Jonathan, Okotie and Niger Delta militants

Nigerian Best Forum

5 February 2011

Jonathan, Okotie and Niger Delta militants

The Niger Delta quagmire is the evil legacy of Nigeria’s military regimes. After Gen. Sanni Abacha hanged the Ogoni 9, what was a passive agitation by environment activists, quickly assumed a violent dimension once the dictator drew the first blood and drove the wild boys into the trenches.

All seemed to be quiet in the southern belt after the amnesty deal was brokered by late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. And when Goodluck Jonathan assumed the presidency in May 2010, it seemed a settled case that peace would reign in the Niger Delta, since a son of the soil had mounted the saddle at Aso Rock.

It was not to be. There were pockets of violence and banditry around the oilrigs, which pointed showed the boys were still in the creeks. But President Jonathan ought to have known that old habits die hard; you can’t transform criminally-minded rude boys overnight, regardless of the sound bites of the amnesty deal, which includes training and skill acquisition with some plans for resettlement. Since he assumed power, Jonathan’s crisis management capacity has not been convincing though.