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| Tompolo, Dokubo |
SIMON UTEBOR examines
the threat by ex-Niger Delta militants to unleash violence on the
country if President Goodluck Jonathan loses the February 14 election
The mammoth gathering of former Niger
Delta warlords and their foot soldiers at the Bayelsa State Government
Banquet Hall, Ovom, Yenagoa, marked an epoch in the history of politics
in Nigeria.
Since the former militants laid down
their arms and embraced the amnesty programme of the Federal Government,
there had not been a gathering of sort.
The meeting, moderated by the Special
Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Kingsley Kuku,
had Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson, his deputy, Rear Admiral
John Jonah (retd) and other senior government officials in attendance.
Foremost ex-militant leaders such as the
President, Niger Delta Volunteer Force, Alhaji Mujahid Asari-Dokubo;
Chief Government Ekpedunomowei, alias Tompolo; “Generals” Ebikabowe Ben,
aka Boyloaf; Ogun Boss, among others, also attended the gathering.
Though Kuku tried to dissuade the
ex-warlords from making inflammatory statements, they (ex-warlords)
yielded to outbursts of emotions and threw caution to the wind.
It was learnt that the purpose of
convening the meeting was to condemn the recent attacks on the campaign
team of President Godluck Jonathan in some northern states.
But as the meeting progressed and
tempers started rising, the ex-militants allowed emotions to overwhelm
them and agreed on one point – the defence of their own.
They resolved they would not yield in to the alleged blackmail and desperation by the North to wrest power back from “them.”
They boasted that Nigeria depended only on oil, adding that in its absence, there would’t be one Nigeria.
As a result, the former militants said without equivocation that Jonathan’s re-election was not negotiable.
Asari-Dokubo was the first to threaten
war. He said Nigeria would know no peace if Jonathan, out of alleged
blackmail and desperation for power by the North, was not re-elected.
Asari-Dokubo, who held the audience
spellbound as he spoke forcefully and chanted solidarity songs to the
admiration of the mammoth crowd, asked his colleagues to fortify
themselves for the struggle ahead.
He said, “For every Goliath, God created
a David. For every Pharaoh, there is a Moses. We are going to war.
Every one of you should go and fortify yourself.”
Asari-Dokubo also did not also mince
words while condemning the attack on Jonathan in Katsina State by some
youths suspected to be supporters of the All Progressives Congress
presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.
He insisted that the survival of the Ijaw nation rested squarely in the hands of the militants gathered at the meeting.
Boyloaf reinforced Asari-Dokubo’s
position, boasting that war was imminent if Jonathan, out of blackmail
and intimidation, failed to realise his ambition.
He said, “One thing I can assure you is
that though I am retired, I am not tired. We can go back to the
struggle. We own the resources and they are saying we do not have the
right to rule.
“I will assure you that we must collect
our oil back. If they take back power from us, we will take back our
oil. Let us fight this last fight and I tell you the devil is a liar.
“We are Nigerians but not one Nigeria;
what binds us together is the oil in the Niger Delta. The North wants to
use insecurity as an excuse to push out our own.
“Keep grudges and sentiments apart. We are ready to match them bumper to bumper.”
Boyloaf also condemned the attack on the
President in some northern states, saying nobody or group of persons
had the monopoly of violence.
Canvassing the need for oneness of
purpose among the ex-militant leaders, he claimed that the Peoples
Democratic Party presidential candidate had performed well and should be
re-elected.
In his remarks rendered in Izon
language, Tompolo also called on the ex-agitators to close ranks and
support Jonathan overwhelmingly for his re-election.
“We should come together as before to
cross the remaining part of the struggle. No ethnic nationality is
better and stronger than the Ijaw nation,” he said.
Governor Dickson, on his part, called on
the ex-militants and their estimated 30,000 foot soldiers as well as
the Ijaw nation to be united in their support for Jonathan’s re-election
bid.
Dickson had said the time had come for
all stakeholders and interest groups in the Niger Delta, especially the
Ijaw nation, to pool their resources and work in one accord to ensure
the President’s victory on February 14.
The governor described the re-election
of President Jonathan as key to the developmental aspirations of the
nation and the Niger Delta.
He noted that victory at the forthcoming
polls would afford Jonathan the opportunity to consolidate on the
achievements already recorded in the various sectors of the economy.
Dickson said, “I am delighted to be
present at this meeting. I am the representative of the President here.
This is the first time I have seen this kind of gathering – seeing the
movers and shakers of the struggle.
“I have a fair understanding of the
issues involved in the Ijaw movement. I know the reasons our people took
up arms against the Nigerian nation. As a result of the amnesty
programme of the government, our region has continued to enjoy relative
peace. We thank all of you who brought about that.
“I want to thank you for the show of
support. You have also expressed your dissatisfaction with what is going
on in some parts of the country where the President entourage was
attacked. I sound a note of caution to political leaders in the North to
bear in mind that Gen. Muhammadu Buhari was protected in the
South-South.
“The attack on Jonathan is highly provocative and portends danger to Nigeria’s democracy.”
While suing for peace in the country,
Dickson urged the ex-militants to obtain their Permanent Voters Card and
network with other nationalities to make Jonathan’s re-election bid a
success.
“I want to urge you all to network with
brothers and sisters in other parts of the country because Ijaw votes
alone cannot make Jonathan President,” he said.
But Chairman of the Niger Delta Amnesty
Implementation Programme, Kingsley Kuku, urged Nigerians to disregard
the war threat, saying those who spoke were only overwhelmed by outburst
of emotions arising from the attacks on Jonathan in the North.
Kuku said, “The ex-militants have all
agreed to work together for the good of Ijaw nation; they have also
decided to back the President for second term and that come rain or
shine, they are behind him.
“The former militants also said they
would not take lightly what is happening to the President in the North.
That Buhari came to Bayelsa and other South-South states, Ijaw people
did not stone him or assault him. They condemned the attack on Jonathan
and that for the country to remain one and united, those assaulting the
President in the North must stop forthwith.”
The gathering of the ex-militants and
their threat of war have begun to generate controversy and reactions,
with some observers saying such threat should not be shoved aside.
A public affairs analyst, Mr. Daniels
Igoni, said though the ex-militants had the right to meet, their threat
to cause violence if Jonathan loses the next election is worrisome.
He said the threat would further heat up the existing tension in the polity.
According to him, the country’s
democratic process has degenerated to a situation where stakeholders and
concerned citizens fly ethnic cards instead of evolving a process that
will engender cohesion and national interest.
Igoni said, “The gathering of
ex-militants was ostensibly to mobilise support for re-election of
President Jonathan. But they believed that they form part of the
political base for the President given the context of our national
politics when people find it convenient to play ethnic cards.
“But their position on threat of war is
out of it. This should be the time stakeholders and concerned citizens
should be looking for a way to douse tension and shun violence in the
interest of the country’s peace.”
A Human rights activist and Coordinator,
Environmental Right Action, Mr. Morris Alagoa, condemned the threat of
war by the ex-militants.
He also condemned the attacks on President Jonathan’s convoy in the North.
Alagoa said, “The threat of war is going
too far. Also, attacks on Jonathan and his convoy are not healthy for
democracy. If you do not want Jonathan at Aso Rock again, do it
democratically and vote for the candidate of your choice and if Jonathan
loses, it will be okay, provided it is not done undemocratically.
“Violence and threat of war are what we
have come to see in Nigeria. You can imagine that Jonathan campaign team
was attacked in the North. But when Buhari came, the people received
him peacefully. We should expect such reciprocity in the North.
“We should have that kind of reciprocity
when Jonathan visits the North. By now, the law enforcement agents
ought to have arrested anyone who crosses the line without fear or
favour. It is like some people are above the law – we have never heard
people being arrested.
“It is like the ex-militants are trying
to use what they have to get what they need. It is part of the Nigeria’s
politics. This I think is an aberration to democratic norms.”
Also, Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities, Port Harcourt Division, Prof. Beke Sese, condemned the threat of war.
He dismissed such threat, saying the electorate is the ultimate decider of who should lead in any political contest.
Sese, a lecturer at the Niger Delta
University, Amassoma, Bayelsa State, insisted that “such threat is not
good for democracy. Popularity should be tested at the poll.
“There has been a lot of threat
everywhere. It is the electorate that will decide. President Goodluck
Jonathan himself has consistently called for peace. He even made
statements to the effect that the ambition of any politician is not
worth the blood of Nigerians.
“It was because of such threat that Abuja Peace Accord was signed by presidential contenders.”
But President, Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, Mr. Udengs Eradiri, dismissed claim that the ex-militants threatened war.
Eradiri, who spoke at a news conference in Yenagoa during the week, said the issue was blown out of proportion.
The IYC boss, who was at the meeting of
the ex-warlords, said the threats of war were side comments of
individuals but not the consensus of the gathering.
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