The disturbing news of the regrouping of Niger Delta militants especially of former members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) filtered in last week.
MEND was disbanded in 2009 after Late President Yar’Adua initiated the amnesty programme. Government Ekpomupolo (Tompolo), the erstwhile leader of MEND summoned commanders and leaders of the various wings of the militant group to an emergency meeting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. In an invitation to his comrades, he said: “My dearly beloved Commanders and Leaders of various wings of the Movement of the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), I greet you all. It is my pleasure to humbly invite you to a very crucial and urgent meeting…”
A source was quoted as stating the agenda of the meeting: “The place of the Niger Delta in the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and appraisal of the former President Goodluck Jonathan government in view of the current happenings in the country will be tabled for discussion at the meeting.” But in a sharp reaction to the invitation, Jomo Gbomo, spokesperson for the MEND, “wishes to state categorically that the proposed meeting is merely an assembly of dubious contractors and disgruntled elements, reacting on behalf of oil thieves and corrupt officials of the past administration of Goodluck Jonathan.”
According to him, “the MEND reaffirms our support for President Buhari and his government’s courage to probe the immediate past Goodluck Jonathan administration, which should also include the office of the Ex-President, the former First Lady and the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme.” However, the group reiterated its “commitment to the Niger Delta struggle,” which it said “has no relationship with seeking political appointments, power or contracts.”
Tompolo, one of the arrow heads of the self-determination-seeking group, became a big time contractor to the Federal Government. He got billion Naira pipeline monitoring contracts. In the run-up to the general election, some of the former militant warlords spoke up against any attempt to unseat Jonathan, their kinsman, out of power. They promised to make the country ungovernable should Jonathan lose the election. While Jonathan reigned, the Aso Rock Presidential Villa was a second home to some of the former militant leaders.
Jonathan lost and accepted the result of the election but this did not go down well for some of the militants who wanted him to hang in there no matter the consequences. As soon as the APC government came into power, President Buhari directed the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to discontinue payment to Global West Vessel Specialists Nigeria Limited (GWVSNL) for the provision of platforms for security of the nation’s waterways. GWVSNL is reportedly owned by Tompolo. The contentious maritime security contract was approved by former President Goodluck Jonathan and awarded by NIMASA in 2011.
Many operators and stakeholders had questioned the wisdom in concessioning the nation’s maritime security to a private company, especially one linked to a former militant. Patrick Akpobolofemi, the recently sacked Director-General of NIMASA was believed to have used his position to enrich some of his Ijaw kinsmen, Tompolo inclusive. Analysts believe the regrouping of the militants must have been an offshoot of the recent happenings in the power equation.
“We may likely see a resurgence in militancy in the Niger Delta. And this may worsen the already bad security situation in the country. It is also capable of throwing the Yar’Adua government off balance. Although America has promised to assist in the fight against insurgency, I don’t think US can be of any meaningful help if the militancy resumes. Don’t forget that the militants make more money in crisis situation than they do in time of peace. They siphon crude oil and sell to their foreign collaborators. Where did some of them get money to build universities outside the country? Where did they get money to trade in military hardware? So, I think it is a dicey situation,” a source said.
Last month, MEND threatened to resume hostilities in the region in protest of the huge salaries and allowances of federal lawmakers. It was in reaction to media reports that federal lawmakers were going to receive N9 billion wardrobe allowances. But Bukola Saraki, Senate president, refuted the reports, stating that each lawmaker would only get a wardrobe allowance of N506, 600 per annum in line with the stipulation of the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).
But dissatisfied Mend, through its spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, threatened fire and brimstone, said: “These wicked individuals appropriate to themselves huge and absurd salaries and allowances at the expense of the millions of hapless Nigerians, who have not been paid for months, their salaries, pensions and other benefits they deserve.” According to the group, “The Niger Delta region, where the bulk of revenue that sustains the nation comes from, continues to suffer neglect, environmental degradation and lack, made worse by the very corrupt and visionless past government of Goodluck Jonathan and his cronies, some of who still shamelessly parade themselves on national television and other media platforms as ‘Niger Delta Activists’. “Nigerians refuse to tolerate this ostentatious lifestyle of our lawmakers, whose main objective, it seems, is to enrich themselves and carelessly spend scarce resources. The Niger Delta people refuse to pamper and cater for the needs of these thieving Assembly rogues to their detriment. “If the lawmakers refuse to make the necessary adjustments needed to accompany the needs of the masses and the Niger Delta region, it may lead to the resumption of hostilities.”
Nigeria cannot afford the looming crisis in the Niger Delta with this clandestine move by the militants to regroup and start wreaking havoc on oil production. The insurgency in the north east is more than enough, throwing spanner in the works of oil exploration might bring this country to its knees. The election has been won and lost, MEND and other disgruntled Niger Deltans militant or not should give peace a chance and join hands with the rest of the country to make this nation prosperous. This administration, from the executive to the legislators must make prudency their watchword. This is a dire time for Nigeria; austerity must take over from profligacy. The task before President Buhari is gargantuan and he can’t do it all alone without the support and cooperation of every region of the country.
