N-Delta wanted resource control, now we
want resource ownership — Annkio Briggs
Annkio Briggs, an activist, is the converner of
Niger Delta Self-Determination Movement.
Briggs, in this piece, speaks on why she is
calling for self-determination for her people.
By Olalekan Bilesanmi
You said the Niger Delta wants self-
determination and yet you said you want
compensation. Can you be fighting for
freedom and asking for compensation at the
same time?
I don’t see the difficulty in what we asking
for. Nigeria is being governed according to
the 1999 Constitution and whatever we are
doing, within the law, is based on that
Constitution. What we are demanding for,
which the same Constitution guarantees, is
our right to demand for those things. In terms
of the compensation for the destruction of our
livelihood, the Nigerian government, in
partnership with oil companies, is
responsible.
The state governments are not part of this
business, it is the Federal Government, in
conjunction with the oil companies, that has
devastated our region, and whatever
devastation they have done, it is important to
ask for compensation even as we are
demanding for self-determination and the
control of our resources. In our requesting for
self-determination, ownership of our land
and resources is a basic right. We have been
demanding for it for years now.
So, the two issues are extremely important
such that one cannot override the other. This
self-determination struggle will give us the
opportunity to exercise our right to
autonomy or self-government in matters
relating to our local affairs, including
determination of membership, culture,
language, religion, education, information,
media, health, housing, employment, social
welfare, maintenance of community safety,
family relations, economic activities, lands
and other natural resources management
(onshore and offshore), our environment and
entry by non-members, as well as ways of
financing our autonomous activities, as this
will enable us develop and grow at our own
pace without any further interference, under
any form, style or guise.
It is antithetical for President Muhammadu
Buhari, with all due respect, to call for self-
determination for the Palestinian people and
those of the Western Sahara, on behalf of
Nigerians, and to oppose or criminalize the
demand for the same self-determination by
the indigenous peoples of the Niger Delta.
With different agitations, from various groups
across the country, including yours, what
becomes of the future of this country?
I do not know what the future of the country
is. But I know what I expect this country
should be. I wish all of us, the different ethnic
groups that make up Nigeria, will realise that
this nation belongs to us and that we should
make the changes we want, just as Buhari
said we should be the change we want to
see. So, we should stop listening to people
who say they are bringing change for us. We
should determine the change we want. The
future I want for Nigeria is the one that
ensures we stay together as a country and
the different ethnic groups will find space in
the country to operate, no matter how small
or big they might be.
Some of your critics are quick to say that
lack of will on your part is responsible for the
non-actualization of the the Niger Delta self-
determination agitation?
I determine what my will is and my behavior
will determine whether I lack the will to
achieve my action or not. I want self-
determination because I am convinced that is
the only way to go and that conviction has to
be based on something; we were asking for
resource control, but now we want resource
ownership. The two are totally different.
People demand for something and they don’t
get it; if what they are demanding for is half
a glass full and nobody is listening to you,
may be you should demand for a whole glass
full. Since 1998 when Ken Saro-Wiwa died, I
made up my mind that the Niger Delta people
must realize that nobody is going to give us
what we deserve, except we agitate for it and
insist that we get it. So, if we have a
government or group of people that will
understand our issues based on our different
interests and nationalities, may be Nigeria
would have been better than the way it is
now.
Do you think the implementation of the
National Conference recommendations can
address some of these national issues
including your group’s demand?
Yes, I think it will address them. The only
thing we didn’t discussed at the conference
was whether we wanted to stay united or
not. For instance, when you take the issue of
local government, it was suggested that it
should be autonomous to the state so that
you can have 10 or 50 local government
areas in your state but your state must fund
it, the funding should not be from the
Federal Allocation. If the funding for Kano,
which has 44 local governments, is coming
from state, we know they won’t be able to
afford it, but it is done like that because Kano
LGs are funded from the federal allocation.
If you say the president is trying to get
funding for the rehabilitation of the North-east
region, some would also say that when your
son Jonathan was in power, what did you
make of it?
It has been said severally that he did nothing
for Nigeria, particularly northern Nigeria.
However, it is necessary to state that in the
area of education, it is on record that former
President Goodluck Jonathan introduced the
new model of Almajiri system of education
in the North when he initiated, constructed
and furnished about 124 Almajiri Model
Schools through the Universal Basic
Education Commission and the Tertiary
Education Trust Fund, and handed them over
to Adamawa, Borno, Gombe, Bauchi, Yobe,
Jigawa, Kaduna, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Kogi,
Niger, Katsina, Taraba, Nasarawa states
amongst others. Even though we, the Niger
Delta people, are not known to be associated
with any form of Almajiri educational system,
the then President Jonathan still built Almajiri
schools in our area to accommodate the
Hausa-Fulani. It should be noted that
Jonathan never built floating and fishermen
schools for the people of the Niger Delta who
are predominantly fishermen and women, yet
the Hausa-Fulani refuse to appreciate his
contributions.
Still in the area of education, Jonathan
created nine new universities and gave the
North five. It was also during Jonathan’s era
in 2014 that the Food and Agricultural
Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
acknowledged that Nigeria was the world’s
largest producer of cassava with an output
of over 45 million metric tonnes, and the giant
strides in his agricultural revolution in Nigeria
reduced Nigeria’s food importsby over 40%,
and moved the country closer to self-
sufficiency in agriculture. A contributing factor
was the use of mobile phones for the
distribution of fertilizer directly to farmers,
which ended fertilizer racketeering that had
flourished in Nigeria for over four decades.
If truly we are governing as one Nigeria, then
it should not matter. There are some things
that Jonathan did that the North benefitted
immensely from that he didn’t do for his
people. I do not necessarily agree with people
when they say he should have concentrated
on his people. The same very people would
have accused him of doing exactly that. He
purposely didn’t concentrate on his people,
and yet he is being accused of it.
That is why when people are complaining that
the current president was making
appointments and putting his people there, I
told them that he is doing the exact opposite
of what they accused Jonathan of doing. The
president says he is doing that for his people
first based on how he was voted into power.
‘Those that didn’t vote for me, I care less
about them’; now you are complaining. When
Jonathan did the opposite, it still was not
good.
The way Nigeria is, is our fault. We allowed
it. If Jonathan had concentrated on the Niger
Delta, I expected him to, that was why I said
we were disappointed in him. I said it at that
time. But he did the right thing because he
was not a president of the Niger Delta; in the
same manner, Buhari is not a president of his
region, he is for Nigeria. That he is now
becoming the president of those who voted
for him does not mean he is right. So, today,
there is nothing to show that we had a son
from Niger Delta as president. And that is
what Nigeria is saying to us that it was a
crime. If indeed we are one Nigeria, should
we have expected Jonathan to concentrate
his effort on Niger Delta or Nigeria as a
whole?
What is the difference between your group
and Indegenous Peoples of Biafra?
From what I gathered, the Biafra people want
secession. They want a different country.
But we are saying we want self-determination
so that we can control our land and take
responsibility for whatever comes from there.
We can then be paying tax to the Federal
Government; we are not breaking up Nigeria,
we just want to do for ourselves what nobody
will do for us.
That is not different from confederation?
What is wrong in that? What do we have
today? What we have is worse than that. How
can the centre take everything and then
decide what it feels belongs to you? Whether
it is not enough or not, once you have taken
your quota for the month, that is it. It is less
concerned about what happens to you
thereafter. That kind of attitude can never
lead the country well. We cannot have
cohesion with that kind of attitude.
That is why it is very important we begin to
recognize that it is necessary to realize we
are a country made up of different tongues
with different needs at different times. And,
therefore, our development will and must be
determined by our different interests, not by
one person at the helm of affairs at the
centre. Government is to serve the people but
as far as I can remember, government has
always felt that the people are to serve it.
What do you make of the crop of ministerial
appointments made so far by the Federal
Government?
Whatever I say now, meanings would be read
into it, perhaps because of the region I come
from. These ministers have four years; may
God give us life, let us wait and see. We saw
what the ministers before did, let us wait and
see how these ones too will perform.
Daily post.
want resource ownership — Annkio Briggs
Annkio Briggs, an activist, is the converner of
Niger Delta Self-Determination Movement.
Briggs, in this piece, speaks on why she is
calling for self-determination for her people.
By Olalekan Bilesanmi
You said the Niger Delta wants self-
determination and yet you said you want
compensation. Can you be fighting for
freedom and asking for compensation at the
same time?
I don’t see the difficulty in what we asking
for. Nigeria is being governed according to
the 1999 Constitution and whatever we are
doing, within the law, is based on that
Constitution. What we are demanding for,
which the same Constitution guarantees, is
our right to demand for those things. In terms
of the compensation for the destruction of our
livelihood, the Nigerian government, in
partnership with oil companies, is
responsible.
The state governments are not part of this
business, it is the Federal Government, in
conjunction with the oil companies, that has
devastated our region, and whatever
devastation they have done, it is important to
ask for compensation even as we are
demanding for self-determination and the
control of our resources. In our requesting for
self-determination, ownership of our land
and resources is a basic right. We have been
demanding for it for years now.
So, the two issues are extremely important
such that one cannot override the other. This
self-determination struggle will give us the
opportunity to exercise our right to
autonomy or self-government in matters
relating to our local affairs, including
determination of membership, culture,
language, religion, education, information,
media, health, housing, employment, social
welfare, maintenance of community safety,
family relations, economic activities, lands
and other natural resources management
(onshore and offshore), our environment and
entry by non-members, as well as ways of
financing our autonomous activities, as this
will enable us develop and grow at our own
pace without any further interference, under
any form, style or guise.
It is antithetical for President Muhammadu
Buhari, with all due respect, to call for self-
determination for the Palestinian people and
those of the Western Sahara, on behalf of
Nigerians, and to oppose or criminalize the
demand for the same self-determination by
the indigenous peoples of the Niger Delta.
With different agitations, from various groups
across the country, including yours, what
becomes of the future of this country?
I do not know what the future of the country
is. But I know what I expect this country
should be. I wish all of us, the different ethnic
groups that make up Nigeria, will realise that
this nation belongs to us and that we should
make the changes we want, just as Buhari
said we should be the change we want to
see. So, we should stop listening to people
who say they are bringing change for us. We
should determine the change we want. The
future I want for Nigeria is the one that
ensures we stay together as a country and
the different ethnic groups will find space in
the country to operate, no matter how small
or big they might be.
Some of your critics are quick to say that
lack of will on your part is responsible for the
non-actualization of the the Niger Delta self-
determination agitation?
I determine what my will is and my behavior
will determine whether I lack the will to
achieve my action or not. I want self-
determination because I am convinced that is
the only way to go and that conviction has to
be based on something; we were asking for
resource control, but now we want resource
ownership. The two are totally different.
People demand for something and they don’t
get it; if what they are demanding for is half
a glass full and nobody is listening to you,
may be you should demand for a whole glass
full. Since 1998 when Ken Saro-Wiwa died, I
made up my mind that the Niger Delta people
must realize that nobody is going to give us
what we deserve, except we agitate for it and
insist that we get it. So, if we have a
government or group of people that will
understand our issues based on our different
interests and nationalities, may be Nigeria
would have been better than the way it is
now.
Do you think the implementation of the
National Conference recommendations can
address some of these national issues
including your group’s demand?
Yes, I think it will address them. The only
thing we didn’t discussed at the conference
was whether we wanted to stay united or
not. For instance, when you take the issue of
local government, it was suggested that it
should be autonomous to the state so that
you can have 10 or 50 local government
areas in your state but your state must fund
it, the funding should not be from the
Federal Allocation. If the funding for Kano,
which has 44 local governments, is coming
from state, we know they won’t be able to
afford it, but it is done like that because Kano
LGs are funded from the federal allocation.
If you say the president is trying to get
funding for the rehabilitation of the North-east
region, some would also say that when your
son Jonathan was in power, what did you
make of it?
It has been said severally that he did nothing
for Nigeria, particularly northern Nigeria.
However, it is necessary to state that in the
area of education, it is on record that former
President Goodluck Jonathan introduced the
new model of Almajiri system of education
in the North when he initiated, constructed
and furnished about 124 Almajiri Model
Schools through the Universal Basic
Education Commission and the Tertiary
Education Trust Fund, and handed them over
to Adamawa, Borno, Gombe, Bauchi, Yobe,
Jigawa, Kaduna, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Kogi,
Niger, Katsina, Taraba, Nasarawa states
amongst others. Even though we, the Niger
Delta people, are not known to be associated
with any form of Almajiri educational system,
the then President Jonathan still built Almajiri
schools in our area to accommodate the
Hausa-Fulani. It should be noted that
Jonathan never built floating and fishermen
schools for the people of the Niger Delta who
are predominantly fishermen and women, yet
the Hausa-Fulani refuse to appreciate his
contributions.
Still in the area of education, Jonathan
created nine new universities and gave the
North five. It was also during Jonathan’s era
in 2014 that the Food and Agricultural
Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
acknowledged that Nigeria was the world’s
largest producer of cassava with an output
of over 45 million metric tonnes, and the giant
strides in his agricultural revolution in Nigeria
reduced Nigeria’s food importsby over 40%,
and moved the country closer to self-
sufficiency in agriculture. A contributing factor
was the use of mobile phones for the
distribution of fertilizer directly to farmers,
which ended fertilizer racketeering that had
flourished in Nigeria for over four decades.
If truly we are governing as one Nigeria, then
it should not matter. There are some things
that Jonathan did that the North benefitted
immensely from that he didn’t do for his
people. I do not necessarily agree with people
when they say he should have concentrated
on his people. The same very people would
have accused him of doing exactly that. He
purposely didn’t concentrate on his people,
and yet he is being accused of it.
That is why when people are complaining that
the current president was making
appointments and putting his people there, I
told them that he is doing the exact opposite
of what they accused Jonathan of doing. The
president says he is doing that for his people
first based on how he was voted into power.
‘Those that didn’t vote for me, I care less
about them’; now you are complaining. When
Jonathan did the opposite, it still was not
good.
The way Nigeria is, is our fault. We allowed
it. If Jonathan had concentrated on the Niger
Delta, I expected him to, that was why I said
we were disappointed in him. I said it at that
time. But he did the right thing because he
was not a president of the Niger Delta; in the
same manner, Buhari is not a president of his
region, he is for Nigeria. That he is now
becoming the president of those who voted
for him does not mean he is right. So, today,
there is nothing to show that we had a son
from Niger Delta as president. And that is
what Nigeria is saying to us that it was a
crime. If indeed we are one Nigeria, should
we have expected Jonathan to concentrate
his effort on Niger Delta or Nigeria as a
whole?
What is the difference between your group
and Indegenous Peoples of Biafra?
From what I gathered, the Biafra people want
secession. They want a different country.
But we are saying we want self-determination
so that we can control our land and take
responsibility for whatever comes from there.
We can then be paying tax to the Federal
Government; we are not breaking up Nigeria,
we just want to do for ourselves what nobody
will do for us.
That is not different from confederation?
What is wrong in that? What do we have
today? What we have is worse than that. How
can the centre take everything and then
decide what it feels belongs to you? Whether
it is not enough or not, once you have taken
your quota for the month, that is it. It is less
concerned about what happens to you
thereafter. That kind of attitude can never
lead the country well. We cannot have
cohesion with that kind of attitude.
That is why it is very important we begin to
recognize that it is necessary to realize we
are a country made up of different tongues
with different needs at different times. And,
therefore, our development will and must be
determined by our different interests, not by
one person at the helm of affairs at the
centre. Government is to serve the people but
as far as I can remember, government has
always felt that the people are to serve it.
What do you make of the crop of ministerial
appointments made so far by the Federal
Government?
Whatever I say now, meanings would be read
into it, perhaps because of the region I come
from. These ministers have four years; may
God give us life, let us wait and see. We saw
what the ministers before did, let us wait and
see how these ones too will perform.
Daily post.
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