Former Information Minister, Chief Edwin Clark, has told the Federal Government that members of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) are not afraid of the military personnel deployed in the oil-rich region.
\nHe called on President Muhammadu Buhari to count the cost of the frequent deployment of military personnel to resolve issues in the region, adding that the use of force had never achieved the desired peace in the region.
\nClark, who spoke against the backdrop of massive military activities in the Niger Delta region, however, warned government officials and security forces to desist from \u201coverzealous acts\u201d that could create unnecessary anxiety and tension in the region.
\nHe said the relative peace in the region was engendered by the concerted efforts of members of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) and not necessarily the deployment of troops.
\n\u201cOne would have expected the Federal Government and the military to know that the NDA has never shown any sign of retreat or fear when, between February 2016 and August 2016, the area was over-militarised by the Operation Crocodile Smile.
\n\u201cThese are people who are ready to sacrifice their lives for what they believe in, which is remediation of the neglect of the region.
\n\u201cIt is the ordinary people, including women and children, that are the victims of this show of power by the military. For instance, school children will be too scared to go to school. The fishermen and the petty traders will either hide in their rooms or run away from their homes for safety.
\n\u201cWe are quite hopeful that the ceasefire will not be broken. Therefore, the actions by the military at the Bennett Island in Warri, Delta State, as reported in a newspaper last Thursday, is uncalled for.
\n\u201cWhen the NDA gave its notice of withdrawing its ceasefire and resuming hostilities for obvious reasons, the leadership of PANDEF quickly intervened, appealing to them to maintain the status quo and went further to send emissaries of youths and former militants to the creeks to deliberate with the NDA.
\n\u201cIt will be very difficult, if not impossible, to use the military force to cow the people to submission. The wise thing for the Federal Government to do will be to sit down and dialogue with the people.
\n\u201cWhat the Federal Government is doing right now is misapplication of resources. Can the Federal Government sit down and calculate how much it has cost it to deploy military to the Niger Delta area from 2002 to date?
\n\u201cCan the Federal Government tell Nigerians what these figures are? And has military action brought peace?
\n\u201cBut for the intervention of well-meaning elders, let the Federal Government tell the Nigerian public what meaningful progress its actions have brought outside pain and humiliation,\u201d he said.
\nMeanwhile, the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has expressed worry over the threat by the Niger Delta Avengers to resume attacks on oil facilities in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, and called on the militant group to drop the threat, and embrace dialogue in resolving their grievances.
\nThe NGE said this in a communiqu\u00e9 issued at the end of the Standing Committee Meeting of the Nigerian Guild of Editors held in Katsina, Katsina State, last Thursday, and signed by its President, Funke Egbemode, and General Secretary, Victoria Ibanga.
\nThe Guild urged the Federal Government not to resort to the use of force in resolving the matter, stressing that the use of force has never solved any problem.
\n\u201cAs stakeholders in the task of nation-building, the Guild is worried by the recent show of military force in the quest to neutralise the threat of the militants. This move has done little to calm the tension; instead, it has aggravated it. We urge caution and restraint,\u201d the communiqu\u00e9 stated.
\nThe Guild also urged the government to dialogue with all stakeholders, including the aggrieved militants to resolve the problems in the region, insisting that the only path to peace was dialogue.
\n\u201cThe Guild notes that renewed hostilities in the Niger Delta will reduce Nigeria\u2019s daily oil output, which will in turn deny the country the benefits of the current marginal increase in the price of crude. Anything that is capable of returning Nigeria to economic recession should be avoided,\u201d the communiqu\u00e9 advised.
\n\u201cWe seize this opportunity to appeal to traditional rulers in the region to use their offices and goodwill to call the Avengers and any other militant group in the region to order. As royal fathers and leaders of thought, we urge them to play a leading role in the resolution of any breakdown in communication between the Federal Government, oil majors and the militants. We cannot afford another bout of force majeure by oil majors on account of insecurity in the region.
\n\u201cThe Guild also notes the increasing crime rate in the country, especially kidnappings and communal clashes and calls on security agencies to rise to the occasion. The Guild urges the Federal Government to deploy the relevant security agencies to check the pervasiveness of these crimes,\u201d the Nigerian Editors said.
\nAccording to the communiqu\u00e9, \u201cThe widening spread and growing frequency of kidnappings and allied criminal acts do not only threaten the nation\u2019s socio-political stability, they also rob Nigeria of income as potential investors are scared of coming into the country while in some instances, existing investors are being forced to leave the country. Either way, the nation loses.
\n\u201cOn the 2018 budget proposal currently before the National Assembly, the Guild is concerned about the size of the recurrent as against the capital expenditures. This trend, which is inimical to any country\u2019s development, has continued for so long. We urge prudence and innovative budgeting in order to achieve a reversal in the nearest future.
\n\u201cOn the state of the media, the Guild is worried that in spite of the country exiting economic recession, the media industry is mired in distress. We recommend that stakeholders should come together to seek the way forward,\u201d the NGE added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Information Minister, Chief Edwin Clark, has told the Federal Government that members of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) are not afraid of the military personnel deployed in the oil-rich region. He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to count the cost of the frequent deployment of military personnel to resolve issues in the region, adding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n