The Only Solution To The Niger Delta Crisis and End Corruption in Nigeria

It would be more beneficial if we analyze the crisis in perspective.

Ignorant observers should not mistake the volatile crude oil politics in the Niger Delta for what you read in the newspapers, because it is more than meets the ordinary eye.

1. The Nigerian government is controlled by a plutocracy of kleptomaniacs both in the military, public, and private sectors.

2. Illegal oil blocks have been acquired by both top ranking Nigerian military officers, both the retired officers and those still in active service and their civilian accomplices..
IBB, OBJ, Danjuma, and others have acquired illegal oil blocks.

They have saved the fiscal proceeds in various foreign banks, bought properties in foreign lands, and only invested some millions of dollars in Nigerian banks, telecom companies, and other ventures.

3. Illegal oil bunkering started in the 1980s when IBB was in power and corruption and crime were in ascendancy.
The proceeds have also been spent on similar ventures mentioned above.

4. Before the Nigerian Civil War, there was little or no misappropriation of oil revenues and proceeds were used for agriculture and other national development projects and programmes.
The Nigerian state prospered and Nigeria was one of the emerging economies in the world until the young ill-informed and naive Nigerian military officers staged the bloodiest coup in the history of Nigeria. The civil war would have been averted, but the intellectual naivety and ignorance in the masquerade of arrogance made the childish and foolish Nigerian rulers to plunge the country into the horrible and terrible internecine civil war, which claimed over one million lives.

5. After the civil war, General Yakubu Gowon was now wiser. He appointed astute and resolute administrators, such as the late Chief. Obafemi Jeremiah Awolowo who proved to be the best civil servant in the history of Nigeria. Nigeria had well planned national development programmes and was governed by true patriots with dignity, integrity and accountability until another group of ill-informed and naive military officers led by the late Brigadier Murtala Muhammad derailed the Nigerian train of progress and drove Nigeria off the tracks.

6. The man who succeeded the late Muhammad, General Olusegun Obasanjo made a secret pact with the Arewa mafia to hand over to an Hausa leader and that was how they lured and used the late Chief. O.K. Abiola, the late Chief Adisa Akinloye and others against Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the presidential election and rigged the election. Obasanjo handed over to Alhaji Shehu Shagari who could not rule as his conscience led him. He was a weak leader and the power brokers controlled the Nigerian state until another coup toppled the government.

7. The Solution is very simple.
The Federal Government of Nigeria must treat crude oil like cocoa, palm produce; groundnut and other cash crops and minerals, by handing over the resource control to the states and let the states pay taxes to the Federal Government.

We must practice true federalism and not this plutocracy of kleptomaniacs called the Federal Government of Nigeria.

All the illegally acquired oil blocks and oil wells must be returned to the oil producing states, illegal oil bunkering must be stopped, and this can be done.
Nigerian Naval officers are all implicated in the corruption of illegal oil bunkering and we know all these criminals in uniform and their civilian accomplices.

We must change the corrupt system of government in Nigeria by peace or by force.