Doris MacDaniels is the Chairperson of
Ijaw Mothers Union, a group at the forefront of
the campaign for a better Niger Delta. She is also
a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,
in Rivers State and the Deputy Publicity
Secretary, South South Peoples Assembly, SSPA.
In this interview, she speaks on the just
concluded governorship elections in Rivers and the
fate of the Niger Delta following the emergence
of General Muhammadu Buhari as president-elect.
What is your assessment of the just concluded
governorship and House of Assembly elections in
Rivers State?

You will agree with me that this is the first time
we are involving social media in monitoring and
expressing our views in an election in Nigeria. I
have been a grassroots politician for about
25years. The elections held in the 1990s were
conducted in an orderly manner. We never had
ammunition in my community, Okrika. In the late
90s, we had communal clashes with a neighboring
town and some boys were frantically looking for a
gun to ward off some intruders, they were unable
to access gun easily. A boy later brought his
father’s dane gun. Violence associated with
elections in the state started in 2003 and there
after we have been having Carry Go elections,
meaning endorsement for candidates.

The March 28 and April 11 elections are the only
ones that have been competitive and I disagree
that they were marred by killings. The killings we
had in the state were more from cult rivalry.
Certainly there were pockets of violence here
and there but it was a similar thing during the
elections in other parts of the country.

Governor Chibuike Amaechi described the
elections as a sham, saying it was rigged.

If the April 11 elections did not hold, how come
he voted? How would anyone doubt Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, winning Rivers State ? If
Buhari won Sokoto, Kano, Borno, etc, then there
is no way PDP will lose its stronghold states like
Rivers, Delta, Akwa-Ibom.

I was not supporting Nyesom Wike initially. I had
wanted the power rotation arrangement between
the upland and riverine to be effected but we did
our best but our best was not good enough.

When Wike won the primaries and I knew anybody
that got the PDP flag will win the election, I gave
him 100% winning chance. I never thought the
governorship candidate of the All Progressives
Congress, APC, Dr Dakuku Peterside, will ever
win the election because he was Governor
Amaechi’s candidate. Besides, he was forced on
his party by the governor. So a lot of people were
not happy.

Some people also have issues with the governor
over his relationship with President Goodluck
Jonathan. Don’t forget that Mr President is an
Ijaw man and their are Ijaw in Rivers.

Apart from the Supreme court judgement that
brought Amaechi to power in his first term, he
never won the House of Assembly election. It was
when Dr Peter Odili won his governorship election
that they went to court to get victory for
Amaechi so he could go the House of Assembly. In
essence Amaechi does not have the strategy to
win election. Buhari’s victory cannot be
attributed to Amaechi because it was obvious the
people with Jonathan were working to fail. Even
Amaechi re-election was difficult for him. The
First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan pleaded on his
behalf and campaigned for him.

She came to Okrika, specifically, to plead with her
people to give him a CARRY-GO.

The April 11 elections were well managed.
Elections held but there were pockets of violence
here and there. But nobody can say elections did
not hold.

Some people have called for the cancellation of
the election. What do you think?

The situation in Rivers on April 11 was like the
moment of truth. A lot of lies had been told about
Rivers being an APC state but that is a lie .
Jonathan is an Ijaw man from Bayelsa , the
riverine people in Rivers are Ijaw, the First Lady
is from Rivers .The loss of Jonathan at the centre
was like mourning for Rivers people. And then the
guber election came up. They were angry that
Amaechi was part of the PDP problem.

This was a governor that had neglected his state
in pursuit of national politics; so how was he
expecting to project Dakuku for victory? As a
matter of fact, Amaechi presence in APC ruined
Dakuku’s chances and APC getting a better grip in
the state. if Amaechi was not involved,a lot of
people may have decamped to APC but nobody
wants to be associated with a governor that was
talking the way he was doing. Riverine people
don’t act like that. We have typical Rivers men in
the calibre of Mr Odein Ajumogobia, SAN,l, Atedo
Peterside, Fafaa Princewill and so on. We are
very respectful.

What are your expectations from the governor
elect, Wike

The much I know about Wike is that he is a man of
great courage and determination. He has
succeeded in being Obio Akpor local government
Chairman,Chief of Staff to Governor Amaechi and
he supported Amaechi to interpret Amaechi
dreams.

The truth is if we have to have a re-run, Wike will
beat Dakuku. You are contending against Wike
who is a master of the game, he has his strategy,
his schemings, his boldness.

Now we have Buhari as president. What is the
future for the Niger Delta?

We opposed Buhari obviously but now he is
president-elect. I believe it is an act of God and
no God-fearing person will oppose God’s verdict.
Based on this, I call on my sisters and brothers to
render their support .I think the Niger Deltans
want to see how the things will unfold. They
want to see whether they would be respected or
disrespected. Niger Deltans are not troublesome
people but they fight injustice. Our brother did a
lot for the North regardless, if Buhari comes with
such gestures of non-tribalistic rulership like
Jonathan, then we may witness peace .

The oil producing states must not be treated with
disdain like it happened in the past. There is so
much awareness in these communities and it will
not be business as usual, the PIB provisions on oil
producing communities should be adhered to.and
these communities must be treated with utmost
care .

Do you see boys going back to the creeks
I don’t think it is in their program for now but let
us not rule that out. It all depends on how tactful
the president handles it. If he listens to the likes
of Amaechi on how to handle Niger Delta, then a
lot could go wrong.

Some ex militants have been voted into the state
House of Assembly
People have wrong perception about these former
militants. Niger Delta ex-militants are not like
Area Boys. Some of them are educated,

intelligent, some are engineers, master degree
holders who had no job,then got affiliated to
MEND. These are forgiven militants for whatever
role they may have played in the past. Some of
them are people from good homes.

Those that made it to the House of assembly are
level-headed young men I personally respect and
they are qualified. We did not vote in miscreants,
we know these boys are responsible.

The nation watched with horror seeing some so-
called honorable members in their true colour,
fighting, breaking heads. These ex militants will
never act that way. These are boys I am ever
proud of because they have distinguished
themselves as respected sons.

These are freedom fighters. They are very
organized.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/04/what-n-delta-wants-from-president-buhari/

N

ss is now swallowing their vomit

But the summary will be good as the story is too long.

He is the president of nigeria and should touch every part of the country regardless of who voted him. So ur list is not gonna get u any prefrential treatment

people should just stop all these demands already..
All these could amount to excuse for failure.

Hmm

zigger:
He is the president of nigeria and should touch every part of the country regardless of who voted him. So ur list is not gonna get u any prefrential treatment

That's exactly what she said
There is no list anywhere in the text

U are too lazy to read

Too long....

Keep your list please. GMB can not be hold to ransom.

However, just as he said, he will deal with all fairly.

Niger Delta.

Stupid pipu mtcheeew

lol why didnt they table it before their son, atleast he had been in Aso Rock for 8 years

Why is it only NDIGBO and NIGER-DELTANS that are presenting requests and lists everyday? the same people who gave the least support? Please note I am not talking of the people but the so-called "leaders" who have failed their people several times!

Take the list to Otuoke on June 1st.

Anyway, I trust GMB. He will not be distracted by all these noisemakers. He'll stick with his plan of developing NIGERIA!!

"We opposed Buhari obviously but now he is
president-elect. I believe it is an act of God and
no God-fearing person will oppose God’s verdict."

Yet some Animals here feel like hanging themselves cuz GMB won, while people having direct access to PDP funds had overlooked it all...

It as if the lesser the vote the higher the request.

zigger:
He is the president of nigeria and should touch every part of the country regardless of who voted him. So ur list is not gonna get u any prefrential treatment

help me sing it to those mofos

walemoney007:
I thought if gej lose,dey will bomb all d pipelin in d creeks,Ijaw cowards

Stop inciting problem with your comments..

I am from the SS but a staunch supporter of this change movement.

There was no list of demand or request whatsoever.Read again.

stronger:

Why is it only NDIGBO and NIGER-DELTANS that are presenting requests and lists everyday? the same people who gave the least support? Please note I am not talking of the people but the so-called "leaders" who have failed their people several times!

Take the list to Otuoke on June 1st.

Anyway, I trust GMB. He will not be distracted by all these noisemakers. He'll stick with his plan of developing NIGERIA!!

stronger:

Why is it only NDIGBO and NIGER-DELTANS that are presenting requests and lists everyday? the same people who gave the least support? Please note I am not talking of the people but the so-called "leaders" who have failed their people several times!

Take the list to Otuoke on June 1st.

Anyway, I trust GMB. He will not be distracted by all these noisemakers. He'll stick with his plan of developing NIGERIA!!

it's only the Ijaws that are the ones constituting a nuisance. Other tribes in the Niger Delta are not complaining. If you wan to know the nuisance in the Niger Delta then the Ijaws are number one. Have you heard the Urhobos, the Binis, the Itsekiris, the ikwerres, the Isokos or any other tribes in the Niger Delta complain? As for Ndigbo, we all know they're town criers and noise makers. Pay no attention to them.

Hahah...na only u one hate ibos,ijaw,arabs etc...who u con like sef?

mulattoclaro:
it's only the Ijaws that are the ones constituting a nuisance. Other tribes in the Niger Delta are not complaining. If you wan to know the nuisance in the Niger Delta then the Ijaws are number one. Have you heard the Urhobos, the Binis, the Itsekiris, the ikwerres, the Isokos or any other tribes in the Niger Delta complain? As for Ndigbo, we all know they're town criers and noise makers. Pay no attention to them.

When will Niger-delta people learn....
An Average Igbo Man is not interested in Oil...
Even Anambra, Imo and Abia has oil.... Igbos believe in themselves without oil....
Yorubas are envying south-south because of their high federal allocation....
Hausas controls all your Oil block..... I'm an Igbo Man, Believing in Oil is a lazy man's thought.... Why did Awolowo told the Northerners, that if Biafra succeeded in carving out of the country, they the Yorubas will form their own country because they can never stay with the Hausas..
Why are the Yorubas afraid of the Hausas?......

---

If Biafra dare succeeds, the fake master/slave relationship between them will cease.....
Yorubas will flee....

Fear, shame, shock and guilty conscience. God may my enemies write me letters in shame

martineverest:
Hahah...na only u one hate ibos,ijaw,arabs etc...who u con like sef?

I love my edos. Why is it only the Ijaws that are making noise in the Niger Delta? Are they more than Edos in population? Why are they trying to speak for us all in the south south?

Macelliot:
When will Niger-delta people learn....
An Average Igbo Man is not interested in Oil...
Even Anambra, Imo and Abia has oil.... Igbos believe in themselves without oil....
Yorubas are envying south-south because of their high federal allocation....
Hausas controls all your Oil block..... I'm an Igbo Man, Believing in Oil is a lazy man's thought.... Why did Awolowo told the Northerners, that if Biafra succeeded in carving out of the country, they the Yorubas will form their own country because they can never stay with the Hausas..
Why are the Yorubas afraid of the Hausas?......

---

If Biafra dare succeeds, the fake master/slave relationship between them will cease.....
Yorubas will flee....

Wow! Never knew you are also into this stuff.

because na dem get d oil na....anyways,api sunday?

mulattoclaro:
I love my edos. Why is it only the Ijaws that are making noise in the Niger Delta? Are they more than Edos in population? Why are they trying to speak for us all in the south south?

In as much that I am a niger deltan... we shud nt and never use d selfish interest of one ethnic group to classify the entire niger delta... d only demand I ask.. is for d fed govt to complete all the projects they have in store for the niger delta.. both existing and non-existing

Thanks

nerodenero:
There was no list of demand or request whatsoever.Read again.

Yeah but I am talking more generally and not just about this particular article.

All the instances of "regional requests" we have seen so far are mostly from the SS and SE.

Macelliot:
When will Niger-delta people learn....
An Average Igbo Man is not interested in Oil...
Even Anambra, Imo and Abia has oil.... Igbos believe in themselves without oil....
Yorubas are envying south-south because of their high federal allocation....
Hausas controls all your Oil block..... I'm an Igbo Man, Believing in Oil is a lazy man's thought.... Why did Awolowo told the Northerners, that if Biafra succeeded in carving out of the country, they the Yorubas will form their own country because they can never stay with the Hausas..
Why are the Yorubas afraid of the Hausas?......

---

If Biafra dare succeeds, the fake master/slave relationship between them will cease.....
Yorubas will flee....

Word!!!