● ● Says Insecurity in the State is sponsored by Enemies of the Ijaw man
I wish to commend the Rt. Hon. Speaker and members of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly for the emergency sitting today. As a legislature, the public does not expect the House to usurp the functions of the Executive organ of government. However, when the State is faced with security challenges, the House is expected to be proactive in condemning or even register public protest.
I have noted with utmost concern that:
1. Elections are around the corner and there is no doubt that the Centre will put to test our resilience and capacity to contain brazen acts of criminality and terror. These acts are going beyond the level of human endurance.
2. Since the APC Administration came on stream, we have little or nothing to show in terms of federal presence in Bayelsa State. Whereas development sorely lags, all kinds of subversive but subterranean operations are being sponsored by the APC-led Federal Government.
3. This is the first time Bayelsans are facing the stark reality that one Commissioner of Police has to spend less than a month in the State – an attempt orchestrated to funk the security architecture of the Restoration Administration.
4. Bayelsa State has been over-militarized and the enemies of the Ijaw man have forgotten that this is not Vietnam, Iraq or North Korea. What has the Ijaw man done wrong for feeding the nation? Crocodiles in the wild do not smile; pythons in the wild do not dance, but in the imagination of the Federal Government, all these dirty tricks can be experimented preparatory to a scorched earth policy being concocted by the Federal Government. The Ijaw man has never been conquered across time and space.
5. The emergency sitting by the Assembly today should be followed-up by a peaceful protest against the Federal Government. This should be followed by the submission of a Protest Letter to be handed over to the Commissioner of Police on the unacceptable interference by the APC-led Federal Government in destabilizing the State. Copies of the protest letter should be mailed to Amnesty International, the Nigerian Barr Association, Interpol and other proactive Non-governmental Organizations.
Rest assured that you are not alone in this. The proactive enclave of our NGOs will protest against federally-orchestrated militarization, punitive security policies designed to heighten the tempo of insecurity and other covert operations designed to create a climate of fear in the land. The Bayelsa State House of Assembly has our unflinching support. We in Bayelsa State cannot be treated as a conquered territory, and the Federal Government knows this is not acceptable.
Enough is Enough!
