Itsekiri may fight back

SAPELE- FORMER Member of the Delta
Waterways Security Committee, DWSC,
Warri, Delta State and ex-Itsekiri warlord,
Comrade Omolubi Newuwumi, aka ‘Gentle

General,” has warned that the Itsekiri
ethnic nationality would defend itself if the
Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, does not desist
from the provocative bombing oil and gas
installations in its (Itsekiri) territory.
Newuwumi, the Itsekiri equivalent of Ijaw‘s
Tompolo and former Commissioner for
Youths in the state , told Niger Delta Voice:
“The bombing of oil and gas facilities in
Itsekiri territory is absurd; it is an act
capable of provoking the Itsekiri nation and
personalities like me.
I am categorically saying that if they
continue, they may force us, Itsekiri, to
protect our territory, especially if the
present administration fails in their
responsibilities to protect lives and
properties. “
Bombings of oil installations
He said: “We will be prepared to assist the
government to end the bombings of oil
installations in our area just like the role of
the civilian JTF in the north, which has
yielded successful results. As I said before,
the destruction caused us by the Ijaw,
which wanted to wipe us (Itsekiri) from the
earth's surface is still there, years after the
crisis ended.
“The memories are still fresh in our mind for
those of us who lived to tell the sad tales of
woes and wanton destruction and killings in
our communities. We will not fold our hands
this time to let them destroy us as they did
before. "The then federal and state
governments failed to protect us from the
Ijaw until we decided to take our own
destiny into our hands and defend ourselves.
I just hope this present government will not
abandon us to our fate,” he added.
Why Itsekiri youths are not throwing bombs:
On why Itsekiri youths were not carrying
arms and bombing pipelines in the creeks
like their Ijaw counterparts, he said: “Itsekiri
people are a group of intellectuals, peace -
loving and law- abiding people, hence
carrying guns is not a way of life for them.
If you look at history, you will find out that it
was an Itsekiri man, the late Justice Atake
that first started the intellectual struggle for
resource control even before Ken Saro
Wiwa.
“So the struggle is not a new thing for us, it
is just that we are not used to militancy,
kidnapping and other forms of criminality in
our fight for true federalism and equality for
the region. Anyway, we are soon coming out
with a formidable platform to tackle all
these issues because the Itsekiri have kept
silent for a while now.
New group: “Very soon, a new group, which
is non-political called the Niger Delta
Patriotic Front, NDPF, will emerge and come
out with its agenda and demands. There will
be no genuine negotiation without the full
involvement of the Itsekiri ethnic nationality
because in Delta for example, the numbers
of oil wells in Itsekiri land is much more
than that of any other tribe,” he asserted.
Encounters with Tompolo: On his attitude
towards the struggle and what makes it
different from Tompolo’s, ‘Gentle General’
said: “We share different ideologies. In the
war (referring to Ijaw/Itsekiri war), the
Ijaw, which Tompolo led was more like the
aggressor, but I only rose to lead my people
in defense when the government of that
time failed to defend us against our more
formidable opponents for more than two
years.”
Total annihilation
Newuwumi said he had met with Tompolo on
two occasions in the Benin River and his
defunct Camp 5. His words: "Yes, during the
battle to save my people from total
annihilation from the surface of the earth,
we met during the Warri crisis. I remember
an occasion in the Benin River when I was
coming from rescuing my people stranded in
Ogheye community. I will tell that story at a
later date.
“However, beyond that, we both represent
different things to different people. Maybe
we might be fighting the cause of liberating
the people of the region from socio-
economic slavery in the midst of plenty, but
we sure have different ideologies and
different ways of looking at things. "I for
one, I repeat once again, abhor violence,
kidnapping and destruction of government
and oil companies' installations to get even
with government, but maybe he has a
different approach.
"The choice of non-violence is a personal
decision, which I have taken for a long time,
but that does not mean that we, as Itsekiri,
are weak, we only look at things from
different perceptive. I am still a gentle
general, as my people know me very well. It
is just that I choose to remain calm and
peaceful. “My second encounter was when
we met also in his Camp 5 when we agreed
to put an end to the crisis between the
Itsekiris and the Ijaw. Like my first
encounter, I will tell the story of my second
encounter on a latter day.”
Avengers formed to destabilize Buhari govt:
Scrutinizing the NDA and its mission, he
said: “The pattern of their operation is very
clear and an indication that it was formed to
frustrate the present administration. The
destruction of pipelines and oil installations
is unmistakably terrorism and economic
sabotage. Simply put, they are faceless,
senseless and partisan in nature, and an
orchestrated attemipt devised by corrupt
individuals and politicians to frustrate the
present administration’s resolve and
determination to fight corruption in the
country."
He went on: “They are only using fighting
for resource control for the Niger Delta as a
means to achieve their egotistical desires
because if not for their own selfish desire,
why are they asking the federal government
to release some individual found to be
involved in corrupt practices.”
Newuwumi added: “Another aspect of the
Avengers is the deliberate attacks on oil
installations, which apart from killing the
already Nigeria fragile economy is also
destroying the region’s environment and its
ecosystem. The destruction affects the
immediate environment and health of the
people the Avengers claim to protect.”
He also said: “Like the name, Avengers, I
think it was primarily formed to avenge the
prosecution of their brothers and some
corrupt Nigerians, who are facing criminal
charges, if not, what are they avenging and
who are they avenging for?"
Attacks on Ayiri Emami
On the attacks by Ijaw people on Itsekiri
leader, Chief Ayiri Emami, who has been
very vocal against the Avengers, he said:
“Without mincing words, those who are
blaming him chose to run away from the
obvious fact. The Niger Delta area is a
peculiar terrain, where everybody seems to
know each other. Nobody, I repeat nobody
or group of persons will dare carry out such
nefarious activities in backyard of the
person he is pointing fingers at without his
knowledge or him knowing them.”
Whom do Avengers represent?
Commenting on the plan to negotiate with
Avengers, he said: “It just a pity that the
Nigeria government has concluded
arrangements to negotiate with them just
like the amnesty deal. But to me, it is very
unfortunate, especially with some of the
conditions in their demands like the release
of Col Sambo Dasuki (retd) and leader of
the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB,
Nnamdi Kanu , which has no bearing
whatsoever with the Niger Delta struggle.
“Well, let them negotiate with them; let us
see what their demands are really and the
persons behind the masquerade. It will also
let us know or confirm if the person they
said Ayiri is pointing fingers at is behind the
whole arrangement. However, beyond all
these, the question on my mind are who do
they want to negotiate with, for whom are
they negotiating and is it for the ethnic
nationalities of the Niger Delta or for only
the Ijaw?
“Who are those to go there to negotiate
with government? In whose interest, I do not
think the negotiations will work because
already the components of the formation of
the group, NDA, is faulty, their demands are
faulty and did not articulate all the demands
of the Niger Delta people. “Just like the
amnesty program, which made some
individuals super rich and a particular ethnic
group very rich, the negotiation is bound to
fail unless the Federal Government do what
is right for the people of the Niger Delta,”
Newuwumi declared.