Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), on Friday ordered its fighters to prepare to fight “war” against the “enemy”, saying Nigerian authorities were not ready for dialogue.
Avengers had declared a ceasefire last year after major attacks on oil facilities, crippling the OPEC member’s oil output.
Although the Nigerian government has been holding talks for more than six months with Niger Delta leaders, the former militants have complained that no progress has been made.
In a statement posted on its site yesterday, NDA said it was set to resume hostilities.
Titled ‘OPERATIONS WALLS OF JERICHO AND HURRICANE JOSHUA’ NDA informed “the people of our Niger Delta, sane minds in Nigeria and the comity of nations that the remaining 11 months and couples of weeks in 2017 will be filled with surprises and a reconfiguration of the struggle for the liberation of our motherland.”
“Since, the declaration of cessation of hostilities in the region by all fighters and affiliates, it has been evidently clear that the Nigerian state is not ready for any form of dialogue and negotiation with our people to addressing the issues sustaining the unending sufferings and deprivation of the people of the Niger Delta.
“The world is aware that, after listening to calls from our Royal Fathers, Community Leaders, Stakeholders and members of the comity of nations especially the governments of the United States of America, Great Britain and the European Union, we halted all actions. This prospect for hope for a genuine dialogue and negotiations have been dashed and rejected.
“The world knows that PANDEF as team of critical stakeholders was mandated to engender a genuine dialogue and negotiations process that will be made of apolitical committed Niger Deltans to engage with the government and people of Nigeria, representatives of the International Oil Corporations and neutral observers. But this government decides to go around to politicising and blackmailing the process to forestall any genuine dialogue and negotiations.
“The world should be assured that, our next line of actions to redeem Operations Red Economy will be unannounced with surely overwhelming signatures to this government and humanity.
“The world is aware that the government of Nigeria has ear problems but we never knew that it has taken a detoriating deaf level dimensions. It is only through hard knocks we can speak to the Nigerian government henceforth”.
Continuing Avengers assured Niger Delta people that “we feel your pains from these dashed hopes of a genuine talk once again. All fighters and commands are hereby placed on high readiness in your webs of operations to hit and knock the enemy very hard.
“That is the way to discuss with a deaf, when he cannot understand your soft massage. We are determined to hit him very hard and deadly that even his eyes will shed blood, his ear will be more deafened and his heart shall quake; when he sees, hear and feel the outcome of our next activities.
“On this note, we are declaring “Operations Walls of Jericho and Hurricane Joshua” simultaneously to reclaim our motherland and dislodge all cleavages the Nigerian Ruling oligarchy has foisted on the region that is sustaining the ongoing primitive accumulation by dispossession.”
Courtesy: DAILYPOST
Government needs to engage the Avengers and other militant Niger Delta groups in constructive negotiations. The militancy and disruption in oil supplies is crippling the already bad Nigerian economy.
It really isn’t fair. Despite the cease-fire and willingness the comply pending negotiations, The Nigeria Government have decided to ignore the NDA. This inturn would affect the entire nation if treated with levity.
It is only in Nigeria that government usually hold talks for years and still nothing tangible happens. “There is a saying that where two elephant fights the grass survive it more’. The federal government should engage in a positive resolution with the Niger Delta Avengers before they start ceasefire on innocent citizen.
The NDA are tired of their land being used and mutilated by the north, the Nigerian government should sit down with them and talk already and reach a compromise or else this country will split further.
The Nigerian Government should do something about the avengers fast, Nigeria does not have the economic stability to deal with this appropriately should this situation get out of hand.
The answer is not violence or threatening fire and brine stone.
Government please listen to the cry of your people. Their cause is just and therefore will succeed.
The govt should alleviate the sufferings of the Niger Delta people, because of they go back to destroying oil facilities, it will bring a set back to oil production, thereby having negative impact on our economy
The Niger Delta people are an important part of our country. If the govt doesn’t listen to them, they’ll go back to destroying the oil facilities and it will bring a set back in oil production.
The federal government should negotiate with the avengers and compensate those who lost their lives in the region just as eyes did to the North east, for peace to reign and to further protect our only source of generating funds “crude oil”