|
Nigerian
government halts amnesty program |
 By: Eugene Puryear
Recently posted to the web
Majority suffer in great poverty as oil exploitation
benefits wealthy few
On Oct. 4, the Nigerian government formally ended its amnesty program for
militants in the Niger Delta. The program had met with limited success and
an uneven response from the militant groups.
Since 2006, an array of groups—most notably the Movement for the
Emancipation of the Niger Delta—have waged an “oil war” in the region. Daily
oil production has fallen from 2.6 million barrels per day in 2005 to 1.7
million this year. Dozens of oil pipelines were sabotaged, and over 200 oil
workers were kidnapped. Militant groups are ostensibly protesting the very
real and brutal exploitation of the Niger Delta and the major unbalance in
the doling out of oil revenues. But the groups are not homogeneous in their
purposes or political character.
The militants in the Niger Delta began as armed units paid for and set up by
local politicians. Their primary function was to help rig elections. They
span the spectrum from outright criminal gangs to groups shaped by muddled
political objectives. Increasingly, the lack of any real response to demands
for a greater share of the oil wealth has made many militant leaders
reluctant to make deals.
Oil is Nigeria’s main export, representing around 95 percent of its total
exports and 20 percent of its GDP. (CIA World Factbook, Aug. 7) However,
roughly 71 percent of the population is engaged in agriculture, primarily
for subsistence. At least 54 percent of the country lives on less than $1 a
day. Urban unemployment is 12.4 percent, and rural unemployment exceeds 23
percent.
Despite the hundreds of billions of dollars brought in by the oil industry,
basic human needs remain unmet. Only 61 percent of Nigerian children have
access to primary education, and fewer than 45 percent have access to
secondary education. (Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, 2003)
Poverty is most stark in the states of the main oil-producing region, the
Niger River Delta. Large swaths of villages have no access to electricity,
clean water, health care, jobs or education. A 2006 U.N. report stated that
there was only one doctor for every 150,000 people in the Bayelsa and Delta
states.
While Nigerian President Yar’Adua has promised development in the Niger
Delta, nothing but a military campaign against the militants has been
forthcoming. Since 1979, a succession of military and civilian governments
have ruled Nigeria and used its oil wealth to enrich a small elite, with 80
percent of the oil revenues accruing to 1 percent of the population. This
concentration of wealth has led not only to immense inequalities, but
serious corruption as well.
Promised actions have shown few results so far. The newly created Ministry
of the Niger Delta has 50 percent of its budget dedicated to a single road
project. The previous Nigerian president had announced roughly $22 billion
in infrastructure development and job creation by various multi-national
corporations from the West and Asia. These projects have also failed to
materialize under the current administration, further underscoring the
complete absence of progress in alleviating poverty in the region.
Meanwhile, the government’s chief amnesty negotiator is a former head of the
Niger Delta Development Commission who was ousted for bribery.
The government plan amounted to bribery, where militants were rewarded with
cash for turning in weapons. Some prominent leaders took part in the
program. But this month, fighters under a prominent Movement for the
Emancipation of the Niger Delta leader came out on the streets to protest
the fact that they had received no money from the settlement. It is unclear
what the deals struck with various major militant leaders will actually mean
for the “peace” process, and an air of uncertainty hangs over Nigeria. MEND
has announced an extended ceasefire but will return to fighting if the
government refuses to negotiate.
In addition, new militant groups may emerge who are unwilling to negotiate
at all. In August, the explosion of a Shell pipeline was claimed by the
Urhobo Revolutionary Army, a previously unheard of group, whose name refers
to an ethnic group in the Niger Delta.
The government has rejected calls by some MEND leaders to extend the
amnesty. There have been reports of the government aiming to acquire more
military hardware to launch a “final” offensive in the Niger Delta.
While the future of the Niger Delta conflict is unclear, it is crystal clear
that the Nigerian government is far more concerned with protecting its
networks of corruption and political patronage than to dealing with the
issues of exploitation underlying the violence in the Niger Delta. Whatever
happens in the so called “peace process,” conflict will continue as long as
Nigeria’s massive oil wealth is not used to tackle the exploitation and
underdevelopment of the Niger Delta. |
