Lawmaker offers solution to the Niger Delta Avengers crisis

President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has been called upon to apply the carrot and stick approach in addressing the Niger Delta crisis, and to come up with economic policies to help address the challenges presently rocking the nation’s economy.

In this exclusive interview with NAIJ.com, the minority leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Leo Ogor, talks about issues surrounding the Niger Delta crisis.

The oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria has been embroiled in a conflict between government forces and militants known as the Niger Delta Avengers who are aggrieved about certain fundamental issues affecting the region. According to Rep. Ogor, it is important that President Buhari avoids being confrontational and addresses the issues through positive dialogue.

“I want to say this with all sincerity: Mr President, confrontation at every given time will not solve any problem. Even when nations go to war, they still go to the drawing table to dialogue and negotiate. Negotiating does not make you a lazy man.

Niger Delta Avengers militants

“I am from the Niger Delta but will keep appealing to my brothers in that region address the issue also with care. I know how frustrating it can be mostly when someone is been deprived of his/her right and privileges. It is also important that they temper justice with some level of mercy.

“One great Nigerian who has set a very good precedent is our great president, President Musa Yaradua of blessed memory, who demonstrated very clearly in a way that worked so much for us,” he said.

Ogor further stated that it is important that President Buhari follows the process of peaceful negotiation, adding that war and fighting is not the best approach.

“When these people have come out and placed some demand, I believe that as president of this country, it is important to call on them as a father and say, ‘My children what are your complaints’, and then chip in some fatherly advice. Mr President should look at this possibility because he could achieve more by negotiating, discussing and listening because when he decides to go confrontational, it is the innocent people that suffers.

“I have been told that people are been arrested all over the place. The Avengers don’t stay in the town, they are all living in the creeks and for us to start arresting men, women, chief of communities, we are adopting a very wrong step so I appeal to Mr President that first and foremost adopt the negotiating principles and where it fails before you can probably weald the stick, let’s apply some level of carrot and stick approach.

Hon. Leo Ogor

“As terrible and bad as the demands of Boko Haram are, we still called on them to say, ‘What are your problems? Come let’s talk’, but they refused and ended up slaughtering souls, brothers and sisters. Destroying lives and properties on a continuous basis is against section 33 of the constitution that guarantees right to life,” he added.

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Ogor appealed to the Niger Delta Avengers to stop polluting the land, adding that it would become more difficult to clean up due to the ecological damage to the land.

“With all these bombings of pipelines, we can’t get fish from our rivers anymore, we cannot farm, the water is polluted which means we can’t even drink anymore and the people that are actually benefitting are not living in those areas.

“You don’t smoke the house just because there is a rat in the house; it is rather driven out gradually, and Mr President also, before you is a bull in the china shop; be diplomatic in how you get it out,” he said.

Speaking on the state of the economy as the present administration clocks one year in office, the minority leader said that it is important the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) provides the APC-led government with a robust opposition which can criticize them constructively.

“As a minority leader in the House, I will not give negative criticism. I would say that President Buhari has done well in the area of constituency project. That is the only area I will commend him. In his level of budget implementation, he has done well in that aspect but where he goes wrong also I will criticize.”

Ogor said that the budget, which was actually the budget of Goodluck Jonathan, was well implemented. He called on President Buhari to make known his economic policies, adding that the nation needs to know precisely where it is going.

According to the minority leader, the present administration needs to give a clear direction on its economic policies, and he urged President Buhari to learn from the previous government.

“Clearly as we have seen, with all due respect, I see a government without policy direction, without economic plans. I see a cut and nail approach. It is something that occurs on a daily basis. They manage it as it comes. You know when body language speaks and other issues, that is not what governance is all about and I think that the essence of this whole sectorial debate put together by the House is to address some of these challenges.

“I give it to this government that they are very new in governance. They have not experienced it. Probably they were not ready for it, but a year has gone in the whole process and I think in the interest of the Nigerian people and our constituencies it becomes important that we tell this government to come out with economic policies that will take us out of this challenge because we are drifting into a major recession, and if it is not well managed we will have it very clearly on the street, hunger, starvation has becomes the order of the day and the host of other negative violence which is not what we pray for as a nation.

Hon. Ogor

“We can set up some level of milestones and in this milestones we will work with you objectively. Where it is not visible we will get here and be able to review because if he succeeds it is the Nigerian people that succeeds not Leo Ogor.

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“He should look at the economic indices and all that is happening to our economy. We are in a very terrible shape. One of the largest economies is dwindling. Everything is not well so, Mr. President needs to wake up and drop this body language.

“We see his anti-corruption crusade. He is carrying on a wonderful crusade in respect of anti-corruption, getting mostly PDP people, but we have also challenged him that the hour and time has come for us to ask him where he got his campaign funds from because those that live in glass houses should not throw stones. So for me, we must think about building this nation and the only way is to do it together, but everything should be done transparently.”

Speaking on the National Assembly’s performance over the past year, the minority leader said that the National Assembly has performed well in moving the country forward. According to him, the essence of sectorial debates put together by the House was to focus more on the direction of the government.

“I give it to the Speaker in respect of the sectorial debate. We have gone electronic in respect of our operations and today we are almost becoming paperless; paperless in the sense that our order papers are now online. You can pick your telephone even without the order paper of the day and follow events that are going on the floor of the House. It is a new innovation and I believe Dogara is trying to take the House to another realm and I commend him on that vision. So far, I think we are doing very well; far more than the seventh assembly,” he said.

Responding to the question of how the House has affected the process of lawmaking so far, Ogor said that the House as a lawmaking body has the core responsibility to make laws for the good governance of the nation.

“To prove that, as bad as the budget presented by the executive was, even negating the spirit of the procedures of withdrawing bills, the House looked the other way to the interest of the Nigeria people. I believe a responsible House like that should be appreciated, and for me, I can tell you that as lawmaker that was one of my lowest point, because I find myself getting myself involved in something that I will always speak against, but I saw the national interest to been the priority at that particular time.

“There, the House took a very salient position to make sure that the right thing is done to the interest of the Nigerian people, and if you look at our issues, also particularly when it borders on the issue of security, as a House we have always given the president the necessary support.

Honourable Leo Ogor

“We have told him particularly, ‘Mr. President, if you need to go the extra mile, we are hundred per cent behind you’, and we have said, ‘Mr. President, even if you need to smuggle arms to come and fight these human beings under the guise of Boko Haram that has destroyed almost a specific geo-political zone of our country, we will solidly support you’. You have not seen any member of the House against the issue of security no matter how it is, and we have continued to support the Nigerian army.

“We keep boosting their morals coming to the budget. We were able to provide almost everything for them even giving them more because we know that the primary responsibility of every government in line with provision of section 14 sub 2 is the security. Security is the one that comes first and their welfare. Whatever decision we take on the floor of the House, or even at the committee level, it is the interest of the Nigerian people that come first, which is our primary responsibility,” he stated.

Commenting on the recent murder in Kano and attempts in other northern states, Ogor condemned the act, describing it as barbaric. He said nobody is guilty until he or she is proven guilty of such an offence, and he further said that the power to take life according to the law is done by a competent court of jurisdiction which is enshrined in section 33 of our constitution.

“I condemn vehemently that barbaric act in Kano and other attempt by anybody to take life. It is not anyone’s right no matter the offence.

“That is why we have a lawful society; we are not running a lawless society where people take laws into their hands. I believe the act is very wrong. Even Mr President has condemned the act and asked our security agencies to move in and investigate the issue, and I have been told two people have been arrested on the matter, so now that arrest has been made it is good for us to allow the law take its course, and I believe the law will catch up with as many that were involved in that brutal act.”

He called on Nigerians to be law abiding and act in accordance with the law.

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