Punch Editorial Board
THE recent spate of violence in some of the coastal states of the country, targeting security agents and oil installations, is a clear indication of a return to the dark days of militancy in the Niger Delta. Unlike in the past, when militants ruled the waves in the creeks under the umbrella of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, the current purveyors of death and destruction call themselves the “Niger Delta Avengers.” But, no matter what name they go by, they are nothing but saboteurs and common criminals who should be treated as such.
Hiding behind some spurious demands from the Federal Government, the so-called avengers are reportedly ambushing and killing security agents just as freely as they are blowing up oil and gas pipelines and other installations with the intention of incapacitating Nigeria’s oil-dependent economy. Last week, they promised to do “something big that will shock the whole world,” daring the Nigerian military and the international oil companies to stop them. Already, the country’s oil production has dropped drastically to more than a 20-year low. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, told the House of Representatives last month that the country’s production level had dipped to 1.4 million barrels per day as against the 2.2 million bpd on which the current budget was benchmarked.
The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited has been forced to declare a force majeure and a cut-in of about 400,000 bpd, after its platform was attacked by the militants. The NDA had similarly claimed responsibility for the blow-up of a major Chevron platform at Okan in the Escravos area of Warri in Delta State. Similarly, the vandalism of the Forcados Terminal in the same Delta in February had also disrupted gas supply to the thermal power stations, literally plunging the country into periods of prolonged darkness. In some double-quick strikes towards the end of last week, the Avengers had blown up a deepwater crude pipeline belonging to Chevron, near Abiteye in Warri before striking at a Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation trunk line.
It is needless to say that, with the level of sustained attacks and destruction of Nigerian oil facilities, the militants are gradually achieving their aim of grinding the economy to a halt. In a recent statement signed by a certain Madoch Agninibo, the militants warned, “This is what we promised the Nigerian government; since they have refused to listen to us, we are going to bring the country’s economy to zero.”
But this is what the government should not allow to happen. What is happening verges on terrorism and, as the President, Muhammadu Buhari, promised during his recent trip to China, the NDA should be given the same treatment that other terror groups are getting. When a government starts pandering to the whims and caprices of non-state actors, it loses its legitimacy and the monopoly of the weapons of coercion. If the government succumbs to the threat of the NDA, other groups might decide to follow the same path in future. Whatever is their grouse could be addressed through continuous engagement, not by the destruction of the country’s economic assets.
As a country that relies on oil and gas for 70 per cent of her income and more than 90 per cent of foreign exchange earnings, recent events have seriously exposed Nigeria’s vulnerability. She can no longer supply the foreign exchange needed for the importation of refined petroleum products, leading to the recent partial deregulation of the pump price of petrol. With the foreign reserves rapidly depleting, it may just be a matter of time before the rejection of Nigeria’s letters of credit would follow; unless, of course, some drastic steps are taken to reverse the trend.
The Nigerian situation has been further compounded by the depression in the global oil market, which has seen the prices of the commodity tumble from an all-time high of $147 per barrel in 2008 to less than $30 pb earlier in the year, before bouncing back to the current rate of about $49.87 pb on Tuesday. Giving reasons for the recent decision of the government to embrace deregulation, the Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, explained that the country’s April foreign exchange earnings from oil was $550 million, which is hardly enough to sustain a month’s petrol import and subsidy payment.
Among issues canvassed by the so-called avengers is the implementation of the decisions of the last National Conference. This is rather curious, considering the fact that Goodluck Jonathan, the then President who actually convoked the conference, had the opportunity to start the implementation but chose to demur despite loud promptings by stakeholders. Why did the avengers not threaten mayhem then?
Other issues in the mixed-bag of their 10-point demand from Buhari range from the serious and genuine to the outright ridiculous and inane. They want the President, the State Security Service and the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Timipre Sylva, to apologise for the “intimidation and harassment” that reportedly resulted in the death of former Bayelsa State governor, Diepriye Alamieyeseigha, and the unconditional release of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra. They have also called for the bigger share of the oil blocks and, surprisingly, the clean-up of Ogoniland, one of the first actions taken by the President. These, among others, are issues that should come up for discussion. This is normal in a federation such as we claim to be operating. But, as it were, we believe those demands are only a cover for wanton criminality.
The last time militants embarked on these acts of brigandage, the late President Umaru Yar’Adua granted them amnesty that was followed by the payment of monthly stipends and award of lucrative contracts to the warlords and their foot soldiers. It is believed that the decision to cancel some of the contracts has led to the current spate of violence.
But while a permanent solution is being sought to the problem of deprivation and environmental degradation, the government has to deploy security to protect the vital oil installations and ensure that criminals are not allowed to have their way.
