Niger Delta Avengers: Tonfawei Urges FG To Dialogue With Niger Delta Community Monarchs, Elders, Leaders, Youths

By Our Correspondent

Prominent Ijaw leader, Apostle P. (Dr.) Clement Tonfawei has urged the Federal Government to dialogue with Niger Delta community monarchs, Elders, leaders and youths in region if it wants lasting peace to reign.

He said previous dialogue with militants and government officials in the past never yielded  results because of the selfish interests of those involved over the years.

Tonfawei, from Gbaramatu Kingdom in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State, who spoke to our correspondent in Warri yesterday, said while he is thanking the Federal Government for the ceasefire in the region, he advised it not to keep making the same mistake of having dialogue with criminal elements in the region to the detriment of the people.

He said, “I want to appreciate the government for calling for negotiations. But where I am really worried is that it  is these same government officials that formed the peace pact in 1997 during the Warri Crisis are the same people involved in this 2016 negotiations.  They collected so much money for it. The issues that led to the crisis are still pending. In 2009, the same government negotiations team for the amnesty program also failed. Now they are using the same formula in 2016 and they will also fail. These so called former ministers, governors, and what have you, cannot be trusted.”

According to him;”How can a former governor who was collecting 23 billion naira in a month for piloting a peace process be among the negotiations team. All these people cannot bring the lasting peace that we want in the region. All these so called national leaders should be investigated before you bring them into the peace process. If you go to their communities, you will not find any genuine project there. These people will only deceive the genuine people that are in government that there is peace in the region, when there is no peace.”

“What is wrong if the Federal Government goes into the communities and engage the communities one on one? What is wrong with engaging the community leaders? Why will the government still engage those who have failed us before? They have nothing to show for all these years they have been leading us. What they normally do when there is crisis, they go to the media and begin to speak big English. These people cannot lead us. The Government should go and engage the people in the grassroots. That is my advice”, he said.

Tonfawei, who is popularly known as the Nabodi 1 of the Universe added that:”For the government to be engaging with militants, it only means that they are encouraging criminality. I want to advice the government to look at the issues raised by the Niger Delta Avengers and see how they can solve them. If they are able to address these issues then the issue of militancy in the region will be over.”

“In 2009, I granted an interview  where I made it clear that bringing out 50 Billion  Naira for the Amnesty Programme to give to a few group of people will not solve the problem because it is another way of criminality. The Government then refused to heed to my advice, and today the region is still tattered and remained in abject poverty. I will advice the Federal Government, again, not to engage with criminals. Because if they do, more groups will continue to emerge and Government will continue to pay criminals until Nigeria will become no more.”

“Martin Lurther King said that any country that spend more on security than they spend on the citizens is doomed to fail. They should not encourage armed struggle, but they should bring in massive development to the region so that peace will remain in the region”, he advised.

He said further;”They should address the issues raised by the Avengers, most especially, the Nigerian Maritime University in Okerenkoko. That University should kick off immediately.”

“They should development all the oil bearing communities. They are always saying that the areas are difficult terrain. But it is that difficult terrain that you collect the oil from to go and break rocks in Abuja and begin to build skyscrapers. If they can use the money from the so called difficult terrain to break rocks in the North, then they can equally use that same money to develop the difficult terrain of the Niger Delta Region”.

“I have been to Holland and I know how Holland was built. Go to London and see how  roads were constructed under the waters. What will it take for them to build a road from here to Escravos. I want all the multinational oil companies to relocate their Headquarters to their operational base. These Hausas, Yorobas, Ibos and others controlling these oil companies have always come out with policies that will continue to keep the people of the Niger Delta region in perpetual poverty. So, they should relocate to the oil region so that the people can have a sense of belonging”, Tonfawei averred.

In his words also;”How can I build a project in my community and take a flight to Lagos or Abuja to sign documents. Or when I want to sign a contract, I  have to travel to Abuja to sign documents. Since I was born, Chevron  Nigeria Limited has been in Escravos for so many years and they have 24 hour power supply while the surrounding communities are living in darkness.”

“They said it is difficult terrain but Chevron  Nigeria Limited has a mini airport there. But there is no single road in those communities. They should begin to think about the people in these communities and how they could better their lives. What are the people asking for? What they are asking for is not difficult to do. Only this month, the money that the Government has lost due to pipeline vandalism is enough to construct roads in all the Niger Delta communities,” the Nabodi 1 of the Universe stated.