No Inch of Akwa Ibom Land will be Ceded to Ijaws Oil Rivers State By FrontLine Akwa Ibom Movement (FAIME) PRESS STATEMENT Our attention has been drawn to a news item on Vanguard Newspaper of August 21, 2014 by a group claiming to be Ijaw Youth Council, (IYC) Worldwide. The report which is based on a statement signed by one Eric Omare, who claims to be the spokesperson of IYC, attempted to cast aspersion on the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah, former Minister of Lands and Housing, Chief Nduese Essien and indeed Akwa Ibom Caucus to the 2014 National Conference. Mr. Omare insulting statement against Akwa Ibom Caucus to the 2014 National Conference reads in part, “The petitioners are not part of the proposed state; hence they lack the locus to oppose the creation of Oil Rivers State. Therefore, we call on the relevant authorities to disregard the protest as the proposed Oil Rivers State deserves to be created on merit. “We wish to make it abundantly clear that anybody or group of people opposing the creation of homogenous Ijaw states for the Ijaw people of Akwa Ibom and Rivers State on the one hand, and the Ijaw people of Delta, Edo and Ondo states on the other, are threats to the existence of Ijaw people. “And we are ready to take any step to protect our existence. The IYC would not sit back and allow Ijaw people to be politically and economically oppressed and suffocated in Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Delta, Edo and Ondo states.” While we do not intend to join issues with the IYC over its spurious claims or be bothered by its empty threats against perceived opponents to the creation of an Oil Rivers State for Ijaw people, we, however, wish to use this medium to put the records straight. Nigerians and the world have not forgotten the role played by some criminal elements in the killing of thousands of innocent people of the Niger Delta region under the guise of militancy and Niger Delta struggle. Nobody is in any doubt about the genesis of the touted militancy in the once peaceful oil-rich region where the people hitherto engaged both the government and oil majors in constructive dialogue as well as the ignoble roles prominent politicians in the Ijaw areas and IYC members played in the carnage that later engulfed the region. We have not also forgotten that those who led in the killings and who supervised the devastation of hundreds of communities and engaged in oil theft, vandalism of oil pipelines, kidnapping and hostage taking, armed robbery, piracy, pickpocketting and sundry crimes were not only former leaders but are still members of the IYC. Under normal circumstances, people who killed and maimed women and children and who raped young and old women and plunder communities at peace time are supposed to face the full weight of national and international law. It is indeed unfortunate that the leaders and members of identified criminal gangs, who would have been sent to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face charges for crimes against humanity, are now enjoying Presidential Amnesty and running amok in search of new frontiers for plunder. Today, Akwa Ibom which is currently the largest oil producing state in the country has not benefitted from the Amnesty programme of the Federal Government because our youth refused to be recruited into the notorious gangs and ragtag militia groups that unleashed terror on Niger Delta people and communities and would not also allow them use even an inch of Akwa Ibom soil for their dirty campaigns. Today, Akwa Ibom people and communities who employed the techniques of constructive engagement and who abhorred violence in resolving the long years of environmental pollution by multinational oil companies and neglect by succeeding governments in Nigeria have been excluded from a multi-billion dollar Amnesty Project while criminals who kill people and plunder the region are sent to some of the best schools and institutions all over the world, for training. To the chagrin of respectable people, Illiterate criminals and their cohorts now implement multi-billion contracts and live large because they come from a particular ethnic group in the Niger Delta region. While we will continue to pursue peace in the Niger Delta region and support the cause of a united Nigeria, we wish to warn IYC and any other group for that matter, not to take the peaceful disposition of Akwa Ibom people for granted. The elders and people of Akwa Ibom State are not opposed to the creation of Oil Rivers or any other state for Ijaw people. But we will not allow an inch of Akwa Ibom land to be excised for the purpose of creating a state for Ijaw people and we will employ every legal means to resist any attempt by groups such as IYC to blackmail our leaders. The world watched with stark disbelief as IYC leaders and members displayed sheer savagery by beating up traditional rulers, insulting elders and executing their families during attacks and counter attacks between 2004-2010. Akwa Ibom youth are law-abiding people who have tremendous respect for elders and constituted authority. Even when they have been provoked by the IYC’s diatribe against their leaders, our youth are proud to identify with foremost Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, who in a letter dated August 12, disowned the purported attempt by some Ijaw fifth columnists to annex parts of Akwa Ibom State to form a new state for themselves. Part of the letter titled, “OIL RIVERS STATE,” which was addressed to the Chairman of the Conference, Justice Idris Kutigi, reads, “Our attention has been drawn to documents circulating in the Conference concerning the composition of the proposed ‘Oil Rivers State’ with some parts of Akwa Ibom State as constituting the proposed state. “This is at variance with the Conference decision of the Committee on Restructuring and Forms of Government. The Conference decision as correctly reflected on page 281 (b) of the draft report was that ‘the third state to be created in the South-South zone will be named later along with its state capital.’ At no time was a decision taken to include any part of Akwa Ibom State in the proposed ‘Oil Rivers State.’ “Kindly expunge every reference to Akwa Ibom State in the proposed ‘Oil Rivers State’ from your final Report and Draft Constitution as this may have been done in error and does not reflect the position of the South-South zone on the issue.” We also wish to bring to the attention of IYC and the promoters of the proposed Oil Rivers State, the advertorial published by the leaders and representatives of Ibeno Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State on the Nation Newspaper of August 21, titled, OPEN LETTER TO THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE LEADERSHIP AND MEMBERS: PROPOSED OIL RIVERS STATE, PLEASE COUNT IBENO OUT. In the advertorial, the leaders of Ibeno disassociated themselves totally from the move to balkanize Akwa Ibom State and advanced strong reasons for their action. They clearly speak the minds of the people of Ibeno and reject the attempted annexation of Akwa Ibom land for the purpose of serving the gratuitous and annexationist tendencies of IYC and their promoters. It is, therefore, curious to think that the proponents of an Oil Rivers State did not consult with the people they intended to bring into the new state but rather indulged in blackmail and endless cries of marginalization. It is also on record that at no time did Ijaw leaders within and outside the chamber of the National Conference engaged the leaders and people of Akwa Ibom in a discuss over the creation of an Oil Rivers State or any state for that matter. We, therefore, use this medium to warn the IYC and Ijaw third columnists to stop misappropriating the goodwill of the Niger Delta people towards President Goodluck Jonathan and other respected leaders of Ijaw extraction. The Niger Delta region is made up of homogenous people with deep cultural and ancestral ties and nobody or group should attempt to live in a false fantasy that the region belongs to them. We are prepared to defend the lands, the resources and the people of Akwa Ibom State against annexationist groups and interest and nobody should test our will. IYC should concern itself with the multi-billion Amnesty Funds that it has cornered as an Ijaw patrimony and leave Akwa Ibom and its people alone. Those, whose kernels were cracked for them by benevolent spirits, should not forget to be humble. A word to the wise is enough. Ibanga Isine, Presidnt Anietie Akpan, Secretary General August 24, 2014 FRONTLINE AKWA IBOM MOVEMENT is a Pan Akwa Ibom group totally dedicated to the protection and preservation of the rich heritage of Akwa Ibom people and the promotion of democracy and good governance in Nigeria. Join our Online Community by liking our Facebook page: Akwa Ibom Online Follow us on Twitter @AkwaIbomOnline and add us on BBM 296D678C Visit akwaibomonline
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 06:03:15 +0000
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