Nigeria, the crude oil curse

Nigeria, the crude oil curse

  Nigeria, a nation generously endowed with human and natural resources, of late has fallen on bad and sad times. The cause of this self inflicted tragedy is not far fetched. It is not unconnected with the crude oil and gas reserves found in the bowels and creeks of the Niger Delta, an area populated by the minorities, among them are the Ijaws. Since the discovery of crude oil in the West African nation in 1957, the triple alliance of Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo have found it politically expedient to practice the most obnoxious and outlandish system of federalism. It is the unjust system of getting the resources of the people of the Niger Delta region and giving them crumbs in the name of revenue generation and distribution. Thus the parasitic elite political class of the Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo and their minority collaborators in the Niger Delta region make sure that the vast majority of people live in squalor and destitution. And that such people should be grateful for the environmental disaster and pollution of lakes, rivers and land that come with oil exploration activities.

  That is why today (May) there is undeclared war in the Niger Delta especially in Delta State where about a third of the populations are refugees in their own land. The military dominated by the Hausa Fulani elements are using this opportunity to kill the Ijaws who mostly inhabit the creeks of the Niger Delta. Warri, the commercial capital of Delta State in the South South region of the country has been turned to a ghost town. Most hospitals and clinics in the areas of conflicts are brimming with human population of the dead and the critically injured. Even children and women are not left out in this genocidal punishment. Unlike the civil war that occurred between 1967 and 1970, the whole of the nation under the rudderless leadership of President Umaru Musa Yar`Adua is facing a tiny fraction of the population, the crimes of the people is that Providence had given them gas and crude oil. The unfortunate aspect of the tragedy is that without the money from the crude oil, the nation will grind to halt. Instead of the rest of Nigeria to be grateful to the people of the Niger Delta region, a systematic war of extermination is the trademark of the Abuja authority.

   The so called militants which are the targets of the federal government onslaught are on the path of correcting the injustices of the past. What they are saying is that the owners of land where these crude oil and gas are being exploited should be entitled to just compensation. What they are saying is in line with true nature of fiscal federalism. But the Abuja authority acting like internal imperialists would not have any of that. Today the various militant groups are fighting the federal army and some naïve and short sighted politicians in the South South region are supporting the authority in the killing of their people. The creeks and rivers of the Niger Delta are no longer flowing with oil, rather human blood had changed the fauna and flora of the once beautiful and Eden like Niger Delta region.

  That is why the African Union and the United Nations should intervene to stop this madness going on in the Niger Delta region. Crude oil which is supposed to be a blessing has been turned into a curse. Most of the oil money is used to sustain the high profile life style of politicians. In Nigeria, a councilor receives more than a university professor. That is the more reason that elections in Nigeria are a do or die affair so as to get access to the crude oil wealth. The ironic bent of the tragedy is that despite the abundant crude oil, there are not enough refined petroleum products for local consumption. Importation of refined petroleum products is the trade mark of the government and that explains the perennial scarcity of petroleum products. Instead of the government to solve this problem, it finds joy and solace in killing innocent people, those who are supposed to be the richest people by the virtue of oil found in their lands and creeks.

   Foreigners dread to go into the Niger Delta region because of the insensitivity of the federal government and their allies, the oil companies. The people of the Niger Delta region have nothing to show for the many years of oil exploration. Rather environmental disaster and poverty happened to be their lots. The oil companies are not even alive to their social responsibilities of their host communities. All these snowballed into kidnapping of foreigners and the oil prospecting companies spend millions of dollars in securing the release of such hostages. The oil companies and the government are deaf to reasoning and that such money spent on security and purchase of arms were better channeled towards the development of the people and the region.

  The federal government may claim Pyrrhic victory over the militants. I think the government is merely trying to paper the cracks. Until fiscal federalism is adopted as system of revenue allocation, the problem of the Niger Delta region shall continue and all the battalions of the Nigerian army can not destroy the quest of the people for justice, freedom and equity. It is true that the Vice President of the nation, Dr Goodluck Jonathan is of the Ijaw ethnic group. His position is mere political tokenism that can not quench the thirst of the people for justice and equity. The United Nations and the African Union should also focus on Nigeria and that unnoticed genocide that is going on. The desire of the people of the Niger Delta region to have control over their crude oil wealth should not be treated as postscript. President Umaru Musa Yar`Adua once promised amnesty to repentant militants. But the amnesty the people of the Niger Delta region want is to be treated as equals in their own land and the practice of fiscal federalism. Until such a time, the crude oil and gas reserves shall remain causes of friction, crises and war. This is one war the federal government can not win because it touches on the very being of the people of the Niger Delta regions.