Ijaw leader urges JTF, militants to embrace peace

As tension mounts in parts of Niger Delta over renewed hostilities between militants and operatives of the Joint Military Taskforce (JTF), Ijaw leader and elder statesman, Thompson Okorotie and the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) have urged both parties to maintain restraint and embrace dialogue.
Okorotie, a former Political Adviser to the Bayelsa State Government, called on the militants not to return to the past that had brought so much destruction of lives and property.
The Ijaw leader and chairman of Bayelsa State Conciliators Forum (BSCF), who spoke on Thursday in Yenagoa, at an interactive session with journalists, said the citizens are worried over the renewed war in the coastal region.
He went on: “Clearly, we are seeing the scenario of some Niger Delta agitators flexing their muscles violently and attacking oil installations leading to losses as it were.
“The Federal Government and security forces are talking tough. This is a similar situation that characterised the environment when the Niger Delta agitators were uprooted in Delta State from their different camps by JTF with all its might resulting in the deaths of hundreds of our people in the Niger Delta and those alive rendered homeless, hungry and deceased. We are not sure these problems have been totally solved.”
The gun battle between security forces and militants at Foropa and Ogodobiri in Bayelsa and Delta States, had resulted in casualties, thereby generating anxiety as there are fears that innocent people may be affected in the war.
Okorotie, therefore, appealed to ex-militants to apply dialogue in making their demands, rather than opting for confrontation.
“We must remember at all times that when we make our demands with violence, the little development that we already have is depleted. This cannot be a sensible way of asking for development.
“On the other hand, the Federal Government should ensure that whatever department is responsible for implementing the different aspect of the amnesty programme should do so with efficiency and transparency,” the chairman said.
The ex-political adviser condemned the October bomb blast in Abuja and the stoning of Governor Timipre Sylva during the visit of President Goodluck Jonathan to the state, stressing that it was right time the people remove violence as a core component of their character.
He said: “Violence at the beginning was justifiable because hitherto no government listened to our cries. We have now made our points. We have been listened to and there is an amnesty programme that is running. Any hiccup in the process of implementation of this laudable programme should best be corrected through negotiation.”