Opinion
Militant ‘Generals’ Of The Niger Delta – Another Perspective
This Opinion was triggered by the recent interview that General Endurance Amagbein, Adaka Boro the Second, granted to The Nation newspaper, published on Saturday, October 14, 2023. The interview was titled ‘Why I backed out of illegal oil bunkering’
Any one that can lay his hand on a locally fabricated dane gun or AK-47 rifle can easily describe himself as a militant ‘General’ fighting for the emancipation of the resources of the Niger Delta and her development.
General Amagbein is just one amongst other militants that had access to arms which they used to negotiate for juicy security contracts for themselves, NOT for the hapless citizens of the Niger Delta.
As I write, there is widespread disagreement between so-called militant ‘Generals’ over the contracts that the Federal Government awarded to the two most foremost militant leaders – Tompolo, Asari Dokubo on one hand, and to other militant generals like Ateke Tom, Soboma George, Boy Loaf and Tabutamunio Angolia, etcetera. Many other contracts awarded to other militant generals are shrouded in secrecy.
The present peace that subsists in the area of influence of the above mentioned ‘Generals’ is a bomb waiting to explode in a matter of time.
Tompolo was awarded a contract of ₦40 billion for surveillance work on an oil pipeline by NNPC. Separately, he was declared wanted in 2009 and also in 2015 by the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, making him a government contractor while also on the most wanted list of Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency, the EFCC.
In whose interest are militant ‘Generals’ of the Niger Delta getting these humongous contracts from the Federal Government and NNPCL? Certainly not in the interest of the people of the Niger Delta.
The Abuja-Kaduna highway gained notorious reputation for being unsafe for travellers during the Buhari-led administration, due to frequent kidnappings and murders. Interestingly, in the twilight of the immediate past government, reports of violence crashed significantly.
When Asari Dokubo visited President Bola Tinubu at Aso Rock in the month of June 2023, he boasted that his men were the ones responsible for the stability, peace and security being enjoyed on that axis. Kidnapping of travellers suddenly vanished. As it is said in local parlance, “Mad man get master!”, meaning, kidnappers have masters that they fear.
It is no longer a secret that criminal ‘rascality’ has its usefulness, so much that so-called militant ‘Generals’ have become quasi-legitimate citizens.
Considering the humongous financial resources at the disposal of militant generals, their communities does not have a scant semblance of the humongous wealth that they have amassed in the name and guise of fighting for the people!
It is on record that Asari Dokubo has a university institution established in a neighbouring ECOWAS state. Why did he not establish his university in his home community to validate the cliche, ‘charity begins from home’?
This has led me to me wonder and conclude that the crusade by Niger Delta militants is nothing but fueled by their selfish greed of personal aggrandizement.
Notwithstanding, how long militant generals will be able to maintain the current peace of the Niger Delta remains to be seen, especially as it is now clear that there are under current agitations by other generals for the spoils of NNPCL pipelines surveillance contracts.
Bottomline: Host communities of oil producing areas shall continue to be pawns in the chess board of oil exploitation and the criminal fleecing of the commonwealth of the people of the Niger Delta. As it is said, ‘and the beat goes on …’
Finally, I call on president Tinubu to deploy the same courage and energy with which he announced ‘subsidy is gone’ on the removal of fuel subsidy to address the under development that currently plague Niger Delta oil producing communities – he should send a Bill to the national assembly to increase the percentage of host communities from the present level of 3 percent to 5 percent to assuage the pains and trauma of host communities.