GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA: FOR WHO THE BELL TOLLS NEXT.

Just five people shy of Sandy Hook elementary school mass shooting incident that claimed 26 lives, the Uvalde Texas Robb elementary school mass shooting at 21 victims, now ranks among the highest grossing gun carnage in America. It is sad that such frequent blood spilling has tragically become part of our culture as a society. May the souls of the killed now rest.

25th AMENDMENT: ITS NOW ALL CRICKET.

Madam Speaker Nancy Pelosi once questioned former President Donald John Trump's fitness to remain in office due to what she claimed was his declining mental capacity. Does anyone know what Madam Speaker presently thinks about the incontrovertible case which America is now saddled with? Just curious!

WHO WILL REBUILD UKRAINE?

The West should convert frozen Russian assets, both state's and oligarchs' owned, into a full seizure and set them aside for the future rebuilding of Ukraine. Like the Marshal Plan, call it the Putin Plan.

A HERO IS BORN.

I am staying put. I will not run away and abandon my people. The fight is here in Ukraine. What I need are weapons and ammunitions, not a ride out of town like former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani - President Volodymyr Zelensky.

IT IS WHAT IT IS.

"There is too much hate in America because there is too much anger in America." - Trevor Noah.

WORD!

A life without challenges is not a life lived at all. A life lived is a life that has problems, confronts problems, solves problems and then learns from problems. - Tunde Fashola.

NOW, YOU KNOW.

When fishing for love, bait with your heart and not your brain, because you cannot rationalize love. - Mark Twain.

JUST THE FACT.

In our country, you can shoot and kill a nigger, but you better not hurt a gay person’s feelings - Dave Chappelle

DO YOU?.

“What you believe in can only be defined by what you’re willing to risk for it." - Stuart Scheller.

HEDGE YOUR CRISIS.

Never get in bed with a woman whose problems are worse than yours. - Chicago PD.

PROBLEM SOLVED.

'The best way to keep peace is to be ready to destroy evil. If you Pearl Harbor me, I Nagasaki you.' - Ted Nugent.

OUR SHARED HUMANITY.

Empathy is at the heart of who we are as human beings. - Cardinal Matthew Kukah.

WORDS ON MARBLE.

"Birth is agony. Life is hard. Death is cruel." - Japanese pithy.

REPENT OR PERISH - POPE.

Homosexuality is a sin. It is not ordained by God, therefore same sex marriage cannot be blessed by the church - Pope Francis.

CANCEL CULTURE IS CORROSIVE.


FOR SAKE OF COUNTRY.


MAGA LIVES ON: NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER!

TWITTER IS BORING WITHOUT HIS TWEETS. #RestorePresidentTrump'sTwitterHandle.


WORD.

"If you cannot speak the truth when it matters, then nothing else you says matters.” - Tucker Carlson.

#MeToo MOVEMENT: A BAD NEWS GONE CRAZY.

"To all the women who testified, we may have different truth, but I have a great remorse for all of you. I have great remorse for all of the men and women going through this crisis right now in our country. You know, the movement started basically with me, and I think what happened, you know, I was the first example, and now there are thousands of men who are being accused and a regeneration of things that I think none of us understood. I’m not going to say these aren’t great people. I had wonderful times with these people. I’m just genuinely confused. Men are confused about this issue. We are going through this #MeToo movement crisis right now in this country." - Harvey Weinstein.


RON DELLUMS: UNAPOLOGETICALLY RADICAL.

"If it’s radical to oppose the insanity and cruelty of the Vietnam War, if it’s radical to oppose racism and sexism and all other forms of oppression, if it’s radical to want to alleviate poverty, hunger, disease, homelessness, and other forms of human misery, then I’m proud to be called a radical.” - Ron Vernie Dellums.


WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN LIFE - STEVE JOBS

“I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes, my life is an epitome of success. However, aside from work, I have little joy. Non-stop pursuing of wealth will only turn a person into a twisted being, just like me. God gave us the senses to let us feel the love in everyone’s heart, not the illusions brought about by wealth. Memories precipitated by love is the only true riches which will follow you, accompany you, giving you strength and light to go on. The most expensive bed in the world is the sick bed. You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear sickness for you. Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost – Life. Treasure Love for your family, love for your spouse, love for your friends. Treat yourself well. Cherish others.” - SJ

EVIL CANNOT BE TRULY DESTROYED.

"The threat of evil is ever present. We can contain it as long as we stay vigilant, but it can never truly be destroyed. - Lorraine Warren (Annabelle, the movie)


ONLY THE POOR WISH THEY HAD STUFF?

“I’m not that interested in material things. As long as I find a good bed that I can sleep in, that’s enough.” - Nicolas Berggruem, the homeless billionaire.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

ATLAS COVE, WHAT'S ALL THE YORUBA FUSS ABOUT?

Icheoku says, so what if MEND attacked a Nigerian National Petroleum Company owned and operated oil facility located in Yoruba-Land of Lagos State? After-all the Yorubas are the highest single beneficiary in Nigeria, of the pillage, which has been going on in the Niger Delta since independence in 1960? A foxy-race which cunningly goad, leech and encourage the Hausa-Fulani to continuously traumatise Nigeria with their inept and bad leadership. And as soon as they succeed in starting a fire between two sides, conveniently recoil to their shell in the South West and with pretended innocence, starts reaping the bounty of a harvest which they never planted? Enough is enough of this people's always holier than thou attitude and it is about time someone called them to order!
That Nigeria is suffering today under the sick Mr. Slowman was a Yoruba man's doing; a despicable fella whose eight years of bloody visceral occupation of Nigeria brought more harm than good to many Nigerians? When the midget of Kano, Sani Abacha struck, it was with another Yoruba renegade Oladipo Diya? When Buhari struck, it was also with Babatunde Idiagbon and Babatunde is not an Ijaw name? Obasanjo was there previously from 1976 through 1979 but the lot did not improve in the creeks of Nigeria? When Theophilus Danjuma and his co-mad dogs, messed up Nigeria in 1966, resulting in the Biafran civil war, it was with the active connivance of the likes of Adekunle Benjamin, Olusegun Obasanjo, Obafemi Awolowo and such other Yoruba mercenaries that Biafra was forced to abort her attempt at self governance. The Yoruba inexplicably took sides with the Northerners despite numerous and obvious reasons to do otherwise, and through their Obafemi Awolowo introduced starvation as the best instrument of warfare into the lexicon of war-faring. As a a pay-back, they convinced bloody Yakubu Gowon to sign the infamous indegenisation decree through which they commandeered all companies in Nigeria; thereby unfairly gaining and usurping all the economic advantage in Nigeria to the detriment of other tribes? Ernest Shonekan also became a tool in the hands of Ibrahim Babangida to rubbish Abiola's election victory and by extension, Nigerian democracy in general? So with this litany of transgressions, who should really be crying foul here? No, not the same group of people who have sabotaged every bold step ever put forward by other patriotic tribal-nationalities in Nigeria to permanently fix what is wrong with Nigeria? Now that the chicken came home to roost briefly, just for one night in their neck of the wood, they are crying bloody murder, that the stench is too strong; albeit, without any grounds whatsoever, since they are as guilty as the Hausa-Fulani nemesis of Nigeria? Icheoku asserts unequivocally that over 75% of all development in Yoruba-Land including Lagos State, as well as the torched Atlas Cove is owed to the proceeds of the pillage in Niger Delta and we stand to be corrected! So what the heck is this fuss about?
But just for the sake of argument, let us postulate and assume that Atlas Cove jetty is Yoruba's, Icheoku asks, what is wrong in striking at a property which belongs to an accomplice of a crime? The Yoruba's shameless support of the Hausa-Fulani oligarchs' atrocious vice-hold on Nigeria over the years, has transformed them into a people who many a Nigerian would rather they are not part of Nigeria? Was Olusegun Obasanjo not a Yoruba man and did he not rule Nigeria for another 8 years after his first calling, during which time he visited his fair share of atrocities on the Niger Delta people? Was it not during the incestuous Olusegun Obasanjo ignominious eight years terrorist-rule in Nigeria that Odi community of Niger Delta Bayelsa State was almost decimated? Was Olagusonye Oyinlola not one of those fingered with the extra-judicial murder of Ken Saro-Wiwa and where is he also from, Tiv-land? Heck No! Anyway, this commentary is not meant as a diatribe or to poke a finger in the eyes of any particular tribe, no; it is simply that Nigerians in general should see the carnage in the Niger Delta as a national tragedy which every right thinking Nigerian is obligated to help in resolving. Every Nigerian should see it for what it is - the repercussion of sinful act of every Nigerian who has benefited either directly or indirectly from the oil resources of the Niger Delta!
The trailing reactions coming from the South West to the successful expedition of the brave boys and girls of MEND at Atlas Cove, has once again called to question Nigeria's continued existence as one entity? The vituperation shows that Nigeria, really, is not one country and the earlier the hard truth is told the better; so that each nationality therein, which are unhappily yoked together all these years, might feel free to move on as they may please. Things have been blowing up over the years and in various parts of Nigeria including bombs at Ikeja military cantonment which killed over 10,000 innocent Nigerians, also Nigerians of the Niger Delta have been under the sledge-hammer of the Federal armed forces for some years now but nobody seriously uttered any harsh re-vibrating words in condemnation! But now that Atlas Cove went up in flames, suddenly, it is going to lead to a tribal war and such other stupid rantings as does not make any sense?
But does anyone in Nigeria still take these Oduduwa loud-mouths serious, after the missed opportunity of June 12 and the humiliation their race suffered when MKO Abiola was stopped cold from the presidency and subsequently killed? What about their Cicero of Oke-Onaa, Bola Ige? When patriotic Yoruba-duty called on both occasions, they instead turned tail only to emerge from their hibernation now, to huff and puff about a looming tribal war? Common, Nigerians know better and also know the jerks among their society! Icheoku remembers vividly too, that these people and their Obafemi Awolowo clandestinely and cowardly chickened out during Biafra's attempt to permanently reconfigure Nigeria for the good of all? These people are the most insidious bane of Nigeria and the single reason why nothing meaningful can ever come out of any struggle to free Nigeria from the northern 'Cabal-istic' shackles. With them, you never know where they stand on any issue affecting the greater Nigerian State as their 'yes' most times means 'no'? In some fashion, if connivance, deceit, treachery and sabotage has any natural known abode, it is across the River Niger, West of Nigeria; and this is the reason Icheoku says, they should hush and stop beating their chests about an impending tribal war because Atlas Cove was torched?
Laughably, South-west zone Action Congress, some faceless traditional rulers, some so called elders and some very corrupt local government council chairmen in Lagos State have demanded an unreserved apology from MEND, over their milestone Atlas Cove hit? Icheoku says, not in this lifetime should they get their wish! What a bunch of impostors these people are, who chickened out from a 'tribal war' for a good cause when it mattered most, when their nose was cut off during June 12 democratic struggle in Nigeria? Icheoku says, this Prince Tajudeen Olusi, should understand that MEND was simply crying out loud for attention, and by visiting the mayhem on Atlas Cove was merely pushing all available envelopes against a recalcitrant feudalistic Nigerian government. Their attack on Atlas Cove oil jetty was not borne out of any specific vindictive animosity against the Yoruba race or Lagos State; they simply saw a window of opportunity to strike at a possible Nigerian jugular-vein and decided to take it?
Hopefully this Prince now sees the light; otherwise, MEND should disregard his useless threats of this being "the last of such" attack or that any attempt to repeat what happened, "would be met with serious consequences which the attackers would live to regret.” What Nigerian armed forces could not achieve, a knee-jerk people without liver is threatening to accomplish? Anyway, it is the usual Yoruba blow-hot, empty threat which several tests of times have proved them incapable of seeing through, as they lack the guts to carry them out? Further, the attack on Atlas Cove jetty was not misplaced in any way since Lagos State is part of Nigeria and has benefited tremendously from the oil exploitation of the Niger Delta. Also it is very arrogant of this Prince Olusi to claim that “Lagos State has always provided refuge to several displaced Nigerians fleeing from conflicts and disasters', since Lagos is not his exclusive preserve and Nigerians can and should feel free to live in any part of Nigeria without let or hindrance or any prior authorisation or permission of anyone, including this so called Prince Whatever his name is and his fellow sons of the soil?
MEND, please be assured that thousands of Major-General Adeyinka Adebayo and his Yoruba Council of Elders can only bark but not bite over an issue which was never directed at them, but to the federal government of Nigeria. No target or place should be safe any longer in Nigeria as long as those Nigerians inhabiting the enclave keep quite and pretend the issue of the Niger Delta is not their business or concern; or pretend it is a problem between the Hausa-Fulani and the Niger Deltans. All have sinned and come short of glory in Nigeria that has benefited from the oil in the Niger Delta while remaining aloof and indifferent to the challenges facing the region. If this Adeyinka Adebayo sees it as a matter capable of triggering inter-tribal war, Icheoku asks, between which tribes does he want to wage this his war? Will it be between Yoruba and who, since Niger Delta cuts across nine states and impacts over ten tribes? Who will be on the receiving end of his artilery? - The Ijaws? The Itshekiris? The Ibos? The Efiks? The Ikwerres? The Edos? The Ondo Yorubas? The Ibibios? The Kalabaris? The Efaks? The Efangs, etc? In short may be this man is advocating a regional war or another civil war or a war to end all injustices in Nigeria, at the end of which every group goes its separate ways to pursue their respective destinies within their secured mutually exclusive territories? Icheoku says, the extension of violence by Niger Delta militants to the South-West was not "an invitation to an inter-tribal conflict" but a cry for help whose time has since come. Every Nigerian is yoked in the Niger Delta conflict together and together they shall solve it; but to pretend or wish otherwise is basking in ocean of fantasy.
A Nigeria tabloid, Sun Newspapers was economical with the truth in its editorial on the Atlas Cove incident, wherein it "strongly condemn the attack on the Atlas Cove Jetty" describing it as 'dastardly and despicable'? What an editorial in denial of the facts on hand as it relates to the ongoing freedom struggle in the Niger Delta? What forced the hands of the Federal government of Nigeria to pursue peace, if not the bravery and audacity of such attacks as was carried out on Atlas Cove? Icheoku says, the militants reserve the right to blow up anything, anywhere, in any part of Nigeria, including the Atlas Cove jetty and/or any other facility, funded from proceeds of sales of the Niger Delta oil; and if this is what it takes to get the full attention of the oppressors, so be it! But for this tabloid, Sun Newspapers, to editorialise that the Atlas Cove attack was "unprovoked and unjustifiable" shows the yellowness of that paper and/or the lack of editorial dept of its editorial staff. How dare this newspaper state such a fallacy of nonsense as a given, that the attack was unprovoked? Was it not the Hausa-Fulani who left their desert enclave in the north for a military adventure in faraway South of south Niger Delta? Was this their ill-advised military adventurism provoked and by whom or what? After-all the owners of the land in Niger Delta are merely trying to assert their ownership and control rights over what is in their land? Is this sufficient reason to send in the killing machine Nigerian armed forces to wreck such havoc as is ongoing in the Niger Delta? We don't think so!
The struggle in the Niger Delta has since become 'ethnicised' by other Nigeria tribes which have kept silence while the most vicious ethnic cleansing of Nigerians is going on in the Niger Delta; and while carrying on as if the life which has been drastically interrupted in Niger Delta is not their business or are lesser of theirs? There is at present no lasting unity and/or peace in Nigeria, so who gives a damn if the tension boils over and Nigeria unravels? It is President Umaru Yar'Adua who has to accept on behalf of the Hausa-Fulani north that occupation of any type is not good; and commence a meaningful dialogue with the necessary parties in the Niger Delta, so as to find an agreeable way forward out of the imbroglio they created with their unwarranted invasion. Further, the routing of the Nigerian Naval Force at Atlas Cove jetty is just another good eye-opener of the unpreparedness of the Nigeria Navy to defend Nigerian territorial waters at its hour of need. Were it to frog-jump and horse-whip innocent Nigerians on the streets of Lagos, for not yielding fast-enough the congested roads for their siren-blaring goons to pass, then they are very methodical indeed? But to defend an ordinary jetty from a non-professional fighting force of MEND, they could not muster and Nigeria prides itself the 'giant' of Africa? Their apparent mediocrity was the primary reason Olusegun Obasanjo hurriedly handed over Bakassi to the Cameroons, because the Nigerian Navy was not prepared to be humiliated in battle by the Cameroon gendarmes? It is a manifestation of the deep rot of an inept governance of a people by the worst dregs of its society, wherein Naval ratings and their commander are left with no weapons on hand to guard and defend such a vital facility as Atlas Cove jetty. Without MEND Nigerians would not have known this about their navy, so in a way, that was positive.
It is also a lie for anyone including Sun Newspaper to claim that the militants have no country other than Nigeria; because Nigeria does not accept Niger Delta as part of them, otherwise the decay therein would not have been allowed to fester for this long. More-so other Nigerians would have joined the protesting MEND and the greater Niger Delta people to secure for them, a fair shake of modernity paid for by their oil wealth? Also a 'Bayelsa Country' does not sound bad at all for a name; and in view of the lunatic Hausa mad-mallam who suggested that all Niger Deltans be killed off to end the disturbance to oil flow, make the idea of a sovereign Niger Delta country, which can guarantee their existence, a necessary future option? Icheoku condemns the Sun Newspaper's editorial as a manifestation of the dearth of courageous journalism in Nigeria since the death of Dele Giwa by Babangida's parcel bomb; and as a manifestation of what is wrong with the fifth estate in Nigeria.
In summation therefore, every Nigerian whether Yoruba, Igbo or other ethnic groupings including the oppressors, Hausa-Fulani and the oppressed Niger Delta tribes, should be prepared to take some little pain before the genie of Niger Delta struggle is completely put back in the bottle. To achieve equity in Nigeria, all the benefactors of the Niger Delta oil must see themselves as accomplices to injustice, hence if they are visited with some late Sunday night barrages of machine gun-fire or one of the installations in their neck of the wood torched; they should suck it up and see it as a necessary sacrifice which they must make, in order to fix what is broken in Nigeria. But to threaten a tribal war in an inter-connected society is reckless; Ondo State is part of Niger Delta and by necessary implication have freedom-soldiers in MEND and being a Yoruba-land, which tribes will be fighting against each other in this Adebayo's impending internecine tribal-war? Moreover no Yoruba orchestrated tribal war can be as earth-scorching and vicious as the ongoing northern Feudal war being fought with the Nigerian armed forces in the Niger Delta?
Therefore, no one in the Niger Delta should be moved by such boisterous threats from the people of Western Nigeria, whose cowardice is of general knowledge. All things considered and the Yoruba blustering not withstanding, one clear lesson of the Atlas Cove incident and its attendant aftermath is that Nigeria is not really one country nor a nation of people. Imagine the Yoruba West threatening tribal war and stating that they have been "very accomodating to other Nigerians"? What does that mean? Imagine a Lagos State that was fully developed with proceeds of Niger Delta oil, being former capital of Nigeria, in the verge of being appropriated exclusively by one of Nigerian tribes? How can any Nigerian tribe ascribe to themselves the ownership of any part of Nigeria when Nigeria is supposed to be a country and belongs to every Nigerian? How can a people be referenced as strangers in their own supposed country that another group of people reserves the right of expulsion or exclusion of that others, from a particular section of the geography? Icheoku says, if any body or group of people need to apologise for the attack on Atlas Cove, it is the Yoruba who have inserted their tribal sentiments into a national matter; notwithstanding that Atlas Cove is situated in Lagos State? This Yoruba inserted myopic tribal dimension is very omnious and higlights the deep-rooted animosity and misgivings among many nationalities which were clubbered into Nigeria. In any event however, the best solution probably may be for every person to just go their separate ways peacefully, instead of the continued stress of putting up in a 'humpty-dumpty' of a country, called Nigeria, which no member thereof really wants to belong to or work hard enough to sustain? Until there is a resolution, Icheoku salutes the bravery of the Atlas Cove incident!

6 comments:

  1. Lagos and other states will be attacked again if the Federal Government fails to resolve the Niger Delta conflict, militants warned on Wednesday.

    Spokesman for the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Jomo Gbomo, reiterated in an online interview that the complaints and warning from Lagos leaders over the bombing of Atlas Cove are unnecessary because the target was Federal Government,s investment, not that of the state.

    He insisted that the time has come for the region to be demilitarilised and for the people of Gbaramatu to be resettled.

    He said Abuja may not be attacked because there are no oil facilities there, but it would suffer the effects of attacks indirectly.

    His words: ,,We see the warnings as uncalled for and myopic. Such verbal energy should be directed at the Federal Government to expedite change. We do not respect any boundaries where our enemy takes refuge, including Lagos.

    ,,The NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) prefers to fund the military acquisitions than rehabilitate the displaced people of Gbaramatu and will continue to be a legitimate target.

    ,,We did not bomb Lagos but the Federal Government-owned NNPC facility based in Lagos. We do the same in the Niger Delta, so why should Lagos be treated differently?

    ,,No place is immune from attacks until justice returns to the oil bearing Niger Delta region. We hope the crisis will be resolved soon, or else the oil companies and their facilities will be targeted, no matter what part of the country they seek refuge.

    ,,Abuja does not have the type of oil facilities to warrant a direct attack. The gas pipelines that have been cut in the Delta are already affecting power supply there.,,

    Gbomo said MEND leader, Henry Okah, is ,,reaching out as a peace envoy. He is fine and will be traveling out soon to attend to his health. No serious negotiations have started yet.,,

    However, Senators and members of the House of Representatives from Lagos State have demanded an unreserved apology from the MEND for attacking Atlas Cove and killing Naval officers on July 13.

    The Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), and Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) have also demanded apology from the MEND.

    Gbomo countered that the South West should apologise to the Niger Delta over the actions of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in wiping out Odi.

    Nonetheless, Deputy Minority Leader, Olorunnimbe Mamora (AC, Lagos), led his colleagues to address a press conference demanding the apology from MEND on Wednesday.

    ,,The attack has caused panic and disruption to the lives of peace loving Lagosians, particularly those within the vicinity of the jetty. It is also capable of sending wrong signals to investors within and outside of Nigeria that Lagos is no longer safe.

    ,,The Lagos State caucus in the National Assembly (NASS) considers this attack most unfortunate, highly reprehensible and condemnable in the strongest terms. It was an unprovoked attack on Lagos which has played the good host to Nigerians from all walks of life for close to a century or more.

    ,,An attack of this nature is capable of igniting unintended ethnic tension. It is on this note that the MEND is called upon to exercise caution in the pursuit of its objectives so that an otherwise genuine struggle does not become adulterated with barefaced criminality and attendant loss of sympathy by friends of the Niger Delta.,,

    Mamora described MEND,s demand of an apology from Yoruba leaders for Obasanjo,s action in Odi as ,,out of tune. One thing you would note when Obasanjo came into power in 1999 was that he did not have the support of the Yoruba.

    ,,Obasanjo was elected by Nigerians. His constituency for that election was the entire country, and not the Yoruba race or the South West. Such a demand is totally uncalled for. So it is a none issue.,,

    He explained that Obasanjo,s actions were in the interest of all Nigerians for which the Yoruba should not be held responsible.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Atlas Cove Attack: Lagos Insists On MEND’s Apology
    Written by Stanley Yakubu and James Umeh, Abuja
    Thursday, 23 July 2009 02:27
    • As 6 abducted foreigners released

    The three Nigerian Senators representing Lagos State in the National Assembly yesterday joined their kinsmen to condemn in very strong terms, the recent attack on the Atlas Cove in Lagos in which many lives were lost and property worth millions of naira destroyed.

    Meanwhile, Nigeria’s main rebel group, the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger delta (MEND) has released the six abducted crew members of Sichem Peace.

    Acting under the aegis of Lagos State Caucus of the National Assembly, spokesman of the group and Deputy Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Olorununbe Mamora, told Senate correspondents that MEND, which carried out the attack, must offer unreserved apology to the government and people of Lagos State for the unprovoked attack.

    He said while the government and people of Lagos state are noted for always being supportive of any fight against injustice and oppression, the attack by MEND last week was as unnecessary as was uncalled for, because it came at a time the federal government had extended an olive branch to the militants by way of granting amnesty to them.

    Senator Mamora, who was flanked by his colleagues, Senators Nurudeen Muse and Ganiyu Solomon, wondered why MEND chose to attack Lagos when the people have been supportive of their genuine demands.

    His words: “The attack has caused panic and disruption to the lives of peace loving Lagosians particularly those within the vicinity of the jetty. It is also capable of sending wrong signals to investors within and outside of Nigeria that Lagos is no longer safe for their investments”.

    The militants want the government to withdraw troops from the Niger Delta and help people return to homes they either fled amid the violence or were forced to leave. They also say their impoverished southern region has not benefited from decades of oil production, and are agitating for more federal oil funds to be sent there.

    The government has acknowledged the grievances of many in the Niger Delta, but denounces the militants as criminals who steal crude oil from Nigeria ‘s wells and pipelines, and profit by selling it overseas.

    However, MEND freed the crew members on Tuesday evening after spending 18 days in captivity in the hands of their abductors, EMS Ship Management, which manages the Singapore-flagged oil and chemical tanker, said in a statement.

    The sailors, who were heading to Lagos for medical check-ups before flying back to their home countries, were attacked by an armed gang July 4 some 18 miles (29 kilometres) off Escravos, Nigeria.

    MEND said the six were released as part of the 60-day cease-fire it announced last week. The hostages included three Russians, two Filipinos and one sailor from India.

    The militants halted attacks last week after the government released the ailing rebel leader, Henry Okah. Both sides have welcomed the prospect of negotiations to end years of violence that have trimmed Nigeria’s daily oil output by 25 percent to about 1.7 million barrels.

    But militant spokesman Jomo Gbomo warned that the group would end its cease-fire if oil pipelines and facilities it has destroyed are repaired.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Atlas Cove: MEND dares OPC, YCE
    From FEMI FOLARANMI, Yenagoa
    Wednesday, July 22, 2009


    Militants
    •Photo: The Sun Publishing
    More Stories on This Section
    The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has slammed the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) over the comments it made on the attack on the Atlas Cove Jetty in Lagos.
    The YCE after a meeting had criticized the attack, disclosing that it was scheduling a meeting with President Umaru Yar’Adua to discuss the latest development, which it said was an invitation to inter-tribal war.

    MEND spokesman, Jomo Gbomo in an interview with Daily Sun said rather than criticize MEND for its action; the YCE should be apologizing to the militant organization and the Niger Delta over the actions of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in the region.

    MEND stated that the Niger Delta problem might have started in oil rich region but since it was sired by injustice it knew boundaries.
    It dismissed that its action could lead to a tribal war except there was a plan to start a war before the MEND action.

    His words: “The YCE should be the ones apologizing to us after their son; Olusegun Obasanjo wiped out Odi with innocent civilians and stole our commonwealth as the Minister of Petroleum. They should apologize that while we do not have bridges to cross to our communities, the system has robbed Peter to pay Paul with bridges in their sacred region. The Niger Delta issue may have started in the Niger Delta, but the problem caused by injustice knows no boundaries. It is a Nigerian problem that should be enjoyed or suffered by all. Some say they are sympathetic with the struggle. While that could be true, it is only those that make sacrifices with us that are the genuine sympathizers.”

    Gbomo described the comments of the Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) as ranting, noting that the MEND attack in Lagos was to reinforce its declaration that Nigeria’s oil installation would not find refuge anywhere.
    “It seems some people just enjoy ranting. Is the OPC threatening to attack any Niger Deltan or a particular state or tribe there? We have the Itsekirs, Isokos, Urhobos, Ijaws, Ibibios, Igbos, Efiks, so who do they plan on attacking first?

    Do they plan on attacking pipelines and oil companies and making our job easier or plan to destroy non-existent infrastructure? We just believe they are making a mountain out of a mole hill. We have made it clear that the oil industry will not find refuge anywhere in Nigeria as long as they are contributing to the injustice in the Delta and therefore anyone that shelters them should not expect the conflict not to come to them. We will however, focus on the oil industry and not on any other structures except in a full scale war scenario,” he said.

    On the call by Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie that militants should not be paid, MEND said it supported the move as it would expose those who were in the struggle for monetary gains and those who were genuinely concerned about the problem of the Niger Delta, stressing, however, that it could backfire as criminals with guns could return it to collect money and buy new ones.

    “The Archbishop may have his reasons. There are opponents and proponents to this offer. The money offer can separate those who have a vision and those who are in it for the short-term gain. This is helpful to us because there would have been no other way of finding out the committed fighters. The drawback here is that many fake militants who are criminals can now offer the weapons they have for cash and then buy new ones. It is a complex situation which only true federalism can solve,” he added

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, has described the attitude of the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) to the attack on Atlas Cove as an unnecessary ethnicisation of a genuine cause.

    He told a press conference in Lagos on Thursday that the reaction of the YCE made the attack look more of an ethnic assault which could lead to a chain reaction in the polity.

    "I distance myself from the belief that the bombing of Atlas Cove is an ethnic action against another ethnic group. Those who call themselves elders or are perceived to be elders, should be more guarded in their comments.

    "It was wrong for Yoruba Elders to react to the Atlas Cove attack from an ethnic perspective," Soyinka stated.


    "These are issues that affect every Nigerian, not just the Niger Delta alone."

    He said amnesty for militants and financial inducement cannot guarantee peace in the region, taking a swipe at President Umaru Yar'Adua and his predecessor, Olusegun Obasanjo, for "wasted opportunities to resolve issues in the Niger Delta."

    He counselled the MEND not to over sensationalise and dramatise violence, and urged it to weed out deviants from its fold.

    He praised Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, for not joining the ethnic bandwagon over the Atlas Cove attack but spoke only as the chief custodian of security in the state.

    Soyinka urged both the federal and state governments to compensate the victims of the Atlas Cove bombing.

    He criticised the federal authorities for erecting a toll gate between domestic and international terminals of the airport in Lagos, which has caused several people to miss their flights, noting that Nigeria is the only country in the world where such a thing exists.

    Back on the Atlas Cove matter, the YCE and Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) had demanded apology from the MEND for attacking the jetty from where imported refined fuel is distributed to petrol stations across the states.

    But MEND Spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, countered on Wednesday that "the YCE should be the ones apologising to us after their son, Olusegun Obasanjo, wiped out Odi with innocent civilians and stole our commonwealth as the Minister of Petroleum.

    "They should apologise that while we do not have bridges to cross to our communities, the system has robbed Peter to pay Paul with bridges in their sacred region.

    "The Niger Delta issue may have started in the Niger Delta, but the problem caused by injustice knows no boundaries. It is a Nigerian problem that should be enjoyed or suffered by all.

    "Some say they are sympathetic to the struggle. While that could be true, it is only those that make sacrifices with us that are the genuine sympathisers."

    In Abuja, however, House of Representatives Deputy Minority Leader, Olorunnimbe Mamora (AC, Lagos), led his colleagues to address a press conference where he also demanded an apology from the MEND.

    His words: "The attack has caused panic and disruption to the lives of peace loving Lagosians, particularly those within the vicinity of the jetty. It is also capable of sending wrong signals to investors within and outside of Nigeria that Lagos is no longer safe.

    "The Lagos State caucus in the National Assembly (NASS) considers this attack most unfortunate, highly reprehensible and condemnable in the strongest terms. It was an unprovoked attack on Lagos which has played the good host to Nigerians from all walks of life for close to a century or more.

    "An attack of this nature is capable of igniting unintended ethnic tension.

    "It is on this note that the MEND is called upon to exercise caution in the pursuit of its objectives so that an otherwise genuine struggle does not become adulterated with barefaced criminality and attendant loss of sympathy by friends of the Niger Delta."

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  5. Don't Ethnicise MEND's Struggle, Soyinka Tells Yoruba Leaders
    By Emeka Umejei , Reporter, Lagos

    Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, has described the attitude of the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) to the attack on Atlas Cove as an unnecessary ethnicisation of a genuine cause.

    He told a press conference in Lagos on Thursday that the reaction of the YCE made the attack look more of an ethnic assault which could lead to a chain reaction in the polity.

    "I distance myself from the belief that the bombing of Atlas Cove is an ethnic action against another ethnic group. Those who call themselves elders or are perceived to be elders, should be more guarded in their comments.

    "It was wrong for Yoruba Elders to react to the Atlas Cove attack from an ethnic perspective," Soyinka stated.

    He urged Abuja to address the issues raised by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), such as restructuring to attain true federalism, because violence is a function of injustice.

    "These are issues that affect every Nigerian, not just the Niger Delta alone."

    He said amnesty for militants and financial inducement cannot guarantee peace in the region, taking a swipe at President Umaru Yar'Adua and his predecessor, Olusegun Obasanjo, for "wasted opportunities to resolve issues in the Niger Delta."


    He praised Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, for not joining the ethnic bandwagon over the Atlas Cove attack but spoke only as the chief custodian of security in the state.

    Soyinka urged both the federal and state governments to compensate the victims of the Atlas Cove bombing.

    He criticised the federal authorities for erecting a toll gate between domestic and international terminals of the airport in Lagos, which has caused several people to miss their flights, noting that Nigeria is the only country in the world where such a thing exists.

    Back on the Atlas Cove matter, the YCE and Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) had demanded apology from the MEND for attacking the jetty from where imported refined fuel is distributed to petrol stations across the states.

    But MEND Spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, countered on Wednesday that "the YCE should be the ones apologising to us after their son, Olusegun Obasanjo, wiped out Odi with innocent civilians and stole our commonwealth as the Minister of Petroleum.

    "They should apologise that while we do not have bridges to cross to our communities, the system has robbed Peter to pay Paul with bridges in their sacred region.

    "The Niger Delta issue may have started in the Niger Delta, but the problem caused by injustice knows no boundaries. It is a Nigerian problem that should be enjoyed or suffered by all.

    "Some say they are sympathetic to the struggle. While that could be true, it is only those that make sacrifices with us that are the genuine sympathisers."

    In Abuja, however, House of Representatives Deputy Minority Leader, Olorunnimbe Mamora (AC, Lagos), led his colleagues to address a press conference where he also demanded an apology from the MEND.

    His words: "The attack has caused panic and disruption to the lives of peace loving Lagosians, particularly those within the vicinity of the jetty. It is also capable of sending wrong signals to investors within and outside of Nigeria that Lagos is no longer safe.

    "The Lagos State caucus in the National Assembly (NASS) considers this attack most unfortunate, highly reprehensible and condemnable in the strongest terms. It was an unprovoked attack on Lagos which has played the good host to Nigerians from all walks of life for close to a century or more.

    "An attack of this nature is capable of igniting unintended ethnic tension.

    "It is on this note that the MEND is called upon to exercise caution in the pursuit of its objectives so that an otherwise genuine struggle does not become adulterated with barefaced criminality and attendant loss of sympathy by friends of the Niger Delta."

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  6. Ijaw Group Apologises To Lagosians
    Written by Kenny Odunukan, Lagos
    Friday, 24 July 2009 02:48
    Amidst accusations and counter accusations between Yoruba groups and members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND, a group,the Ijaw Media Forum, has tendered an unreserved apology to Governor Babatunde Fashola and Lagosians over the misdirected attack on Atlas Cove Jetty.

    In a letter to the governor, the President of the forum, Asu Beks, and its entire members expressed regret over the attack on the facility in Lagos, adding that Lagos State is a peaceful state that has over the years continued to play host to persons from all parts of Nigeria, especially people from the Niger Delta.

    He said it was regrettable that MEND chose to disturb the peace of Lagos and put fear into the minds of people living in there.

    The group urged MEND to take advantage of the amnesty offered by. President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and tow the path of peace in its resolve to find a lasting solution to the Niger Delta crisis.

    "Lagos is home to every Nigerian and we appreciate the laudable projects geared towards the improvement of the lives of Lagosians since the inception of this administration," the group added.

    ReplyDelete