Dr Chris Ekiyor is the former National President of the Ijaw Youth
Council (IYC) and currently the Caretaker Chairman of Patani Local
Government Council of Delta State. In this interview, the Niger Delta
activist faults the calls for amnesty for members of the Boko Haram sect
and warns that the people of the Niger Delta will resist any move to
use the resources from the area to fund the amnesty.
On the 2015 presidency, he says the people of the Niger Delta are
unanimous in their decision that President Goodluck Jonathan should run
for second term asserting that any attempt to stop him by the North will
lead to the end of Nigeria. Excerpts:
The Federal Government has announced a committee to look into
the possibilities of granting amnesty to members of the Boko Haram
sect. As one of those who perfected amnesty for ex-militants in the
Niger Delta, what is your view?
This is another bandwagon effect that is tearing apart our country
again. Amnesty today is another word for quick money. I think it is a
misplaced national priority to even think about granting amnesty to a
bunch of people who, in all their activities, have shown criminality,
have shown cold blood murder and have no focus or issue. And it is
unfortunate to try to equate Boko Haram with the struggles of the Niger
Delta.
In the Niger Delta, a people, who were living peacefully and having
their own livelihood, were traumatized by the Federal Government with
its activities in oil exploration. Their land captured, their
environment polluted from 1957 till date. And the people decided to say,
enough is enough, you cannot take our oil and impoverish us. You cannot
put 60 per cent of our oil wealth in the hands of northerners and our
environment is not protected. You have to allow us control our resources
so that we can develop our place at the pace at which we found our
resources. We are willing to pay tax to the center as it is done every
where that oil was found’. That was what caused the Niger Delta crisis.
The Niger Delta struggle was a purposeful and ideology based struggle.
That was the focus. Now, between 1996 and 2003, of course, it became an
all-comers struggle. Criminals who will go and steal on the streets will
claim that they kidnapped because of oil. Between 2003 and 2007 it went
out of hand because the military itself became a party to the process.
Dr. Chris Ekiyor
By the time the Federal Government was offering amnesty, oil had been
cut down to 700 barrels per day by the activities of the people in the
creeks. Insecurity in the region made oil companies to foldup. Before,
the youths accepted amnesty, they sent representatives including myself
to dialogue with the government and they were series of meetings under
the late President Yar’Adua’s administration.
Now, in accepting amnesty, the country recovered economically to the
tune of about 2.1million barrels per day and you know what that means to
the nation’s coffers. So, if from that pool, money is taken to
rehabilitate people, who so to say admitted that it is our mother land,
we will now allow government develop the region. Taking amnesty brought
more value to the government and it is now trying to reciprocate the
gesture by training people in the region.
’Militancy in the Niger Delta different from Boko Haram mayhem’
But beyond the technicalities of talking about amnesty for a group of
people who are murderers, I think that government has misplaced its
priority in terms of what it is saying.
Dialogue with the people, yes, amnesty, no. Amnesty is not an exit
window for criminals. These are people who have murdered over five
thousand people in cold blood. People are in churches, they bomb the
churches, killing people who are equally victims of bad governance like
them. Again, 80 per cent of these people are not Nigerians. So, if you
are granting them amnesty, where will you take the resources for which
you are going to reintegrate them? Is it the Niger Delta resources, our
oil money to integrate criminals and murderers in the North? That money
should be put on infrastructures across the country if the money is too
much in the government coffers.
’Jonathan taking bullshit’
I am particularly worried that our president, in line with his broad
nationalism, is taking too many bullshit from too many people. He is the
most insulted president not because he has not worked, there is no
president that has done better than Goodluck in the history of Nigeria,
but people don’t seem to know because he is not a loud speaker, he does
not embarrass people.
’Posterity will not forgive Jonathan if he fails to develop the Niger Delta’
President Jonathan is a broad-minded Nigerian, he is trying to
balance projects in all the regions and, in doing that, he has
undermined his own region. So the Niger Delta people have started
clamouring why should we not have more. But again he is the President of
Nigeria not for Niger Delta. It is now left for the Niger Delta members
in the National Assembly to ensure that there are resources in the
appropriate ministries such as the Ministry of the Niger Delta to
develop the region. As it is today the Ministry of
Niger Delta is not being funded and that is why the Minister is
frustrated. If you check the money they appropriated for the Niger Delta
Ministry and that of Water Resources, you will see the difference. I
want to also say that Mr President must not feel that if he develops the
Niger Delta he will be blamed for it. Infact if he does not develop the
Niger Delta posterity will not forgive him.
People committed themselves in developing Abuja because they have an
agenda to develop the North. Jonathan is not weak as people are saying,
no weak person can lead Nigeria. The problem is that this country is
held by cabals and those people don’t want the development of the Niger
Delta. So it is not Jonathan but a lot of people around him have their
own agenda.
’Jonathan must run in 2015′
We were in this country when youths were mobilized to Abuja, ‘Youth
Earnestly Ask for Abacha’, during the military rule, when all the five
political parties endorsed one man. We were in this country when
Obasanjo wanted to go for third term.
Alameseigha and others were arrested. Yes, they may have been
involved in corrupt practices but they became victims due to their
opposition to the third term bid. People are talking now because
Jonathan is seen as a toothless bull dog. He is seen as being weak, but
they don’t know that it is in that his weakness that he has his
strength. How can you see a president and say he should not contest
again? The choice to contest is his but if he decides to contest, nobody
can stop him except the ballot. And if they feel he cannot contest,
then we should all be ready to pack our luggage.
Goodluck may be the last President of Nigeria because a lot of
predictions are in line. There is the provision in the amalgamation law
which says that, if after hundred years we cannot co-exist, everybody
can go his way. These are signs of the end and we are happy about it
those of us from the Niger Delta.
The earlier Nigeria breaks so that we can go and rebuild our economy
and our environment the better since Nigerians don’t know that Goodluck
is a blessing and a builder. Nobody can stop Jonathan, we have said that
he must contest and anybody who does not want to support us, no
problem. We will campaign throughout the nook and cranny of the country.
President Goodluck Jonathan declared yesterday that his
administration’s transformation agenda was not a magic wand that would
solve all the challenges confronting the country at once. He said 
Hip hop st
