Gapejarbeda
In 1968, the United States President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) said of the Vietnam war: the ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live out there. As we breathe a sigh of relief at the cessation of military offensive in Oporoza, Gbamaratu and Okerenkoko, President Yar’Adua should ponderLBJ’s assertion. Winning the hearts and minds of the Deltans is important because military operations that result in civilian casualties could push more Deltans towards more not less insurgency. This possiblity must be matched with a preventive plan.
Operation Restore Hope was carried out in a particular kind of information universe. In the Niger Delta, as elsewhere in the country, people have an understanding of the federal and state governments that is shaped (and skewed) by a combination of real information and history, on the one hand, and by resentments and conspiracy theories, on the other. The region’s official and unofficial media , identity brokers and others will never see the world as their counterparts in other parts of Nigeria.
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Over the years, Nigerians have seen many efforts to solve the Niger Delta problem fail. Nothing seems to work, including institutions built for that purpose, scores of commissions of inquiries and other reconciliation efforts.
Nigerians have seen the government go the extra mile in seeking peace with the region. But collective punishment, burnt villages, internally displaced people and reports of rape are more than rumours. They are collective memory. True or false, reports like these deepen resentment among the Nigera Deltans against the federal government.
Obviously, there is enough blame to share among the major players in the Niger Delta.. It is true that the state and local governments and much of the political class in the region have shown little moral leadership over the years. Moreover, it is no secret that they created the militants and used them to win power only to abandon them; or that the emergent criminality that has usurped the Niger Delta cause is a direct result of this history.
The strategy to win hearts and minds must ensure that appropriate punishment is meted out to any person, soldier or civilian, who commits any crime against our fellow civilian citizens in the Delta. This will constitute a confidence-building measure to re-assure the people of the Delta of the full value of their Nigerian citizenship. Every allegation of abuse must be thoroughly investigated. We cannot afford to minimize, let alone trivialize, the traumatic experiences of innocent citizens caught in the crossfire of the oil war. The President should address the nation on the war. He should tell them why the military action is was necessary.
In addition, he should go to the Niger Delta villages that are victims of the war, apologize to them for any collateral damages to their property and livelihoods, as well as outline credible compensations.
The Niger Delta governors should do the same. In addition, they should help fish out not just the so-called executive militants in governments, but also, the militants in the creeks, in the main street and in traditional regalia.
Victory in the Delta must be defined not just by the successful dislodgement and capture of the leadership of the insurgency but also by the maintenance of security there and on the attainment of some measure of legitimacy of federal government.
If Chief Ekpomupolo (aka Tom Polo), the stupendously wealthy leader can mobilize the youth to pay the supreme sacrifice, why cannot the far richer Nigerian state elicit patriotism from those same young people of the Niger Delta?
The answer may be that successive governments have failed to design and implement transparently easy and effective ways that get to the roots of their grievances.
While we applaud President Yar’Adua’s blanket amnesty for the militants and insurgents, a right step in this regard, the quest for hearts and minds requires that he takes two additional steps.
First, he should provide rehabilitation and reintegration services for the youth and other internally displaced people; and second, he must provide resources and vital information on a wide range of psychological and physical challenges that the traumatized population of the Niger Delta in the war zones will definitely experience after war.
Traumatic battle experiences wreak havoc on the humanity of the victims and society. We must not reap the harvest of even angrier, more sophisticated Niger Delta youth insurgency in the future. The JTF commanders must impress this upon Aso Rock as preventive final battle ground.
