Nigeria's most prominent militant group on Thursday criticized the creation of a new ministry dedicated to the problems of the oil-rich Niger Delta, saying it could lead to corruption.
Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua announced changes to ministries on Wednesday that included the creation of a ministry for the Niger Delta and the separation of the energy ministry into petroleum and power.
"The people of the region should receive this latest dish with apprehension," the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said in a statement.
"It will be yet another avenue for corruption and political favouritism."
Yar'Adua, who took office 16 months ago, has been under pressure to bring stability to the delta. The MEND launched a campaign of violence in early 2006 that has shut a fifth of the OPEC member's oil output.
Nigeria's government set up a panel on Monday to look at how to bring peace to the Niger Delta but militants dismissed it as no more likely to succeed than past efforts.
A peace summit promised by Yar'Adua was shelved in July after a mediator organising the event resigned.
(Reuters)
Note: MEND's fears were exactly the thought I had when the FG announced formation of this new governmental entity. This is just one more layer of government bureacracy to be corrupted and will split bribe money and ill gotten gains even further than it is now. In my opinion, Yar'Adua has simply created another source of income in a country where corruption is the norm. Until Nigerians realize that to kill a snake you must cut off its head, the country will be ruled by increasingly greedy Medusa's and it will be the average citizen who continues to suffer.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Creation of New Ministry Hailed as Progress
Residents of Nigeria's restive oil-rich Niger Delta region are reportedly hailing as a step in the right direction the creation Wednesday of a new Niger Delta ministry by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's administration. The residents say the move could help quell the escalating violence in the Niger delta region and boost the country's oil production which has reportedly taken a significant hit after rebels in the area intensified violent attacks on both foreign and local workers employed by oil companies in the area. The creation of the new ministry for the Niger Delta region is a key demand by the various armed groups in the area, claiming it would help reduce the violence and bring about development.
VOA's Chinedu Offor is monitoring the situation. He tells reporter Peter Clottey from Nigeria's capital, Abuja that expectations are high after the creation of the new ministry.
"Today Thursday, prominent politicians and personalities of the Niger Delta are expressing support for President Umaru Yar'Adua's decision to create a ministry for the Niger Delta. What this essentially means is the Niger Delta would no longer be handled as a part of a particular ministry, but would now have a full ministry that would take care of infrastructural development, political development, environmental problems and the issue of hostage taking and reconciliation," Offor said.
He said the creation of the new ministry is a significant step towards resolving the instability in the restive, but oil rich Niger Delta region.
"This is one of the demands made by several people in that area, especially the militant groups that they need a separate ministry to take care of their affairs. And it appears that with this decision, President Umaru Yar'Adua has kicked started the government's effort to once more resolve the Niger Delta problem permanently," he pointed out.
He said the creation of the new ministry could potentially boost oil production in the area once violence there has been reduced.
"Remember, the oil companies are fleeing from that region because of these problems. They say the militant attacks have gotten to an extent that they can no longer operate efficiently, and their experts are feeling from that area. And of course Nigeria's oil production has been reduced by about 20 or 30 percent, depending on whom you are talking to," he said.
Offor said the creation of the new ministry is one of many demands made by rebels in the restive Delta region.
"This is a key demand by the militants, and with the government acceding to this demand, there is every hope that at least the main militant groups would see this as an olive branch from the Nigerian government, and would reduce the incidence of militant attacks and hostage taking.
And after that when the violence is reduced to the barest minimum, the oil companies can come back, then people can get to the table and talk about other issues. But I think with this decision the government would want to first reduce the violence before any other issue can be discussed," Offor noted.
He said the government seems to be bent on ensuring peace in the Niger Delta region.
"I think that is true because apart from the creation of this new ministry of the Niger Delta, the government particularly, the Vice President Jonathan Goodluck on Tuesday inaugurated what he called a technical committee to look at the issue of the Niger Delta. Again remember that there was a time where there was supposed to be a peace conference, but that peace conference did not hold because the Niger Delta people refused to recognize the government's representative, especially the chairman, former Nigerian representative to the United Nations Alhaji Gambari, whom they said was a stranger to what is happening in the Niger Delta," he said.
(VOA)
VOA's Chinedu Offor is monitoring the situation. He tells reporter Peter Clottey from Nigeria's capital, Abuja that expectations are high after the creation of the new ministry.
"Today Thursday, prominent politicians and personalities of the Niger Delta are expressing support for President Umaru Yar'Adua's decision to create a ministry for the Niger Delta. What this essentially means is the Niger Delta would no longer be handled as a part of a particular ministry, but would now have a full ministry that would take care of infrastructural development, political development, environmental problems and the issue of hostage taking and reconciliation," Offor said.
He said the creation of the new ministry is a significant step towards resolving the instability in the restive, but oil rich Niger Delta region.
"This is one of the demands made by several people in that area, especially the militant groups that they need a separate ministry to take care of their affairs. And it appears that with this decision, President Umaru Yar'Adua has kicked started the government's effort to once more resolve the Niger Delta problem permanently," he pointed out.
He said the creation of the new ministry could potentially boost oil production in the area once violence there has been reduced.
"Remember, the oil companies are fleeing from that region because of these problems. They say the militant attacks have gotten to an extent that they can no longer operate efficiently, and their experts are feeling from that area. And of course Nigeria's oil production has been reduced by about 20 or 30 percent, depending on whom you are talking to," he said.
Offor said the creation of the new ministry is one of many demands made by rebels in the restive Delta region.
"This is a key demand by the militants, and with the government acceding to this demand, there is every hope that at least the main militant groups would see this as an olive branch from the Nigerian government, and would reduce the incidence of militant attacks and hostage taking.
And after that when the violence is reduced to the barest minimum, the oil companies can come back, then people can get to the table and talk about other issues. But I think with this decision the government would want to first reduce the violence before any other issue can be discussed," Offor noted.
He said the government seems to be bent on ensuring peace in the Niger Delta region.
"I think that is true because apart from the creation of this new ministry of the Niger Delta, the government particularly, the Vice President Jonathan Goodluck on Tuesday inaugurated what he called a technical committee to look at the issue of the Niger Delta. Again remember that there was a time where there was supposed to be a peace conference, but that peace conference did not hold because the Niger Delta people refused to recognize the government's representative, especially the chairman, former Nigerian representative to the United Nations Alhaji Gambari, whom they said was a stranger to what is happening in the Niger Delta," he said.
(VOA)
Diver's Parents Optomistic
Parents of a Cape Town man kidnapped in the Niger Delta are confident their son's navy training will guide the group through the ordeal.
Dan Laarman, 36, was one of 13 people - five foreign workers and eight Nigerians - abducted while on an oil industry supply vessel on Tuesday. A private security contractor in the region said the vessel, HD Blue Ocean, was attacked at the mouth of the Sambreiro River in the delta, home to Africa's biggest oil industry. Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said the Nigerian authorities had officially confirmed to South Africa's High Commissioner to Nigeria, Stix Sifingo, that two South Africans had been abducted.
"Sifingo and his consular officials will continue to do everything in their power, working with the Nigerian authorities and employer, to help find a speedy and amicable resolution to the matter," he said.
Laarman's parents, Will and Ingrid, said from their Cosmos home situated on the Hartbeespoort Dam near Pretoria that he was probably the ideal person to be in that situation. "He trained in the SA Navy for more than 10 years," Will Laarman said."With all his experience he would be calm and assess the situation. He will calm the other people down because he knows that if they panic something bad will happen."
The couple said they received a call on Wednesday from Laarman's girlfriend of 10 years, Michelle Smit. Ingrid Laarman said Dan had about nine years' experience as a freelance diver and had worked in the Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico and Gabon.
"Dan recently qualified as a nitrox diver, which allowed him to live in a pressurised cabin for about a month and dive deeper than 100m. He is aware of the dangers in this job, but not these kinds of dangers," she said.
Laarman was in Nigeria on a month-long contract with Hydrodive Nigeria to work on Chevron oil rigs. South African-born hostage negotiator, Mark Courtney, said kidnappings in the delta usually did not take less than 10 days to resolve, but the gunmen where not violent and chiefly interested in making money.Courtney is retained by Thomas A Clayton Consultants, the world's leading global risk and crisis management company headquartered in California.
"It's extremely difficult to find out who is holding the prisoners because they hide behind pseudonyms. It takes about a week to 10 days to find out which group you’re dealing with. The standard request is a billion naira (US$80 million), which is too much. No one ever pays that."
He said the gang that carries out the actual "snatch" would consist of about 10 to 30 armed men, but there could be as many as 100 men at the camp where they were held. "Thecamps are in the delta, the place is criss-crossed with rivers and streams."Courtney said it was seldom that situations in the delta went bad and the longest case he dealt with was 50 days.
Insecurity in the Niger Delta surged in early 2006 when militants, who say they are fighting for more local control of the impoverished region's oil wealth, started blowing up oil pipelines and kidnapping foreign workers and holding them for ransom.
(Reuters)
Dan Laarman, 36, was one of 13 people - five foreign workers and eight Nigerians - abducted while on an oil industry supply vessel on Tuesday. A private security contractor in the region said the vessel, HD Blue Ocean, was attacked at the mouth of the Sambreiro River in the delta, home to Africa's biggest oil industry. Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said the Nigerian authorities had officially confirmed to South Africa's High Commissioner to Nigeria, Stix Sifingo, that two South Africans had been abducted.
"Sifingo and his consular officials will continue to do everything in their power, working with the Nigerian authorities and employer, to help find a speedy and amicable resolution to the matter," he said.
Laarman's parents, Will and Ingrid, said from their Cosmos home situated on the Hartbeespoort Dam near Pretoria that he was probably the ideal person to be in that situation. "He trained in the SA Navy for more than 10 years," Will Laarman said."With all his experience he would be calm and assess the situation. He will calm the other people down because he knows that if they panic something bad will happen."
The couple said they received a call on Wednesday from Laarman's girlfriend of 10 years, Michelle Smit. Ingrid Laarman said Dan had about nine years' experience as a freelance diver and had worked in the Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico and Gabon.
"Dan recently qualified as a nitrox diver, which allowed him to live in a pressurised cabin for about a month and dive deeper than 100m. He is aware of the dangers in this job, but not these kinds of dangers," she said.
Laarman was in Nigeria on a month-long contract with Hydrodive Nigeria to work on Chevron oil rigs. South African-born hostage negotiator, Mark Courtney, said kidnappings in the delta usually did not take less than 10 days to resolve, but the gunmen where not violent and chiefly interested in making money.Courtney is retained by Thomas A Clayton Consultants, the world's leading global risk and crisis management company headquartered in California.
"It's extremely difficult to find out who is holding the prisoners because they hide behind pseudonyms. It takes about a week to 10 days to find out which group you’re dealing with. The standard request is a billion naira (US$80 million), which is too much. No one ever pays that."
He said the gang that carries out the actual "snatch" would consist of about 10 to 30 armed men, but there could be as many as 100 men at the camp where they were held. "Thecamps are in the delta, the place is criss-crossed with rivers and streams."Courtney said it was seldom that situations in the delta went bad and the longest case he dealt with was 50 days.
Insecurity in the Niger Delta surged in early 2006 when militants, who say they are fighting for more local control of the impoverished region's oil wealth, started blowing up oil pipelines and kidnapping foreign workers and holding them for ransom.
(Reuters)
Supply Boat Attacked
Two Britons, two South Africans and a Ukrainian were on board an oil supply vessel which was hijacked in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta on Tuesday, private security sources said on Wednesday.
One security contractor said unidentified gunmen attacked the vessel, H.D. Blue Ocean, on Tuesday at the entrance of the Sambreiro River in the delta, a vast network of mangrove creeks which is home to Africa's biggest oil industry.
Nigerian military officials have not confirmed the attack.
James McLaughlin, spokesman for the British High Commission in Nigeria, said: "I can confirm that there were two Britons on board the vessel. We have been in touch with the Nigerian authorities to press for their early release."
South Africa's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that two of its nationals were abducted in the delta on Tuesday, but gave no further details and made no reference to an attack on a vessel.
"High Commissioner (Stix) Sifingo and his consular officials will continue to do everything in their power, working with the Nigerian authorities and employer, to help find a speedy and amicable resolution," the ministry statement said.
Another security contractor in Nigeria also said those on board included two Britons, two South Africans and a Ukrainian. Eight Nigerians were also thought to have been on the vessel.
Insecurity in the Niger Delta surged in early 2006 when militants, who say they are fighting for more local control of the impoverished region's oil wealth, started blowing up oil pipelines and kidnapping foreign workers.
More than 200 foreigners have been abducted in the delta over the past two years. Almost all have been released unharmed.
Criminal gangs have taken advantage of the breakdown in law and order and the instability has become as much about control of a lucrative trade in stolen oil and abductions for ransom as about political struggle. Vessels are regularly seized.
Gunmen attacked a vessel operated by the local unit of Italian energy group Eni close to Sambreiro early on Sunday, killing one crew member and abducting another for ransom, the army said.
That attack came barely three weeks after gunmen hijacked a supply vessel belonging to oil services company West Africa Offshore with eight Nigerian crew members as it returned from the Agbami offshore field operated by U.S. firm Chevron.
(Reuters)
One security contractor said unidentified gunmen attacked the vessel, H.D. Blue Ocean, on Tuesday at the entrance of the Sambreiro River in the delta, a vast network of mangrove creeks which is home to Africa's biggest oil industry.
Nigerian military officials have not confirmed the attack.
James McLaughlin, spokesman for the British High Commission in Nigeria, said: "I can confirm that there were two Britons on board the vessel. We have been in touch with the Nigerian authorities to press for their early release."
South Africa's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that two of its nationals were abducted in the delta on Tuesday, but gave no further details and made no reference to an attack on a vessel.
"High Commissioner (Stix) Sifingo and his consular officials will continue to do everything in their power, working with the Nigerian authorities and employer, to help find a speedy and amicable resolution," the ministry statement said.
Another security contractor in Nigeria also said those on board included two Britons, two South Africans and a Ukrainian. Eight Nigerians were also thought to have been on the vessel.
Insecurity in the Niger Delta surged in early 2006 when militants, who say they are fighting for more local control of the impoverished region's oil wealth, started blowing up oil pipelines and kidnapping foreign workers.
More than 200 foreigners have been abducted in the delta over the past two years. Almost all have been released unharmed.
Criminal gangs have taken advantage of the breakdown in law and order and the instability has become as much about control of a lucrative trade in stolen oil and abductions for ransom as about political struggle. Vessels are regularly seized.
Gunmen attacked a vessel operated by the local unit of Italian energy group Eni close to Sambreiro early on Sunday, killing one crew member and abducting another for ransom, the army said.
That attack came barely three weeks after gunmen hijacked a supply vessel belonging to oil services company West Africa Offshore with eight Nigerian crew members as it returned from the Agbami offshore field operated by U.S. firm Chevron.
(Reuters)
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Niger Delta Peace Campaign
A 40-person technical committee was commissioned, Monday by the Nigerian government to draw up recommendations to end the crisis in the oil-rich Niger Delta. But the main rebel group has rejected the plan. For VOA, Gilbert da Costa has more in this report from Abuja.
Following the collapse of the government's attempts to negotiate a settlement with oil rebels, the new committee is mandated to review previous reports on ways to develop the Niger Delta and to advise government accordingly.Nigeria, the world's eighth largest oil exporter, is already suffering huge losses because of violence in the Delta.Authorities have acknowledged that poverty and neglect lie at the root of many of the region's problems.
The Delta's most prominent armed militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta says the so-called peace committee is destined to fail. The group has made the release of its leader, Henry Okah, on trial for treason and gun-running, a pre-condition for suspending its campaign of violence.
A community leader with strong ties to the rebels, Chief Edwin Clark, says the federal government has not shown commitment and sincerity in dealing with core issues in the Delta crisis."The federal government is not sincere, is not ready to commit itself to anything. We have told them enough is enough. If you want to settle the problem of the Niger Delta, demonstrate willpower, your sincerity. Show that you are committed and the people will stop the crisis, they will embrace whatever development. They [government] have not shown the willpower, commitment and the sincerity to develop the area. And, there can never be peace without justice," said Clark.
The 15-month administration of President Umaru Yar'Adua has repeatedly promised to address the root cause of the unrest.
Many of the armed groups in the Niger Delta say they are fighting for a greater share of the nation's oil wealth. The inhabitants of the Delta remain desperately poor, despite the wealth pumped out of the region every day.Other groups have targeted foreign companies, seizing workers in exchange for ransom.
Nigeria's daily oil production has been cut by about a quarter because of the violence in the southern region. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries says the West African nation was overtaken as the continent's largest producer by Angola in April.
(VOA)
Following the collapse of the government's attempts to negotiate a settlement with oil rebels, the new committee is mandated to review previous reports on ways to develop the Niger Delta and to advise government accordingly.Nigeria, the world's eighth largest oil exporter, is already suffering huge losses because of violence in the Delta.Authorities have acknowledged that poverty and neglect lie at the root of many of the region's problems.
The Delta's most prominent armed militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta says the so-called peace committee is destined to fail. The group has made the release of its leader, Henry Okah, on trial for treason and gun-running, a pre-condition for suspending its campaign of violence.
A community leader with strong ties to the rebels, Chief Edwin Clark, says the federal government has not shown commitment and sincerity in dealing with core issues in the Delta crisis."The federal government is not sincere, is not ready to commit itself to anything. We have told them enough is enough. If you want to settle the problem of the Niger Delta, demonstrate willpower, your sincerity. Show that you are committed and the people will stop the crisis, they will embrace whatever development. They [government] have not shown the willpower, commitment and the sincerity to develop the area. And, there can never be peace without justice," said Clark.
The 15-month administration of President Umaru Yar'Adua has repeatedly promised to address the root cause of the unrest.
Many of the armed groups in the Niger Delta say they are fighting for a greater share of the nation's oil wealth. The inhabitants of the Delta remain desperately poor, despite the wealth pumped out of the region every day.Other groups have targeted foreign companies, seizing workers in exchange for ransom.
Nigeria's daily oil production has been cut by about a quarter because of the violence in the southern region. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries says the West African nation was overtaken as the continent's largest producer by Angola in April.
(VOA)
The North & Niger Delta Oil
It has become a fad for Southerners to cast aspersions on Northerners as parasitic and lazy, obviously because the oil wealth that largely sustains this nation comes from the South, specifically the Niger Delta. Hearing these ethnic chauvinists, one could assume wrongly that the presence of crude oil in the region was due to dint of hard work by our illustrious compatriots in the South-South, rather than6 the serendipitous geological happenstance that took place millions of years before humans even existed. It's quite possible that some Niger Deltans think that their venerated ancestors used the supernatural powers of Owuamapu, Ohworhu, Olokun and other riverine spirits of the Niger Delta, to magically impregnate their corner of mother earth with sumptuous hydrocarbon deposits.
The truth of the matter is that, thanks to the visionless misrule by unconscionable kleptocrats that have presided over our affairs since independence, we are all parasites - Niger Deltans included! Hence, some of our South-South compatriots sabotage oil installations to deliberately cause oil spillage in order to collect huge monetary compensations and other pay-outs from oil companies for the self-inflicted environmental degradation, which is much more lucrative than tilling the land. Shell, Mobil, Chevron and other multi-national oil companies operating in the Niger Delta are responsible corporate citizens elsewhere around the world, but it is only in Nigeria that their activities regularly cause oil spillage.
To be fair, this sordid state of affairs is not at all the fault of our Niger Delta brothers and sisters, since government at all levels has repeatedly failed to deliver on development, in spite of the stupendous oil wealth accruing to the nation.
Thankfully, many Niger Deltans are now aware that corruption (not derivation) is the major obstacle to development of the region, as evident from a recent Daily Independent interview with Joseph Amberkederim of the South-South Elements Progressives Union:
"…The amount of money that has accrued to the South-South governors in the past nine years is enough, more than enough to transform the Niger Delta...If monies are being used judiciously and religiously, the monies that have come to the governors of the South-South today, we would not have the problems we are having in the Niger Delta. Do you know what one billion naira can do in a community? What are these people asking for anyway? Roads, water, electricity, school buildings and furniture for these schools…The corruption among the governors in the South-South is enormous, the stealing is enormous, and I have stood as a voice, even if I would be the lonely voice that would tell them, so be it…"
Living in the North with pot-holed roads, numerous beggars, high illiteracy, collapsed industries and massive unemployment amongst other obvious evidence of underdevelopment, one is at loss as to the "development" that has supposedly accrued from diverted Niger Delta wealth. This is the same North that the CBN report as being poverty-stricken, with Jigawa as the poorest state - while Bayelsa is the richest. A few mansions here and there in the North, owned by the thieving Nigerian ruling class, as can be found elsewhere in the federation does not constitute development.
Then there is the lame excuse of difficult terrain that makes road and other developmental projects in the Niger Delta expensive. This arguement holds no water, as even in the North, there are peculiar development challenges. Territorially, Adamawa, Niger or Borno states are each as large as all the South-South states combined. So when the Rivers State government budgets for 1km of road, Adamawa State budgets for 6km, not to mention the additional cost of providing social amenities and infrastructure to widely dispersed population over much larger territory - more transformers, wires and electric poles for rural electrification, more health centres etc - all without the help of oil companies or NDDC.
Consequently, the intelligence of Nigerians should no longer be insulted with the "difficult
terrain" tissue of lies, particularly as Rivers State collects more federal allocation than the entire North East zone - seven times that of Adamawa State.
If Niger Deltans persist in their unreasonable demand for 50% derivation, then we will have to re-open the Pandora box of such vexed issues as boundary demarcation and revenue from offshore drilling. International maritime law bestows the 200mile territorial waters on the Nigerian nation, not on any federating unit. So the offshore oil belongs to all Nigerians, not to any littoral state.
Of course corruption is not unique to the Niger Delta, but it is a national ailment that has under-developed the entire nation, not just the Niger Delta. It is only more poignant in the Niger Delta because the wealth that largely sustains this nation emanates from there. Hardly a week goes by without our sensibilities being assailed by media reports of billion naira / dollar corruption scandals at all levels of government - 16 billion dollars allegedly wasted on phantom power projects, the reported disappearance of 1.5 trillion naira NNPC funds, National Judicial Council 1.2 billion naira scandal etc
Thus, instead of this divisive ethnic sectarian bickering and North-South dichotomy, we the Nigerian masses regardless of ethnicity or creed should unite to dethrone the corrupt ruling elite that have ruined our nation in order to establish a new political order. The much talked about, but yet to bes realised Nigerian revolution. Until corruption is eradicated and the present cabal of kleptocrats are deposed, even 100% derivation wouldn't make much difference to the average Niger Deltan.
(Leadership Nigeria)
The truth of the matter is that, thanks to the visionless misrule by unconscionable kleptocrats that have presided over our affairs since independence, we are all parasites - Niger Deltans included! Hence, some of our South-South compatriots sabotage oil installations to deliberately cause oil spillage in order to collect huge monetary compensations and other pay-outs from oil companies for the self-inflicted environmental degradation, which is much more lucrative than tilling the land. Shell, Mobil, Chevron and other multi-national oil companies operating in the Niger Delta are responsible corporate citizens elsewhere around the world, but it is only in Nigeria that their activities regularly cause oil spillage.
To be fair, this sordid state of affairs is not at all the fault of our Niger Delta brothers and sisters, since government at all levels has repeatedly failed to deliver on development, in spite of the stupendous oil wealth accruing to the nation.
Thankfully, many Niger Deltans are now aware that corruption (not derivation) is the major obstacle to development of the region, as evident from a recent Daily Independent interview with Joseph Amberkederim of the South-South Elements Progressives Union:
"…The amount of money that has accrued to the South-South governors in the past nine years is enough, more than enough to transform the Niger Delta...If monies are being used judiciously and religiously, the monies that have come to the governors of the South-South today, we would not have the problems we are having in the Niger Delta. Do you know what one billion naira can do in a community? What are these people asking for anyway? Roads, water, electricity, school buildings and furniture for these schools…The corruption among the governors in the South-South is enormous, the stealing is enormous, and I have stood as a voice, even if I would be the lonely voice that would tell them, so be it…"
Living in the North with pot-holed roads, numerous beggars, high illiteracy, collapsed industries and massive unemployment amongst other obvious evidence of underdevelopment, one is at loss as to the "development" that has supposedly accrued from diverted Niger Delta wealth. This is the same North that the CBN report as being poverty-stricken, with Jigawa as the poorest state - while Bayelsa is the richest. A few mansions here and there in the North, owned by the thieving Nigerian ruling class, as can be found elsewhere in the federation does not constitute development.
Then there is the lame excuse of difficult terrain that makes road and other developmental projects in the Niger Delta expensive. This arguement holds no water, as even in the North, there are peculiar development challenges. Territorially, Adamawa, Niger or Borno states are each as large as all the South-South states combined. So when the Rivers State government budgets for 1km of road, Adamawa State budgets for 6km, not to mention the additional cost of providing social amenities and infrastructure to widely dispersed population over much larger territory - more transformers, wires and electric poles for rural electrification, more health centres etc - all without the help of oil companies or NDDC.
Consequently, the intelligence of Nigerians should no longer be insulted with the "difficult
terrain" tissue of lies, particularly as Rivers State collects more federal allocation than the entire North East zone - seven times that of Adamawa State.
If Niger Deltans persist in their unreasonable demand for 50% derivation, then we will have to re-open the Pandora box of such vexed issues as boundary demarcation and revenue from offshore drilling. International maritime law bestows the 200mile territorial waters on the Nigerian nation, not on any federating unit. So the offshore oil belongs to all Nigerians, not to any littoral state.
Of course corruption is not unique to the Niger Delta, but it is a national ailment that has under-developed the entire nation, not just the Niger Delta. It is only more poignant in the Niger Delta because the wealth that largely sustains this nation emanates from there. Hardly a week goes by without our sensibilities being assailed by media reports of billion naira / dollar corruption scandals at all levels of government - 16 billion dollars allegedly wasted on phantom power projects, the reported disappearance of 1.5 trillion naira NNPC funds, National Judicial Council 1.2 billion naira scandal etc
Thus, instead of this divisive ethnic sectarian bickering and North-South dichotomy, we the Nigerian masses regardless of ethnicity or creed should unite to dethrone the corrupt ruling elite that have ruined our nation in order to establish a new political order. The much talked about, but yet to bes realised Nigerian revolution. Until corruption is eradicated and the present cabal of kleptocrats are deposed, even 100% derivation wouldn't make much difference to the average Niger Deltan.
(Leadership Nigeria)
DHQ vs Nigerian Media
The recent allegation by the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) that news media houses in the country publish false and unsubstantiated reports on its activities has once again re-opened an old debate: The social responsibility of the press and need for public institutions to always carry the people, who are the primary reason for the institutions’ existence, along.
The military high command was reacting to recent news reports that 35 people – 29 soldiers and six militants – were killed during a shootout between the Joint Task Force (JTF) and Niger Delta militants. Defence Spokesman, Brig. Gen, M. D. Yusuf debunked the claims of any shootout between the JTF and militants on the reported date. He said the report was “a mere fabrication of lies concocted in the deep recesses of the evil minds of the militants to cause confusion”, and threatened to seek legal redress against any media organisation that publishes false or unsubstantiated reports on its activities or operations.
We are persuaded that no responsible media house would take delight in publishing falsehood, especially in matters that border on national security. This is not to say there are no bad eggs in the industry. They are in every industry. But we also know that the ability of responsible media houses to report stories fairly and on time depends on the readiness of all respondents in a story to supply required information in a timely manner.
Journalism is driven by deadlines. The relationship between the journalists and the military high command, which is supposed to be mutually beneficial for national progress, has sometimes been mutually antagonistic, especially in recent past. The two appeared to have unnecessarily worked at cross-purposes, especially under military rule. For, while journalists expect unhindered access to information, the military, being traditionally secretive, would do everything to conceal vital information. But one would have expected that this practice had gone with military rule. A vital ingredient of democracy is freedom of the press, which includes unhindered access to information.
We notice that the militants appear to be winning the propaganda war because of their management of information. Curiously, they serve notice of some of their attacks, and confirm they have attacked their target after the exercise. Some of the militants also run efficient websites. While the militant groups, especially the publicity conscious Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), are ever ready to part with information, the military, by tradition, is circumspect about sharing information.
Herein lies the predicament of the journalist as he is torn between two extremes – a source that is ever open to inquiry and another that often is reticent. But neither can do without the other. We therefore see the need for mutual understanding and cooperation between the media and the military in the interest of national security. Towards this end, we call for closer collaboration between the military and the media. And one way of achieving this is through regular engagement such as workshops and seminars, and even press briefings. For example, a weekly press briefing by the JTF will not be out of place. So much goes on in the Niger Delta in a day. The engagement will make for better appreciation of each other’s challenges. We however call on our colleagues not to lose sight of the fact that our rights to disseminate information, although sacrosanct and non-negotiable, are not without regulation. Some measure of self-restraint is necessary for the sake of societal well being and national security.
Thus, we owe it a patriotic duty to exercise some caution in reporting the activities of the militants in the Niger Delta creeks. For, it is now public knowledge that the genuine struggle of the Niger Delta people for justice appears to have been hijacked by felons.Journalists should be wary of dishing out unconfirmed information with which they are daily bombarded by these militant groups, as most of them “are mere fabrication of lies”, as rightly observed by the Defence spokesman. However, the stated option by the DHQ to seek legal redress against “errant” media outfits as against the old resort to law of the jungle whereby journalists were brutalized for reports considered offensive by military men, is commendable. At least, it has shown that the democratic tradition is catching on, as even the military now appears to repose some confidence in the law courts as the only avenue to redress perceived wrongs.
(This Day)
The military high command was reacting to recent news reports that 35 people – 29 soldiers and six militants – were killed during a shootout between the Joint Task Force (JTF) and Niger Delta militants. Defence Spokesman, Brig. Gen, M. D. Yusuf debunked the claims of any shootout between the JTF and militants on the reported date. He said the report was “a mere fabrication of lies concocted in the deep recesses of the evil minds of the militants to cause confusion”, and threatened to seek legal redress against any media organisation that publishes false or unsubstantiated reports on its activities or operations.
We are persuaded that no responsible media house would take delight in publishing falsehood, especially in matters that border on national security. This is not to say there are no bad eggs in the industry. They are in every industry. But we also know that the ability of responsible media houses to report stories fairly and on time depends on the readiness of all respondents in a story to supply required information in a timely manner.
Journalism is driven by deadlines. The relationship between the journalists and the military high command, which is supposed to be mutually beneficial for national progress, has sometimes been mutually antagonistic, especially in recent past. The two appeared to have unnecessarily worked at cross-purposes, especially under military rule. For, while journalists expect unhindered access to information, the military, being traditionally secretive, would do everything to conceal vital information. But one would have expected that this practice had gone with military rule. A vital ingredient of democracy is freedom of the press, which includes unhindered access to information.
We notice that the militants appear to be winning the propaganda war because of their management of information. Curiously, they serve notice of some of their attacks, and confirm they have attacked their target after the exercise. Some of the militants also run efficient websites. While the militant groups, especially the publicity conscious Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), are ever ready to part with information, the military, by tradition, is circumspect about sharing information.
Herein lies the predicament of the journalist as he is torn between two extremes – a source that is ever open to inquiry and another that often is reticent. But neither can do without the other. We therefore see the need for mutual understanding and cooperation between the media and the military in the interest of national security. Towards this end, we call for closer collaboration between the military and the media. And one way of achieving this is through regular engagement such as workshops and seminars, and even press briefings. For example, a weekly press briefing by the JTF will not be out of place. So much goes on in the Niger Delta in a day. The engagement will make for better appreciation of each other’s challenges. We however call on our colleagues not to lose sight of the fact that our rights to disseminate information, although sacrosanct and non-negotiable, are not without regulation. Some measure of self-restraint is necessary for the sake of societal well being and national security.
Thus, we owe it a patriotic duty to exercise some caution in reporting the activities of the militants in the Niger Delta creeks. For, it is now public knowledge that the genuine struggle of the Niger Delta people for justice appears to have been hijacked by felons.Journalists should be wary of dishing out unconfirmed information with which they are daily bombarded by these militant groups, as most of them “are mere fabrication of lies”, as rightly observed by the Defence spokesman. However, the stated option by the DHQ to seek legal redress against “errant” media outfits as against the old resort to law of the jungle whereby journalists were brutalized for reports considered offensive by military men, is commendable. At least, it has shown that the democratic tradition is catching on, as even the military now appears to repose some confidence in the law courts as the only avenue to redress perceived wrongs.
(This Day)
Monday, September 8, 2008
The Larry Bowoto Saga
Over the coming weeks, don’t be surprised to see an increasing amount of news coverage for a Nigerian militant named Larry Bowoto. Bowoto claims that 10 years ago he was a peaceful, environmental protestor, visiting an oil platform off his country's coast when, without warning, he was shot by the Nigerian military at Chevron’s request.
That’s the story Mr. Bowoto wants people to believe as he teams with lawyers from Nigeria and the U.S. in an attempt to coerce Chevron into paying money or facing trial next month in San Francisco. The reality is that Mr. Bowoto and his team of lawyers are playing a game of jackpot justice with the hopes of winning a big settlement from Chevron.
The ultimate problem for Mr. Bowoto and his legal team is that once you move beyond the headlines and his false claims, the facts and evidence paint a much different picture of Mr. Bowoto, his motivations and his anything but peaceful actions.
Here are the facts as Human Events sees them:
Mr. Bowoto and his group were dissatisfied with the way in which the respected, legitimate leaders from his community allocated jobs provided by Chevron Nigeria. Letters were sent to the company, signed by Mr. Bowoto and his group, threatening “sea piracy,” “violence” and a possible “mass riot” if their demands for jobs and money were not met. Chevron Nigeria (CNL) was specifically instructed by the recognized community leaders not to negotiate with Bowoto and to ignore his bullying and threats, which CNL did. Unfortunately, Bowoto made good on his threats of violence. With more than 100 fellow militants, Bowoto took the law into his own hands and seized a Chevron Nigeria oil platform, a barge and a tugboat.
According to eyewitnesses, his group blocked the barge and platform helidecks so the crews could not leave, and at one point his men poured diesel on the floor of the barge and threatened to set it ablaze. They also made verbal threats and used physical force to intimidate Chevron Nigeria crews, who considered themselves hostages and feared for their lives.
For three long days Chevron Nigeria’s workers were held hostage and the company attempted to negotiate their release without incident. At the end of third day, Chevron Nigeria asked local authorities to stop the takeover and move the protesters out. That is when -- according to eyewitness accounts -- the hostage takers attacked the law enforcement rescue team and shootings occurred. Even after the rescue effort, Mr. Bowoto’s group forcibly took some of the workers to onshore villages where they were held for several more days.
Mr. Bowoto’s attempt to manipulate these facts into an intentional plot by Chevron Nigeria for the law enforcement authorities to shoot members of his group is outrageous. A rival tribe's invasion of the same barge three months earlier ended peacefully because that tribe did not attack law enforcement personnel. Chevron Nigeria fully intended that the siege by Mr. Bowoto’s group would end peacefully as well. Our concern was for the safety and freedom of everyone, including the Chevron Nigeria crews.In the U.S. judicial system, it will be up to the jury to weigh the credibility of Mr. Bowoto’s testimony against that of the workers who have testified that Mr. Bowoto and other kidnappers held them hostage and threatened their lives. Unfortunately, in the Niger Delta today, kidnapping by ethnic militants has become an all-too-favored tactic.
As one of Mr. Bowoto’s sympathizers wrote: “Kidnapping of oil workers for ransom is a favored tactic of the militants.” And as one of his lawyers wrote, “… we think it [the case] will likely settle before trial -- Chevron doesn’t want to face a jury on this ….”This type of criminal conduct, and blatant attempt at extortion, has no place in civilized society.
And Mr. Bowoto and his fellow tribesman had no business being on the platform in the first place. Simply put, their actions were illegal.
Chevron Nigeria is proud of its record of building and supporting hospitals, schools, job training, employment and educational opportunities for the people of the Niger Delta, including Mr. Bowoto’s tribe. Mr. Bowoto is entitled to his opinion that a company should do even more in this regard. But he is not entitled to hold innocent people hostage to extort money and secure more jobs from Chevron Nigeria or anyone else. That does not constitute a “peaceful protest” by any standard. If Mr. Bowoto had seized an offshore oil facility in the United States, he would be behind bars. Instead, he is a free man taking improper advantage of the U.S. judicial system and using America’s press to spread his outrageous and false charges.
(Human Events)
That’s the story Mr. Bowoto wants people to believe as he teams with lawyers from Nigeria and the U.S. in an attempt to coerce Chevron into paying money or facing trial next month in San Francisco. The reality is that Mr. Bowoto and his team of lawyers are playing a game of jackpot justice with the hopes of winning a big settlement from Chevron.
The ultimate problem for Mr. Bowoto and his legal team is that once you move beyond the headlines and his false claims, the facts and evidence paint a much different picture of Mr. Bowoto, his motivations and his anything but peaceful actions.
Here are the facts as Human Events sees them:
Mr. Bowoto and his group were dissatisfied with the way in which the respected, legitimate leaders from his community allocated jobs provided by Chevron Nigeria. Letters were sent to the company, signed by Mr. Bowoto and his group, threatening “sea piracy,” “violence” and a possible “mass riot” if their demands for jobs and money were not met. Chevron Nigeria (CNL) was specifically instructed by the recognized community leaders not to negotiate with Bowoto and to ignore his bullying and threats, which CNL did. Unfortunately, Bowoto made good on his threats of violence. With more than 100 fellow militants, Bowoto took the law into his own hands and seized a Chevron Nigeria oil platform, a barge and a tugboat.
According to eyewitnesses, his group blocked the barge and platform helidecks so the crews could not leave, and at one point his men poured diesel on the floor of the barge and threatened to set it ablaze. They also made verbal threats and used physical force to intimidate Chevron Nigeria crews, who considered themselves hostages and feared for their lives.
For three long days Chevron Nigeria’s workers were held hostage and the company attempted to negotiate their release without incident. At the end of third day, Chevron Nigeria asked local authorities to stop the takeover and move the protesters out. That is when -- according to eyewitness accounts -- the hostage takers attacked the law enforcement rescue team and shootings occurred. Even after the rescue effort, Mr. Bowoto’s group forcibly took some of the workers to onshore villages where they were held for several more days.
Mr. Bowoto’s attempt to manipulate these facts into an intentional plot by Chevron Nigeria for the law enforcement authorities to shoot members of his group is outrageous. A rival tribe's invasion of the same barge three months earlier ended peacefully because that tribe did not attack law enforcement personnel. Chevron Nigeria fully intended that the siege by Mr. Bowoto’s group would end peacefully as well. Our concern was for the safety and freedom of everyone, including the Chevron Nigeria crews.In the U.S. judicial system, it will be up to the jury to weigh the credibility of Mr. Bowoto’s testimony against that of the workers who have testified that Mr. Bowoto and other kidnappers held them hostage and threatened their lives. Unfortunately, in the Niger Delta today, kidnapping by ethnic militants has become an all-too-favored tactic.
As one of Mr. Bowoto’s sympathizers wrote: “Kidnapping of oil workers for ransom is a favored tactic of the militants.” And as one of his lawyers wrote, “… we think it [the case] will likely settle before trial -- Chevron doesn’t want to face a jury on this ….”This type of criminal conduct, and blatant attempt at extortion, has no place in civilized society.
And Mr. Bowoto and his fellow tribesman had no business being on the platform in the first place. Simply put, their actions were illegal.
Chevron Nigeria is proud of its record of building and supporting hospitals, schools, job training, employment and educational opportunities for the people of the Niger Delta, including Mr. Bowoto’s tribe. Mr. Bowoto is entitled to his opinion that a company should do even more in this regard. But he is not entitled to hold innocent people hostage to extort money and secure more jobs from Chevron Nigeria or anyone else. That does not constitute a “peaceful protest” by any standard. If Mr. Bowoto had seized an offshore oil facility in the United States, he would be behind bars. Instead, he is a free man taking improper advantage of the U.S. judicial system and using America’s press to spread his outrageous and false charges.
(Human Events)
Background on Arrested American Journalist
Reporters Without Borders condemns the arrest of US freelance journalist and filmmaker Andrew Berends and his Nigerian interpreter, Samuel George, in the southeastern city of Port Harcourt on 31 August on a spying charge. Berends was provisionally released after 36 hours but was told to report back to the State Security Service in Port Harcourt this morning. George is still being held.
"Berends was arrested just for doing his job and no other reason," Reporters Without Borders said. "It is absurd for the authorities to think that, by arresting him and his interpreter, they can conceal the economic and ecological disaster unfolding in the Niger Delta. Both of them must be freed at once and left alone. This is the third time in a year that baseless charges of spying have been brought against foreign journalists."
After being arrested on the Port Harcourt waterfront, Berends and George were detained in appalling conditions in a cell at the local headquarters of the State Security Service. They were given no food and very little water, and were subjected to repeated interrogation that prevented them from sleeping.
Berends' equipment, telephones and film were confiscated. He was freed provisionally yesterday but was told to return to the SSS office at 9 a.m. today. In a brief email message which he managed to send after being released, he said he had been charged with spying. His interpreter was not released.
The winner of several awards, Berends has been in the Niger Delta since April making a film about this strategic oil-producing area where government forces and armed separatists have been fighting for years.
Four US documentary filmmakers and their Nigerian fixer were held for six days on spying charges for the same reason in April. And two German journalists and a US activists were detained for two weeks in September 2007 for similar reasons.
(oneworld)
"Berends was arrested just for doing his job and no other reason," Reporters Without Borders said. "It is absurd for the authorities to think that, by arresting him and his interpreter, they can conceal the economic and ecological disaster unfolding in the Niger Delta. Both of them must be freed at once and left alone. This is the third time in a year that baseless charges of spying have been brought against foreign journalists."
After being arrested on the Port Harcourt waterfront, Berends and George were detained in appalling conditions in a cell at the local headquarters of the State Security Service. They were given no food and very little water, and were subjected to repeated interrogation that prevented them from sleeping.
Berends' equipment, telephones and film were confiscated. He was freed provisionally yesterday but was told to return to the SSS office at 9 a.m. today. In a brief email message which he managed to send after being released, he said he had been charged with spying. His interpreter was not released.
The winner of several awards, Berends has been in the Niger Delta since April making a film about this strategic oil-producing area where government forces and armed separatists have been fighting for years.
Four US documentary filmmakers and their Nigerian fixer were held for six days on spying charges for the same reason in April. And two German journalists and a US activists were detained for two weeks in September 2007 for similar reasons.
(oneworld)
Boat Attacked
Nigerian gunmen reportedly killed a crew member of a supply vessel and abducted another in the latest attack on the oil industry in the restive Niger Delta, the army said on Sunday.
The Fulmar Lamnco, operated by the local unit of Italy's energy group Eni, was travelling from Brass to Port Harcourt, the region's main city, when it was attacked early on Sunday.
Officials of the oil multinational in Nigeria could not be immediately contacted for comment.
"One crew member (was) reportedly killed and (another) abducted," Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, spokesman for the military task force in Rivers state, said.
The nationalities of the crewmen was not immediately known and no group had yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
"Those responsible for the dastardly act are yet to be identified ... the motive is pecuniary." Musa said.
He said the father of a local politician was kidnapped in a separate incident in the oil hub of Port Harcourt, apparently for ransom.
The latest boat attack came barely three weeks after gunmen hijacked a supply vessel belonging to oil services company West Africa Offshore with eight Nigerian crew members.
(Reuters)
The Fulmar Lamnco, operated by the local unit of Italy's energy group Eni, was travelling from Brass to Port Harcourt, the region's main city, when it was attacked early on Sunday.
Officials of the oil multinational in Nigeria could not be immediately contacted for comment.
"One crew member (was) reportedly killed and (another) abducted," Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, spokesman for the military task force in Rivers state, said.
The nationalities of the crewmen was not immediately known and no group had yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
"Those responsible for the dastardly act are yet to be identified ... the motive is pecuniary." Musa said.
He said the father of a local politician was kidnapped in a separate incident in the oil hub of Port Harcourt, apparently for ransom.
The latest boat attack came barely three weeks after gunmen hijacked a supply vessel belonging to oil services company West Africa Offshore with eight Nigerian crew members.
(Reuters)
Community Leader Kidnapped
Unidentified gunmen have kidnapped a community leader from his home in the Nigeria's volatile oil region, a military spokesman said Sunday.
Alabo Noble Diri, a traditional chief of Kalaibiama-Opobo in Rivers state, was abducted on Saturday, Lieutenant Colonel Musa Sagir told AFP, adding that his whereabouts were unknown.
He said no one immediately claimed responsibility for the seizure, the latest to hit the restive region in recent months.
Nigeria has seen a spate of kidnappings of local and foreign workers and relatives of prominent politicians in the past two years, often by criminal gangs seeking a ransom, but sometimes also for political ends.
Alabo Noble Diri, a traditional chief of Kalaibiama-Opobo in Rivers state, was abducted on Saturday, Lieutenant Colonel Musa Sagir told AFP, adding that his whereabouts were unknown.
He said no one immediately claimed responsibility for the seizure, the latest to hit the restive region in recent months.
Nigeria has seen a spate of kidnappings of local and foreign workers and relatives of prominent politicians in the past two years, often by criminal gangs seeking a ransom, but sometimes also for political ends.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
African Oil Countries Benefit from Western Hypocracy
by William Gumede, The Guardian
Western powers are selective in their censure of African regimes guilty of misrule, while ignoring those countries with oil, or who are allies in the US "war on terror". For example, Robert Mugabe has been rightly pilloried by the west for running Zimbabwe into the ground. Yet Mugabe's great ally, Angola's Eduardo dos Santos, whose ruling MPLA is going into a parliamentary election today, has an equally appalling record of autocratic rule. But Angola's fabulous oil wealth has silenced western criticisms of the regime's terrible human rights abuses.
The last time Angola held elections was 16 years ago. Dos Santos came to power in 1979, a year before Mugabe took power in Zimbabwe. Angola's economy has logged economic growths well into double digit figures on the back of oil, yet a small well-connected political and business elite, centred around the Dos Santos family, mostly benefits, while the majority of the country's population lives on far less then $2 a day. Fernando Macedo, the head of Angola's main human rights group, the Association for Justice, Peace and Democracy, says "people talk about blood diamonds, but oil from Angola could be called blood oil".
It is now clear that oil wealth protects African dictators from international pressure to democratise. Western hypocrisy was evident in the fact that early in Zimbabwe's meltdown, western governments and media criticisms of Mugabe focused mainly on the plight of the large white expatriate community there. Yet, the problem in Zimbabwe has never been solely about blacks attacking whites, but about a despicable regime terrorising its population – both black and white. Immediately after the country's April 2008 elections, which the opposition Movement for Democratic Change won, Angola put its troops at the ready to aid Mugabe. Angola allowed the Chinese ship, An Yue Jiang, and its consignment of deadly weapons bought by Mugabe to bolster his military and police in the event of uprisings following his rigging of the elections, to dock in Angolan ports, after it was forced to turn back from South Africa following the most unprecedented continent-wide civil society solidarity against the ship offloading its deadly cargo in African ports. African regimes with lots of oil can buy off western criticisms. Nigeria, another major African oil producer, is another misruled country that often escapes western censure.
To put it politely, western powers were lukewarm in their criticisms of Nigeria's openly rigged elections in 2007. Omar al-Bashir came to power in Sudan in an Islamist-backed coup in 1989, overthrowing a government elected democratically. Western criticisms of him do arise, but they seem too little, too late. Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema also took power in a coup in 1979, and has scheduled fake elections in which he regularly captures 99.8% of the vote. He is living a charmed life. Libya's Muammar Gadafy who came to power in 1977 in a coup, is now warmly embraced by the European Union, Britain and the US.
If not oil, African dictators aligning themselves with the US "war on terror" also escape censure, even if they batter critics at home. Uganda's Yoweri Museveni and Ethiopia's Meles Zenawi are cases in point. Swaziland, one of Africa's most notoriously badly run countries, regularly accuses perfectly legitimate critics of "terrorism" before carting them off to jail. Swaziland also escapes scrutiny because its absolute monarch, King Mswati, claims to run the country along pre-colonial "traditional" lines, called the Tinkundla system. But this is nothing but tyranny, ostensibly in the name of "tradition" and "culture". Yet, it appears, the some western powers find the Swazi Tinkundla system very exotic, even if it's out-and-out despotic. Unless the west tackles these obvious blindspots, their criticisms of African misrule, although desperately needed, will ring hollow.
Western powers are selective in their censure of African regimes guilty of misrule, while ignoring those countries with oil, or who are allies in the US "war on terror". For example, Robert Mugabe has been rightly pilloried by the west for running Zimbabwe into the ground. Yet Mugabe's great ally, Angola's Eduardo dos Santos, whose ruling MPLA is going into a parliamentary election today, has an equally appalling record of autocratic rule. But Angola's fabulous oil wealth has silenced western criticisms of the regime's terrible human rights abuses.
The last time Angola held elections was 16 years ago. Dos Santos came to power in 1979, a year before Mugabe took power in Zimbabwe. Angola's economy has logged economic growths well into double digit figures on the back of oil, yet a small well-connected political and business elite, centred around the Dos Santos family, mostly benefits, while the majority of the country's population lives on far less then $2 a day. Fernando Macedo, the head of Angola's main human rights group, the Association for Justice, Peace and Democracy, says "people talk about blood diamonds, but oil from Angola could be called blood oil".
It is now clear that oil wealth protects African dictators from international pressure to democratise. Western hypocrisy was evident in the fact that early in Zimbabwe's meltdown, western governments and media criticisms of Mugabe focused mainly on the plight of the large white expatriate community there. Yet, the problem in Zimbabwe has never been solely about blacks attacking whites, but about a despicable regime terrorising its population – both black and white. Immediately after the country's April 2008 elections, which the opposition Movement for Democratic Change won, Angola put its troops at the ready to aid Mugabe. Angola allowed the Chinese ship, An Yue Jiang, and its consignment of deadly weapons bought by Mugabe to bolster his military and police in the event of uprisings following his rigging of the elections, to dock in Angolan ports, after it was forced to turn back from South Africa following the most unprecedented continent-wide civil society solidarity against the ship offloading its deadly cargo in African ports. African regimes with lots of oil can buy off western criticisms. Nigeria, another major African oil producer, is another misruled country that often escapes western censure.
To put it politely, western powers were lukewarm in their criticisms of Nigeria's openly rigged elections in 2007. Omar al-Bashir came to power in Sudan in an Islamist-backed coup in 1989, overthrowing a government elected democratically. Western criticisms of him do arise, but they seem too little, too late. Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema also took power in a coup in 1979, and has scheduled fake elections in which he regularly captures 99.8% of the vote. He is living a charmed life. Libya's Muammar Gadafy who came to power in 1977 in a coup, is now warmly embraced by the European Union, Britain and the US.
If not oil, African dictators aligning themselves with the US "war on terror" also escape censure, even if they batter critics at home. Uganda's Yoweri Museveni and Ethiopia's Meles Zenawi are cases in point. Swaziland, one of Africa's most notoriously badly run countries, regularly accuses perfectly legitimate critics of "terrorism" before carting them off to jail. Swaziland also escapes scrutiny because its absolute monarch, King Mswati, claims to run the country along pre-colonial "traditional" lines, called the Tinkundla system. But this is nothing but tyranny, ostensibly in the name of "tradition" and "culture". Yet, it appears, the some western powers find the Swazi Tinkundla system very exotic, even if it's out-and-out despotic. Unless the west tackles these obvious blindspots, their criticisms of African misrule, although desperately needed, will ring hollow.
Nigerian President's Health in Question
Nigeria's President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua returned home from Saudi Arabia Saturday, a government official said, amid questions about his health.
A Saudi hospital official last weekend said the head of state had been hospitalised there for several days, but did not disclose any details.
Nigerian independent media has been awash with reports that Yar'Adua, 57, underwent surgery there for renal problems.
"The president came back this morning," the official in Yar'Adua's office told AFP, without providing further details.
Speculation has mounted about the president's health in recent days after he left the country more than two weeks ago for a religious pilgrimage. It later emerged that he had been in a Jeddah hospital for several days.
Officials, however, have insisted he was in Saudi Arabia on a pilgrimage with Information Minister John Odey stating on Wednesday that he had taken the "opportunity to undertake a medical check-up."
The opposition on Thursday demanded that the authorities provide details of the president's health, which they said was not a private affair, but one with implications for the stability of the country.
(AFP)
A Saudi hospital official last weekend said the head of state had been hospitalised there for several days, but did not disclose any details.
Nigerian independent media has been awash with reports that Yar'Adua, 57, underwent surgery there for renal problems.
"The president came back this morning," the official in Yar'Adua's office told AFP, without providing further details.
Speculation has mounted about the president's health in recent days after he left the country more than two weeks ago for a religious pilgrimage. It later emerged that he had been in a Jeddah hospital for several days.
Officials, however, have insisted he was in Saudi Arabia on a pilgrimage with Information Minister John Odey stating on Wednesday that he had taken the "opportunity to undertake a medical check-up."
The opposition on Thursday demanded that the authorities provide details of the president's health, which they said was not a private affair, but one with implications for the stability of the country.
(AFP)
American Filmmaker Charged with Spying Released for the Weekend
Andrew Berends, an American filmmaker who was arrested Sunday and charged with spying, has been moved to the capital, Abuja, and released for the weekend. He is still under arrest, however, and must report back to the State Security Services on Monday. American Embassy officials in Nigeria and State Dept officials in Washington are working for his full release. Mr. Berends’s Nigerian interpreter, Samuel George, has also been released. Amnesty International had issued a statement warning that Mr. George might have been tortured and urged that both men be released immediately.
(NY Times)
(NY Times)
Two Hostages Released
Two French citizens kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria early last month have been freed, France's foreign ministry said on Saturday.
The two had been seized near Nigeria's oil industry hub of Port Harcourt in the restive Niger Delta on August 2.
The French foreign ministry said in a statement the pair were expected back in France in the next few days.
Insecurity in Nigeria, the world's eighth-largest oil exporter, has cut crude output by around a fifth since militants launched a campaign of sabotage in early 2006 to press for greater development in their neglected communities.
(Reuters)
The two had been seized near Nigeria's oil industry hub of Port Harcourt in the restive Niger Delta on August 2.
The French foreign ministry said in a statement the pair were expected back in France in the next few days.
Insecurity in Nigeria, the world's eighth-largest oil exporter, has cut crude output by around a fifth since militants launched a campaign of sabotage in early 2006 to press for greater development in their neglected communities.
(Reuters)
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