Father Hassan Kukah Attacks Niger Delta Elites
August 31, 2008 by 
Che Oyimnatumba
The most politically visible Catholic Priest in the last decade, Father Hassan Matthew Kukah, has thrown his weight behind the 19 Northern State Governors who dropped the bomb that the North can survive without oil from the Niger Delta. This outburst by the Northern Governors was in response to an accusation by the leader of Niger Delta Volunteer Force, Asari Dokubo, that the North is parasitic and living off the oil and environmental degradation of the Niger Delta.
According to Father Kukah, who stirred the reconciliation between Ogoin and Shell, the problem of the Niger Delta, is their elite. Falling short of agreeing that the problem of Nigeria is class struggle, he thundered “I know enough political science to know that this nonsense about north and south does not exist”. In an interview with a national newspaper, Father Kukah said the good thing about abusing the north or abusing government is that it saves the elite of the Niger Delta the trouble of dealing with the problems they have created; the contradictions of their own inactivity and inefficiency. I hear people say, the road to my village is not okay or my people don’t have water. For goodness sake, people who have lived in Victoria Island, they have lived in all the comfort of Nigeria, in embassies abroad representing Nigeria, didn’t they know that people in their village don’t have water then? Suddenly at the age of 70 or 80 that people are wearing glasses that enable them to see the poverty of their people. Father Kukah wants the people not only the people of the Niger Delta to confront their leaders and ask them when they were ministers on federal character representing the people, what did they do for the people.
We at WWN agree with Father Kukah but cannot help pointing out that there is room for a renegade to be born again and champion the course of his people after purging himself of the betrayal. All we solicit the people of the Niger Delta and other oppressed peoples of all ethnic groups in Nigeria, is to see the crisis in Niger Delta as an intra-class struggle between the rich elite to reposition themselves in appropriation of the oil and continue the oppression of the working peoples, the fisherman, the hewers of wood and the poor Nigeria.
All oppressed peoples of Nigeria must unite; hold their leaders accountable while they are in office. Oppressed Nigerians should not wait till a thieving governor, a member of both State and National Assembly leave office before his name is dragged to the mud. Nigerians should be a vigilant watch dog and “attack” any representative of the people who is not representing the people.
| 3.2 |
The Niger Delta people should solve their problem from within. l am from the Niger Delta and l think the youths and militant should develop an analytical mind about the problems in the Niger Delta and ask their their leaders and representatives in the Federal Government what have they done to address the problem and starking impoverishment of the Niger Delta people. The Niger Delta people have representatives from their constituencies to protect their interest how far have they fought the political fight for the Niger Delta emancipation. It takes two to dangle. The Romance between the Niger Delta representatives and elites with the Federal Government is one that should make the youths pause and reflect. Lucky Igbinedion was the former governor of Edo State how did he use his political office to solve the problem of the Niger Delta? What was the product of his leadership? Peter Odili was the former governor of Rivers State how did he handle the Niger delta issue and to what extent did he fight the battle? Of course Alamasieya squandered millions of pounds and was charged for money laundering. Whose money was that? What about lbori of Delta State and NDDC funds?.
l think Fr.Kukah is very right that the problem of the Niger Delta is the elites and the greedy ones at that who in other to remain in office play to the presidential gallary and and end up with Ghana Must Go. During the third term debates of democratic dictator Obasanjo, where did most of the support come from?
Niger deltans please our problem is from within. Not until we solve the problem from within then we will just fight a battle that might end up consuming us and we ourselves becomes victims of circumstances. The only way out is dialogue
The Niger Delta youths and militants have been misinformed, misdirected and misrepresented. l think there are alot of issues at hand to be confronted with the elites and political leaders. Lets first look at the background of this youths and militants and the kind of education system they went through in Nigeria. There is a high tendency that this are either products of cultism and those who did not go into the walls of the classroom to develop analytic minds and ask reasonable question. So the issue at hand is really problematic and you cannot really know where to begin from if the Niger delta issue must be solved.
The Political leaders and elite are struggling to get the national cake, the youths and militants are in a struggle they cannot give a good analysis of the situation but rather just take directly what they are been told and just begin to fight for emancipation of the Niger delta and forgetting the implications of the extent this can bring to the niger delta people. Many have been displaced and rendered homeless. Also many have died and of course the poor people will always suffer it. The same poor people they are fighting for and bringing emancipation. Violence plus violence is a conflagration of violence. l think we should learn from the late legal icon and luminary, late Chief Gani Fawehinmi who fought a good fight through non-violent means and is death is been celebrated. Fr. Kukah in his approach to the Niger delta issue is objective, realisctic and unbiased. ln fact he is very correct the elites and the political representatives have alot of question to answer. The Niger delta people have an internal crisis that need to be solve first before any other thing follows.