Niger Delta Stakeholders including traditional rulers from
the six coastal states in the region have asked the United States to prevail on
President Muhammadu Buhari to open doors for the proposed dialogue with
militants to commence by listing the Federal Government team.
They also tasked the United States Government to stop the
Federal Government from pushing the region into an imminent civil war over
deliberate militarisation of the region, even when the militants had announced
a ceasefire for a dialogue.
The stakeholders, under the Chief Edwin Clark-led Pan Niger
Delta Stakeholders Dialogue Team, stated this on Tuesday evening when the
Deputy Chief of Mission, US Embassy in Nigeria, Mr. David Young, led a team of
US officials on a fact-finding mission to Delta State.
The meeting, held at the instance of the US officials, was
to find solution to the renewed hostilities in the region where activities of
suspected militants had brought down oil production in the country to 30 years
low.
The meeting, which was held at the residence of Alaowei
Broderick Bozimo in Effurun, Delta State, was attended by leaders from the six
coastal states of the region, including Prof. Gordini Darah, Chief Isaac
Jemide, Ambassador Dele Cole, Chief Richard Enaredei, Chief Vero Tangbowei, Mr.
Vincent Oyibode and Austin Ozobo, among others.
Addressing the US delegation on behalf of Clark, Bozimo,
said the current situation in the region could not be addressed through
military approach, as he urged the Federal Government to respect the ceasefire
declared by the militants.
Bozimo, a former Police Affairs minister, told the
delegation that despite the ceasefire announced by the militants to allow for
dialogue, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government had yet to name its
dialogue team for the negotiation to commence.
He added that if the Nigerian government was sincere in her
proposed dialogue, the government would name which people of the region were
deprived and under-developed.
Darah, a professor of Oral Literature, stated that the
resurgence of renewed hostilities in the region was principally caused by the
Nigerian government‘s refusal to grant the people of the area ownership of
their resources.
Darah called on the US government to prevail on the Federal
Government to restructure in order to allow for fiscal federalism, as it was
being practised in the US.
“The FG should create a window of discussion with our
people, now that the militants have announced a ceasefire to enable us to
renegotiate. We want to own our resources. So, help us tell the government to
do the needful. Fiscal federalism will solve all these many agitations,” Darah
further added.
Responding, Young said they were in the region on a
fact-finding mission.
According to him, the US government is committed to
negotiating with all groups, noting that the visit was meant to engage the
people of the region for peace.
Meanwhile, the Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake
Dickson, and the US, on Wednesday, called for dialogue in the handling of the
Niger Delta crisis.
The call was made when the US government delegation paid a
visit to Dickson at the Government House in Yenagoa.
Dickson stated that dialogue, and not military
confrontation, was the solution to the Niger Delta crisi.
He said it had become the government’s official policy to
promote and encourage dialogue among all stakeholders.
The governor said, “We believe that issues in the Niger
Delta are not such that can be resolved by means of confrontation and show of
military strength.
“We believe essentially that these are issues of
development, issues of the environment, issues that ultimately call on all
stakeholders – the government, community leaders, corporate executives,
particularly oil majors that are operating here, the Federal Government and
other agencies to work together to resolve issues and challenges in the Niger
Delta.
“Essentially, the Niger Delta crises are issues of
development; they are not issues that call for aggression; and they are not
issues that call for further militarisation and the use of force. But these are
issues we think we can resolve by working together honestly and sincerely, and
following a clear roadmap.”
Dickson, therefore, called for caution in using military
operations in resolving the Niger Delta problems.
No comments:
Post a Comment