NIGER DELTA
Niger Delta, wadoh...Urhobo wadoh, Isoko wadoh, Itshekiri wadoh? I troway salute oh...make I talk to una abeg. When will the natural resource (oyil) that God gave you work for you? When will you open your eyes to see that your head is not in the right place and so is your heart?
When will you realize
that this very oil will finish someday and your own share of the 'blessing' was
spent in hotels on parties, expensive drinks, cars and women? When will you see
that there is no road befitting for that your twenty million Naira car in your
state capital talk less of your village? Why will you deprive your
youths of a future by not educating them just because you have oil? A resource that
will finish soon leaving your uneducated youths, who will be the elders then,
with no brain to create solution when that eventually happens. You just threaten
and connive with companies, bomb pipelines, bunker and steal your own resource, kill and destroy
anyone standing in your way without minding the effect on you. That company
may decide to relocate or even fold as soon as they detect drop in resources,
leaving you with your thatched houses, polluted soils and waters. What will you
do then? You did not create a backup plan by education instead the only
thing you understand is arms/weapons, violence and destruction. So far, what has that
yielded you? You bomb pipeline today, it spills more oil on your soil, the
company fixes the Pipeline back because they want their products sold (in your 'tiny-head'
you think they are loosing) but what about your soil that you damaged yourself
by bursting the pipeline? Will they come clean it up? Maybe after twenty years
as is the case with Ogoni land and other communities. From Oloigbiri
(where the "blessing" was first discovered) to Eket, Warri to Azumini and down to Ogoni land, you
will weep if you see the condition of the places that sustains Nigeria...No good houses, no drinking water, no quality food, no arable land and no education. Yet your elites
build and own estates abroad, they come and "share" 'chicken change'
among you and you sing and dance in jubilation, but they will never draft a tangible Memorandum
of Understanding with both Government and the companies because they have
already sold you and your future (children) while all you get is a tiny fraction
of your own "slavery" money. Yet they can buy and give you arms so
that you agitate and cause mayhem, that way the government and companies will
call them to the "negotiating table", a few addition to the initial
worth of the " slaves" is done and shaking of hands is done and
behold, money for more arms and agitation gets into their foreign accounts
(they withdraw a fraction, come to the creeks and give you with more weapons,
drinks and women then run back to Abuja or abroad).
Least I forget, you barely
see their own children among you, that is if you even know them. This circle
continues with your youths doing all within and outside human imagination to 'hammer' and once that happens, they travel out of the community and never
go back to fight the cause they once agitated for...the land, water and all
remaining the same while they drive latest the jeeps, stay in the most expensive hotel,
drink the most expensive champagne and sleep with most gorgeous daughters of Eve.
When will you truly "avenge" Ken Saro Wiwa? When will you get
to the right "negotiating table" and not sell future? When will
you truly want your land and water cleaned, not just cash in your accounts? When
will you really want to develop your land? Because no government or company can
do that for you if you don't do it yourself, the educated and
civilized way. So much resource "blessing" with no human resource and
development...turning it into a curse...shame! Shame!! Shame!!
Note: Can someone tell granpa Edwin Clarke to give way for the young and stop whatever he is doing to his own people and implement real
change and development? Can the youths really say "we want to avenge Saro Wiwa by having our land and water cleaned/developed? Can they say no to cultism
and violence and say no to being "puppets and pawns" for the
"big wigs"? Can they stop celebrating thief's and robbers just
because they have money? Niger delta, its Morning...Vrendo.
No comments:
Post a Comment