Niger Delta Solidarity Group

The Presidency And A So-Called Arewa Agenda

By Reuben Abati

PRESIDENT Umaru Yar'Adua's government deserves commendation for responding eventually (three days after the fact) to the public outcry over the suspension of Channels TV's broadcast licence and the detention of NAN and Channels TV journalists over the publication of a story alleging that the President may resign. The licence has been restored; the detained journalists have been released. We are relieved. It would have been worse than tragic if government had ignored the public. All the parties involved would hopefully learn appropriate lessons from this experience. I have already dealt at some length with this elsewhere, but it may be necessary to further contextualise the sensitive nature of the subject of resignation as broached, the politics that has since developed around it in the context of the President's ill-health.

The Communiqué of the 2008 Isaac Boro Day Commemoration in London on the 15 &16 August 2008 organised by the Ijaw People’s Association of Great Britain and Ireland

26 August 2008: For Immediate Release

Preamble
As part of the commemoration of the 2008 Isaac Boro Day activities in the United Kingdom organised by the Ijaw People’s Association of Great Britain and Ireland opinion leaders and people of the Niger Delta deliberated on the state of the Niger Delta and its implication for the security, development and economy of Nigeria and Africa. Representations were from Nigeria , the United States of America and Europe , and included youths, elders, traditional rulers, students and professionals.
State of the Niger Delta
Conference observes that the Niger Delta is a part and parcel, and in fact a microcosm of the Nigerian state. Whatever happens to the Niger Delta affects the rest of Nigeria economically and politically. Hence Conference is alarmed at the happenings in the Niger Delta region, its lingering crises and their impact on the rest of Nigeria and Nigerians. Conference notes that the following has exacerbated the Niger Delta crises:

PM Gordon Brown and President Yar'Adua

Niger Delta blamed for contributing to oil price hikes

Niger Delta unrest casts shadow on Nigeria and world economy

"Until a just and lasting solution acceptable to Niger Delta in particular, and all stakeholders generally, is found, the problem will remain with us, growing like a malignant cancer," said the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) in a report released Wednesday.

True but the Niger Delta is not to blame for rising oil prices and global recession.  On the contrary multinationals and the various Nigerian governments have fed like vultures of the land and sea making huge greedy profits at the expense of people's lives.  

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Tags: NigerDelta, Nigeria, oil prices, MEND, world economy

AFP: New operator to replace Shell in Nigeria's Ogoniland: president

AFP: New operator to replace Shell in Nigeria's Ogoniland: president

Since the illegal execution of ogoni activist, Ken Saro Wiwa, the Ogoni people have refused to allow Shell to return to their lands.  Now the Nigerian government is trying to replace Shell's interest in Ogoniland with a new multinational.  

However Nigerian President, Yar' Adua, is missing the point.  The people of Ogoniland continue to demand compensation for the environmental damage to their lands, plus an acknowledgment's of the crimes committed against them by the Nigerian government including the murder of Ken Saro Wiwa.  Without these issues being addressed it will be difficult for any multinational oil company to begin operating in the region.

Sokari Ekine

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Tags: Ogoni, Ken Saro Wiwa, Niger Delta, multinationals