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Nigeria: British Troops in Niger Delta?
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Daily Trust (Abuja)
EDITORIAL
25 July 2008
Posted to the web 25 July 2008
Abuja
We share the concern of patriotic Nigerians about President Yar'adua's reported acceptance of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's offer to deploy British military personnel "to train and advise Nigerian troops fighting militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta region."
British officials claim that their experts would only provide Nigeria's security personnel with military advice, but President Yar'Adua said that they would "focus on river and maritime security," whatever that means.
In spite of the president's optimism that the agreement could stimulate development and foster peace in the Niger Delta within the shortest possible time, we are not persuaded of its necessity. We recall the threat of a nationwide political revolt which compelled the Tafawa Balewa government of the First Republic to withdraw authorisation for a British military base in Nigeria despite its pro-Western sympathies. If anything, the strategic sensitivity of the Niger Delta has today been enhanced by the Western powers' desperation to secure the hydrocarbon resources of the Gulf of Guinea.
Gordon Brown likewise reportedly pledged to assist Nigeria to "identify the persons behind the trade in blood oil" and to use international law to bring them to book. President Yar'adua's persistent assertion that a "blood oil cartel is behind much of the violence in the Niger Delta" persuades us however that he may already know the cartel's membership and only needs to muster the political will to undermine them. Of one thing we are certain. The Nigerian people are truly wary of watching faceless denizens rake in huge fortunes while their cannon fodders defray the costs in mangled bodies, shattered minds, broken homes, and socioeconomic instability.
Recalling that the president came to power in elections that were widely condemned as flawed even by the British, and that the Niger Delta saw the worst of the rigging with armed gangs stealing ballot boxes and intimidating voters, we are inclined to dismiss Gordon Brown's "reaffirmation of the UK's commitment to help Nigeria improve the accountability and transparency of government" as a cynical spin. We caution President Yar'adua therefore to beware of juggling fiends that palter with him in a double sense - that would whisper the word of promise to his ears only to break it to his hopes. We are hardly inspired, with confidence that Britain would ever do much in the Niger Delta beyond safeguarding its economic interest.
President Yar'adua ought to know that wars are easily the most vicious and internationalised rackets in which profits are reckoned in millions of dollars and losses in lives. A racket is best described as a fraudulent, violent, or otherwise unscrupulous money-making activity; and the ongoing Niger Delta insurgency has become just that, its roots in popular discontent having long ago been hijacked by domestic and international "insider" groups for whose benefit alone it has since been sustained. Britain could undoubtedly help to arrest the purveyors of "blood oil" in international waters and persuade the United Nations to sanction its consumers, but we fear that a British military presence in the Niger Delta would be counter-productive and even fuel rather than quell the insurgency.
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Nigerians appreciate that the excellence of our democratic system derives precisely from its unequivocal defence of the citizens' right to social justice. The general consensus is that the Niger Delta has long been neglected and remains in dire need of infrastructural investment. The resources intended for its accelerated development have been wantonly misappropriated and the resulting popular agitation cornered by a sinister alliance of political "strongmen" and criminal elements whose insurgency now threatens state authority. The resolution of the insurgency lies precisely in addressing its underlying grievances while single-mindedly dealing with those exploiting it for financial or political gain. The government is suitably equipped to deal with such a strategy, in our view, without foreign involvement in domestic operations.
This might lead to war in Nigeria between the Northerners and the Southerners.And this is what the british have been hoping for in a long time. So Mr. President think wisely for the betterment of the whole country and forget about the western countries.
DOES IT NOT SEEM THAT PRESIDENT YAR'ADUA IS CONFUSED? THERE SEEMS TO BE NO GOAL OR CLEAR CUT POLICY ON SECURITY. THE PRESIDENT ENVASIZED THE NEED FOR NIGER DELTA TALK TO HAVE BEEN HEADED BY PROF. GAMBARI. WITH THE TALK CANCELLED, THE BRITISH ARE NOW TO DEPLOY AND TRAIN NIGERIAN TROUPS FIGHTING THE MILITANTS. IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO SWALLOW THAT A NATION OF OVER 100MILLION CANNOT CANNOT BE ORGANIZED TO DEDFEND ITSELF. THIS IS SEEMINGLY THE RESULT OF TRIBALISM CONTROLLED POLITY!
I think what president Yaradua has demonstrated is the inherent lack of self-confidence of most of our so called leaders. Nigeria has benefitted from all kinds of military assistance and trainings from the U.K.and America since its independence.That Yaradua still looking up to the u.k to fight armed militancy by restive youths in the Niger-Delta,which should be a minor engagement or responsibility of the Nigerian armed-forces. I can!t help but express a pity for the mindset of the Nigerian. When shall the african mentality really develop?.
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