The Real Enemies of The Niger Delta Struggle by Benjamin Etuk

The Real Enemies of The Niger Delta Struggle

“While Jason and his men went on slaughtering their fellow Jews without mercy, Jason did not realize that success against one’s own people is the worst kind of failure. He even considered his successes as a victory over enemies rather than a defeat of his own people” 2 Maccabees 5:6

Since the contentious victory of General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) at the last Presidential elections, there have been barrage of articles and press statements coming from the camp of the All Progressives Congress APC and its spin doctors aiming at questioning the role of some renowned leaders of the Niger Delta and its struggle for an equitable and just Nigeria due to their political affiliations in the just concluded(?) political process.

Recently, there was an article published by one Suleiman Hashim who tended to disparage the character of a respected Niger Delta female activist in the person of Ms. Annkio Briggs. This was a follow up from another article written by one Uche Igwe all the way from the United Kingdom(?) with the same malicious objective.

After carefully analyzing these articles and its intent, I have come to the conclusion that there is a calculated attempt by the incoming All Progressive Congress using its pawns in the Niger Delta to cause division in the region so as to run the region aground and create a scene of conflicts. The reason for this action of theirs is not farfetched. Niger Delta people must be punished for tasting the seat of power through one of their sons Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. They must also be punished for sticking with him during the elections despite the failed propaganda machinery of the Rivers state governor Rotimi Amaechi and his cohorts.

People like Uche Igwe the man behind the article “Who really betrayed the Niger Delta cause”  in his quest to rubbish well known leaders of the struggle had attempted in vain to tie the Niger Delta cause and the struggle by activists of the region to the Goodluck Jonathan presidency. In showing his ignorance to the world on how modern governments are run, he failed to realize that first and foremost Jonathan was the President of Nigeria and not the Niger Delta. His attempt to deceive the reading public by insinuating that Jonathan being president should have turned the Niger Delta region to a foreign land overnight was based more on wishful thought than rationality. I wonder which Nigerian President has turned where they came from to an Eldorado.  The last time I checked, Katsina state which has produced two former heads of states not counting the second coming of GMB cannot be said to be highly developed infrastructural wise and otherwise. Niger state with two former Heads of states aggregating almost ten years in power still ranks as underdeveloped. Ogun state with Obasanjo having ruled for eleven years still accuse him of not doing much. So what is the offence of GEJ? He may not have done to our expectations but on record, he garnered the support of his people more than the likes of OBJ, IBB and co whose party has not done well in their respective states compared to GEJ. The insinuation of this young man makes me question if he is really following things up from where he claims to be writing from with objectivity rather than trying to impress his sponsors by all means necessary.

The truth is that the Jonathan Presidency was never part of the struggle when it began from the days of Isaac Boro to the Ken Saro Wiwa days, to the Kiama declaration and the patriotic actions of our comrades in the creeks. These were all passing phases of the struggle. It has never been static. It has been dynamic and the Jonathan presidency was part of the dynamism of the struggle to make ourselves a major partner in the Nigerian project and if this is not possible, then we do it the Annkio Briggs way by reappraising our continuous stay within the Nigerian state.

Attempting to tie the struggle to the Jonathan presidency and crucifying those that supported his bid as being betrayers of the struggle is the greatest attempt to deceive the people of Niger Delta, Nigerians and the world at large.

The biggest betrayers of the struggle are those who connived with known enemies of the Niger Delta to distract our brother from carrying out his functions effectively while as President. It has been insinuated also that some of them had even gone to the extent of sponsoring the insurgency in the north to foster their fiendish objective of making his administration look inept in the eyes of the world. As the chapter I quoted earlier suggests, sometimes people fail to realise that victory against one’s own people is the worst kind of failure. People like Amaechi of Rivers state and his co travelers thought they were victorious in their fight against President Jonathan thinking it was only a Jonathan affair. They failed to realize that they were fighting the cause of the collective interest of the people of the region.

Yes Jonathan may not have established NDDC or Niger Delta Ministry. These are mere institutions. But he gave us something more than that which is the hope that somebody from our region can rise to the top and still contend with the evil forces that wish our reion to be undeveloped. This is a case of pride and we cannot wish that away no matter the blackmail.
When known and respected northerners were saying that the north will not vote for Jonathan because he was a minority southerner, I wonder what the likes of Uche Igwe and his sponsors expected our activists to do. May be to keep quiet and clap their hands. People like Asari Dokubo, Tompolo, AnnKio Briggs, Edwin Clarke etc did the best thing by letting the people of the country and the world know that the president has the backing of the people of his region. If this amounts to betrayer of the Niger Delta cause as suggested by the real betrayers of the cause symbolized by Governor Amaechi of Rivers state and his followers is something which posterity alone can judge and not the likes of Uche Igwe whose mission is to stay in the United Kingdom(?) and attempt to deceive the world with the small cash he collected from his paymasters.

Benjamin Etuk contributed this piece from Oron Akwa Ibom State