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became the perfect places to hide the
kidnap victims, while negotiations for
their release went on. Meanwhile, CNN,
BBC, Sky News, and every news
organization from here to China got on
the bandwagon. The satellites beamed
their search lights down on the Niger
Delta and housewives in rural America,
Albania, Australia, India, England and
Egypt suddenly became aware of the
existence of an area called the Niger
Delta in Nigeria. The best was yet to
come though, the 'holy grail' that has
become the price of a barrel of crude
oil also sat up and took notice.
Every time the militants of the Niger
Delta coughed, oil prices fluctuated in
far away New York, affecting the purses
and wallets of everyone, throughout the
world. The sheer magnitude of the ripple
effects of their actions must have
caused the Niger Deltans to swoon in
delight. The power to control everyone's
pockets!
The Nigerian government is notorious for
its snail like approach towards conflict
resolution. In most cases, they just let
the conflict run its course, and hope
that some thing bigger or juicier will
come up to take the place of the earlier
hullabaloo. But, wait a minute, could
this new method of protest that the
Niger Deltans are using, possibly
benefit the federal government of
Nigeria? If the price of crude oil
rises, doesn't it mean more money for
the government coffers? Could the so
called palliative measures to solve the
crisis, and even the laughable three day
strike action by oil distribution
workers, all be camouflage tactics, to
fool the whole world into thinking that
something is actually being done about
the situation in the Niger Delta?
In spite of the huge derivative accounts
dedicated to the development of the oil
producing states, most of them do not
have the basic infrastructures to even
begin to associate themselves with the
19th Century, never mind the 20th. Is
being born into a particular
geographical community give a person the
bonafide right to totally own that
particular piece of earth? Who are the
real enemies here, and who exactly is to
blame for the mess the Niger Delta has
become? First, there are the political
bigwigs from the Niger Delta, who form a
super club, and collect on behalf of
their kinsmen, the bonus funds meant for
oil producing states, and pocket them.
Have the gun wielding militant youths of
the Niger Delta ever tried to kidnap
their political bigwigs, or seriously
hold them accountable for the public
funds they have pocketed?
Then, there are the multinational oil
companies, who take out so much from the
land profit wise, and put in so little
to positively impact on the environment.
Their workers are currently at the
receiving end of the nasty situation,
and they have not made any serious moves
to improve the crisis or to
systematically and frequently inform the
public about their input into the said
communities.
Thirdly, there are the young hot heads,
who are so carried away by their
emotions, that they won't even let the
contractors whom the government have
retained to put down infrastructures get
on with their work. The beef here is
that, if a contractor is not from the
Niger Delta, then that company has no
business doing jobs that should have
been awarded to the sons of the soil,
never mind if the sons of the soil have
no idea about the ABC's of the said job.
Finally, there is the corruption that
permeates every level of life in
Nigeria, as though the country was
tainted from the womb. Everyone,
presidents, vice presidents, senators,
members of the house of representatives,
governors, local government chairmen,
pastors, priests, principals, teachers,
students, everyone is on the take.
Everybody views any given situation in
terms of how it will translate into his
or her pocket.
I personally think that the problem of
the Niger Delta is caused by all of the
above given reasons, and much more.
Besides, only God can endure knowing
everything without being bored. What do
you think? |
