A group under the umbrella of Crusaders for Niger Delta Community Development (CNDCD) has lauded the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, for sustained efforts in the fight against pipeline vandalism and illegal bunkering in the region.
The CNDCD, a socio-cultural group, also applauded the Nigerian military for the kinetic and non-kinetic approaches adopted towards ending oil theft since it began its renewed fight as directed by President Bola Tinubu.
The group, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Mr Jesse Ese, said the nation’s oil production output had taken a new shape since the current set of Service Chiefs came on board.
Ese observed that with the efforts, the oil production output had climbed from 1.3 million barrels per day to 1.8 million bpd.
He expressed optimism that more would be achieved if the CDS sustained the tempo, especially with collaboration with mass mobilisation groups like Movement for the Survival of the Izon Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta (MOSIEND), which has enough grassroots presence.
He, however, urged the Federal Government and the military to understand that while they are winning the war against oil theft and pipeline vandalism, there is the need to consider having a win-win situation to reduce the huge investments in pipeline security.
According to Ese, the Federal Government must understand that the reasons behind crude oil theft and illegal refining of petroleum products were not unconnected to economic depression, which has left young people with no other option than to steal for survival.
He lamented that some of the security concerns have continued to rear their ugly heads because many young people are out of school, while a lot of those who have graduated have no jobs.
“While we are recording an increase in the nation’s oil production output, there’s an urgent need for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Musa Christopher, the Federal Executive Council, as well as the National Assembly, to come up with a framework that provides room for the survival of those who are involved.
“We want to call on the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, to also begin to look into this direction,” he said.
According to him, a lot of people might wonder why, “but you must understand the relativity of such high-profile crimes—and what we have is a situation whereby there is a little fall in oil theft, but with a significant rise in kidnapping, piracy, armed robbery, and ritual killings.
“And since the fight against oil thieves took on a new dimension, those whose camps have been destroyed have delved into other crimes against humanity.
“Some are kidnapping people to raise enough money to build other illegal refineries; others are into high-profile armed robbery and so on,” he stated.
He added, “When I say little arrests made, I am not in any way saying the military is only destroying the camps and letting the culprits go free. I’ve been involved in oil theft operations before, and I know the challenges involved.
“But even when you destroy the camp, it won’t take them time to rebuild another one. That’s why I’m urging the government to think outside the box and come up with a win-win framework to address oil theft.”
“On our part, we are pleased with the achievements of the military in the fight against oil theft, but we believe that more will be achieved if the office of the chief of defence staff maintains this tempo—by collaborating with renowned mass mobilisation organisations like MOSIEND, which has been embarking on far-reaching sensitisation that is producing results and changing the psyche of the youths, of which some have seen reasons to quit such illegal businesses and exit the creeks.”
“Many of those who have left the business are going back, because when they are restive for long with no succour and they remember they once had something putting food on their table, they will definitely go back, and they won’t consider whether what they are doing is good or bad.”
“But while we are happy with the progress made by the OCDS, it is pertinent for us to try other options to have a win-win because many of those denied of their illegal trades are venting their anger on innocent citizens.”
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