhaps piqued with the
militants and for which reason, he loses his cool, is because as a young man,
he was a participant in a brutal civil war that led to the death of several
thousands of Nigerians and many years after, some people are taken steps that
could lead to a repeat of that experience. Happily, there are several voices of
caution coming from Nigerians of all walks of life prescribing and urging
restraint on all sides to the Niger Delta problem and demanding for dialogue.
This writer would like to appeal to our fellow country
people in the creeks of the Niger Delta, to give peace a chance and not further
compound the present world economic downturn that has hit Nigeria hard with a
recession.
No doubt, the Niger Delta and indeed other parts of
Nigeria has not been fairly treated over the years by successive governments
but the way to go is not to make prosperity and governance impossible through
violence and confrontation with the government.
It should be noted that the problems of neglect
affecting the Niger Delta today strictly speaking is not PMB’s doing, but the
summation of poor and irresponsible governance over the years. PMB is now at
the receiving end of demands for restitution because governance and government
is a continuum; the onus is on the government of the moment to be held
responsible. Nonetheless, restitution and justice in our society cannot come
overnight and there is not so much a government, any government can do in the
short space of a year and a few months of a four-year mandate! Thus the best
approach is peace and dialogue and the willingness to allow a spirit of give
and take.
On the side of the government however, it is important
that the latter eschews sending uncertain and ambiguous signals as well as make
utterances that do not promote trust, confidence and the foundation for
fruitful dialogue. One expects the body language of PMB on the Niger Delta
issue and the agitation by separatists in the South east to be one that shows
that the President believes in the unity of Nigeria and is prepared as leader
of the nation, to deploy his best endeavours to build consensus and defeat the
pull of centrifugalism in the polity.
This writer challenges the President who clearly is a
passionate nationalist to employ and deploy the body language that is changing
the ethics and values of Nigerians in the fight against corruption and in his diplomatic
endeavours to apply to domestic issues so that the unity of the country will be
embedded in the hearts and minds of Nigerians and not something that depends on
threats and the ability of the Nigerian Army to enforce. Such unity cannot
stand and would be tenuous at best.
Being an elderly and wise man, the President can do
this and score excellent results the way he has been able to charm the
international community to buy into his anti-corruption campaign and desire to
elevate and diversify the nation’s economy away from oil.
The Niger Delta problem cannot be resolved by military
action. Recently, retired Colonel
Abubakar Umar was on point on this. Of course it is right for the President to
say that if the militants currently engaged in economic sabotage fail to
embrace peace, the government would have no option but to use violence.
The government however should be wary of sending
signals that it prefers a showdown by goading the militants into confrontation.
The point is that in a real military encounter, the nations’ army would surely
overwhelm any group of armed persons no matter how well armed, they are.
In the process of engaging them militarily, two things
would happen; one, the option of dialogue would have been foreclosed given the
impression that the channels of conflict resolution in the polity is weak or
non-existent and that the parties are now implacable enemies and second, in
seeking to teach the militants a lesson, the nation’s army would inflict more
damage and destruction on the economic infrastructure of the nation through
aerial bombardment thus committing a similar crime like the militants. In this
connection, the militants would have succeeded in provoking the government to
cause more devastation with its own hands.
Bearing in mind that the militants are not the
government, the present administration would still be saddled with the
unpleasant task of embarking on reconstruction of these facilities, or a
successor government would be tasked with the unpleasant and expensive assignment.
On a balance this would extend and deepen the woes of
the nation which military force was intended to deal with. It should be noted
that since after the civil war, more than 40 years ago, the South east which
suffered most from that war in terms of destruction of lives, properties and
infrastructure is still yearning and waiting for reconstruction, rehabilitation
and restitution. The country cannot successfully tread the same part again on
the Niger Delta issue.
Many Nigerians who watched proceedings and read
reports of the outing of the country at the recent Tokyo International
Conference on African Development which took place in Nairobi, Kenya last week,
were full of pride at the performance and conduct of President Buhari.
As the leading salesperson of the country, PMB did
very well and won Nigeria not only admiration but many friends. The Nairobi
conference sponsored by the Japanese government showed the Nigerian leader as a
confident diplomat and crowd puller and has reinforced the successes and expectations
of his earlier foreign trips in quest of foreign help in the area of
investments, capital inflow, repatriation of stolen assets and monies of the
country, and the fight against terrorism.
Following the above, it cannot be said that such a
magnet in international circles, PMB cannot apply the same charm that has yielded
pledges of cooperation and assistance from World leaders to the domestic arena
in dealing with manifestations of discontent to give the nation the peace,
unity and harmony it desperately needs to overcome its
present challenges.
Louis Okoroma,
a Public Affairs Analyst writes from Abuja and can be reached via iheokoroma@yahoo.co.uk
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