Muhammadu Buhari knows what exactly he needs to do to put an end to the crisis today.
“He probably has not, because he has allowed his administration to be beset with too many petty rivalries, too many individuals jockeying for putative relevance, and too many party chieftains of Niger Delta origin who don’t have the interests of the region at heart.
This was the position of the United Niger Delta Energy Development Security Strategy (UNDEDSS) as contained in a statement made available to newsmen, in Warri, Delta State, on Thursday, signed by Mr Tony I. Uranta, UNDEDSS’ Secretary General.
Uranta revealed that himself and other well-meaning Niger Delta citizens, interfacing with patriotic members of the president’s inner cabinet and intelligence chieftains, have drawn up a proposal that should be ‘win-win’ for all parties concerned.
He further revealed that this dynamically-tweaked proposal was before the president, the armed agitators in the creeks, the international community (including the UK and the USA) and other relevantly-interested Nigerians like Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka.
The proposal is hinged on four vital prerequisites, viz., the affirmation by Mr President that there is no change in policy regarding the need to commence matriculation of students this year in the National Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Delta State; the rebirth of the Niger Delta Council (with its five relevant sub-committees) of President Yar’adua’s 2009 template; the guarantee of safe passage for delegates to any dialogue locations, after all armed parties publicly agree to a 60-day Armistice to be proposed by the Federal Government; and the attendance of foreign observers (including diplomats from the EU, UK and USA!), to be invited by the Federal Government, to any such dialogue.
UNDEDSS claimed that this proposal had been presented to President Buhari over four weeks ago, after many meetings between the Federal Government (represented at different points by the Chief of Staff to the Mr President, the Director-General, Directorate of State Security (DSS), the EFCC chairman, the D-G, NIA, the Minister of State for Petroleum…etc.) on the one hand, and credible Niger Deltans (including past Special Advisers to Nigerian Presidents on the Niger Delta, United Nations(UN) consultants and former Apex ‘Creeks Generals’ of the three zones of the Niger Delta) plus prominent members of the 2009 Aaron Team that negotiated with President Yar’adua in 2009.
Ultimately, UNDEDSS calls on President Buhari to exhibit the patriotic and objective decisiveness necessary to put an end to the ongoing crisis in the Niger Delta, by announcing his adoption of the said proposal now.