FG: RECRUITING MILITANTS

THE Federal Government recently introduced another dimension to the lingering crisis of militancy in the Niger Delta. In a bid to find a lasting solution to the increasing restiveness of armed youths in the oil-rich region, the Federal Government came up with a curious idea that it claimed was aimed at achieving lasting peace. The Minister of Defence, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, said government was considering the idea of engaging the services of the militant groups to police oil pipelines and installations in the Niger Delta.

ACCORDING to the minister, under the arrangement, the militants would be required to organise themselves into limited liability companies with the government providing the financial resources for running such companies. To qualify for the new arrangement, the groups would first have to submit themselves for dialogue with the government. Such dialogue would be the pre-condition for the formation of such companies.

THIS development is coming on the heels of the failure of past efforts of government to ensure that peace reigns in the Niger Delta region. In the wake of the agitation for resource control by the people of the region, the Obasanjo administration established the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The commission was charged with the responsibility of making developmental interventions and offering other rapid services to the people. Since its establishment, the NDDC has initiated and executed many projects in the area. And all these are done in addition to the jacking up of the revenue from the derivation account accruing to the oil producing states from three to 13 per cent.

THE militants, in recent times, have widened the scope of their operations by including criminal acts, such as kidnapping for ransom and other chilling practices. Initially, foreign oil workers were seen as the most lucrative targets, but these elements soon spread their dragnets to the locals, kidnapping men, women and, even, children.

BECAUSE of the growing criminality in the region, especially after the taking over of the agitation for resource control by sinister and/or criminal forces, the Federal Government set up a Military Joint Task Force to deal with the situation. But all these measures have not brought the desired peace. The crisis has exacerbated, leading to massive losses for the nation in terms of human and material resources. Several billions of naira have been lost to oil pipelines vandalism and illegal bunkering.

IT is obviously the strategic placement of the region and the rising waves of criminality that prompted the Federal Government to take the latest decision. The desperation to end the run of the criminals could have motivated government’s desire to patronise the militants and do business with them.

WHILE we view the Niger Delta as crucial to the nation indeed, all regions are crucial to the continued corporate existence of the Nigeria the decision of the government to engage the services of the militants as security guards for oil installations and pipelines, certainly, raises some fundamental questions. Will the policing activities of the militants require them to carry arms? Will they operate like the conventional police? If they are to carry arms, how is the government going to monitor them or exercise control over them? Won’t the situation in the future degenerate into the current crisis in the event of a disagreement between government and the militants? What will be the disposition of the government to the whole arrangement after the tenure of the Yar’Adua administration?

LIMITED liability companies are run, essentially, for profits. They have boards and shareholders who determine their mode of operations. They also have memoranda of association which guide their operations and the relationship of the owners. In the event of turning these militant groups into companies, what will be their status and focus?

IT is doubtful that the Federal government has answers to these questions. But the idea of giving official authority to militants for them to patrol the creeks and protect government‘s investments sounds rather hollow. It is like asking armed robbers to start guarding banks in a bid to stop them from attacking banks. Such a decision will not only be considered foolish, it will also be an admission that government has failed in its primary duty of protecting life and property. The implication of such a decision is that government has officially reliquished authority to bandits and other criminals. And the citizenry should prepare for a full life in the Hobbesian state of nature.

THE problems of the Niger Delta do not require a cosmetic and /or whimsical solution such as the one being contemplated by the Federal Government. The Niger Delta issue is just one of the manifestations of the pretentious and pseudo arrangement in what is touted as a federation. The lopsidedness in the country’s federal structure has created such problems as ethnic suspicion, tribal and/or primordial sentiments and geopolitical imbalance. The state of underdevelopment in some parts of the country, as opposed to the structural opulence in other areas, has led to the call for resource control and fiscal federalism. Already, some states that border the River Niger have begun clamouring for a special treatment just as the Niger Delta. All these are reflections of the structural defects which must be addressed if the nation is to move forward.

THE problem of security is not restricted to the Niger Delta. The Federal Government has failed to provide maximum security across the country. Will government engage the services of other ethnic militias like the Egbesu Boys, Oodua Peoples Congress, Yandabba etc, to ensure the safety of all Nigerians?

WE want to believe the minister of defence was only pulling the legs of Nigerians, when he stunned them with his anouncement on the Niger Delta militants. The long term solution to the problem of the Niger Delta is for the government to speed up the process of developing the region by making it worthy and fit for decent living. The government will also need to give a serious thought to pushing the country towards achieving federalism by jettisoning the current pseudo-federalism arrangement. With federalism, the problem of resource control and agitation for even distribution of the common wealth will be fully addressed. The proposed constitutional amendment should be explored to return the country on to the path of federalism as globally acknowledged and practised.

BUT in the short run, the Federal Government should organise an all-inclusive summit for all stakeholders in the Niger Delta. The summit’s objective would be to address all the grievances of the various forces in the area. The people should be actively involved in whatever peace initiative the government is planning; they must be carried along, so that in the end, they would not use exclusion and/or their being isolated from the peace efforts as an excuse. This has been the practice and government needs to adopt a more proactive and more involving idea and not one that will give official fillip to brigandage.

RESISTING THE MASTER OF CHANGE

IT is apparent that some residents of Niger State are averse to the idea of change. They see themselves as rocks which cannot be threatened by the winds of change. But even rocks, sometimes, yield to the sweeping changes that nature imposes.

SOME people do not like the idea of service; they do not see their positions as leaders as a call to serve their communities. Such people do not believe a master could serve, that there could be a master servant. Governor Babangida Muazu Aliyu of Niger State believes he is the Master Servant, that he was enthroned by God to serve his people and give them the good life.

BUT it appears some people do not share in the idea of giving comfort to the poor masses. They are saying a servant should not be a master and have headed for the court to make their case that if Dr. Aliyu wished to be a servant they would like to remain the master and continue to use the common wealth to solve their personal problems. They claimed Dr. Aliyu did not resign his appointment properly and so should not be in the government house.

EVERTHING is easy in Nigeria. Cooking the figures, for instance, and making spurious and/or fictitious claims by individuals against their opponents are as easy as the letters ABC. Such situations are a common sight in the country. But it is governance and the poor that suffer in such instances when parochial interests of individuals take precedence over the general good. Let the hawks of Niger State beware. The winds of change blowing across the Niger will sweep away everything that stands in their way. The Master Servant of Minna is the winds of change.