2015: TIME TO BID NIGERIA FAREWELL Vanguard, Monday, September 9, 2013 Page 56 Advertorial By NIGER DELTA PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE A 54 Low Beach Quarters, Burutu, Delta State 2015: TIME TO BID NIGERIA FAREWELL We had monitored, with deep concern, the trend of events in the country, particularly the various efforts at truncating the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. While we had opted to remain on the sidelines and watched the plot against Jonathan as it unfolds right from the period he assumed the mantle of leadership as acting president, we view the recent move by a group of northern governors, self-acclaimed political leaders and elders led by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to illegally stop Dr. Jonathan from contesting the 2015 presidential elections as the highest threat to the continued existence of the minorities of the South-South region in Nigeria as a political entity. Accordingly, the leadership of the Niger Delta Progressive Alliance, a coalition of youth groups in the Niger Delta areas met weekend in Lagos to deli berate on the state of the nation, especially the treasonable demand of Atiku and his group who recently broke away from the People Democraty Party (PDP) as a condition for peace in the party. They are asking President Jonathan to compulsorily disenfranchise himself from contesting the 2015 election, notwithstanding the fact that he is statutorily entitled to a second term. They also want the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur removed from office as a prelude to push President Jonathan out of Aso Rock Villa. After a painstaking assessment of the new development, we observe as follows: (a) That President Goodluck is a victim of manifestation of the fears of the Willink’s Commission set up during the colonial era which in its report in the 50s, expressed concern on the possible entrapment on the right of the minorities of the Niger Delta, and had sought for some protective measures which didn’t materialize. Thus, he is vilified and should be denied his democratic rights on account of being an Ijaw from the minority oil-rich Niger Delta region where nothing seemingly good must emerge. (b) Apart from the politically orchestrated Boko Haram insurgency which he has successfully checkmated to the surprise of his traducers, he is the most blackmailed leader dead or alive in this country, whose every move no matter how noble and laudable, must be condemned and vehemently attacked by those who hold the erroneous belief that the North holds the ace of Nigeria’s political leadership as a birthright. (c) Instances of such attempts at intimidation and blackmail abound, including the oil subsidy removal saga, the Malabu oil bloc probe, and lately, the sing-song about the increase in oil theft in the Niger Delta region and the Gulf of Guinea, when indeed, illegal bunkering activities peaked during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, during which several large vessels were used to load crude illegally on a daily basis, as against the present wooden boats being used. There is also the issue of Jonathan’s signing of a single tenure pact which he has vehemently denied, but being parroted by some selfish individuals in the North without any admissible proof. (d) Nigerians and the international community are all aware of the fact that it had literarily been one-day-one-trouble for President Jonathan since his emergence as acting president through the 2011 presidential elections till date, as spirited attempts including acts of extreme violence had been made first, to deny him the presidency, and later, to force him out of office especially through the instrumentality of the murderous Boko Haram Islamist sect. Not that the move has failed, they are unable to hide their frustration and are barring their fangs with the aim of causing serious crises in the polity by dismembering the ruling PDP on which platform Dr. Jonathan is expected to seek re-election come 2015. (e) If it was all about political interests and pact as claimed, what led to the Doctrine of Necessity propounded by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria after a long period of intrigues and power play, to enable Jonathan assume duties as acting president, when the late President Yar’Adua was obviously incapacitated? What of the threats to make the country ungovernable if the presidency eluded the North in the 2011 election and the attendant violence which trailed Jonathan’s declaration by IBEC as the duly elected president? How do we explain the serial and organized attempts to intimidate him out of office even when he was barely a year in office in his first term? Why can’t they wait till the 2015 election to democratically vote him out of office if they have the capability to do so? (f) The only plausible reason why they are bent on removing Jonathan from office is because he is a minority from the South-south region who has become a stumbling block in their quest to perpetually control the oil wealth in the Niger Delta. They are pained and angry because it is no longer business as usual, and perhaps, the resources, which they had brazenly starched away in local and foreign currency over the years might have depleted to unimaginable levels. (g) We wish to ask if the people of the Niger Delta are still part of this country. We say so because from all indications, our continued survival in this nation is increasingly under threat. Let there be no pretence about it: Nigeria’s unity is today being preserved by the petro-dollars from the massive crude oil in the Niger Delta region, whose people are ironically the least beneficiaries of their God-given wealth. While the inhabitants of the area are bearing the brunt of the destructive oil exploration and exploitation activities by the multinational firms, the proceeds are used to develop and industrialized other parts of the country that now regard the Niger Delta people as second class citizens. Yet, the people had exercised caution and refused to make inflammatory pronouncements or engage in actions capable of breaking up the country. This is not a sign of weakness, but sacrifice they’ve borne for decades even with the stark reality that the project called Nigeria is a total conspiracy against the Niger Delta. Having maintained their peace for so long, the Niger Delta people should not be stretched beyond endurable limits. Consequently, we hereby serve the notice below: (1) President Goodluck Jonathan MUST be allowed to exercise his constitutionally guaranteed right of seeking a second term in the 2015 elections. But in the event of any attempt by any individual or group to deprive him of his democratic rights, we have resolved to match force for force, even if it will lead to Nigeria’s disintegration. (2) Since it is all about oil politics, we shall ensure that those lusting to grab political power as a means towards amassing our oil wealth will no longer see a single drop of oil. We shall henceforth take appropriate measures to ensure that our God-given wealth is protected from the grip of people who do not wish us well. (3) It is a pity that some of those at the forefront of the battle to stop Jonathan from seeking a second term based on the aforementioned reasons seems to have forgotten that they acquired vast business interests located in some states of the Niger Delta region through the proceeds of petro-dollars from our depredated and pauperized oil bearing communities, and the sight of such gigantic multi-billion naira evokes a feeling of angst as a result of the ill-treatment meted on our people. the recent developments in the polity have heightened tension to a feverish pitch among the youths of the Niger Delta and we make haste to warn that, should violence erupt again in the Niger Delta, this time around, nobody or group, not even the Federal Government through the security forces, would be able to contain the situation. (4) As the popular saying goes, a stitch in time saves nine; but we reiterate that we are no longer bothered even if Nigeria should break up tomorrow. If they say the panacea for peace to reign in this country is for Dr. Jonathan not to contest the 2015 presidential election, we are saying he MUST contest, and heavens will not fall. We are waiting anxiously for the D-Day. SIGNED: DEACON ANGONEMI FEDUDE (President General) AKPATA OKORODUDU (General Secretary) NSIKAK EBONG (Director of Mobilization)
Posted on: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 05:54:02 +0000
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