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‘Pressure on FG to admit US marines to Niger-Delta’
By Samuel Oyadongha - VANGUARD
Wednesday, August 06, 2003
YENAGOA, NIGERIA—THE Federal Government is under pressure to deploy
United States Marines to the troubled Niger Delta region to protect
American oil companies' installations. Gov. Diepreye Alamieyesegha of
Bayelsa State, who dropped the hint in Yenagoa at a meeting with
stakeholders on sea piracy and oil pipeline vandalisation, said the
Federal Government had lost patience with the spate of crises in the
region and was getting frustrated with measures introduced to curtail
the scourge.
The forum was attended by Gov. James Ibori of Delta State and his
deputy, Chief Ben Elue; Prof. Turner Isoun, Science and Technology
Minister; Chief Brodrick Bozimo, Police Affairs Minister; Dr. Abiye
Sekibo, Transport Minister; President, Ijaw National Congress (INC),
Prof. Kimse Okoko; royal fathers and retired generals among others.
"Recent pronouncements by the Federal Government indicate that
government has lost all patience with the spate of vandalisations
against oil installations and is increasingly getting frustrated with
measures introduced to curtail the threat. Even the Americans are asking
to be allowed to come and protect their installations in the Niger
Delta," the governor said.
Statistics, he said, showed that about 300,000 barrels of crude oil is
wasted everyday through the activities of bunkerers and oil pipeline
vandals which run into a scandalous loss to the national economy of
about $3.6 billion annually.
"The perpetrators of these heinous crimes against the society are not
people from outer space. They are neither wild beasts from our forests,
nor are they spirits but people of flesh and blood who live and work
among us. We know them and we must do everything to stop them," he
added.
According to him, "today, more than ever before, there are more
sophisticated weapons in communities and households within the Niger
Delta. This is not a flattering reality. These weapons are in the hands
of the wrong people and are used for wrong reasons. Not only do we lack
the discipline to exercise control over our emotions, we train our guns
at the wrong victims. If we all suffer from the same provocations and
are able to acquire arms and ammunition at will, then a day may come
when we get so wild and worked up that we could end up killing each
other.
"Ours is a classic case of transferred aggression, but if our youths
continue to perpetrate acts of sea piracy, to molest their own brethren
and vandalise oil pipelines to press home their point, our detractors
are bound to capitalise on this and continue to deny us our legitimate
right to self determination. We need to constantly articulate a credible
viewpoint that will keep the struggle alive until the ultimate goal is
attained. On no account should we allow this endeavour to be truncated,"
he advised.
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