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AGONY OF THE NIGER DELTA PEOPLE By The Niger Delta is probably the most savagely exploited area of Africa. Situated on the bight of Bonny it is the terminal point at which river Niger enters the Atlantic ocean. Here the river creates several inlets and islands that attracted Portuguese sailors and explorers on their voyages to India through the Cape of Africa centuries before the slave trade. After the slave trade, it was here alone, in west Africa, that genuine international commerce flourished. It was the trade in palm oil and other palm products. And the area attracted several western Europeans. After the notorious Berlin Conference in 1885, it was here that Great Britain crept deep into this part of Africa and cobbled several tribes and territories to become a colony which in 1914 they called Nigeria. The early administration of the country depended solely on revenue from palm oil and liquor from the Niger Delta and other parts of the South. 46 years thereafter, the colony was granted independence. Shortly before that, the country had been converted to three regions. In this way, the colonial administration created two regions in Southern Nigeria. The Niger Delta was split to two sections- the one was lumped with Yorubas as western region; the other was lumped with the Igbos as eastern region. The North remained one region. The people of the Niger Delta struggled desperately for their own identity by demanding a separate unit. Here they failed as both the colonial administration and the larger tribes refused. But in 1963, separation of their part of Niger Delta in western region was forced on the Yorubas. And later the Yorubas quite willingly adapted to the situation. In the east, no change was possible until 1967. Then came the civil war that began only six years after independence. Here the people of eastern Niger Delta were (like colonial subjects) right between the two warring sides; and they lost more than any other group. The war ended only to enable the whole country now to exploit the Niger Delta on both sides - east and west. But here the triumphant Northern military was in control. And they continue the savage exploitation of the resources of the Niger Delta. Here some foreign businesses readily cooperate with them, even by killing the people. Revenue Allocation is the system by which the whole country budgets on the money from the Niger Delta injected quarterly into the country's corruption based economy. It is on account of this that, the "Nigeria Unity" sounds very musical to many of 'the easy- money 'seeking elite. Albeit, in real terms, none of these false patriots can give you any reason that can make any honest person belonging to Nigeria, to like it. More still, a good many of these dishonest patriots have relations in Diaspora to whom they would never suggest return to the hell that Nigeria has become due to its abnormal ethnic and religious composition. However, in the pursuit of revenue allocation, several regimes kill, maim and repress the people of the Niger Delta so mercilessly as in the case of Ogoni, Odi, Jese and other places.. After Abacha had died, the world was shocked to know that he killed and jailed people in his effort to get his enormous amout of money from the revenue of the Niger Delta. When therefore Olusegun Obasanjo, who had himself tasted the poison of Abacha's tyranny, came to power, everyone thought that, "This man is a born again - he must now discard his blood thirsty propensity of 1976-79, and become a good man". And that he would be more understanding, but sadly, Obasanjo turned out to be worse than Abacha as the people soon found him to be a self seeking blood thirsty man that is full of his own personal ambition. There is nothing he cannot do to promote the interest and aspirations of the North. Yet he seems so scared of them that in their mist in Abuja (his capital) he tries to escape by traveling again and again for fear of a coup. Within six months of becoming president of Nigeria, Obasanjo sent his wild troops to the area and they kill and rape the people up to this day, in order to intimidate them to submission and to abandon their struggle for self determination, that would enable them to control their God given resources and environment. Not satisfied with the slow killing of his troops, Obasanjo followed his satanic propensity, and sent his bombers to bomb the people in their homes, even as they prepared to join the rest of the world in celebrating the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ - the New Millennium. In effect; for the people of the Niger Delta, during the past 50 years, it has been one long stretch of bloody struggle. In particular, since 1947 when regions were created, the people of the eastern Niger Delta have seen no peace, and they have been governed in relay by self-serving despots of the larger tribes as legacy of the colonial system continues. This is why they say "A million Obasanjo cannot stop us, and the struggle continues." Declared Georgeie Adaka Boro - Our brave heroine. And she continue ~ "We will get to the promise land which is having the Niger Delta Republic. The time has come... The independence of the Niger Delta will soon be celebrated..... The Egyptians didn't believe that the Israelis would be liberated. And the day it happened, Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, was fast asleep. In history, no struggle has ever ended without achieving its final result... Odi is our local government, and Obasanjo's regime just destroyed the whole town. The Obasanjo's regime is trying to silence us. The Kaiama Declaration still stands, and with it, we shall get there, we are ready to sacrifice our lives" declared the wonderful brave widow of a hero.
NIGER DELTA REPUBLIC MOVEMENT P.O. BOX 33535 LONDON E9 7YJ TEL/FAX: +44(0)2089853905 Website: www.ndrm.org.uk September, 2001
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