The umbrella body of Ijaw youths, the
Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to
take the lead in the dialogue with the Niger Delta stakeholders over the
resurgence of militancy in the region.
The group said the dialogue would be
taken more seriously if Buhari led the negotiation rather than engaging
self-serving politicians.
The President of IYC, Udengs Eradiri,
who spoke with journalists in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, on
Wednesday, said it was only when the President took the bull by the
horns, by sitting at the head of the negotiation table, like his
predecessors, that there would be a lasting solution to the crises in
the region.
Eradiri said he would not participate in any negotiation unless President Buhari sat at the head of the negotiation table.
He reiterated that the issues on hand
were not about the Ijaw or the Niger Delta people alone, but that of
recurring leadership failures in the country.
Eradiri said, “There is nothing on
ground; I don’t trust the process (dialogue). There have been a plethora
of negotiations in the past. All this government needs to do is to take
a holistic approach to the problems of the Niger Delta. The issue is
not about the Niger Delta people or the Ijaw; it is about leadership
failure in Nigeria.
“That’s why I have been praying for the
President to be hale and hearty; the President should stand up, take
the lead in solving the problems. There are success stories of his
predecessors taking such steps.
“That’s why the groundnut pyramid
disappeared, when the government was not ready to cure the epidemic that
was in vogue then. Cocoa disappeared from the South-West when they
could not face it. Tomatoes are disappearing, because leadership is not
responsible.
“If Ebola comes now, Nigerians will all
die because of the present attitude of government. The problem has been
the failure of leadership, it is failing; let us restructure Nigeria.”
Eradiri also spoke on the need for the
Buhari-led Federal Government to implement and work with the National
Conference report, saying the reports of the confab which was attended
by all the geo-political zones would be a very good starting point in
restructuring the nation.
He said the crime rate, insecurity such
as Boko Haram, IPOB, the Niger Delta Avengers and other splinter
militia groups were indicators of a failing system.
While speaking on the crisis currently
brewing in the IYC, Eradiri maintained that those fanning the embers of
disunity within the body were being sponsored by the government and some
elements.
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