Pipeline bombing: I beg you in God’s name, Buhari tells Militants

Militants vs Buhari

Obviously perturbed by the activities of the Niger Delta Militants, NDA, President Muhammadu Buhari last night went spiritual, pleading with them in God’s
name to have a change of heart over their destruction of oil and gas installations in the region.

 

The president who stated that there were many factions of the Niger Delta Militants also said that the groups were armed with sophisticated weapons and that the economy was on its knees following the bombing of gas pipelines.

He also pleaded with friends and associates of the militants to reach out to them for, stressing that Nigerians do not have any other country to call their own other than Nigeria.

The president spoke at the breaking-of-fast dinner with leaders and chieftains of his political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He said: “I honestly don’t know how many factions of the militants there are in the Niger Delta compared to the north east where you have only the Boko Haram “The technology being deployed by the militants to destroy oil installations is high tech, the way they can go on high sea and international waters and target oil installations is a national problem. It is affecting development.

“No insurance company will want to insure installations that will end up being blown up and no banks will want to finance such installations. “Those of you who have friends among the leadership or even the militants themselves should plead with them in the name of God Almighty to take it easy.

 “We need to stablise to create employment, we need to stabilise the economy, I agonise over these things. We are in a very difficult time, so we have to organise ourselves. Anybody that says he has any other country than Nigeria should go out and see.”

Earlier, the national chairman of the APC, Chief John Oyegun expressed satisfaction with the actions of the government so far, saying that Nigeria needed a dogged leader like the president. “Any meaningful development requires strong and determined leader. Things must change. Those things don’t come easily. Nigeria is clearly a difficult nation to govern. “Corruption is fighting back and change does not come easily. The way we do things must change. Our prayer is for God to give you the courage, wisdom and strength to set the new standard for the country”, he said.

Apart from Oyegun, other party leaders who attended the event included former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Ghali Naaba; the party’s Deputy National Chairman (South), Segun Oni; former Bayelsa State Governor, Timipre Sylva; Tony Momoh and Senator Osita Ozinaso. Also present were the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawal and former Minister of Labour, Hassan Lawal.

Dialogue, ceasefire: Buhari baffles militants

Meanwhile, President Buhari was said to have kept the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, and other militant groups in the Niger Delta region in suspense since he returned from his short vacation in London, last Sunday. Findings by Saturday Vanguard showed that the militants, who agreed to an interim ceasefire brokered by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachiwu, and his top secret negotiators, were confused about the game plan of President Buhari.

 The two-week ceasefire proclaimed by the Federal Government on June 6 expired June 21, two days after Buhari returned from his vacation and militants expected government to officially announce an extension, but it has kept mute on the matter six days after the expiration. Correspondingly, the Federal Government has not come out with a framework for an all-embracing dialogue with stakeholders and militants, a development that has further confounded the situation.

The scrapping of the Joint Task Force, JTF, in the Niger Delta, as part of efforts to ensure better protection of pipelines in the region and tackle insecurity and its replacement with ‘Operation Delta Safe’, as well as planned redeployment of police officers in the region for their failure to stop bombing of oil installations, have also sent tongues wagging. Militants, who bowed to Kachikwu’s logic, are suspecting that they may have been hoodwinked, while those opposed to their antics want Buhari to order the military to battle them to submission as was done to Boko Haram.