How come we have so many gunmen and gunrunners around us today? Why is shooting/killing so fashionable amongst us today? Why do ‘some’ of our Young take delight in handling guns and using it amongst themselves to harm each other? What is the source and when did it start? Who is to blame?
Before now, most criminals resort to using other lethal weapons like pocket knives, scissors, razor blade etc to perpetuate their nefarious acts other than power of the gun and bullet; but today, it is haram for even a University cultist not to have chains of guns, how much more for a notorious criminal like Don Waney not have a gun factory when it was obvious that his sponsors are in power (Government).
I have said it before and I will say it again. Much as kidnapping, cultism, gangsterism and political killing(s) is not peculiar or domesticated/patented to the Niger Delta region of Nigeria; it should be known that it got worse here after the 1999 general elections. Recall that some Niger Delta Governors, Senators and legislators, who sought re-election in 2003, recruited these monsters for their re-election bid.
HOW?
These Governors and their cronies, for the fear of loosing the 2003 election, recruited some hoodlums and armed them to the teeth. Their major and only assignment then is to locate, go-after and eliminate any shaking tree (any opposition) that will be a stumbling block to their re-election bid. You will be shocked that these Governors, their Senators, Reps members and other allies (especially, the desperate political appointees) worked in concerted effort(s) to creating the monster we see today around us as either militants or political thugs or street gangsters.
In Rivers State, the 2003 Governorship election swallowed a lot of personalities (both high and low if you like). These hoodlums/political thugs were killing perceived political enemies of their bosses daily between 2001-2003. To make matters worse, we had a federal Government then that subtly supports them by not batting an eyelid to the cries of the people. On the other hand, these State Governors with the help of the Central Government, imported containers of arms and ammunition which they freely distributed to their recruited “army of doom” whose job is to unleash terror on the opposition. Notable Nigerians like; Chief A.K.Dikibo, Chief (Dr) Marshall Harry and Chief Bola Ige were victims amongst others.
HOW ‘GUNS’ BECAME ACCESSIBLE AS SAND IN THE NIGER DELTA?
Painfully, after these Governors, Senators, legislators etc used the boys to achieve their 2003 re-election bid; they blatantly dumped the boys when they eventually rigged themselves back into office with the power of the gun in 2003, but they forgot (or would I say they were unable to) retrieve those lethal weapons (the guns) from the boys.
As a result, the used and dumped hungry boys started making ‘good’ use of the available tools in their hands to achieve or quench their already large thirst. They put the guns to use by first venturing into the kidnapping business. The more profit they realised from kidnapping expatriates in the IOCs, the more weapons (guns) they purchased and the more they recruited more hands into their coven.
The truth is, the political witch-hunt/political thug business reduced drastically by 2007 because; by this time, their new business (kidnapping) was flourishing and some of them felt justified or had reasons for being kidnappers of expatriates working with the International Oil Companies (IOCs). Also, the ‘desperado’ Governors had all served out their two-tenures; so there is nothing at stake, nothing to die for in 2007. The boys made huge ransoms from the IOCs and most of them got paid. During this period, some of them had taken the laws into their hands by branching into Oil theft business, which is best known as “Bunkering” in this part of the world.
Without being immodest, but frankly, political thuggery was almost done away with when Rt.Hon.Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi came into office. This happened because; Amaechi did not encourage this lucrative business. In fact, you can almost see and feel his disdain for kidnappers and political thugs. Plus, the fact that he did not ‘physically campaign as a Governorship Candidate in the 2007 Governorship race until the Court gave the unbelievable ruling that ousted Sir Celestine Omehia. Perhaps, just perhaps, Amaechi did not see the need to recruit hoodlums to attack and kill for him just like previous Governors did across the federation. Instead, Amaechi was even going after criminal elements with the Nigerian troop, which really deadened the efficacy of their activities.
THE SURVIVAL STRATEGY
Today, some Young people who take delight in handling guns may not really love what they do with the guns but; unfortunately this means of survival is highly celebrated today in our ‘sick’ society. We have deteriorated morally to the level that; today criminals are even begged (in some instance) to vie for political offices.
Simply put, crime rules in this part of the world. If you want to survive in Nigeria, especially in this part of Nigeria, you should take to criminality and the politicians will celebrate you. It is so bad that in Rivers State, you must be a sick person for not promoting criminality; or, except you do not want to be in power. This is why it is difficult for the State Government to stand firm on fighting criminality/cultism etc.
Until the 2007 Governorship election/tribunal that brought Rt.Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi to power, every other governorship emergence in Rivers State has been through the power of the gun and bullet. Our Governors and Senators create these monsters just to protect their selfish political ambition.
WHY THE MANY KILLINGS EVEN AFTER THE YAR’ADUA’s AMNESTY?
We all know the governments; both at the State and Federal have failed to properly reintegrate the boys after the ‘Greek gift’ called Amnesty. Also, any keen observer of the economic activities of the Country can tell that the current Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) office in Abuja is only conversant with the Abuja politics and not the challenges of the Niger Delta region.
The Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s magnanimity on the ex-agitators is rather a “Special DDR” project unlike what we had in Kosovo, Afghanistan and other war torn States. Although the Niger Delta Amnesty was faulty because it did not envisage and incorporate the non-combatants most of whom are becoming or have become real combatants today because of government’s neglect. Mind you, as at 2008/2009; the combatants in the Niger Delta region were even less than 0.2% of the population of the Young people who are angry and hungry for political inclusion, economic emancipation and social elevation. But, as usual, the jobmen in the Niger Delta region who always has a way of reaching out to the every Government in power, ill-advised President Yar’Adua to cater for only ‘perceived’ gunmen and neglect the intellectuals or law abiding Niger Delta Youths.
On the other hand, the greed of the then Federal Government to continue to drill and suckle the Niger Delta people dry led them to this irrational decision of only taking care of less than thirty thousand Niger Delta Youths. And yes, it paid off. The despoliation of the land through exploitation they call Oil exploration increased drastically from less than five hundred thousand barrels of Oil per day to almost three million barrels of Oil per day. During this period, the federal government got back into full business of making money from the Niger Delta and neglecting the core issues militating against the region. I keep asking, when/after the sixty-five thousand Naira palliative given to ‘supposed’ ex-agitators expires, what follows next? The Niger Delta core challenges and questions were neglected and it is even still neglected today, especially, by those Niger Deltans who ought to clamour for conscious economic inclusion and space for the region. This is our sad story which predates the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration, but now that Buhari is steering the wheel what is he doing to answer the Niger Delta question?
Mind you, the 1999 political actors in Rivers State bequeathed an amoral political culture to the Younger generation. They made everyone believe that you can only clinch power only by the use of the gun and bullet and not through your popularity and acceptability amongst the people. Another visible reason guns are still circulating in the region is due to desperation and failure on the part of the State Governments to take the bull by the horn. In Rivers State, we had envisaged the repeat of the gun-runs in the 2011 elections, but it was not so. Rt.Hon.Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi who then could have mobilised or recruited his own army to fight his re-election perhaps did not. You will agree with me that the 2011 general elections were relatively peaceful in Rivers State. But, the desperation to seize power in 2015 led to the proliferation and creation of many more terror groups in Rivers State.
Today what you see playing out in Rivers State started around 2013/2014. Some desperate politicians recruited new entrants for the 2015 Governorship election and it played out in the April 11th 2015 Governorship election that did not hold, but results was declared. Like in 2001/2002 against the 2003 general elections, the boys were mobilised, recruited, used and dumped in the end. Today, the pockets of criminality you see around the State is a political strategy for testing the waters against the forthcoming 2019 general elections; they created these monsters for the 2015 take over and now the boys have all grown green horns and become monsters and menace to society. Truth must be told; the Rivers State Government has failed in this area. The Government headed by Chief (Barr.) Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike have failed to show leadership in this regard. The Governor’s utterances, gestures and even his body language connotes violence and promotes hate which on one hand motivates the boys to carryout, their dastardly acts in the lawless “Rivers State” we have today. Apart from that, Don Waney is a small fry compared to the number of unsung political thugs the current system has created today against the 2019 “do or die” contest they are about to go into.
WAY FORWARD!!!
I will not lay claim to any superb way out of this political quagmire we created by ourselves, there are many ways out of this yeyerity (nonsense) we see today.
However, extra-judicial killing is never an option in a sane society, and Nigerians should frown at it. I cannot forget in a hurry, the saying that; “he who kills by the sword will also die by the sword”. As much as some may find this a hackneyed phrase, it is a ‘natural law’ and as we all know; karma is a bitch. It knows no Jew or gentile.
But, I find the Economic option a lot saner, cheaper and better than the military option in the Niger Delta. If the Federal and State Governments have been true to themselves, if they have lived up to expectation by creating the enabling environment for economic activities to thrive than playing politics with everything; these challenges would have been averted. When there are no jobs, and the institutions have failed, the Youths are not engaged and the ‘transferable’ political culture in this clime is skewed, mundane and crude; what would one expect from a banana republic like ours today?
Until the politicians see political offices as positions of trust and do the right thing(s) to alleviate the sufferings of the people, we will continue to be greeted with these characters that constitute nuisance to society.
…To be continued.
