KAIAMA DECLARATION - WHITHER THE STRUGGLE

THE KAIAMA DECLARATION ALMOST 16 YEARS AFTER ~ WHERE DID WE MISS IT  - Part 1

One of the best pieces of Declaration and one that changed the way the Ijaws were viewed by the Nigerian State is The Kaiama declaration. 11^th December, 2014 will make it 16 years since that Historical document authored by some of the best minds in the Ijaw Nation was made. The declaration had 10 Observations and 10 Resolutions. Where do we stand today viz a viz these Observations and Resolutions

I have reproduced here the Historic Document and my Personal deductions in red.

THE OBSERVATIONS

a. That it was through British colonization that the IJAW NATION was forcibly put under the Nigerian State

b. That but for the economic interests of the imperialists, the Ijaw ethnic nationality would have evolved as a distinct and separate sovereign nation, enjoying undiluted political, economic, social, and cultural AUTONOMY.

c. That the division of the Southern Protectorate into East and West in 1939 by the British marked the beginning of the balkanisation of a hitherto territorially contiguous and culturally homogeneous Ijaw people into political and administrative units, much to our disadvantage. This trend is continuing in the balkanisation of the Ijaws into six states-Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom States, mostly as minorities who suffer socio-political, economic, cultural and psychological deprivations.

The first Three Observations had remained unchanged and it seems it will remain so for quite some time as the National Conference in their recent recommendation for additional States that many have kicked against did not deem it fit to give the Ijaws arguably the Fourth Largest ethnic Group in Nigeria another State. Even though ethnic harmony do not necessarily translate to Peace and development in a State, The long cry of the Ijaws for Torube State to be carved out from Ondo, Edo and Delta States ought to have received the attention of the delegates. If the recommendations of the delegates stands; the balkanization continues and I did not hear any dissent from Our representatives in the confab

d. That the quality of life of Ijaw people is deteriorating as a result of utter neglect, suppression and marginalisation visited on Ijaws by the alliance of the Nigerian state and transnational oil companies.

Observation “D” is worse today than it was about Sixteen years ago, but this time it’s an Alliance of Ijaw Politicians, the Nigerian State and the Multi-Nationals. In many of our Communities we still take our Bath, do our conveniences and drink from the same river. The Politicians of Ijaw extraction glad to have escaped the Poverty can afford to sink boreholes in their Houses, drink bottled water and generally enjoy the Good things of life. With all their getting’s many of them still abandon projects that would have impacted a little on the misery that has crystallized life for the average Ijaw man. The Suppression and Marginalization is being carried out by our own people. A joint Paper by Ogele Club and Incusa to the Pan Ijaw Conference in Port Harcourt from 28^th February to 2^nd March, 2003 has this to say;

“We have said more sinister and dangerous to describe the current conflict because the agents of our destruction are individuals and groups who claim common kinship with us within the nation-state called Nigeria.  Today, the naked truth is that Ijaw nation is a colonial territory within a brutal Nigeria state, hell bent on appropriating the resources within Ijaw territory for the benefits of distant lands.  Given this reality, what is far more cynical and sinister, is that in cohort with these agents are our kinfolks within the Ijaw nation.  For crumbs from the looted wealth of our community these kinfolks, have connived to engage in the continued subjugation of our peoples.  The truth is the Ijaw nation is all too aware of these saboteurs in our midst.” That is why there is Karma.

e. That the political crisis in Nigeria is mainly about the struggle for the control of oil mineral resources which account for over 80% of GDP, 95 %of national budget and 90% of foreign exchange earnings. From which, 65%, 75% and 70% respectively are derived from within the Ijaw nation. Despite these huge contributions, our reward from the Nigerian State remains avoidable deaths resulting from ecological devastation and military repression.

Has this changed? Even when it’s one of us that Rules the Country?

f. That the unabating damage done to our fragile natural environment and to the health of our people is due in the main to uncontrolled exploration and exploitation of crude oil and natural gas which has led to numerous oil spillages, uncontrolled gas flaring, the opening up of our forests to loggers, indiscriminate canalisation, flooding, land subsidence, coastal erosion, earth tremors etc. Oil and gas are exhaustible resources and the complete lack of concern for ecological rehabilitation, in the light of the Oloibiri experience, is a signal of impending doom for the peoples of Ijawland.

Has this condition changed?

g. That the degradation of the environment of Ijawland by transnational oil companies and the Nigerian State arise mainly because Ijaw people have been robbed of their natural rights to ownership and control of their land and resources through the instrumentality of undemocratic Nigerian State legislations such as the Land Use Decree of 1978, the Petroleum Decrees of 1969 and 1991, the Lands (Title Vesting etc.) Decree No. 52 of 1993 (Osborne Land Decree), the National Inland Waterways Authority Decree No. 13 of 1997 etc.

Has thses Legislations and Decrees abrogated?

h. That the principle of Derivation in Revenue Allocation has been consciously and systematically obliterated by successive regimes of the Nigerian state. We note the drastic reduction of the Derivation Principle from 100% (1953), 50% (1960), 45% (1970), 20% (1975) 2% (1982), 1.5% (1984) to 3% (1992 to date),and a rumored 13% in Abacha's 1995 undemocratic and unimplemented Constitution.

Surprisingly it is the undemocratic and unimplemented Abacha Constitution’s recommendation of 13% that former President Olusegun Obasanjo reluctantly implemented and it’s in force till date. And there seems to be no change in sight.

i.             That the violence in Ijawland and other parts of the Niger Delta area, sometimes manifesting in intra and inter ethnic conflicts are sponsored by the State and transnational oil companies to keep the communities of the Niger Delta area divided, weak and distracted from the causes of their problems.

It seems we are the architects of our division now, won't you agree?

j. That the recent revelations of the looting of national treasury by the Abacha junta is only a reflection of an existing and continuing trend of stealing by public office holders in the Nigerian state. We remember the over 12 billion dollars Gulf war windfall, which was looted by Babangida and his cohorts We note that over 70% of the billions of dollars being looted by military rulers and their civilian collaborators is derived from our ecologically devastated Ijawland.

In sixteen years the looting had taken the form of a monster, and many of the looting now is done by our people to the detriment of our masses. In retrospect it seems the dreaded Abacha had done more for Ijaw people than any other Head of State or President. He gave the Ijaws Bayelsa State; his Government recommended the 13% former President Obasanjo implemented.

To be continued>>