Rumors of Civil War Becoming a Reality? - (BBC News Archives)
Nearly four decades after Nigeria's bloody civil war ended, some young men calling themselves "freedom fighters" are trying to re-open old wounds.
They want to revive Biafra's crushed secession bid, launched on 30 May 1967, because, they say, they can no longer tolerate being marginalised by the Nigerian state.
But federal authorities have dismissed members of the separatist Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (Massob) as "common criminals" and "armed robbers".
Massob wants a separate country for the Igbo people of south-eastern Nigeria.
For the government, Massob revives memories of the horrors of the Biafran war, in which more than one million people died.
But the Massob fighters - mostly traders and university graduates - have come up with some creative ways to press home their demand.
"They go into a market and order market women to pay parallel Biafran taxes instead of those approved by Nigerian government," says the BBC's Yusuf Sarki Muhammad, who was recently in the region.
New demands
A few years ago, the banned Biafran currency, the pound, re-surfaced in some markets in the region, until a government crackdown forced the perpetrators underground.
Now, the rebels are out of hiding with three simple demands and a deadline.
They are demanding the release of their detained leader Ralph Uwazuruike, arrested in 2005 and being held on treason charges, and oil militant Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, from the Niger Delta, who is facing similar charges.
Their third demand is one that many others have made: a re-run of Nigeria's recent general elections which local observers say were a "charade".
Although the Massob fighters threatened to disrupt Tuesday's inauguration of President Umaru Yar'Adua if both men were not freed, they did not get round to it.
But they have said they are prepared to "die for the cause of justice".
Futility
The group appears to be losing relevance as their recent call for a "sit-at-home" strike failed to win any support among their traditional supporters - market women and unemployed Igbo young men.
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, 74, who led the initial Biafran secession bid, has not come out publicly to reprimand Massob, but he is now old enough to see the futility in trying to do what he could not achieve as a 34-year-old army colonel.
Mr Odumegwu-Ojuwkwu's participation in Nigeria's recent presidential elections is often cited by analysts as proof that the Oxford University-educated former warlord has abandoned the idea of Biafra.
But south-eastern politicians watch their words whenever the subject is Massob.
They do not want to openly support the group for fear of incurring the wrath of the central government.
But they also do not want to be seen as betraying the Igbo cause.
Setting sun
"Look, the truth is that every true-born Igbo man or woman secretly desires what Massob is trying to achieve," a senior Igbo journalist, who lived through the horrors of the Biafran war as a child, told the BBC News website.
"But many of them are also smart enough to realise that it is foolhardy to let themselves to be identified as supporters of Massob," he said, requesting anonymity.
"I don't want to comment on what Massob is trying to achieve," says Uche Chukwumerije, a senator who used to be head of the Biafran propaganda machinery.
"But what I can say is that the long-term political stability of this country lies in a very drastic restructuring of the Nigerian state."
Other Igbo leaders, who do not believe in the practicability of Massob's ambitions, however, say the fighters have succeeded in drawing attention to the "continued marginalisation of the Igbo people by Nigeria".
Despite Massob's agitations, the reality is that the sun may have set permanently on Biafra once called "the land of the rising sun".Strike Brings Nigeria to a Standstill but Doesn't Effect Flow of Oil (Reuters)
A general strike over a rise in fuel prices brought much of Nigeria to a standstill on Wednesday but oil exports from Africa's top producer were initially unaffected.
Unions pressed on with the strike despite a series of concessions offered by President Umaru Yar'Adua, who faces the first major test of his government three weeks after taking office.
The offices of Western oil companies in Nigeria were closed along with most other businesses and government offices, but oil production and shipments from the world's eighth largest exporter of crude were uninterrupted, company officials said.
"All our offices are locked up, but there has been no interference in our operations yet," said a senior executive at a Western multinational.
Unions ordered workers to go on "total strike", but leaders of the oil unions said it would take time to shut down the country's economic lifeline.
"Essential operations are continuing this morning. If we affect production that will bring maximum pressure on the government," said Peter Esele, head of the PENGASSAN oil union.
Oil companies use non-unionized staff to maintain essential operations, but some union members are required to sign off on exports and this is the most vulnerable link in the chain.
Shipping agents said work was continuing normally at the export terminals.
London oil futures, which have been supported by fears of a disruption from Nigeria, fell by 50 cents to $71.34 a barrel.Yar'Adua inherited the crisis from his predecessor, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, who unexpectedly lifted fuel prices, doubled value-added tax and privatized two oil refineries days before leaving office on May 29.
NO FUEL
Streets in the main cities were deserted, but this was partly due to a five-day-old strike by road tanker drivers which has left most of the country without fuel.
Very few buses were operating. Banks, schools and most government offices were closed. Some international and domestic flights were cancelled because of a shortage of jet fuel.
Unionists barricaded streets in the southern oil capital of Port Harcourt and ejected workers who turned up for work at government offices in the capital Abuja.
Yar'Adua agreed to reverse the tax increase and to implement a public sector pay rise as demanded by the unions, but talks broke down over the fuel price.
Unions rejected the government's offer to reduce pump prices by 5 naira (4 cents) a liter, saying only a full reversal of its 10-naira increase would avert the action.
Previous strikes in Nigeria have had a limited impact on oil operations, because they tend to build strength slowly and are normally resolved within a few days.
Many Nigerians support the strike because the majority lives below the poverty line. Fuel subsidies are seen as one of the few benefits they receive from a government that has failed to deliver power, water, healthcare or schools.
Nigeria's four oil refineries have been shut for months because of sabotage and mismanagement, and Africa's largest producer of crude oil is entirely dependent on imports to meet its fuel needs.
Fuel Scarcity Paralyzes Economy (Daily Champion)Following the protracted fuel scarcity in parts of the country including the Federal Capital Territory( FCT), Abuja , socio-economic activities may suffer serious set back as commuters are bound to encounter herculean task getting to their various places of busines this week.
The unending fuel scarcity in the country re-surfaced in Abuja Friday evening and worsened at the weekend as most filling stations were under lock and key claiming to have ran out of stock.
Blackmarketeers have also utilised the sad situation to make brisk business as fuel stations with some stock prefer to deal with them in the nights, selling above the official pump price per litre.
In turn, the blackmarketeers sell to the public at very exorbitant prices. For instance a litre of fuel yesterday sold between N300 -N400 leading to a hike in transport fares by more than 100 per cent increase .
Most commercial bus operators spent most of their time in queues in anticipation of possible supplies of fuel while some private vehicle owners also suffered the same fate to the extent of sleeping at filling stations in desperate bid to buy to facilitate their movement this week.
Yesterday in Abuja metropolis, there was dearth of commercial vehicles while numerous passengers were at various points haggling with conductors of available vehicles as well as cyclists within the satellite towns.
Transport fares have skyrocketed as most places which normally take about N80, now takes as much as N150 , some places that cost about N50 now take not less than N100. Within the Satelite towns , the commercial motocycle operators were also having a field day charging exorbitant rates,
The fear now, given the continuing fuel scarcity is the possibility of peddling of adulterated products.
ENI Declares Force Majeure (Business Day)
Italian oil company, Eni has declared force majeure on 37,000 barrels a day oil shipments from Ogbainbiri flow station in Bayelsa State after the facility was attacked on Sunday, a company spokesman said yesterday.
This latest assault brings to 750, 000 barrels a day the quantity of crude oil lost to the Niger Delta crisis.
The declaration of force majeure allows companies to suspend contractual obligations to customers, such as deliveries of oil and gas, following unforeseen events without incurring penalties.
The flow station was one of two oil plants invaded by armed men on Sunday and according to Eni spokesman, the force majeure was declared after the attack.
Eni’s chief executive Paolo Scaroni said that because of the occupation, 37,000 barrels per day of production was shut-in, of which 5,500 barrels a day is net to Eni.
The militants last Sunday shattered the relative peace expected in the restive Niger Delta region following the release of Mujahid Dokubo-Asari as they attacked the Nigerian Agip Oil Company, a unit of Eni’s flow station.
Eni confirmed that 27 people including 11 soldiers were being held hostage at Ogbainbiri flow station after the facility.
No one was confirmed harmed or killed in the invasion of the station.
It was gathered that at the time of the attack there were 24 workers and 51 soldiers within the premises.
However, 40 soldiers and eight staff managed to leave the flow station while the rest are being held.
The attack came barely 24 hours after men of the Joint Task Force (JTF) killed eight militants in the same Ogbainbiri area in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the State.
The armed youths who invaded Chevron’s flow station at Abiteye on Sunday complained that 150 million naira ($1.2 million) paid to them under a previous compensation scheme was poorly spent.
The youths had left yesterday, but a company spokesman said Chevron would resume 42,000 barrels per day of output there only when it was safe to do so.
Meanwhile, supply disruptions in the country, the world’s eighth-largest oil exporter, have helped crude oil prices climb to 10-month highs of more than $72 a barrel this year.
This is happening as a general strike threat by the organised labour and hostage takings in the Niger Delta extended the market’s gains to a fourth session.
The country came into limelight in the international market yesterday after the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) said they would start an indefinite strike today.
The government however offered series of concessions, including reducing fuel price hike and suspending the value-added tax.
No comments:
Post a Comment