THE NIGER DELTA PLIGHT-Who Bells The Cat?

by 

Temilade Akerejola

takerejola@yahoo.com

The aphorism: "Who bells the cat?" describes vividly
the plight of the people of Niger Delta. I was told
that in the animal kingdom, the cats and rats are never
good friends! One eats up the other! Then, in a well
attended exclusive rats meeting, they plotted  to
survive the frequent onslaught of the cats. In their
sensible ingenuity, they unanimously decided to bell
the cat so that they can be warned when the tormentor
would   visit. Now, the question is: Which of the rats
would agree to bell the cat? We shall return to the
answer to this question in a short while!!

It is no longer news that the heroic demand of the people of the Niger Delta to at least "feel" the fruits of
their God given resources!. When I mention people, I
mean the "real people" (as Al Gore would say!). I don't
mean the collaborators and what Wiwa called "vultures"!

It is sad that aside the horrific devastation of the
environment and lives of the Delta, successive Nigerian
governments whether democratic or military has a policy
of assaulting the psyche of the entire people of the
Delta region.

Look at the whole trial of the late Isaac Boro! Have we
all  examined the implications of the  criminal
execution of Ken Wiwa, and his compatriots? What about the orchestrated murder of Kobani and the other
leading lights of the Ogoni people? Just recently, the
government of Obasanjo ordered the killing ,maiming
and destruction of Odi community. You can bet that the
only excuse for the destruction is because Odi is in
the Niger Delta and a "mere" minority tribe!

Lets pause a while and ask ourselves some bitter
questions. Do you think the government of Abacha would have executed Ken Wiwa and the other Ogoni patriots if they were perhaps  Yorubas? Ibos? Or maybe
Hausa-Fulani? I doubt if he would have had the will and
might to do so; even if they were really guilty as
charged! Please I want the word "really" to be
emphasized in your subconscious! No matter how
dictatorial he was, he dare not! Why? It is so simple!!
He would not want war! I mean, Abacha or any sensible
leader should know that it is an easy way to the
disintegration of Nigeria!! Do you know that General
Zamani Lekwot was also sentenced to death by a
kangaroo tribunal? Was the sentence carried
out? Why? Find out!

Let me quickly add a question please! Can Obasanjo do
what he did in Odi in Owo? Ilesha? Minna, Suleja? Funtua? Daura? Abakaliki? Onitsha? Aba or
Ketu? He cannot because the forces of the majority
tribes would simply eat him up! Did they not kill
policemen in Owo as a result of the Obaship tussle? Was
there no mayhem in Ketu ,Lagos? Were policemen
murdered or not? Didn't Obasanjo hear that Superintendent Amao was shot and dumped in the Atlantic Ocean? What about Amao's other colleagues that were murdered in Suleja as a result of the Emir ship throne? I pray, I sincerely pray that the country do not get destroyed by God because of our selective justice
administration!

Was it cocoa money that was used to build the National
Theater, Stadium and all the bridges in Lagos? Was it
groundnut money that the government of Abacha used to build a multi billion naira Trade Fair Complex in
Kaduna? What of the building of Nigerian Defense
Academy? Whose money built Oshogbo Rolling Mill? What about Ajaokuta Steel company? Let truth be told: we have been very unfair to the Niger Delta people!

Apart from Akobo and David West, which Niger Delta
indigene has been Minister of Petroleum? How many
Petroleum Ministers has Nigeria since independence? Who gave Shell, Chevron, Elf, and other multi national
companies operating in the Delta area the license to
import arms and ammunition? How many oil prospecting
license do the oil producing people have? Let truth be
told: We have been unfair to the people of the Delta!

The question is: what is to be done? I mean who bells
the cat? It is my humble and sincere opinion that we
all need to demonstrate our sense of guilt to the Delta
people. The government of Nigeria must as a matter of
urgency apologies to people of the Delta area for the
resources exploited over the years. And again
,reparation must be paid to them. The people of the
region also deserve good roads, schools, hospitals etc
..Would they reject a stadium, National Theater, Trade
Fair Complex, and etc? I doubt it ,I sincerely doubt
it! No amount of OMPADEC and other commissions can solve the problems of that region!

My question again is: Who would really bell the cat?

Temilade Akerejola
Attorney at Law,
Atlanta, Geogia.

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