Black_Revo:

MEND leader speaks
Boyloaf in trouble
•He’s a traitor
•His 1000 rifles and why he can’t return to Port Harcourt
•FG can’t get 200 rifles from us
•Boyloaf begs Okah
By Daniel Alabrah
Sunday, August 16, 2009


A worrisome pall now pervades the ongoing process of disarming militants in the Niger Delta, Nigeria’s main oil and gas basin. Except the Federal Government retools its strategy, its effort to rein in the insurgents might fall flat at the end of the 60-day amnesty period.

Ten days after the amnesty commenced on August 6, only a handful of weapons have been turned in by a negligible number of militants in Rivers State while in the main, the disarming process has been shunned by the ‘Big Boys’ including the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and the so-called freedom fighters in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Edo states.

Sunday Sun authoritatively learnt that the key militant groups and their leaders have backtracked from the amnesty deal, following what they consider as faulty steps taken by the government and some of the state governors in the region. Chief among their grouse is the government’s recourse to selective surrender of arms by some of the militant leaders and the attempt by one of the governors and some politicians to corrupt the process through monetary inducements.

For buckling under pressure from politicians, one of the former commanders of MEND in Bayelsa State, Ebikabowei Victor Ben popularly known as ‘General’ Boyloaf, is already in soup as a ‘fatwa’ has been placed on him if he steps his feet on the Niger Delta again. At the moment, he is domiciled in Abuja from where he has been sending emissaries to the MEND leader, Mr Henry Okah, to plead on his behalf.

Boyloaf had penultimate Friday, alongside 31 other supposedly militant leaders, met with President Umaru Yar’Adua at the State House, Abuja, at the instance of the Bayelsa governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, following an alleged N250million deal struck with Boyloaf. The governor has, however, refuted the allegation.
But following these developments, Sunday Sun was reliably informed that the key leaders have resolved that their groups would not surrender their weapons to the amnesty and disarmament committee constituted by the federal government until after the 2011 polls.

Speaking in an extensive telephone interview, one of the most dreaded militants and key MEND leader, disclosed to Sunday Sun: “I can tell you that the federal government has missed it. At the end of the amnesty, the federal government will be shocked if they get 200 rifles,” he boasted.
The militant leader, who spoke in impeccable English, also revealed the reasons for the new stance of the militants, why Boyloaf is regarded as a traitor even as he sensationally disclosed that another notorious militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo aka Tompolo, did not flee Nigeria as earlier reported and that he had met with Okah a few days ago.

Militants are no fools

The federal government thinks we (militants) are fools. This is the first time in the world that I have seen a government asking people you are technically fighting with to bring their weapons. What happens after that? They have forgotten that if not for armed struggle, they would not have listened to or taken the Ijaw and Niger Delta people seriously. At the end of the amnesty, the federal government will be shocked if they get up to 200 rifles.

With the way Okah was treated while in detention, it will be silly for any of us to voluntarily surrender our arms. He was given the most brutal treatment ever by the SSS (State Security Service), locked in a dingy cell at a military facility in Bauchi and without access to his lawyers and family. He almost died there. For almost one year after his health deteriorated, the government refused him proper medical attention. What is the assurance that this would not happen again to another freedom fighter in the Niger Delta, because we are not militants? We are fighting against the injustice meted out to our people, and if the government is serious it should sincerely redress the injustice and inequity. It is not difficult to do; it is only that they are not willing to do the right thing and we too will not shift ground.

Okah’s silence

Look, Okah knows what he is doing. He is a father of the struggle and there is no point engaging those who regard you as their master in a media war. That is why he doesn’t want to talk for now or respond to all those trying to rub mud on him. At the appropriate time he will speak. Besides, the eyes of the international community are on him and he is only being careful not to say anything that might worsen the tense situation in the Niger Delta.

Boyloaf, a traitor

Boyloaf is only grandstanding maybe he could get some security contracts from the oil firms. He knows too well that he is nowhere near Okah even in MEND’s hierarchy. After Okah, you can talk of Tompolo, Farah (Dagogo), Africa (Owei) and other MEND commanders in Edo, Akwa Ibom and Cross River. Who is Boyloaf to accuse Okah of selling out? He was a cook in Tompolo’s Camp 5 before he left to join Farah and later broke away to set up his own camp. Let him dispute this.

He said he decided to embrace amnesty and surrender because his ‘Master’, Okah, had been set free. But the questions he should answer are: Where are his weapons? Why didn’t he surrender them before going to Aso Rock? Was he fighting because of Okah or the Niger Delta? Boyloaf has over 1000 rifles, anti-aircraft guns, over 100 machine guns and other weapons. Where are they? With the release of Okah, have the Niger Delta problems being solved? Okah was not in detention when he set up his own camp in 2007. So why did he make Okah his reason for betraying our cause?

It is also not true that he set up his camp in 2005. He actually did in 2007, about three months before Okah was arrested in Angola. He is just playing politics by accusing somebody in the Presidency of giving him N15 million for his camp. If the truth is to be told, Boyloaf cannot deny that he did not collect money from the Bayelsa governor. What about the cheque that was given to him? I can tell you the amount. I pity him, because he will be dead meat if he steps his feet in his house in Port Harcourt or anywhere near the Niger Delta. That is the result of betrayal.

Boyloaf begs Okah

He (Boyloaf) has been sending people to Okah to plead on his behalf. One of them is a female activist and she has been trying to resolve the dispute. She is just concerned about the larger interest of the Ijaw nation if the rift is allowed to fester.

Okah, Tompolo meet

There is actually no problem between Okah and Tompolo. In fact, they met last (penultimate) Friday from 9pm till 4am somewhere along the Delta waterways and resolved to work together. Some of Tompolo’s boys were with him at the meeting.

Tompolo also denied knowledge of the demands by one Prince Joseph Harry, who claims to be a nephew of the late Marshall Harry. That man is a fraud and the government should not listen to him. Tompolo said he had never met him and was surprised that he claimed to represent his faction of MEND. MEND has no faction and our hierarchy is still intact, except for Boyloaf that has been expelled.

Why Okah didn’t meet Yar’Adua

At the time Okah was released, the government had actually become tired of him when several attempts to break his spirit failed. The SSS confessed to him that they had never treated anyone like that before. So on the day he was released, they flew him in a presidential jet from Jos to Abuja and ferried him in one of the bullet-proof cars used by the President en route to the (Aso Rock) Villa. But it was Henry who said he didn’t want to see the President because he didn’t owe him any apologies. He came out of the car on the way and simply found a hotel to lodge in Abuja. So it is not true that the President ignored him and I’m sure he will be happy to receive Henry anytime.

Why he hasn’t gone for medical treatment abroad

On his own, Okah decided that he didn’t want to travel out of the country for medical treatment immediately after his release. He said he wanted to meet with various stakeholders in the Niger Delta and that is what he has been doing. It is even okay he had not travelled as nobody knows what would have happened in his absence. I can assure you that he would soon travel but he doesn’t want to make any noise about it and he has his reasons. His travel documents are already with him and his doctor attends to him regularly.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2009/aug/16/national-16-08-2009-03.htm

Beaf:

[size=14pt]Nigeria: Pitfalls of the Amnesty Programme[/size]
Peter Biakpara
25 November 2009

Lagos — The problems of the Niger Delta are Marginalization, lack of infrastructural development and lack of political space. These problems gave rise to youth militancy. The federal Government is in a hurry to stop the militancy for each immediate gains of increased oil production but appear not to be equally eager to address the real problems of Niger Delta.

As long as these problems remain, militancy will be a reoccurring phenomenon. That is where the fallacy of the present Federal Government Amnesty programme lies.

The challenge is, how deep and how soon can the Government initiatives go to address the near 50 years of the developmental, economical and political neglect of the Niger Delta, and in such a manner as to immediately address both the economic yearnings of the youths, who have risked their lives to take up arms, the non-armed agitators and the Elders of the region whose dissatisfaction gave birth to the Tom Polo's, Tom Atekes, Boyloaf, the Asari Dokubos, the Henry Okahs etc just to name a few. Furthermore, how far can the Federal Government go and how soon will the efforts assuage the 50 years of neglect in all its ramifications.

How did we create the environment for this militancy?

From 1960 to now, in an attempt to keep the country united at all cost and in absolute disregard of the tenets of true federation, some laws have been enacted, particularly during the civil war years and the subsequent Obasanjo Military regime - Laws that have made the people of the Niger Delta on-lookers of the oil business.

I agree with John Owubokiri when he said in vanguard of Tuesday November 3, 2009 that "the laws which have made the oil and gas in Niger Delta communal (Nigerian) property, are illegal as they negate every international conventions and treaties Nigeria is committed to"

The oil that is found in their backyard is managed and owned by external and internal colonial masters. The rules of the game are set by these masters to the extent that the locals are not found in the business of prospecting for the oil, the lifting and sale of both the crude and finished products and even in the employment of skilled and unskilled labour for the oil trade including the awards of major contracts.

Some of the manifestations of neglect are deafening in their mocking silence and unspeakable in their comparative disparity with the other contending regions. Kano and Jigawa states, (the old Kano state), have about the same number of LGAs as the four core Niger Delta States of Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta all put together. The federal institutions in Kaduna State alone outnumber the ones in the entire Niger Delta. The leadership positions of Federal Institutions, including the Oil industry, are never in the hands of Niger Delta people. The only federal road, that is the East-West road is deplorable and is just about getting attention. Who are the Nigerian Oil Sheikhs? Anywhere in the world, the oil Sheikhs are made by virtue of being born in the area where oil is found. There are hardly any oil Sheikhs from the Niger Delta.

This situation created an avalanche of unemployed and unemployable youths who live side by side with the wealthiest of the land - the oil mongers.

Is it not easy to see why the youths were drawn to militancy? It is also easy to see why the youths went to the oil bunkering trade, either as petty bunkerers or as fronts for the big time bunkering barons from Abuja to support the struggle. This trade like any other prohibited business need strong arm protection. Guns, therefore, started to flow in. Next came patronages by politicians and international crooks. With JTF in the midst, the recipe for conflict was set and that is what happened in various hot spots and recently in Gbaramatu. The militants fought back by hitting the underbelly of the Federal Government. Oil production output was brought down to below one-half. The Federal Government was in a dilemma. Should they go ahead with the military campaign and risk a zero oil output? From the blues, an unsolicited Amnesty was announced.

An Amnesty that was not negotiated and was not sought for. An Amnesty for a people not conquered, yet full of insinuations of threat and ultimatum.

When the Federal Government announced its intention to grant the militants Amnesty, despite its short comings, the Elders of the region embraced it and went ahead to plead with the boys to accept the Amnesty. They also embarked on a campaign to tutor the boys on the appropriate ways of surrendering their arms in a way and manner to portray them as the true freedom fighters as we know them without compromising the ideals of the struggle. On the other hand, the intention of the elders was also to guide the Federal Government to use this opportunity to address the Niger Delta Problems in a holistic manner and in a way as to avoid a recourse to the above scenario. This move was thwarted by 2011 politicians who had plans to use the Amnesty for political gains.

They (the elders) had barely finished with Boyloaf, and in absolute disdain of the elders move, when news heralded the celebrated meeting of the same Boyloaf and Mr. President with Timipre Sylva as the midwife. Tom Ateke and Tom Polo led by Timi Alaibe, the newly appointed presidential adviser, followed in quick succession. All these surrenders were done without recourse to or the involvement of the leaders of the Niger Delta nor the Ijaw National Congress (INC) and other ethnic organizations like the MOSOP and all others that have championed the Niger Delta Struggle. They, in the case of Ateke Tom and Tom Polo made belated visits to Chief EK Clark in his Abuja residence after they (the militants) had consummated their deal with the Federal Government. The whole drama was absurd. Fifty years of the struggle from Adaka Boro, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Asari Dokubo, Kaiama Declaration, to Henry Okah; The exploits of the Prof. Dime, the Fumudohs, the Okokos, Biakparas, Ghomorais, and Obianimes, all of the Ijaw National Congress (INC); the invaluable contributions of our national leader Chief EK Clark and other leaders; the contributions of the youth leaders, the Tuodolors, the Oronto Doughlas of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC); all these efforts and all our genuine contributions to the struggle by all well meaning Niger Deltans including MOSOP, were now to be sacrificed at the altar of greed and political horse trading of a few over ambitious 2011 politicians.

Some of our prominent sons were in a hurry to outwit each other in the delivery of surrendered militants to Mr. President, who grudgingly promised to address the other core issues. All these happened without consultation with genuine stakeholders. No attempt was even made to consult anybody except the arm-carrying youths. And that is where the Federal Government got everything wrong.

When the history of the Niger Delta struggle is written, it may not be kind to some so called mediators. In less than 30 days without consulting other stakeholders, they bundled our boys to Abuja to drop arms with only a promissory note, which was not even guaranteed. At the time the Amnesty was offered, it was obvious that the Federal Government was on the brink. That was the finest hour for Niger Delta in all the years of the struggle. But because of appointments and re-elections for 2011, they compromised the struggle, compromised our youths, sold out our gallant boys for their selfish interests.

So the resolution of the issues of the Niger Delta struggle contained in all the past reports, ranging from Gen.Popoola, Gen. Ogomudia, to the Ledun Mittee's 49-man Technical Committee, and 50 years of loss of human lives were reduced to the charade we saw in Abuja in the last few weeks. Henry Okah put it squarely during his last visit to Mr. President - The resolution of the Niger Delta crisis does not end with the surrender of the militants and their guns. He advised the Federal Government to sit with the Elders and other stakeholders of the region to fashion out programmes and policies for sustainable peace.

The Niger Delta struggle is beyond guns. The recent resort to guns by our youths is only a means to an end. The soul and spirit of the struggle reside in the land and the earlier each one group i.e. Youths, elders; organized bodies, know the limit of their contributions, the better for all. Government appointees are not exempted in this unofficial demarcation of duties. Let no one or one group feel that they have all the answers to the Niger Delta problems.

The Amnesty, with all its flaws, has taken us several notches higher in the achievement of our goals than we have ever been. One is therefore, indeed grateful to God and to those who have midwifed the process thus far. I must single out Mr. President Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, for his courage. The greatest courage of a leader is when he treats his followers with meekness despite the mighty sword he bears. Mr. President must be praised for the display of this rare courage by being meek in the deployment of his valour. We are proud of our militants for making Federal Government see the need to take positive action to address the Niger Delta issue. We had never come this far in our struggle.

However, let be known that nothing has changed. There is merely a temporary truce. It must be noted that militants throughout the struggle had not gone out of their way to attack government forces. All the previous blowouts have been due to misunderstanding between JTF and the Militants over local issues. It is only after the Gbaramatu episode which also originated from a local issue, the militants went after the Federal Government, and even then, it was against oil installations.

I repeat once more, "Nothing has really changed". The Niger Delta terrain is still a virgin territory. The militants are just a small fraction of the number of youths in the Niger Delta. The rest of the teaming youths who are jobless are just waiting to take over command from the Tom Polos and Co. unless Government gets the post Amnesty phase right. Within these 2 or 3 months of Amnesty activities, scores of hitherto naïve adolescent youths have come of age. They would not require much prodding to take over the mantle of leadership from the repentant militants particularly if there is no significant change in the environment in the immediate period following the Amnesty. I may ask again - How deep and how soon can the government initiatives address the core issues leading to the militancy in the Niger Delta? It is only a careful handling of the post Amnesty phase that will determine the success of the entire programme. And that is not for the government appointees nor is it for the militants alone to decide.

It is the involvement of a broad spectrum of stakeholders that would guarantee the success and therefore a sustainable peace in the region.

The Success of the Amnesty is determined, not by dropping today of arms by the militants, or the forced peace of the graveyard by the absence of the inequalities in relation to other regions of the federation. Until the children of the region have equal political and educational opportunities and are born into an environment devoid of devastating circumstances, the present success of the Amnesty will remain in a fallacy.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200911260420.html

Kobojunkie:

kai @Oyb, you bad oo!!! ROFLMAO!!


see 180 degree switch  . . ,  lol Can you please include LINKS to the actual debates so we can also investigate

Pharoh:

You guys are making a mistake . . . from the point of views of the Americans there are no permanent friends or enemies but permanent interests.

He might have been a fan of him in the past but when orkar changes to something different do u guys still expect him to be a fan?

I ask everyone here, if a good friend of yours suddenly becomes an armed robber or a kidnapper . . . will you still be a friend to him or her?

Change is the only constant factor in life and beaf has every right to switch his support for whoever he feels like based on the conditions in front of him and where his interest lies.

Kobojunkie:

But this particular friend DID NOT CHANGE . . . . He has always been a terrorist.

Change is the only constant factor in life and beaf has every right to switch his support for whoever he feels like based on the conditions in front of him and where his interest lies.

Pharoh:

If u want to call him a terrorist fine but he was not his friend because he was a terrorist. I believe okah initially stood for the emancipation of niger-delta hence the friendship but the same could not be said of him now hence the change in realities from friendship to foe.

I believe from beaf's point of view henry okah's is no more fighting for the emancipation of niger-delta so there was no point keeping the friendship anymore.

Pharoh:

You guys are making a mistake . . . from the point of views of the Americans there are no permanent friends or enemies but permanent interests.

He might have been a fan of him in the past but when orkar changes to something different do u guys still expect him to be a fan?

I ask everyone here, if a good friend of yours suddenly becomes an armed robber or a  kidnapper . . . will you still be a friend to him or her?

Change is the only constant factor in life and beaf has every right to switch his support for whoever he feels like based on the conditions in front of him and where his interest lies.