The crises in the Niger Delta region, where militants daily bomb oil installations and other targets, continue unabated, even after the federal government announced that it is already in talks with militant groups. A counter claim by leading militant groups that they are not aware of such talks has heightened the tension on the region. Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan examines the many issues surrounding the much talked about peace talks.
NOTHING brings more jubilation in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria today than the possibility of a peace talk between the federal government and rampaging militants who have made the business of bombing oil installations a hobby for months unending following the return of hostilities to the restive region.
At times, it seems the two sides are unwilling to dialogue; at other times, it appears both sides are so intent on the commencement of peace talks. But somehow peace itself has continued to dwindle in spite of the hype and political point scoring over peace talks and the need for them or otherwise. After several overtures, statements, confirmations and denials, Nigerians came so close to seeing the much-hyped dialogue during the week, only to see the possibility fall apart again.
Hope came alive when President Muhammadu Buhari, last Thursday, confirmed that his government was in dialogue with Niger Delta militants towards putting a stop to pipeline vandalism and violence being experienced in the region. The president gave the confirmation through the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, while granting farewell audience to the outgoing Ambassador of Germany to Nigeria, Mr. Michael Zinner, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Not a few Nigerians heaved soothing sighs of relief at the confirmation, the first of its kind since the return of violence to the creeks. Before now, debates about the need and otherwise raged, but the government had never for once hinted that it was officially talking with the dissidents in whatever manner. So, many people saw the development as the actualisation of the clamour for peace talks.
The president had explained that his government was studying the instruments of the Amnesty Programme inherited from the previous administration, with a view to carrying out commitments made but not delivered. “We understand their feelings; we are studying the instruments. We have to secure the environment, otherwise investment will not come. We will do our best for the country,” he said.
But militant group, Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), on Thursday, poured cold water on whatever jubilation that might have trailed the president’s revelation, when it debunked claims that they were in talks with the federal government. The militant’s group position came amidst fears in many quarters over the ongoing dialogue announced by the president.
NDA’s statement signed by its spokesman, Mudoch Agbinibo, said: “Our attention has been drawn to media report that the president is in touch with Niger Delta agitators including the Niger Delta Avengers but the truth is that we are not aware of any peace talk. If there is any such peace talk, it means the president is talking to their mercenaries set to disturb the genuine struggle of the agitators.
“President Buhari-led government is not sincere to the Nigeria people and their foreign allies. If we are to engage in any peace talk, we made it clear that the international community must be part of it. The president knows our demands. So they should stop deceiving the international oil companies, the general public and the international community.”
With the claim by the federal government and the counter claim by the Avengers, Nigerians are again struggling to understand the real reason why a peace talk with the rampaging militants of the Niger Delta, that once accepted amnesty from the federal government under the late President Umar Musa Yaradua, is now difficult.
What manner of talks?
When the news first broke that the federal government was in talks with militants, one question that came to many lips was “what manner of talks?” Many wondered when Buhari said the talks are being done through oil companies and law-enforcement agencies. They wondered if such a third party arrangement would be able to find a lasting solution to the insecurity in the region.
But others took solace in the fact that Buhari also said that his administration is studying the instruments of the Amnesty Programme inherited from the previous administration with a view to carrying out commitments made that were undelivered. To them, this is an indication that the demands put forward by some militants groups are being considered in the effort to restore peace to the region.
“The president said he understands the feelings of the boys fighting in the creeks. He said they are studying the amnesty documents with a view to revisiting it and implementing whatever is left of it. I want to believe any serious peace talk should be hinged on meeting the demands of the militants and not trying to cajole them to dump all their demands and embrace empty peace,” Jack Mujoh, an environmental activist and foremost Ijaw youth activist, warned.
According to Mujoh, while it may not be a bad idea to use third parties in dialoguing with the militants, the government must show commitment. He said before now, the Buhari administration has shown nothing short of disdain in its approach to the agitations of the restive Niger Delta militants. This, he said, led to the escalation of violence in the region.
“What we have on our hands today is the result of the disdain with which the Buhari administration treated the renewed agitation in the Niger Delta region when it started. We took our time to explain the dangers ahead to the government back then, but nobody listened. The sad reminder of that unnecessary disdainful approach to what was then a looming crisis is the unquantifiable damage we are coping with today.
“So, whatever dialogue we want to embark on to solve the problem must be one that is hinged on mutual respect. A direct talk between the federal government and the agitators would be the best but a sincere third party peace talk too can be of help. With government saying the oil companies and security agencies are spearheading the talks, if it is hinged on sincerity and mutual respect, it can still yield results,” he said.
However, the United Niger Delta Energy Development Security Strategy (UNDEDSS), the region’s coalition of ethnic nationalities and civil societies, on its part, said only President Buhari can chair an acceptable peace dialogue in the Niger Delta. It said it was the only way to stem the tide of the dangerously imploding reality of armed agitation in the Niger Delta.
UNDEDSS Secretary General, Mr. Tony Iprinye Uranta, urged the federal government to adopt the successful Yar’Adua template of 2009, by appointing a credible special adviser on the region and re-establishing the Niger Delta Committee/Council that operated five sub-committees to holistically and sustainably address the challenges identified in the region.
“There cannot be any reliable dialogue, between the federal government and the region, without a commitment to justice and equity by President Buhari himself. Also, the federal government needs to adopt the 2008 Niger Delta Technical Committee’s Report towards reassuring the Niger Delta of its sincere commitment to justice and equity.
“The release of 10 secondary schoolchildren and others detained as prisoners-of-war for many weeks since the military’s invasion of Gbaramatu Kingdom; the return of Symbols of Gbaramatu traditional worship. And most importantly, President Buhari addressing the nation to announce that he would personally lead the revival of the 2009 template premised on a Niger Delta Development Committee under his direct supervision, plus grant free passage to all stakeholders he is ready to directly dialogue with,” Uranta said.
But the Concerned Militant Leaders (CML), a coalition of militant groups in the creeks which confirmed and claimed responsibility for the capture of a vessel with Liberian flag along Bakassi Peninsula of Nigerian waterways, has rejected any idea of a third party dialogue over the crisis in the Niger Delta.
The group also accused Buhari of treating the issues concerning the region with levity and said no militant group will negotiate with the federal government until issues in the South-south region are addressed. The group also threatened that more attacks should be expected. CML said peace talks in the region will start with the federal government taking steps that will show commitment to peace.
They warned that no militant group should dialogue with the federal government, until it has released the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which CML, in particular, said it’s concerned about. Spokesperson of CML, General Ben, said, “This is the worst government we have had since this democratic dispensation.
“People are suffering and dying out of hardship and government does not want to listen to the grievances of our people. There is no time again for negotiation with any government, and no group, even the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), should not do that. Government should wait for us and expect more pipeline attacks.”
Advising the federal government on how best to handle the much-talked about peace parley, Bishop Tunde Adeleye of Anglican Communion, Archdioceses of Calabar, urged Buhari not to dialogue with only the Niger Delta Avengers but all militant groups in the region for lasting peace. According to the cleric, the situation in the region today is such that the proliferation of militant groups must be addressed.
“I listened to somebody saying that if the Niger Delta Avengers continue the way they are going now, by the end of this month, it is possible that their activities can shut down Nigeria because they have considerably reduced the oil and of course you know that Nigeria is just depending on the oil completely almost without an alternative.
“So in the present circumstance, are they having any effect on the politics, on the economy? On the socio situation of the country, if the answer is yes, then my advice is that the federal government should dialogue with all of them because if you dialogue with A and A ceases to disturb the government, environment and the economy, B will of cause say, so you are neglecting us, that will intensify their own activities and become worse than before and it goes on and on with other groups.
“Dialoguing with one group is not wise. You will remember that the Bakassi people are saying that they want to be included in the amnesty programme and the only way they can make their presence felt or their feelings known or their anger expressed is to cause havoc. That is why today in Calabar we have armed robbery, we have kidnapping, we have theft and we are having insecurity all around the place. They are even using granites to break fences and doors of houses to enter and that is because they want to be heard,” Adeleye said.
Many cracks in the creek
Following the sudden turnaround by the federal government to accept the need to dialogue with the militants, it appears militant groups in the Niger Delta are no longer united in purpose and intentions. Echoes from the creeks indicate that there may currently be a huge disagreement among the groups on how best to approach the olive branch being extended by Buhari’s administration.
While some groups are open to the peace talk and have said that much, others have consistently said they are opposed to any discussion with the federal government. There is also a third camp which says certain conditions must be fulfilled before the commencement of any dialogue whatsoever. To this group, the release of detained agitators is a key ingredient to any meaningful peace talk.
The role to be played by some individuals, including prominent ex-militants like Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, is also tearing the militants apart. While groups like Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta, (MEND), wants Tompolo to play prominent roles in the proposed talks, others like the NDA will hear nothing of such.
It would be recalled that Tompolo, an ex-General Officer Commanding’ (GOC) of MEND, had condemned the activities of the NDA and denied involvement in the bombings in the oil-rich region. He had at another time appealed to NDA, which has claimed responsibility for several bombings in the region, to put a halt to its activities.
Criticising the NDA at a time many people were linking him with the renewed bombings in the creeks, Tompolo had said “you have not only succeeded in militarising the Niger Delta region now, but you have also succeeded in giving birth to so many negotiators and political jobbers within the government circle, who are very serious rumour peddlers in the country now.”
Reacting back then, the NDA took a swipe at both Tompolo and MEND, saying the duo are nothing but criminals benefiting from the endless crises in the Niger Delta. The group threatened to deal with Tompolo and his group if they didn’t desist from further anti-Niger Delta activities.
“The NDA is unperturbed, we have mandate that is clearly a departure of those old tactics of the defunct so-called MEND that was indulged in kidnapping, hostage-taking, Sea piracy, illegal oil bunkering, bank robberies and social crimes, the likes of Boyloafs, Ateke Toms, were associated to in their days in the name of the struggle.
“The wind of change in the Niger Delta struggle has come; we are young, smart, and focused Niger Deltans. Our mandate is to liberate the Niger Delta people; we don’t run after pipeline contracts. God bless the Niger Delta People,” the group said.
Reliable sources told The Nation that the disagreement between the two group is one reason why dialogue may be difficult in the effort to end the ongoing crisis. The Nation learnt that several efforts by ex-militant commanders to negotiate peace between the two groups have failed woefully with both sides refusing to yield ground.
“I don’t see how a peace talk will be possible in the current situation though. I say this because I can tell you that even among the militants, there is urgent need to seek peace. They are divided in purpose and intentions. It is not just the call for dialogue that is dividing them. Many issues, past and present, are at the centre of the crack in the wall.
“I recall several efforts by ex-warlords to mediate between the two groups. They all failed woefully because both sides refused to yield ground. And unless MEND and NDA agree to sit down at the same table, the government will be talking to nobody. These two groups, today, boast of the real militants with real capacity to do damages,” Mujoh explained.
Another group, the Joint Niger Delta Liberation Front, (JNDLF), The Nation gathered, is willing to negotiate with government. The JRC ‘General Duties’, Akotebe Darikoro, in a statement, even hinted that the group was already discussing with government.
“We shall continue to engage in dialogue with the federal government if our demands are met. Our representatives in the dialogue, especially the governors and others, will not betray our demands with the federal government. Any betrayal on their own part shall be viewed as a betrayal of the entire region and we shall go after them immediately as they know our mode of operation in which they will not escape from us,” Darikoro said.
Apart from NDA, MEND, JNDLF and the NDFF mentioned above, there are about eight other splinter militant groups currently claiming responsibility for bombings and other violent activities in the region. Prominent among these are the Egbesu Boys, Bakkassi Boys and the Asawana Deadly Force of Niger Delta, (ADFND), which emerged a few weeks back in the region, threatening to cripple the oil industry across the nine Niger Delta states unless the federal government grants them, “Niger Delta Republic in the next couple of days.”
Others include the Ultimate Warriors of Niger Delta, (UWND), believed to be operating from the Delta/Edo axis of the region, Niger Delta Red Squad (NDRS), Ekpeye Liberation Group, (ELG), made up of ex-militants who claimed to be behind the attack on Well 5 in Akara Olu, Ahoada West Local Government Area of Rivers State and the Utorogu Liberation Movement (ULM), which threatened to attack West Africa’s biggest gas plant, Otorogu Gas Plant in Udu and Ughelli South council Areas of Delta State.
‘Sadly, aside bombings and other violent activities, there is little or nothing these groups have in common. This unhealthy proliferation of militant groups has further made the possibility of a peace talk more difficult,’ Mujoh said.
A team for the talks?
Determined to see through its quest for a dialogue to a successful end, MEND recently released the names of those expected to dialogue with the Nigerian government on behalf of Niger Delta militants. The list came after the group gave the federal government two weeks to begin dialogue in a bid to quell agitations in the Niger Delta region.
In a letter signed by its spokeperson, Gomo Jomo, the group announced the inclusion of the leader of the Niger Delta Dialogue and Contact Group, Alfred Diette-Spiff, as its deputy team leader. It also named its former Commander, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, as representative of Delta State in the dialogue team.
Other members of Aaron Team 2 include: Odein Ajumogobia, team leader, Florence Ita-Giwa, Ledum Mitee, Adolphus Wabara, Ibanga Isine, Alfred Isename and Timipa Okponikpere. According to MEND, the team is made up of people with track records of selfless representation of the Niger Delta region and its people.
“The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) hereby submits the final list of members of the Aaron Team 2 dialogue, peace and development initiative inaugurated by MEND on June 12, 2016 to find sustainable solutions to the Niger Delta crisis,” the letter reads. The team’s leader, Ajumogobia, has unblemished record, character and integrity and is widely respected throughout the entire Niger Delta region.
“HRH King Alfred Papapreye Diette-Spiff was the first military governor of the old Rivers State and is currently a 1st class traditional ruler in Bayelsa State. He is the Deputy Leader of the Aaron Team as well as the representative of the Niger Delta Dialogue and Contact Group (NDDCG). Consequently, the NDDCG, as the name connotes, shall serve as the contact and clearing house for all mushroom and internet-based militant groups in the region; all aggrieved oil-bearing and coastal communities affected by the menace of oil spillage and related environmental challenges.
“The NDDCG shall also accommodate all repentant Niger Delta activists, elders and tribal assemblies who actively supported the neglect and corruption perpetrated during the era of former President Goodluck Jonathan but who are now ready to join hands with your government to bring peace and development to the region.
“However, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa from Cross River State shall be representing all Bakassi militant groups and aggrieved communities from that axis of the Niger Delta, who see her as their mother. Former Senate President Adolphus Wabara is in the Aaron Team to represent Abia and Imo states. He is widely respected across both states and shall deploy his vast wealth of experience for the benefit of the dialogue, peace and development initiative.
“High Chief Government Ekpemupolo’s inclusion in the final list was principally because of the key role he continues to play in the Niger Delta as a notable ex-militant leader; philanthropist; traditional title holder and mobiliser of amazing capacity. It will therefore be counter-productive if the federal government ignored such an individual who may be capable of talking to the militants in the creeks to ceasefire,” the group said.
But there are fears that the Aaron team, not minding the pedigree of its members, may eventually not be able to speak for the entire militant groups in the region. This, according to sources who spoke with The Nation, is because other groups, especially the NDA, view the team as a creation of MEND’s and as such, would have nothing to do with it.
As if on cue, one of the militant groups in the Niger Delta, the Ultimate Warriors, promptly rejected the position taken by MEND to lead the agitators’ negotiations with the federal government. The group, in a statement by its spokesman, Sibiri Taiowoh, accused MEND of lacking the credibility to take on such a huge task, noting that the ex-militant group would only worsen the current situation.
“Furthermore, MEND should stop playing itself up as if they are one credible body to reckon with in respect to the renewed agitations. We did not embrace the dialogue initiative because of MEND; so, it is not for MEND to dictate and set the pace for us. Let them not give us or any of our affiliates bogus criteria… otherwise, they would only succeed in worsening the situation,” the group said.
What do they want?
While the militant groups in the creek may be divided over many things, one thing they appear to have as similarity is the list of demands they have been pushing forward each time they bend over to accept negotiation as a way out of the crisis engulfing the region. Aside occasional demand for sovereignty by one or two overzealous groups, the militants, largely, want a better deal for the Niger Delta both economically and socio-politically, in the polity called Nigeria.
There have also been some on-the-spot demands which include: “immediate release of the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd) and Dr. Nnamdi Kanu, whose release was ordered by the court severally, as their continued detention was unconstitutional and against the tenet of our nascent democracy in the country.”
JNDLF at a time also demanded that: “the government must direct EFCC to defreeze the bank accounts of ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, (a.k.a. Tompolo). The only Nigerian Maritime University sited in the most appropriate and befitting place – Okerenkoko in Delta State, must start the 2015/2016 academic session immediately.”
Another group also recently said, “the immediate implementation of the report of the 2014 National Conference report, failure of which Nigeria will forcefully break-up.” And added that “Oil-polluted lands in the Niger Delta must be cleaned up, while compensation should be paid to all oil-producing communities, e.g. Chevron fire outbreak of gas explosion in Koluama, Bayelsa State and Bonga Oil Spill in 2011.”
Also canvased by a militant group is the “removal of Brigadier General Paul Boroh (retd.) as Amnesty Coordinator as he does not understand the programmes and policies of the Amnesty and does not know us to the grassroots. Hence he (Boroh) should be replaced with Dr. Felix Tuodolo who has been in the struggle of non-violence since 1980 and was the designer of the amnesty programme.
Also, the militants want the president to change his mind-set towards the region, and start to develop the region irrespective of the fact that he didn’t get much votes from the Niger Delta during the 2015 presidential election.
Many fears over negotiation
But there appears to be widespread division across the country over whether negotiation is the best solution. While the minister of state for petroleum, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, says the government wants to work with the militant groups to halt the bombings which have succeeded in reducing Nigeria’s oil production by as much as 50 percent, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo recently said government is wary of dialoguing with the agitators.
The minister, who recently met with some militant groups as a way of finding lasting peace to the agitation in the region, said talking with the militants has become necessary following the effects of their activities on the oil sector. Kachikwu, who is from Delta state in the restive region, claimed to have spoken to leading figures in the struggle during his meeting with the groups.
But speaking a day after three more trunk lines in Bayelsa and Rivers states were blown up by militants, Vice President Osinbajo said militants are not freedom fighters but economic warriors, who are fighting for their own private pockets.
“The so-called avengers are not freedom fighters but fighting for their own economic benefits. They are avenging for their private pockets and that is why government is not talking with them. The previous government neglected the region for several years, hence the current challenges in the region. The federal government has, however, put machinery in motion to curtail the activities of Niger/Delta Avengers,” he said.
He also lamented that the activities of the avengers were responsible for the epileptic power supply in the country as well as the inability of state governors to pay workers’ salaries due to the low revenue generated in the oil sector as a result of the attack on pipelines.
Also, former militants under the aegis of the National Coalition of Niger Delta Ex-Agitators (NCNDE-A) warned the federal government against going into dialogue with the Niger Delta Avengers. In a communique released after its meeting in Ughelli, Delta State, the ex-militants said negotiating with the militants will increase militancy in the oil-rich region.
The ex-militants observed that different militant groups have risen in the Niger Delta region all agitating for various demands from the federal government. Speaking on behalf of the former militants, Israel Akpodoro, the president of the NCNDE-A, said dialogue was a ploy by some political leaders in the region to stampede the federal government into more troubles in the region.
Akpodoro advised the federal government against negotiating with the new militant group as it would give rise to more of such troublesome groups and make things worse. According to him, the ex-militants were opposed to dialogue because the demands of the Niger Delta Avengers were not germane but politically-motivated. Akpodoro noted that the first consequence of negotiating with the militants would be to push youths of other ethnic groups to take up arms against the government.
He said the government should focus its energy on addressing the injustice occasioned by the marginalisation of the Phase 3 of the amnesty programme rather than the proposed dialogue. The NCNDE-A president stated that ex-militants from other ethnic nationalities including Urhobo, Isoko, Itsekiri and Ndokwa were wrongfully schemed out of the amnesty programme and this was already getting youths in the region.
