Must We All Then Become Militants?

Daily Independent (Lagos)

4 August 2011

Must We All Then Become Militants?

Azuka Iheabunike  opinion

The late President Umaru Yar'Adua succeeded where brute force failed woefully in the sorting out of the agitation in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The agitation in the Niger Delta region of this country is due to the long lasting neglect of the area by the government as well as the oil companies drilling and processing oil in the region.

It is instructive to note that the immediate past government of the nation before that of Yar'Adua applied all the men and material it could muster to silence the agitators but failed to make any impact in the resolution of the problems being highlighted by the agitators. The people resisted the forces of occupation, suffered both deprivation and all the harassment to make their point on their resolve to have a fair deal in the nation where they belong.

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Governments should sincerely engage with the youths from all over the nation and using the model which is presently being used in the training of the youths of the Niger Delta region, train them to be in the position to take over from the older generation of Nigerians and not waiting for them to start agitations and even criminal activities since it is common knowledge that there are situations that can trigger such resentments and agitations from all over the country. We must not all become militants in order to get the attention that is due to us from the relevant governments in this nation, Nigeria.