THE ENCOUNTER OF THE NIGER DELTA WAR LORDS

Comrade Newuwumi also known as ‘Gentle General’ who is a native of the Itsekiri ethnic nationality in an interview he had with the Vanguard newspaper made known his opposition to kidnapping and criminalisation of the Niger Delta struggle

Furthermore, he made known his association with Tompolo, the unsettling for social and monetary equity in the oil-rich Niger Delta and the rough militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers. Quotations:

We understand you are to the Itsekiri ethnic nationality what Tompolo is to the Ijaw nation, what was the purpose of the struggle in your time and the difference today?

Yes, to a large extent, but we both share different ideologies. In the war, the Ijaw, which Tompolo led was more like the aggressor, but I only rose to lead my people in defense when the government of that time failed to defend us against our more formidable opponents for more than two years.

Until date, the relics of the destruction of Itsekiri communities are still there for everyone to see. Ours, the Itsekiri was an intellectual battle for control of resources, we abhor militancy, and kidnapping, as they practice them now and I will not support it because of the negative impact it is having in our environment.

This belief does not make me a lazy man, but I simply choose to be honest and peaceful, probably that is why I am not a billionaire like most of the so-called ‘generals today. I believe in fighting for the people because it is only when the people are given the basic amenities of life that we can have peace.

In addition, there will be no peace when there is no equal right, justice and the rule of law in place. What will I gain if I had accepted the tag of militant general and made much money when thousands of people affected by the Warri crisis, which metamorphosed in the Niger Delta struggle/Amnesty program, are suffering till today?

Thousands of homes were destroyed and many cannot go back to their villages and towns as a result of the crisis, so what manner of leader will I be if I use their weaknesses to make so much money,    while the people are left impoverished? So the purpose of the struggle in my time was for the people to have a good life from the abundance of the natural resources God endowed them with , but today’s struggle is for the selfish purpose.

Have you and Ijaw Tompolo met either in the battlefront or in real life, what kind of person is he?

Yes, during the battle to save my people from total annihilation from the surface of the earth. We met during the Warri crisis; I remember the occasion an occasion in the Benin River when I was coming from rescuing my people stranded in Ogheye community. I will tell that story on a latter day.

However, beyond that, we both represent different things to a different people. Maybe we might be fighting the course of liberating the people of the region from social economy slavery in the midst of plenty, but we sure have different ideologies and different ways of looking at things. I for one, I repeat once again, abhor violence, kidnapping and destruction of government and oil companies installations to get even with government, but maybe he has a different approach.

The choice of non-violence is a personal decision, which I have taken for a long time but that does not mean that we, as Itsekiri, are weak, we only look at things at different perceptive. I am still a gentle general, as my people know me very well; it is just that I choose to remain calm and peaceful.

My second encounter was when we met also in his Camp 5 when we agreed to put an end to the crisis between the Itsekiris and the Ijaw. Like my first encounter, I will tell the story of my second encounter on a later date.

How will you describe the Niger Delta Avengers and its mission?

The pattern of their operation is very clear and an indication that it was formed to frustrate the present administration. The destruction of pipelines and oil installations is unmistakably terrorism and economy sabotage. Simply put, they are faceless, senseless and partisan in nature, and an orchestra devised by corrupt individuals and politicians to frustrate the present administration’s resolve and determination to fight corruption in the country.

They are only using fighting for resource control for the Niger Delta as a means to achieving their egotistical desires because if not for their own selfish desire, why are they asking the federal government to release some individual found to be involved in corrupt practices.

Another aspect of the Avengers is the deliberate attacks on oil installations, which apart from killing the already Nigeria fragile economy is also destroying the region’s environment and its ecosystem. The destruction affects the immediate environment and health of the people the Avengers claims to protect.

Like the name, Avengers, I think it was primarily formed to avenge the prosecution of their brothers and some corrupt Nigerians, who are facing criminal charges, if not, what are they avenging and who are they avenging for?

Ijaw people blame your kinsmen, Ayiri Emami, for fingering Tompolo in the on-going bombing, do you agree with them?

Without mincing words, those who are blaming him chose to run away from the obvious fact. The Niger Delta area is a peculiar terrain, where everybody seems to know each other. Nobody, I repeat nobody or group of persons will dare carry out such nefarious activities in Tompolo backyard without his knowledge or him knowing them.

Avengers have bombed some oil facilities in Itsekiri territory too, do you see anything incongruous?

This is absurd; it is an act capable of provoking the Itsekiri nation and personalities like me. I am categorically saying that if they continue, they may force us, Itsekiri, to protect our territory, especially if the present administration fails in their responsibilities to protect lives and properties.

We will be prepared to assist the government to end the bombings of oil installations in our area just like the role of the civilian JTF in the north, which has yielded successful results. As I said before, the destruction caused us by the Ijaw, which wanted to wipe us from the earth surface is still there, years after the crisis ended.

The memories are still fresh in our mind for those of us who lived to tell the sad tales of woes and wanton destruction and killings in our communities. We will not fold our hands this time to let them destroy us as they did before. The then federal and state governments failed to protect us from the Ijaw until we decided to take our own destiny into our hands and defend ourselves. I just hope this present government will not abandoning us to our fate.

Why are the Itsekiris not carrying guns today?

The Itsekiri people are a group of intellectual, peace loving and law- abiding people, hence carrying gun is not a way of life of the Itsekiri people. If you look at history, you will find out that it was an Itsekiri man, the late Justice Atake that first started the intellectual struggle for resources control even before Ken Saro Wiwa.

So the struggle is not a new thing for us, it is just that we are not used to militancy, kidnapping and other forms of criminality in our fight for true federalism and equality for the region. Anyway, we are soon coming out with a formidable platform to tackle all these issues because the Itsekiris has kept silent for a while now.

Very soon, the new group, which is non-political called the Niger Delta Patriotic Front, NDPF, will emerge and come out with its agenda and demands. There will no genuine negotiation without the full involvement of the Itsekiri ethnic nationality because in Delta for example, the numbers of oil wells in Itsekiri land is much more than that of any other tribe.

Government declared ceasefire and wants to negotiate with Avengers, but some are saying no, what do you think?

I think in the first place who is fighting whom that they declared a ceasefire? It just a pity that the Nigeria government has concluded arrangements to negotiate with them just like the amnesty deal. But to me, it is very unfortunate, especially with some of the conditions in their demands like the release of Col Sambo Dasuki (retd) and leader of the Indigenous People of Biafraa, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu , which has no bearing whatsoever with the Niger Delta struggle.

Well, let them negotiate with them; let us see what their demands are really and the persons behind the masquerade. It will also let us know or confirm if Tompolo is behind the whole arrangement. However, beyond all these, the question on my mind is: whom do they want to negotiate with? For whom are they negotiating? Is it for the ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta or for only the Ijaw?

Who are those to go there to negotiate with government? In whose interest, I do not think the negotiations will work because already the components of the formation of the group, NDA, is faulty, their demands are faulty and did not articulate all the demands of the Niger Delta people. Just like the amnesty program, which made some individuals super rich and a particular ethnic group very rich, the negotiation is bound to fail unless the Federal Government do what is right for the people of the Niger Delta.

We must tell ourselves the truth; first, why did they not put machinery in motion to forestall what is happening now? Was the amnesty program a success or a failure? Yes, it was a failure because of the way they implemented it, especially as it has to do with stipends and training of beneficiaries from the ethnic nationalities and communities bearing oil.

The development of the impacted communities and the region in general as contained in the amnesty framework is yet to make any headway. The Niger Delta master plan is yet to take shape, there are many issues, also remember that the issue of pipelines vandalisation also has to do with criminal elements, made up of contractors, who repair damage pipelines and those in charge of awarding contracts for damaged installations in the oil companies. Therefore, you cannot rule out criminality from these acts. That is why I will not support negotiation between Federal Government and the Avengers because they do not represent Niger Delta and its demands are not genuine enough.