Niger Delta Avengers: ‘Fire cannot quench fire’, APC chieftain cautions Buhari

– The resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta region has been a source of worry to many Nigerians

– The issue has been in the front burner in the polity for a while now

– President Muhammadu Buhari has been cautioned on the issue in order to avoid escalation 

The deputy publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to be cautious in his approach to finding a lasting solution to the resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta region.

In an open letter to the president, Comrade Frank urged the president to bring his leadership skills to bear in managing the situation. He also advised the president to leave a lasting legacy on the sands of time for references by future generations yet unborn.

He wrote: ”These latest acts of sabotage from the aggrieved agitators must not be treated with caution on the part of government as it is a time tested axiom that ‘Fire cannot quench Fire’”.

According to him, it is advisable for the Buhari government to adopt a more holistic approach to broaden the horizon into coming up with a sustainable framework to deal with militancy once and for all.

READ ALSO: What can President Buhari do about Amaechi?

He posited that militancy in the Niger Delta region has been the bane of sustainable national development over the years which prompted the government of the Late Umaru Musa Yar’adua to set up the presidential amnesty programme.

”The Niger Delta region has been plagued with this acts of agitations over the last two decades with its citizens suffering from the actions and inactions of both the agitators and the federal government.

”The Kaiama Declaration and the effects of the Odi and Gbaramatu invasion by the Nigerian military are still fresh in the memories of the people and thus a repeat of those atrocities on the people will not augur well for this administration as we would not want a repeat of these acts which accompany some form of genocide,” Comrade Frank warned.

While noting that former President Goodluck Jonthan never had any altercation with the agitators while in power, Comrade Frank however berated Jonathan for ”not developing the region nor attending to the root cause of the problem.”

READ ALSO: How Niger Delta Avengers are killing their people and destroying their own future

”The inability of the previous government (who ought to know better) in tackling the militancy and developmental issues in the Niger Delta can be said to be regrettably responsible for this renewed resurfacing of agitation,” Comrade Frank opined.

He advised President Buhari not to leave the current issues facing the region to his  cabinet members from the region alone, but to constitue a broad consultation of relevant stakeholders to finding  lasting solution to the problem.

Comrade Frank pleaded with President Buhari to give a window for dialogue and discussions that will focus on the immediate resolution of the crisis.

READ ALSO: Clark tells Buhari how to stop Niger Delta Avengers

Meanwhile, the former commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Victor Ben Ebikabowei also known as Boyloaf has thrown his weight behind President Buhari’s decision to remove subsidies on petroleum products. 

In a chat with NAIJ.com, Boyloaf said the removal of fuel subsidy is the best thing that has been done since President Buhari took over in May 2015.

The post Niger Delta Avengers: ‘Fire cannot quench fire’, APC chieftain cautions Buhari appeared first on Nigeria News today & Breaking news | Read on NAIJ.COM (Nigerian newspapers).