Former Niger Delta militants have threatened that Nigeria will not know peace if its people failed to elect President Goodluck Jonathan in the February 14 presidential election.
The ex-militants’ leaders who spoke when they met with the Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson on Friday at the Banquet Hall of Government House in Yenagoa, insisted that the re-election of Jonathan was not negotiable.
While addressing the audience, one of the commanders, who is better known as Boyloaf , decried the attack on the President in some northern states, warning that nobody or group had the monopoly of violence. He argued that there was nothing like one Nigeria. He claimed that the only thing binding Nigeria’s unity was the oil.
Boyloaf who was optimistic about Jonathan’s victory at the polls, asserted that the people of the Niger Delta would take their oil back, if the North out of desperation for power took power from their kinsman.
According to the former warlord, “We are Nigerians but not one Nigeria; what brings us together is oil. The North wants to use insecurity excuse to push out our own.
“One thing I can assure you is that though I am retired, I am not tired. We can go back to the struggle. We own the resources and they are saying we do not have the right to rule. I will assure you that we must collect our oil back. If they take back power from us, we will take back our oil. Let us fight this last fight and I tell you the Devil is a liar.”
Boyloaf further emphasized the need for unity of purpose among the people, urging them to play down their grudges and endeavour to tackle the present challenges facing the Ijaw nation.
On his part, Mujahid Dokubo-Asari lamented an alleged intimidation being meted out to the people of Ijaw stock in Nigeria, saying his people will not take it anymore.
His words, “For every Goliath, God created a David; for every Pharoah, there is a Moses. We are going to war. Every one of you should go and fortify yourself.”
Dokubo-Asari, who declared that Jonathan will be re-elected, condemned the attack on him in the core North, stressing that the survival of the Ijaw nation rested in the hands of the militants who were gathered at the meeting.
Governor Dickson, while addressing his guest, called on them and their estimated 30,000 foot soldiers as well as the Ijaw nation to be united in their support for the re-election of President Jonathan.
He posited that the time had come for all stakeholders and interest groups in the Niger Delta, particularly, the Ijaw nation, to pool their resources and work in one accord to ensure the President’s victory on February 14.
The Governor, who noted that the re-election of President Jonathan was key to the developmental aspirations of the nation and the Niger Delta, said Jonathan’s victory at the forthcoming election would afford him the opportunity to consolidate on the achievements already recorded in the various sectors of the economy.
Dickson then went on to strongly condemn the “unwarranted attack” on Jonathan’s convoy when he went to campaign in two northern states.
