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An “Oputa
Panel” for the Niger Delta Crisis
By Chinedu Akuta
“
Where you have injustice, you will have rebellion”(Mallam
Nuhu Ribadu, former Chairman EFCC, 29th May 2009.)
My sympathies go to the relations, families, friends
and well wishers of those who have lost their lives in
the Niger Delta crisis. These include both the solders
and the indigenes of the Niger Delta area. The writer
has once lost someone close to this crisis. My heart
is bleeding as am writing this article. My heart bleeds
because of the senseless killing of Nigerians by fellow
Nigerians over an issue that can be settled using an
honest approach and dialogue. War has never solved any
problem in the world. Dialogue is the only solution.
I
totally disagree with the backing given by the House
of Representatives for continuation
of military operation
in the Niger Delta. Besides the president needs the approval
of the National Assembly before deploying solders. The
House of Representatives should draw lessons from what
happened in Odi and Zaki Ibiam where the Nigerian military
reduced the entire community to mere rubble. About 2000
people died. Many more were displaced. Thousands are
yet to recover from the military attacks. “War
never leaves a nation where it found it, the same goes
for the individual” Edmund Burke. The Niger Delta
crisis is equivalent to a war. Like in all wars, you
only know how the crisis will start but definitely not
the course it will assume or how it would end. Therefore
there should be immediate ceasefire on both sides and
let genuine dialogue begin.
I want to join voices with other Nigerians who have
called for an end to hostilities. As a way forward towards
making peace. I want the federal government to immediately
set up a truth and reconciliation commission for the
Niger Delta crisis. The purpose will be for the federal
government, Niger Delta state governments, Local government
councils, communities, traditional rulers, village heads,
all the youth groups in the Niger Delta, and various
stake holders in the oil industry to come out and tell
Nigerians how much they have committed towards improving
the development of these regions. Nigerians deserve to
know what has really happened in terms of previous government
development plans in the region. Nigerians deserve to
know who is to be blamed. Am sure this crisis is not
far from the environmental degradation suffered by this
region which various stake holders claim to be addressing.
Therefore the world wants to know the truth.
Nigeria has lost so much from this crisis. Many Nigerians
are directly and indirectly affected by this crisis.
This is a threat to our national security. This crisis
has an impact on the international oil market prices.
Whenever there is a crisis in the region, the price of
crude oil goes up. Nigerians will then pay higher for
their petroleum products since the federal government
imports its refined petroleum products from abroad. The
entire world is watching how Nigeria will solve this
problem. So setting up a truth and reconciliation commission
might be the answer. This is in addition to the amnesty
which the federal government claims she has offered.
The terms of reference of the proposed truth and reconciliation
commission should be to investigate the Niger Delta crisis,
to find what happened to various royalties paid by the
oil companies, to find out the causes of oil company-community
conflicts, to find out the role of the oil companies
in the crisis, to find out what happened to federal government
agencies like the Oil Mineral Producing Area Development
Commission (OMPADEC), Niger Delta Development Commission
(NDDC), to find out means of achieving lasting peace,
to find out what the Niger Delta ministry will do, to
find out the militarization of the region and the emergence
of small arms etc.
Am sure the Niger Delta crisis claims about 1000 fatalities/casualties
yearly. If this crisis continues, there might be total
break down in our oil production. Nigeria depends on
this oil as her major source of foreign exchange. A total
break down will almost be like a disaster to Nigeria.
A truth and reconciliation commission should be able
to reveal the truth about the whole crisis. As would
be expected there has been the criminal elements in this
crisis. The criminal elements of this crisis are also
because the government has not addressed the crisis properly.
But an honesty approach by the federal government to
address the issues of the Niger Delta will tackle the
criminal elements.
The financial costs of this crisis to both the federal
government and Nigerians should run into billions of
dollars. Nigerians and the Nigeria government can no
longer afford to continue loosing this kind of money.
This is made worst was by the present global financial
meltdown. Already Nigerian oil production has fallen
from a capacity of more than 2.7 million barrels per
day to about 1.6 million(less than Angola)
This truth and reconciliation commission should revisit
the issue of resource control. Am aware that this conflict
cannot be resolved without revisiting the resource control
issue. The Oputa panel was very useful to Nigerians.
It helped to reveal what transpired in Nigeria. In South
Africa truth and reconciliation was used to reveal the
human rights abuses that happened during the apartheid
era. It was also a means of healing the wounds of the
past with a view to reconciling every one for future
developments. In Northern Ireland, truth and reconciliation
was used to know the truths in order to heal their violent
past. In Chile, truth and reconciliation commission has
also been used to establish the human right abuses with
a view to reconciling Chileans.
A
truth and reconciliation commission solely designed
for Niger Delta crisis will be a necessary
exercise to
enable the people of Niger Delta, Nigerians and entire
world to come to terms with the causes and solution to
this crisis. It will form a morally accepted basis to
advance the cause of reconciliation. It’s also
needed at this point in time especially because a court
in New York has decided to hear a case against Shell.
Shell Oil Company has been accused of collaborating with
Nigerian authorities to execute Ken Saro Wiwa and eight
other Ogoni people. The case has started in New York.
Truth and reconciliation is needed to make peace in the
Niger Delta.
Finally,
if the federal government hesitates or declines to
constitute this commission,
the civil society groups,
non governmental organizations (NGO’s), human right
groups, etc should set up this commission and invite
various stake holders. This is in consonance with the
views of Professor Wole Soyinka when he outlined the
powers of the civil society groups, and individuals at
a public symposium in London on the state of the Nigerian
Nation. This symposium was held on 29th May 2009, at
the London Metropolitan University. We need peace and
reconciliation. May God bless Nigeria.
Chinedu
Vincent Akuta is an
activist and leader of “Support Option A4 Group” Leicester-UK
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