In this interview with our Correspondent CHUKWUDI EJIMOFOR, High Chief Anabs Sara Igbe, National Coordinator, South-South Elders Forum, and immediate past spokesman of PANDEF, cautions the Federal Government not to jettison calls for the restructuring of the country.
There were threats by some militants in the Niger Delta to blow up the pipelines in the region immediately after the Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) ceased hostilities against the Federal Government. How was the issue resolved?
You’ll remember that after MEND was out of the way, the Avengers struck. The present administration tried to the use force, but the more force they applied, the more destruction to the oil facilities. And suddenly, oil production came down and there were threats everywhere. The elders of the region came together and resolved not to have another Boko Haram exist in Niger Delta, and that led to the formation of PANDEF. PANDEF galvanized the entire region and spoke to the boys for a cease fire. And that cease fire has been there till this moment. So, the peace you are having today in the region is the outcome of the activities of PANDEF led by E.K. Clark. But before PANDEF came we had what we called the Niger Delta dialogue which was led by King Alfred Diette Spiff, which became the foundation of PANDEF. They were able to arrest the situation then, thereby contributing to the existence of peace in the region.
In Niger Delta, when elders speak to their children, they listen. This is unlike in the North where the elders cannot control their children. When Edwin Clark speaks, everybody listens.
If that is the case, why did a militant group strike in Yenagoa, some weeks ago?
There are agitations all over the place. The recently aborted South-South meeting angered some boys, and that could have led to what happened in Yenagoa. Like I have always said, nothing serious will happen in Niger Delta except the leadership is also part of it. The boys are ready to fight. But the question is: When you do that, who are you punishing?
Do we take it that the boys exhausted their patience, and therefore, decided to strike in Yenagoa?
I cannot say who did what in Yenagoa. Nobody has claimed responsibility for that action. But I can tell you that what happened is a demonstration of the fact that the boys can act anytime. The federal government should listen to the cry and yearnings of people of the region, otherwise there will be trouble.
Perhaps, that could have prompted the federal government to send a delegation to the region some weeks ago to feel the pulse of the people?
The Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, made it clear during the visit of the federal government delegation that the administration decided to send a delegation to each region after the ENDSARS protest to find out their views on the problems bedeviling the country. What happened during the ENDSARS protest is like a mini revolution, and it spread like wildfire throughout the country. Thank God it has been contained, but the federal government should be careful because if such a thing is allowed to happen again, it might be disastrous for the country.
What is your take on the demands made by the South- South leaders during the recent visit of the Presidential delegation to the region?
Well, there is nothing new there. We are insisting on restructuring. The PANDEF 16-point agenda is also there. What we are demanding is the restructuring of this country. God has blessed this country in such a manner that every part needs to be restructured. Many people misunderstood the meaning of restructuring. What we are saying today is that Nigeria as a country should operate a federal system of government, fiscal federalism. We are not asking for anything more that. Nigeria answers a federal government, and we should operate like a federal government. If you are a carpenter, you must work like a carpenter, and if you are an electrician, you must work like one. Let us run this country professionally as a federal system of government, where the federating units are accountable to themselves. We also know that you cannot get fiscal federalism without the national and state House of Assemblies agreeing. What we are saying is that the Presidency should propose an Executive bill to the National Assembly to take care of that. This country is so blessed that every part of it has one mineral resource or the other. If the regions are allowed to tap their resources, you will see that there will be healthy competition amongst the federating units. They will be able to produce at their levels, and pay tax to the federal government. There should be devolution of power. So many laws in the exclusive list should be taken to the concurrent list.
We understand that the Central Bank is buying gold from the Zamfara State Government. What is your take on this?
Well, we in the Niger Delta have no problem if individuals are allowed to tap their resources. What we are quarrelling about is that the Petroleum Act forbids the owners of the oil from tapping their resources. We also have the Mineral Mining Act, which allows those who own it to tap it for themselves like the case of Zamfara state. If you can allow that, why can’t you also allow us to tap our oil?
What is your take on the issue of Artisanal refinery otherwise known as ‘Gboofire,’ you known that some groups have asked the federal government to recognize and accredit them.
There are various views and opinions in that direction, but our opinion in Niger Delta is that the federal government should allow everybody to tap the mineral resources on his own mineral resources on his own land. That is why we said we need restructuring in this country. We are not bothered if Zamfara is mining gold. We are not bothered if Sokoto is mining ginsem. If the ‘Gboo fire’ issue is allowed to go on, the artisanal refiners will improve on their production line.
In the North, they allowed individuals to mine, but in the South, the practice is illegal. What they are doing with ‘Gboo fire’ is not totally bad. What you need to do is to encourage them. If they allow the ‘Gboo fire’ to go on, the knowledge they have already acquired could be tapped into.
What about the clamour for the relocation of the headquarters of the oil companies to the Niger Delta region?
Yes, the relocation of the oil companies to Niger Delta region is a promise the Vice-President Prof. Yemi Osibanjo, made and it has not been fulfilled. We are saying that if you can tap our resources, you should come and live with us; and suffer what we are suffering here. We are saying restructure this country, let the oil companies come over, not that they will tap our resources and fly to Lagos and develop Lagos, This is not acceptable to us. Look at the seaports, Lagos seaports are congested. There are seaports here in the Niger Delta, but they are dormant and idle. Why should that be so?
