Rather than threaten the Governor, President Obasanjo should sit down and  dialogue with all the governors in the Niger-Delta, and in fact all  governors and peoples of the country, with the aim of ensuring greater  local control of their resources. This was recently well-articulated by  the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Sir Graham Burton (see attached Appendix II.) The convenance of a Sovereign National Conference would be  a positive step in this direction.

 Within the fourteen days ultimatum, it is most unlikely that the Governor  of Bayelsa would be able to control the serious situation in his state;  if he could, he (and his predecessors) would have done so all of this  time. After fourteen days, President Obasanjo's declaration of a state of emergency would simply excercerbate matters and there will be a temptation  to resort to similar declaration of states of emergency to solve such  problems if it succeeds temporarily. If the president does not impose a  state of emergency after fourteen days of failure to control the
situation  in Bayelsa, it would amount to an empty threat.

 The presidential threat was a mistake, and it should therefore be called off.

 On the other hand, we urge the Youths and other indigenes of the  Niger-Delta to go about expressing their genuine concerns with the  greatest amount of responsibility, eschewing violence always.