Recently, the Federal Government granted general amnesty to the Niger Delta militants with the aim of rehabilitating them. This is part of efforts by the government to bring an end to the crisis in the troubled region.
To ensure that the gesture is effectively carried out, the Niger Delta states have been asked to begin to compile a list of the returnee-militants that have agreed to take up government’s offer. Government has however, said that the idea of arms-for-money is completely out of the deal, as it had failed in the past..
This, to us, is a good gesture from government that wants to put an end to the pains and agony being experienced by both government and the host communities.
Granting amnesty should, nonetheless, be all-embracing, including those currently under-going criminal prosecution, so that enough confidence would be engendered and, in the process, encourage every militant to participate and remove any fear of hidden agenda and discrimination. In the present circumstance, there is need to define the concept of disarmament process so as to prevent militants from re-arming again.
The genesis of the agitation is located in the exploitation of the crude oil which has consequently led to environmental degradation and, as if this was not enough, the effect of the huge revenue realized from the exploitation of these resources is not felt by the people themselves, hence the high level of poverty and a sense of alienation among the people.
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The oil companies have created severe environmental problems such as gas flaring, oil spillage, water and air pollution, the combined effect of which engendered youths restiveness in the region.
Both the government and oil firms have fallen short of their Corporate Social Responsibilities to the host communities, especially in the area of protecting the people from the hazards posed to them by oil exploration activities.
Because of the complexity of the whole crisis and the many dimensions required to solve the problems in the region, it is hoped that providing the needed leadership in carrying the project through is critical to the success of the whole exercise.
Lack of sincere and committed leadership has been blamed for the non- implementation of the various commissions that have been set up on the region. The Federal Government’s failure to implement the provisions of these commissions, despite promises to fulfill the Willinik Commission of 1958, aggravated the problems of this region which is now haunting the entire nation.
Government should therefore, address the problems of the area once and for all by blocking all the leakages that have helped to bring the region to its present situation. Cases of lack of transparency in the leadership of agencies that were set up as interventionist strategies should be addressed.
Heads of government in the region must be held accountable for their actions and we believe that until such steps are taken, whatever amount of money is pumped into the area would still go down the drain.
