Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Lagos (Agenzia Fides) – A heated debate has begun in Nigeria over the proposal made by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, for a Summit on the Niger Delta region, with the participation of all those implied in the crisis which is now affecting the area, home to the country’s oil reserves (see Fides 3/7/2008).
“The President believes that the summit is necessary to obtain a firm and binding commitment from all stakeholders to stop all acts of violence and criminality which have unfortunately turned the Niger Delta into a no-go area for many of the construction companies and contractors whose services are required for provision of essential amenities in the region,” the President’s spokesman said.
The guerilla activity and local crime have contributed to the blocking of the area’s development: the robbing of machinery, kidnapping, armed assaults, and attacks on the oil pipelines (to rob oil) have all made the work of local companies more difficult. The crime and guerrilla activity are a fruit of the difficult living conditions of the people, who demand a right to the oil profits. The conditions of insecurity worsen the economic situation, not only impeding the activity of multinational oil companies, but also those companies whose responsibility it is to improve local infrastructures.
The criminal economy now imposes on the real economy: it is estimated that Nigeria loses between 4-18,000 billion dollars a year from oil theft. The traffickers, ex-guerrillas used by local representatives as the “armed branch” in the political war, have created a network of international relations (that reaches even Eastern Europe) in order to sell oil on the foreign market.
The proposal for a conference that would bring together all the protagonists in the area is what the president believes should be the first step and starting point for the creation of a vast program for the pacification and social-economic development of the region.
The conference has received some criticism, including from Cardinal Anthony Olubunmi Okogie, Archbishop of Lagos. “As far as I am concerned, there is a great deal as of committees and discussions and yet no one takes action. There is always a committee, then another is created...and then the money that is poured into all that.”
Some local groups have noted that while the federal government affirms its desires for peace, it is also beginning a military operation against the guerrilla groups.
The delay in the production of unrefined Nigerian oil has an impact on the international price of oil. This is something that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, has clear: “the Niger Delta situation is no longer a private matter. It is not simply a Nigerian problem, but rather a global problem. It has caught everyone’s attention and we should work together to find a solution.” (LM) (Agenzia Fides 04/07/2008)
