|
Ibori: Let justice be done -Akpocha
By Onukwube Ofoelue
Sunday, November 29, 2009
His name may not ring a bell but in the last ten years, Dr Dafe
Akpocha, has been a consistent social crusader and Niger Delta activist
craving for positive change and good governance. The president of
the Urhobo Network, in this interview, speaks among other issues
on the controversy sparked off by the trial of former Delta State
governor, Chief James Ibori, between elders in the state. Excerpts…
Aondoakaa should stop shielding Ibori
It is a shame that my people, the Urhobo, are condemning and castigating
Chief EK (Edwin Kiagbodo) Clark over his comments that if (former
Governor James) Ibori is found guilty, he should be bundled into
a container and sent abroad to serve his term. Let us be careful
as the world is watching us. If you set out on something, you should
be able to carry out it to the letter without compromising.
Without apologies, the Minister of Justice, (Michael) Aondoakaa,
came up with a biased interpretation of the law concerning money
laundering and then came against Lagos on the issue of the so-called
illegal local governments. I do not think he is a settled man. I
don’t know why he is still on that seat. Mr President should
look critically at him. Why is he trying to cover up somebody’s
sins?
Here is a man who ruled for eight years and is being accused of
money laundering with facts from the London Metropolitan Police.
If the man is found guilty in a competent court, let him face the
wrath of the law; he should go to jail. Bode George is in jail today.
The Urhobo leaders of thought or whatever they call themselves;
those ceremonial leaders who do not believe that this is the right
time for us to reposition ourselves so we can forge on. I never
said that Urhobo should prepare for 2011. After all, we have always
had a fair share of the leadership of Delta State. So if we now
have somebody from another tribe as governor, so be it. Uduaghan
is doing well.
Personally, I score his leadership very well. I have seen that in
four years, there is going to be a tremendous change in Delta. The
development there now is not such that you just come and award contracts
anyhow. He is taking his time to bring about serious changes. Urhobos
should support him. It is wrong to think because he is not one of
us he is not performing. He is doing well and a long shot from Ibori’s
government.
But the man who brought him, who packaged him for a safe landing,
if this man is guilty, why are we being biased? Why try to cover
him? Is Chief Clark not a stakeholder in Delta? Let us get things
straight. Chief Clark does not have any scores to settle with Ibori.
It’s just that he said let there be precedence. Let there
be an example for all these other governors to learn from. Nobody
is above the law. Bode George is a good one. Let other crooks be
tried too.
Some people think if we keep jailing our rulers, it presents Nigeria
in a bad light…
What kind of leaders are they? Leaders who are not sincere to the
cause of the common man? (Chief Tony) Anenih has been castigating
(Adams) Oshiomhole’s government. Anenih has never contested
for any elective position in this country. Just because he no more
has a grip of the state, all he does is complain. Look at a state
suffering from acute corruption, organized stealing and all sorts
of things. Somebody comes around to clean it up and you are complaining.
Are those the kind of leaders we should rely on? If it requires
us jailing all of them, let us jail them so that our generation
coming after them will make a change.
I’m happy the president washed his hands off Bode George’s
case. Let him carry his cross. Look at the banks, one single individual
came in as the CBN governor and has sanitized the system. He has
been able to fish out the fictitious records they cook up and sell
to innocent Nigerians and people are saying he is playing out a
northern agenda. I don’t believe that. The almighty MDs of
banks are today operating in fear. That is the kind of society we
want in Nigeria. Let there be a revolution, a cleansing of the system.
If Rawlings had not done what he did in Ghana, it will not be where
it is today. We are all saying Ghana is successful today because
of that foundation.
DESOPADEC has brought positive change
I visited Delta recently and saw what Chief Wellington Okrika has
achieved as the chairman of DESOPADEC (Delta State Oil Producing
Areas Development Commission). Some people have been castigating
the organization, saying it stinks. I believe this is because the
man has refused to yield to those trying to impose people on him
for jobs. That was the problem the former Managing Director of the
Niger Delta Development Commission, Emmanuel Aguariavwodo, faced.
He had to give contracts to people imposed on him. There is pressure.
Green biro notes come everyday and the chairman finds it difficult
to turn them back because they are from the top. This is where we
find ourselves. But even at that, both in the riverine and upland,
he has been able to prove his mettle. But they have ganged up against
him.
Secondly, his chairmanship has brought relative peace to the area.
Primary schools are being built in areas that had none, mini-housing
estates for indigenes and so on. Look at Escravos and look at Gbaramatu
next to it. Escravos is like United States of America while Gbaramatu
is like Ajegunle. This is just a stone’s throw, and you will
find children whose parents are so poor and cannot afford panties
for these kids. They will tell you, if not for Tompolo we for don
die.
When we did an analysis of the local governments in Delta State,
we discovered that very few of them are performing. And I ask, what
are they doing with the allocation they collect? Do they expect
DESOPADEC to do everything for them? What are you doing for the
people who voted you into power? Where do you think you will get
to living in flamboyance with the people’s money? That is
why this revolution has to take place, and the earlier it comes
the better. People just do things these days without the fear of
God anymore.
Militancy
Who is a militant? The people backing those boys are militants;
the government is also a militant, and armed robbers are now militants.
Who is now fighting the genuine cause? Is the JTF (Joint Task Force)
not aware of the illegal movement of crude oil from Nigeria to countries
we don’t know going on on our waterways? It is when there
is no settlement somewhere that you see bombardments. For God’s
sake, who is fooling who? That is why I say the government is a
militant. What they are playing is the kill-and-divide game; hide
and seek. That is why they could not arrest the boys (militants).
The government has now offered the militants amnesty and the whole
world is watching. I said it before that this amnesty is a carrot
the government is dangling before us again. But we are the ones
that should offer amnesty to the government for polluting and degrading
our environment, for the oppression and victimization of Niger Delta
people, for causing so much damage against us. The government should
be begging for forgiveness for so much injustice in the region.
The government is playing to the gallery and they are exposing themselves
to these boys again. Some of them are already threatening to go
back to the creeks. It doesn’t cost them anything. The international
support, where those weapons are coming from, they will still come
from there. If they go back, it will not be like the other time
that the government went to Camp 5 and killed innocent citizens.
Mind you, some of those killed have children roaming the streets
growing up in anger. They will grow up to become militants. They
will ask, what killed my father?
Militancy is not something that will just disappear from the country
so easily, especially in that part of the country. The people are
aggrieved. Where is the money for the development of Abuja coming
from, for God’s sake? What have they given back to the people?
The government came up with a package the other day to share money
to these boys. When they finish spending that money, what next?
Mafia controlling the government
In every aspect of the government, there has been a mafia in control.
There are mafia Senators and House of Reps members and even in the
state houses of assembly. That is why there are those called super-honourable
members. It is a cabal and these are the people involved in money
laundering and oil bunkering. They are the ones behind it and only
pretend they don’t know about it. Most of them are not even
from the Niger Delta.
.
Make
N3 million by referring a bullet-proof car buyer
How
to Get Any Woman You Want. Click Here!
Make
N450,000 Online Monthly. Click Here |
|
