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Dokubo: A No-Win Situation
Comfort Obi
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A few weeks ago, I got this text-
message from a fellow who
thought I knew his number. I don't. Obviously, an Igbo like me, he was upset about the continued detention of Ralph Uwazuruike, the boss of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB. “One by one, they’ve released their own. 1st, Fredrick Fasheun released. Now, Ganiyu Adams. What about Ralph Uwazuruike? Let the issue be raised.”
I ignored it, even though I got the point he was making. I had done something earlier (in passing, I accept) on Uwazuruike, when I felt that everybody had forgotten him. Neither the Ohanaeze, nor any other Igbo group, or personality, had strongly canvassed that he, at least, be granted bail. Their position is unlike that of the Afenifere, other Yoruba organisations, and their elders, who consistently demanded the release of Adams and Fasheun. It worked. The position of the Niger Delta people on the fate of their own, Asari Dokubo, is well known. Release him or…? That is one of the reasons Dokubo can afford to talk fearlessly to anybody – be he President Olusegun Obasanjo, or a Federal High Court judge.
My position, from the onset, had been that the Nigerian State gains nothing from detaining these guys. When you arrest them, you make a hero out of them. They are better left to make as much noise as possible. Once in a while, you warn them, and once in a while, you placate them. In doing that, you make them feel important, without necessarily being exactly so. It is called ego-massaging. Yet, I believe they have their nuisance value. If well managed, they can be used to police their regions. They may, surprisingly, fight for the unity of the country. In sum, my position has always been that it is better to make them feel that they have something to contribute to the Nigerian state, than tell them they are nuisances. For, if they do realise that you see them as a threat, and want to “show” them, they become a real threat.
That is where the Nigerian state is now with Dokubo, the detained leader of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force. Until now, I never really saw Dokubo as a big problem. Oh yes, he can talk and threaten fire and brimstone. He can grant interviews which, after reading them, you’d think that the Nigerian state is finished. His boys can carry guns here and there, but honestly I saw him as a jolly good fellow, even if terribly misguided, who only wants some attention and recognition. Given the situation in the Niger Delta, and what he represents – leader of a group of angry youngmen – who suddenly realised that the Nigerian state had cheated their people out of their God-given crude oil, I felt the Nigerian state could manage that “nuisance,” and gradually sort things out.
At a point, I thought the Federal Government was discussing with him and his group. I thought some promises had been agreed upon. I don’t know what happened. But suddenly, everything fell apart. Dokubo began to accuse the FG of reneging on the promises made to the Niger Delta when he discussed with FG officials. He began to grant provocative interviews again. I didn’t think they were anything but provocative – just meant to ginger the FG into action. But somebody, somewhere, felt it was more than that. And Dokubo was arrested and charged to court for treason. The same fate befell Uwazuruike, Gani Adams and Fasheun. But Fasheun and Adams have since been granted freedom. Uwazuruike and Dokubo are still behind bars.
Dokubo’s trial came to a head last week, when he threatened a judge in court. Dokubo: "When they are counting graves, your own will not be spared. The pain I will inflict on you will make your family weep.... I know where your family lives. I am sure they will not escape this. I will make sure that your joy, and that of your family is turned to sorrow”.
We cannot dismiss Dokubo’s outburst as that of a frustrated man. Of course, he is frustrated. But he is not helpless. He was not just talking. He was talking directly to the Niger Delta militants, and telling them what to do. Those who thought that arresting Dokubo, and detaining him, would quieten the militants have seen the folly in that. Since then, the boys have become more daring than before. They have acquired more arms than before. In the Niger Delta, we now, almost, have an Iraqi situation at hand. Nobody knows now who is in charge. Before Dokubo’s arrest, we could point at him. Now, we cannot point at anybody. We now have many more Dokubos, whose identities we don’t know.
So, what to do? It has become a question of pride, ego. If Dokubo is released now, people will say the FG succumbed because it was afraid of him. Not true. Yet, I submit that the Dokubo situation is a no-win one. My late aunt, Ndaa Nwigbe, was fond of looking for the troubles of his two brothers' wives, especially, my late mother. She could say anything to them. That was until their children began to grow up and told her: “Enough is enough.” Boxed into a corner, she told us, “I am water from feaces. You cannot drink me. You cannot cook with me. And you cannot throw me away near your house. So, what can you do to me?”
Dokubo is like that my late aunt now. If he is jailed, it spells trouble. If he is killed, it spells doom. If he is released, the FG will, well, lose face. But I have a suggestion. I believe Dokubo’s problems, and those of the Niger Delta, can be solved politically. Dokubo’s ego can be massaged. He can be managed. The FG should start by embarking on an honest, massive development of the Niger Delta. It should, as a priority, employ their youths, and keep them busy. We shouldn’t allow things to worsen. Nigeria cannot afford to be Iraq and/or Afghanistan. A number of people, perhaps, even countries and organisations, wish that. They are cashing in on the situation to try and destabilise Nigeria. Otherwise, how are these boys getting the type of weapons, including rocket launchers, which they are flaunting.
Dare I then suggest a negotiated release of Asari Dokubo? Yes. In which case, he could be brought into the scheme of things. Obasanjo is reputed, the world over, as an international peace maker, who resolves conflicts. He should put that into practice in the Niger Delta. And the time to do it is Now!
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