February 26, 2001
 

Dear Legislators and Local Government Chairmen of the Niger Delta:
 

We are members of diverse organizations representing various interests of the Niger Delta. You will see a list of participating organizations at the bottom of this letter. Although many of our organizations bear ethnic names, and do cater to their unique ethnic mandates, all of us are joined in the realization that the Niger Delta is our world which we have inherited by the Grace of God through our ancestors. We all recognize that if the Niger Delta perishes through enforced evil deeds by hostile groups elsewhere, we, our children, and their children's children, will be the permanent losers. It will be a tragedy if we all sit silently while the lands and waters that our forefathers bequeathed to us perish. It will be a greater tragedy if some of our own people are implicated in the destruction of our heritage by supporting policies that are liable to ruin our people and their lands and waters.

That preceding first paragraph may appear to many Nigerians who only read about the degradation of the Niger Delta from a distance as an attempt at building up an exaggeration. But we know that as representatives of various constituencies in the Niger Delta, you are fully aware that issues of the physical survival of the whole region are now well beyond being hypothetical. Unless certain pernicious policies concerning the Niger Delta are reversed in the next several years, the Niger Delta may not survive unto the next century. Indeed, the Niger Delta as we know it may perish within the next five to seven decades if the fury of its exploitation continues and if the medical and environmental disasters that have befallen the region, with their expected intensification in the future, are not halted NOW.

We want to discuss these issues with you. We are coming to you for two specific reasons. First, as elected representatives of the people of the Niger Delta, all Niger Deltans look to you collectively to help safeguard the larger interests of the whole of our region by being both proactive and defensive in all policies affecting the entire region. That is to say, we expect you to initiate policies that will benefit the Niger Delta. We also expect you to defend the Niger Delta against bad policies, especially those that endanger the lives of our people and the lands in which they live. In doing so, Niger Deltans have a long memory of leaders and legislators who represented them  well in the past. We expect you to follow in their memorable footsteps. But we are coming to you for another reason. It is, second, that we believe that you are not representing the interests of the Niger Delta well at the present time. In the face of incessant attacks and insults on the Niger Delta, all of you – or, maybe, many of you – appear fearful or intimidated. Worse, there are instances of some among you who have supported policies that will only intensify the perilous dangers that Niger Deltans face.

A BACKGROUND CHRONICLE OF
PAST REPRESENTATION OF THE NIGER DELTA

We must hasten to say, our conclusion that as a group you are not representing the Niger Delta well is a painful one for us to state. But we believe -- and we are hopeful that  at the end of this letter you will  agree with us -- that our assertion represents the truth of our circumstances. The matter of your inadequate representation is painful because the Niger Delta had a rich record of excellent representation by our politicians and statesmen in past eras. It will be helpful in addressing our current circumstances if we remind you and fellow Niger Deltans of that record.

Colonial Times

 Historically, the Niger Delta as a region predates Nigeria's emergence as a British colony by at least a decade. Britain's Niger Delta Protectorate and the Niger Coast Protectorate were already well established by the middle 1880s and late 1890s before further British interests led to the formation of Southern Nigeria in 1900. In the decades before the Second World War, many Niger Delta communities had their own local leaders who distinguished themselves in the service of their people while serving the British. But it was only as a result of the Arthur Richards Reforms of 1946 that regional representation became important in British colonial arrangements. Our people's experiences with treacherous British policies served them well in the leaders who emerged to represent them in the late 1940s.

For instance, in Western Niger Delta, Mukoro Mowoe represented the whole of what was then Warri Province as a Member of Western House of Assembly. He fought hard for every group and for the enhancement of inter-ethnic relations in the region as a whole. By the time he died prematurely in August 1948, people in the region agreed that he represented them well by fighting for them, many times against bad policies. Similar experiences abounded in the Eastern Niger Delta. It was agitation by the  Ijaw Rivers Peoples League that led to the creation by the British of Rivers Province in 1947. It was here and during this period that the Niger Delta Congress was founded by the young Harold Dappa-Biriye to fight for equality for the disadvantaged people of the Niger Delta.

Perils of Decolonization

The entire decade of the 1950s was devoted to decolonization in Nigeria. It was in that decade that the three majority ethnic groups of Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa-Fulani emerged into power and prominence. In contrast, communities in the Niger Delta were oppressed and endangered. But we had good leaders and representatives who did not shut up. Professor Eyo Ita of Calabar; Chief E. O. Eyo from Uyo which is now headquarters of Akwa Ibom; Mrs. Margaret Ekpo from Calabar; Matthew Mbu and Okoi Arikpo from Ogoja Province; Chief Harold Dappa Biriye and Melford Okilo of the Rivers; James Otobo and Festus Sam Okotie-Eboh (Delta); Humphrey Omo-Osagie and  Dennis Osadebay (Benin Province): these were tough people who cried out against the ills unjustly visited on their communities in the Niger Delta. They were good representatives of their people because they fought for them and for their region.

It was because of their representation that the Willink Commission was set up by the departing British colonizers to examine the fears of minorities of the Niger Delta. Our Delta leaders and representatives complained about the injustices heaped upon their people because of the new colonial arrangements. They even dared to form their own political parties when they thought that the larger parties were not representing them well. That was how Niger Delta Congress and, later, the Midwest Democratic Front were formed. The Niger Delta Congress played a crucial role in articulating before the Willink Commission the unique problems that we in the Niger Delta faced. The Willink Commission called attention to the grave dangers in the Niger Delta but was, unwisely, unwilling to allow Niger Deltans to rule themselves. Subsequently, our leaders’ fight led to the creation of the Midwestern Region and subsequently of other states,  bringing self-government to our people.

First and Second Republics

 The legislative assemblies of the First and Second Republics bristled with talented representation from the Niger Delta. Many of the people listed above were able legislators because they had close ties with the communities they represented. Festus Sam Okotie-Eboh, Michael Okorodudu,  Joseph Wayas, David Dafinone,  James Otobo, Humphrey Omo-Osagie: all these legislative leaders and many more came from different eras of Nigerian politics. What they all had in common was good representation of their people.

In other words, from the 1940s well up to the Second Republic in the 1980s, the Niger Delta was well represented by able men and women in Nigeria's legislative assemblies. They were effective because:

(i) They identified problems facing their people and sought to resolve them.

(ii) They cried out when bad policies affected their people.

(iii) Many of them were ready to serve their people at the risk of being persecuted. In other words, they were courageous.

(iv) They were also patriotic in the sense that the successful leaders from the Niger Delta did not join forces with those who initiated policies that would harm their people and their region.

Such a rich past in our history of good representation is in sharp contrast with recent performances by our legislative representatives.  We are unable to detect the same degree and quality of representation among our current representatives as we had in the past.

An important reason for this drop in standards of representation may have something to do with the painful fact that the Niger Delta has become the harvest region for the rest of the country. Most of the richest and most powerful men in Nigeria made their wealth in billions of dollars, directly or indirectly, from the oil resources of the Niger Delta by questionable means. Any strong representation that challenges their privileges and sources of  wealth and power will be met with brutal reactions. The killing of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the razing of Odi were clear indications that those who live in opulence from the oil resources of the Niger Delta are prepared to liquidate their opposition from within the region.

Is it then possible that our representatives are intimidated? We hope they are not, and that they will bravely fight for their communities, following the traditions that we have narrated in the preceding paragraphs. The survival of our region is in question. We do not know how devastating the medical and environmental consequences of the reckless oil exploration and pollution will be on our people and our lands. Indeed, how many of our people are already dying from unknown cases of cancer? We do not know, but we imagine that it is a considerable number. The great oil fires all over the region and the sludge estates in the Escravos are clear indications that large regions of the Niger Delta will become unlivable in a few short decades -- if no steps are taken to remedy the situation. Poverty in the region is growing at an alarming rate. The oil resources in our region have become a curse for our people -- even as they are a blessing and a source of comfort and wealth for those who live far away, many of whom have never visited the tragedy and degradation that we see daily in the Niger Delta. If ever we need strong legislative representation, it is NOW. This is not the time to be represented by those who love party beyond their people, those who are fearful of what the President will do to them, and those who accept little crumbs of bribes from the largesse of wealth taken from the Niger Delta.

We understand that you, as legislators, face major difficulties created by those who want to become instant billionaires from Niger Delta's natural resources. We want to work with you, because any impediments barring your adequate representation of our people will hurt all of us. First, however, we must come to a common understanding of what we mean by inadequate representation on your part. Please allow us to discuss with you issues and instances involved in the current crisis of representation of the Niger Delta.

Colonization of the Niger Delta

There was a tradition in British and European colonialism in Africa that natives were barred from certain classes of jobs that were considered sensitive. Towards independence there was a relaxation of such unwritten rules, permitting Nigerians to take on some sensitive positions in the late 1950s as we were close to Independence. The same situation is happening in Nigeria now, with respect to the Niger Delta. It is assumed that certain positions are too sensitive for Niger Deltans to hold. No Niger Deltan must be allowed to become Oil Minister. That is a position reserved for the North, maybe the West. Tam David-West was a mistake and he paid for it with a term of  detention -- his peers who originate from outside the Niger Delta region count their billions. The reason for such a colonial policy is to bar natives from knowing too much. So it is that neither General Ibrahim Babangida nor President Olusegun Obasanjo has appointed anyone from the Niger Delta to this sensitive position. So also is the Minister of Interior. That is a position meant for the Emirate North. Again, Alex Ibru was a mistake and he has paid for it by partially losing his sight and nearly losing his life.

We suggest to you that these are clear indications of internal colonialism. In this regard, there is no difference between President Olusegun Obasanjo and his predecessors in power. They all want to make sure that the Niger Delta is safe for harvesting the desired amount of wealth by barring native Deltans from sensitive positions. The British excuse was that Nigerians did not have the requisite amount of education. Such an excuse is not available in Nigeria's internal colonialism. That is so because the level and quality of education available in the Niger Delta rank at the top in the national accounting of education.

This is why we need you to understand and fight our cause. The way to do it is to talk about it and plan ahead. Before the next Presidential elections, we must bargain for a fair quota that no longer represents the fact that the President regards us as dreadful natives. For instance, let Deltans insist that if Olusegun Obasanjo wants our votes, he must promise to give the Oil Ministry and any other major Ministries to the Niger Delta. In other words, we need you to ensure that we are no longer subject to the insult on the part of those who control power in Nigeria of assuming that Niger Deltans are second class citizens or even worse. We fought British colonialism. We can fight this sinister internal colonialism if we understand it and if we stay united.

The Invasion and Destruction of Odi

No case shows a greater display of arrogance of Government  than the invasion and destruction of an innocent town in central Niger Delta. The facts of the case are by now fairly well established. President Olusegun Obasanjo gave an ultimatum of 14 days to the Governor of Bayelsa for arresting and trying a gang of criminals who were said to have killed some twelve policemen who were protecting oil companies at Odi, otherwise he would declare a state of emergency in the state. Not waiting for the expiration of his ultimatum, with four days to spare, the President ordered a strong battle-ready military force numbering several thousand men to go to Odi “to arrest” the bandits who killed the police officers. Predictably, they could not arrest the criminals. In anger, or by design, the military destroyed the entire town with an unknown number of human beings in the hundreds killed. A military spokesman later told journalists:

The intention was just a show of force to  let them know they cannot continue like that. I think that has been  achieved. No village will want to go through what that village went through. It has been taught a lesson.

The question is: what did you as elected representatives of the Niger Delta do? On the good side, there was some gesture that our Members of the House of Representatives wanted some enquiry but were overwhelmed by support for the President's action from members from the North. This is how a report from the Comet of Wednesday, November 24, 1999 put it:

While legislators from the Niger-Delta area sought the condemnation of the act and immediate withdrawal of the troops, those from the North opposed it, but rather blamed the people of the area for the persistent uprising.

I think that the ‘elected representatives’ of those areas need to be put much more on the spot than they have been, even though it was clear that they were not really ‘elected’ by the people who live there. It may just have been the NTA's editing of what was said and done, but they seemed rather complacent about the matter  -- I was particularly disappointed by the Member of the House of Reps who said that he was the member for Odi town: the Senate President seemed more outraged than he by what had happened.

Our reason for embarking on this illustration is to make sure that you will henceforth represent our interests to Abuja, rather than Abuja's to the Niger Delta. That was what your illustrious predecessors achieved and that is what those whom you represent expect from you. Your apparent passivity in the face of the criminal behaviour of officials of Nigeria's Federal Government did not put you in any good light as worthy legislative representatives of our people.

Odi is not in the past. Its ordeals are not over. President Obasanjo has hurried into questionable contracts on a stadium in Abuja worth billions of naira without lifting a finger to help those in Odi whose lives and properties his Government needlessly destroyed. We plead with you to act together and draw up an agenda for remedying this awful injustice.

The Dangers of Oil and Gas Pipelines in the Niger Delta

Beginning from 1976, under the Government of General Olusegun Obasanjo, pipelines were laid in the Niger Delta to take oil to Kaduna. Since then the Niger Delta is trapped into pipelines which criss-cross the entire region. Many of these pipes have aged and are without proper maintenance. Moreover they have been vandalized by sophisticated thieves, using rare equipment that can only be secured by privileged millionaire-thieves, clearly from outside the region. Beginning with the great fire disaster at Idjerhe, Delta State, on October 17, 1998, which killed thousands, there has been a rash of oil fires that have destroyed lives and property in the Niger Delta.

What has the Federal Government done to cope with this menace? All it does is to blame the victims, poor villagers who scoop spilt petrol with little buckets. We know of no credible attempt to study and reinforce and improve these installations. The only authentic complaint is coming from the Environmental Rights Action [ERA] based at Benin. The silence from you, our representatives, on this score is deafening.

Perhaps not quite so. Recently, some of you joined in a campaign for the Federal Government against the vandalization of oil pipelines, virtually accusing ordinary local people,  victims of a flawed policy, as the vandalizers! Where is the sense of decency here! These pipelines have been in these communities for twenty-five years. The communities have not done anything to harm them. Why now? Are there no alternative solutions? What is the responsibility of the owners of the oil pipelines? The Federal Government has inundated the area with national and foreign soldiers who intimidate the people. Why can't you, our representatives, take up this matter, and ask for a responsible policy of relocating the pipelines to safer locations?

This problem has recently been compounded. The Federal Government, without consultation with any communities, plans to build a West African gas pipeline beginning from the Niger Delta. There is a law requiring environmental impact studies for such projects. These proposed pipelines will be running through the same communities that have already suffered from oil fire disasters.

Yet we do not hear anything from you, our representatives. Are you afraid to tell President Obasanjo that he should carry out the legally required environmental impact study? The burden of the fight for protecting our communities has been left to Human Rights Watch and Environmental Rights Action [ERA]. What is the problem? Where are our Senators and Representatives?

Federal Suit Against Littoral States Over Resource Control

The Federal Government has sued our states in the Supreme Court over their claims on the oil resources in our lands. Those who have cocoa and ground nuts control these resources. These are not as wasting and as irreplaceable as natural oil and gas. The Federal Government could derive the same amount of legitimate wealth by taxation if these resources were controlled by the states. But the Federal Government has dragged the States to a Supreme Court that is said to be packed arbitrarily by favored groups in the country. Why? Well, oil and gas are the source of wealth for privileged individuals.

The pressure to control the largesse of natural resources in the Niger Delta is not being driven by any considerations of the national interest. It is, on the contrary, fuelled by private desires to control our national wealth. You, our representatives, must not be afraid to speak out on these matters. We need to hear from our Senators, Representatives, Speakers, and members of the State Houses. Why are you all silent on such a vital issue?

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS

We want to work with you to improve the way you represent our people. We therefore recommend as follows:

Conference of Elected Officers and Legislators

We strongly urge you to institute a Conference of Legislators and Elected Officers of the Niger Delta. This should be a permanent consultative body that should be serviced with modern communications equipment and a well-trained staff. These will provide a forum for you to help yourselves and to compare notes. Issues of significant import for the whole region should constantly be on the agenda. For instance, how many people in the Supreme Court are from the Niger Delta? We should not be shy to ask why we are under represented in this body. And we should also ask for fair representation in other national bodies, such as the National Security Council. We are not subordinate to any groups in Nigeria and we should fight any attempts to reduce us to second class citizens.

A forum, such as the one we recommend here, that brings together legislators and chairmen of local governments in the Niger Delta will be important in enhancing the services that our local governments can offer. Unfortunately, the legacy of military rule has badly injured the capacity of local governments to deliver services and to legislate on local matters of law and order. We must redesign our future from the grassroots in such a manner as will encourage local governments to work with legislators on the clear understanding that the purpose of government at any level is to serve the people, not to defraud them. In this new venture our local governments must be brought on board. We must begin a new tradition that is beneficial and  distinctive for our region. By interacting with our legislators, the local government chairmen and chairwomen will learn to upgrade the capacity of their important level of government.

Once a Conference of Elected Officers and Legislators is in place, you will generate important agenda. It will enable you to work together. The most important class of business should concern the threatened environment of the Niger Delta. New Ministries of the Environment should be emphasized in the region, even if they are absent elsewhere. We have a right to worry about our future. For instance, the River Niger is the source of our natural environment and the bedrock of our civilization. We must not allow such treasure to be trifled with lightly. Plans to dredge the Niger must be withheld  until environmental impact studies, in which the governments and people of the region will have some faith, has been completed and evaluated.

National Constitutional Conference on
Resource Control and Other Matters

As we are sure you are well aware, federal exclusive jurisdictions over our natural resources are based on unilateral military decrees and not on a negotiated constitution by the duly elected representatives of Nigeria's federating units. Nigeria is a federation because, we assume, the federating units agree to establish a federation. Thus, as the creators of the Nigerian federation, the federating units have to agree on how much power each of them wants to concede to the federal government. We in the Niger Delta have not and neither do we intend to concede jurisdictions over our natural resources to the federal government.

These issues and others, such as the Sharia, cannot be settled by intimidation from the Executive nor adjudication by the Supreme Court. Nor should political party chieftains dictate to you what is good for your region. If these resources were located in lands from which these party chiefs come, they would be pushing for resource control. It is an insult to your ability to represent your people for any party bosses to try to goad you into decisions that are inimical to the interests of the Niger Delta. These are political matters that deserve to be addressed in a Constitutional Conference.  You will be losing a tremendous amount of power if you wait for others to initiate a call for a Constitutional Conference to which you are merely invited unprepared. You should assume that a Constitutional Conference is inevitable and then try to prepare for it as a group with sufficient time to spare. It is only a matter of time when, not if, a Constitutional Conference will be held.

We would like to remind you that the National Assembly does not possess an exclusive right to write or amend a Federal Constitution for Nigeria. It will be sad, indeed, if military fiat in the promulgation of a decreed Constitution is succeeded by the dictatorship of the Central Government in the fabrication and amendment of a Constitution in which the States have no voice in the final decisions. The current constitutional review exercise which is being undertaken by the Federal Government, without the involvement of the State Governments, is at variance with the practice of federalism. The federating units have a vital constitutional role to play in any process aimed at making and amending a Constitution for Nigeria. We, in the Niger Delta, do not trust that our interests will be protected in the so-called review that shuts out the States of the Niger Delta and Southern Nigeria in making final decisions about resource control which they have demanded. Thus, we recommend that you work toward the convocation of a National Conference on Renewed Federalism with equal representation from each state to design a new Constitution for Nigeria. It is at such a conference that the federating units will decide on how much power each of them will concede to the Federal Government. Otherwise, the current widespread distrust of the Federal Government in the Niger Delta and in Southern Nigeria will only grow deeper in the face of dictatorial behaviours from the President and the Central Government.

Legislation and Bribes

We dearly hope that things have improved beyond the Shagari era when legislators were bribed to cast important votes. We suspect that the super wealthy in Nigeria will continue to go back to the ways of the bad old days and offer bribes to sway your votes. We want you to ponder the following. Those who offer bribes may want you to do things that will be bad for your children. If they are matters that affect the Niger Delta, remember that the monies that they are offering are little crumbs out of the vast wealth taken from the Niger Delta. Be careful and do not shortchange your future and the futures of your children.

Rigging of Elections

The well-respected Human Rights Watch said the following concerning the elections that were held in Nigeria in 1998 and 1999:

Between December 1998 and February 1999, local, state and federal elections were held in Nigeria, which led to the inauguration on May 29, 1999 of the first civilian government in Nigeria  for sixteen years. In the Niger Delta region, these elections were marked by such widespread  fraud that, though pleased to be rid of military rule, few members of the electorate regard those ‘elected’ as their real representatives. The current problems in the delta are exacerbated, if not  partly caused, by these problems in the electoral process.

As a body, you all should find ways of turning down plans by party chieftains for election rigging in our region. Otherwise, you all will be contributing to the further marginalization of the Niger Delta. Youth violence is bred by lack of trust in the system.

SOME CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

We want to assure you all that our organizations respect your persons and offices. We want to see you all succeed. These are trying times for all Niger Deltans. There may be rougher days ahead still. We come to you because there is the potential that you can help to turn things around in the Niger Delta. We cannot even contemplate the cost of failure. It will be an unspeakable disaster for all of us. Those who now harvest the natural resources of the Niger Delta with so much abandon will leave the disasters behind for us to pick up. We are not fools. We should be smarter in our ways of doing things. We invite you to assume leadership in this crusade for our future and the futures of our children and of their children's children.

We pray for you to do the right thing. This is the time to organize. Let the first leader come forward.
 

Sincerely yours,

cc: Governors of Niger Delta States