Truce with Niger Delta dissidents
AT least for now, the incipient rebellion in the Niger Delta has been brought under control.
This followed the peace accord in Abuja between the Federal Government and leaders of the dissidents, Asari Dokubo and Ateke Tom. Among the terms of the truce are disarmament and peace rallies in Rivers State, to signify to the various gangs that there is a new order. Government troops are equally expected to maintain a cease-fire stance. Hopefully, adherence to the peace deal will abate the wanton destruction of lives and property that had been rife in the oil-producing region, with adverse consequences for the global economy.
Yet, it is obvious that the peace deal does not provide fundamental solutions to the many problems that have turned youths in the area into budding rebels. Not surprising, therefore, that upon the return of Dokubo and Tom to their Port Harcourt bases, and notwithstanding the heroes welcome that they have received, some other groups have repudiated the Abuja peace accord. The reason, they contend, is that the truce is no panacea for resource control agitation. This portends more trouble ahead, if prompt steps are not taken to redress the new level of agitation in the region. Having provided a spark to the campaign for a much better life, there appears to be nothing in the change of behaviour of the warlords that will temper the fury of most other Niger Deltans.
The acute problems of poverty, underdevelopment and environmental degradation in the Niger Delta are well known. The tragedy is such that the nearer you are to an oil well, the poorer you are. It is all the more scandalous that the country is raking in huge sums of petrodollars, especially since the latest boom season precipitated by the US-led war against Iraq. Ordinarily, if the problems of the oil region were being tackled head-on, it would be possible to see landmarks of achievement and a steadily rising growth in the standard of living of the people. The sad truth, of course, is that the human development index of the Niger Delta has recorded no dramatic improvement.
Increasingly, it is becoming clear that the state governments in the region cannot escape blame for the unpleasant, even violent, occurrences in their domains. All too often, the Federal Government is a convenient scapegoat, because it controls the security forces and more especially because it receives a hefty share of the Federation Account. It is a sign of an unhealthy state that people resort to arms and other weapons to express their grievances. Until the recent threat by Dokubo and other dissidents to dismember the country, inter-ethnic conflicts were commonplace in most parts of the Niger Delta region. Almost all of the tepid responses by the state governments floundered.
With the funds in their kitty, the state and local governments in the Niger Delta have not acquitted themselves. While it is true that not the full value of the 13 per cent derivation funds gets to the beneficiary states, little proof exists of any judicious and remarkable application of the money at hand, by making people matter in the focus of development. Some of the governors are forever on the road or in the air, gallivanting often for purposes unrelated to the task of managing their fragile states. There is also the problem of accountability. The state Houses of Assembly, which should provide checks and balances to executive laxity, are performing below par. This is because the executive branch has either muscled or compromised the lawmakers.
Matters cannot continue the way they are. It is tragic enough that the governors of the Niger Delta states all belong to the same party, the People's Democratic Party (PDP), which has failed to exercise due control over its members in elective offices. In the circumstance, the task would seem well cut out for civil society groups to turn their attention and scrutiny to the states. It is because most attention is focused on the Federal government that the states and local councils are getting away with their abysmal performance that has led to further deterioration in the quality of life, not only in the Niger Delta but in other parts of the country as well. Governments should be held to account.
On their part, governors of the Niger Delta region have failed to engineer joint efforts in dealing with the region's problems. There is, therefore, an urgent need for the formation of a Forum of Niger Delta Governors. But it must not be another bureaucracy or a jamboree to fritter away scarce resources. It must be conceived as a problem-solving forum at which specific problems are tabled, analysed, solutions proffered, tasks assigned, and a feedback/evaluation mechanism established.
Contiguous as the states are, and plagued by common problems of underdevelopment, poverty and insecurity, they would find great benefit in coming together on a regular basis and productive basis to chart a new course for the region. Whatever the grievances may be with the Federal Government, the recent escalation of dissident activities casts in bold relief the dearth of astute political managers in the region. The Niger Delta deserves a much better deal.
