Nigeria Content Online

Is Nigeria hungry for peace? Possibly. Is it
desperate for peace? I doubt it. Peace is fast becoming a synonym for
controlled conflict and a tool for creating power and wealth. This is
corruption, pure and plain. Corruption and conflict are unseemly
bedfellows.

Politicians engage in corruption and dress it up to
make it acceptable. President Obama recently made strenuous statements
condemning corruption in Afghanistan while his advisors spoke to the
media explaining that it was better to go soft on corruption among
government officials in Afghanistan rather than risk losing the support
of the Afghan Government.

After accepting amnesty some “former” militia
leaders in the Niger Delta are reported to be negotiating their support
with potential northern candidates for the presidency. Any candidate
engaging in such negotiations should be immediately barred from standing
as a candidate for the highest office in the land.

Southern candidates are not exempt from deals with
former militia and gang leaders. In the Niger Delta recruiting is in
full swing for gangs that will help secure the election of particular
candidates we have seen in previous elections. The old methods that have
yielded success in the past are hard to shake when people are desperate
for power.

These are indications that the amnesty in the Niger
Delta has not taken root. It is still fragile and the relatively few
arms that were turned in during the amnesty means there is a vast
quantity of weapons in non-government hands throughout Nigeria and in
particular in the Niger Delta. The potential for renewed conflict
remains high and thus the peace efforts need continued support.

The Catholic Bishop of the Niger Delta town of
Bomadi, Hyacinth Egbegbo, is urging the militants to stay calm saying
only a negotiated peace can bring lasting stability to the troubled
oil-rich region.

The Bishop is right. The amnesty with some add-ons
such as brief training courses and non-violence education is not enough
to sustain peace.

“Let us go for peace, not for any more struggles,”
said the bishop. “Armed struggle is not going to be in favour of any
Nigerian. So let us sit down at the table and see that we resolve these
problems amicably. I appeal to the boys to take their guns away from the
dialogue that is being initiated by the government because dialogue
with guns is not dialogue. So let us put the guns aside and speak words
of wisdom to each other so that we can come to a more amicable solution
to the problem.”

Some governors who will soon see the end of their
second term are very worried that their indemnity from prosecution will
soon expire. Will the EFCC pursue these “big men”? Not likely under the
current EFCC leadership which is simply too close to some of the big
men. Some governors have already anointed their successors and
reconstituted gangs to ensure their protégé will be elected and then do
all necessary to protect the godfather.

On 10th November 2010 former governors James Ibori
and Victor Attah will face trial before the Southwark Court in the UK.
David Edevbie, former Delta State Commissioner for Finance under James
Ibori, before serving as President Yar’Adua’s Principal Secretary, is
joined with Ibori and Attah in the Southwark Court in connection with
money-laundering charges. A conviction should send a shiver through the
spine of many facing the end of their immunity from prosecution. But
this is unlikely if Waziri retains leadership of the EFCC. She is the
insurance for the big men who have flouted Nigeria’s laws and enriched
themselves for state coffers thus ensuring those in poverty remain in
poverty.

The former militia leaders have an opportunity to
make a major contribution to building the nation of Nigeria. They can
starve conflict in the Niger Delta by honouring the amnesty. For its
part the federal government must widen the amnesty package and provide
sustained employment.

MEND has remained on the sideline in the amnesty
and election process thus far. This is a credible action. In similar
fashion Asari Dokubo honoured the terms of the 2004 Peace accord and
became a force for stability in a very turbulent period. But sitting on
the sidelines while some former militia leaders are paid large sums of
money is a difficult position to maintain. The temptation is high in a
country where over 100 million people live on $1 per day.

The EFCC should, with all vigour, investigate every
allegation of payment to form gangs, recruit former militia and subvert
the peace process.

Canon Dr Stephen Davis is Canon Emeritus at Coventry Cathedral and
has served as an advisor to President Obasanjo, Presidential Envoy under
President Yar’Adua and is the author of The Report on the Potential for
Peace and Reconciliation in the Niger Delta.