Fella, I’ll ignore your bait to swing this into name calling as you wont to. Just calm down and enjoy the free Igbo education being given with love.
quote:Our brothers in the east really need to start going to school again. – Olumide
What school, you can’t mean Yoroba education, do you? Didn’t diya claim to be a lawyer yet does not know his left from right. ojo another lawyer (educated?) without legal or basic wisdom is there unable to interpret the law as the khaki land’s chief law enforcer. Oyo House of Assembly despite the avalanche of lawyers in their midst couldn’t calculate two-third of 32. Tafa balogun had Yoroba education too, he’s a Yoroba lawyer let’s not forget that. More names could be added but what use is there since the point is made.
I'll continue my call for Ndiigbo to allow the awusa and Yoroba duke it out on their next fallout, we should stop running to their rescue when they’ve never shown appreciation for all our good deeds towards them. Ndiigbo, mehee nu anya. Only a mentally deprived Yoroba would continue to show support for ndi awusa who constantly use them to achieve power. I've said it many times that without the Yoroba assistance, the nama herders would return to their primitive nomadic lifestyle of eating grass and uncooked dead cows and the rape of six-year-olds, add home invasion and their other annoying habits to the list.
___________________ BIAFRA: The land of my ancestors now, yesterday and always. So it will be! Posts: 2482 | From: Ala Igbo | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged
Thanks many times for sharing this thought provoking article as we can see it couldn't have come from street hustlers. Contrast their logic and sense of direction with the excuses given by the nama bastards then you see who the real terrorists are, all the arab and moslem world. Copy daud?
___________________ BIAFRA: The land of my ancestors now, yesterday and always. So it will be! Posts: 2482 | From: Ala Igbo | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged
posted
Nigeria hostages got malaria, but well treated Reuters Tuesday January 31, 12:58 PM
LAGOS (Reuters) - Four foreign oil workers held hostage for 19 days in Nigeria came down with malaria, but their captors gave them fast food and let them watch television, diplomats said on Tuesday.
The American, Briton, Bulgarian and Honduran boarded a flight from Lagos to London on Tuesday after their release a day earlier from the humid, mosquito-infested swamps of the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria.
"They were preparing local food for the hostages in the first days, but when they complained, the hostage takers brought them prepared food. They even watched TV there," said a diplomat who saw them off at Murtala Mohammed airport in Lagos.
"They all got malaria at the beginning, but they were given some pills last night," he added.
The four men were abducted during an armed assault on an offshore oilfield operated by Royal Dutch Shell on January 11. The militants demanded more local control over the delta's oil wealth, the release of two ethnic Ijaw leaders and compensation for oil pollution.
The Ijaw are the largest ethnic group in the delta, a vast area of mangrove swamps and tidal creeks where impoverished villagers are reluctant hosts to a multibillion dollar industry.
The government has not revealed the terms of their release, but diplomats said it involved a large cash payment, a promise of no military reprisals and more government jobs for the Ijaw. It could also bring leniency for jailed Ijaw militant Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, who is standing trial for treason, they said.
"The terms of the release are classified for now, but some money has been spent," Jonathan Goodluck, the governor of the delta state of Bayelsa, was quoted as saying in Nigerian media.
Diplomats said it was still unclear whether the abduction marked a major escalation of the security risks in Nigeria.
Kidnapping and sabotage are common in the lawless delta, but hostages have historically been released quickly after the payment of a modest ransom.
"So far it is difficult to say whether it is really a new political movement or the same old operation with smarter people behind it," a diplomat said.
"One thing is clear is that it was a well organised group, able to plan well and they targeted foreigners, so it is a worrying precedent."
The kidnapping occurred during a six-week campaign of sabotage against Nigeria's oil industry, which cut output by a tenth for two weeks.
The militants, who communicated regularly by email to the international media, said the hostages were released on humanitarian grounds and attacks would continue.
Some of the lost oil production is already flowing again and Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Edmund Daukoru said operations would return to normal within two weeks.
quote: Edmund Daukoru said operations would return to normal within two weeks.
Does he really think so?
___________________ Biafra is inevitable.Illegitimis nil carborundum. Posts: 760 | From: europe | Registered: Jan 2005
| IP: Logged
posted
That Daukuro guy is living in a fool's paradise, one day they were calling those kidnappers terrorist another day, Obasanjo is paying them a large sum of money. So far it is Ijaw militant 1-0. Obasanjo and his gustapo are down with time running out and no time out and no 2 minute warning.
posted
This is laughable! I thought some confused people on this board told us that MEND was fighting to take back control of "Niger-Delta land and resources?" What happened?
We are looking at nothing more than a bunch of idiotic terrorists and kidnappers who who are looking for crumbs from Abuja. Even their manifesto reads like the creation of rain forest voodoo priests. "MEND" is pathetic.
Posts: 449 | Registered: Mar 2001
| IP: Logged
posted
Nigeria must no longer be dumb to the issues facing the oil producing states before it gets out of hand. Some of you are laughing because they are not sophisticated and lacks intel in their logistics. Today it is Niger Delta terrorist in the jungle, tommorrow, it will be Niger Delta terrorism in the cities. It is just a matter of time,they will start bombing buildings and city centers to prove a point. Terrorism has become a global market for idealogical struggle. They are predominantly moslems of satanic faith or Middle Eastern loose screws but they also come as copy cats for rage against the machine. Nigeria will be worse off if the Niger Delta become the urban legend. By the way, why do I care what happens to Nigeria? Bits me.
Hail Biafra
[ February 01, 2006, 03:49 AM: Message edited by: Waypoint1Biafra ]
Posts: 1673 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
| IP: Logged
quote:Those of you think that ragtag Nigeria soldiers will dislodge this Ijaw chaps, are in for a rude awakening. Nigerian soldiers are ill equiped, less fed, how can a hungry soldier fight. On the other hand, the ijaw chaps are used to hardship, and are not fazed with Obasanjo helicopters. -Biafra posted 27 January 2006
Mazi Biafra, i will tend to agree with you in above assesment. What is most crucial in any fighting unit or army is the morale, or will to fight. While the morale on the side of the freedom fighters is high because they are fighting for their right and on the side of ideology and patriotism, the fedral troops on the other hand are on low morale, they can see no real reason to fight for and see no gain to warrant the risk of their life and limb. Those who will gain from the fedral soldiers sacrifice are safe in climatised office at abuja. Thus the fedral troops ,no matter their technological supperiority, are at an inherent disadvantage on the psychological level. This is coupled with the nature of the terrain, which poses another inherent disadvantage to the fedral troops, being as it is very much the ideal ground for gurrellia tactics and other subversive operations. The way I see it, the more Obasanjo pumps in fedral troops into the niger Delta, the more he will get into trouble. Looks like Obasanjo could be on self destruct.
___________________ Biafra is inevitable.Illegitimis nil carborundum. Posts: 760 | From: europe | Registered: Jan 2005
| IP: Logged
posted
Brother Ochiwar, you are a through Ochiwar true and true. OBasanjo is devoid of reality, being in Aso Rock have isolated Obasanjo from how real people in Nigeria live.
posted
“US Director of National Intelligence, John Negroponte, has warned that any attempt by President Olusegun Obasanjo to perpetuate himself in power beyond 2007 could lead to political strife and eventual breakup of the country. This was contained in the United States’ “Annual Threat Assessment” conducted by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.”
Whether Obasanjo imposes himself a third term on the nations that make up the ‘British Birthed Abomination’, is immaterial, what is important is that the breakup of the abomination is eminent!
The question that the nations that make up that abomination, especially the Igbo, must answer is, are you ready for the eventual collapse of that Abomination? The Muslim North are already set to implement the Islamic Republic of Arewa, will you be caught with your pants down? Will the same so called leaders that nearly destroyed your nations, find ways to continue with their selfish goals of remaining in power with the sole aim of milking your nations dry at all costs? Will your new republics continue as Nigeria under a new name or are you ready to break with the past and for the first time consider the welfare of your people (to the Igbo this means going back to the time tested culture and tradition of our ancients, those geniuses that gave the world civilization, democracy, rule of law and One God - as Ekwe Nche has continued to remind us : www.ekwenche.org)? Are we talking about new banana republics, that will continue to shame the black race just like nigeria has continued to do since its forced inception, or new countries that Africans worldwide will point to with pride?
You only have one bit at nation building, May ChiUkwu open our eyes – ISEEEEE!
****
The Times of Nigeria
3rd Term: US Intelligence Director Warns of Chaos, Secession In Nigeria! BY Sunny Ofili DATE : Friday, 03 February 2006
US Director of National Intelligence, John Negroponte, has warned that any attempt by President Olusegun Obasanjo to perpetuate himself in power beyond 2007 could lead to political strife and eventual breakup of the country. This was contained in the United States’ “Annual Threat Assessment” conducted by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.The office was created to coordinate intelligence gathering amongst all US agencies after the September 911 attack on the United States.Negroponte’s chilling comment came two days after President George W. Bush called for the US to end its "addiction to oil", he said the combination of rising demand for energy and instability in oil-producing regions "is increasing the geopolitical leverage of key producing states".Negroponte, who was testifying before the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said that the 2007 elections in Nigeria would be the most important election on the African horizon. The vote, he said, has the potential to reinforce a democratic trend away from military rule—or it could lead to major disruption in a nation suffering “frequent ethno-religious violence, criminal activity, and rampant corruption.”He said that speculation that President Obasanjo will try to change the constitution so he can seek a third term in office is raising political tensions and, if proven true, threatens to unleash major turmoil and conflict. “Such chaos in Nigeria could lead to disruption of oil supply, secessionist moves by regional governments, major refugee flows, and instability elsewhere in West Africa,” according to Negroponte.However, Negroponte stated that, “Some good news is coming out of Africa” but warned that the continent remained a potential recruiting ground for terrorists.“In much of the continent, humanitarian crises, instability, and conflict persist. Overlaying these enduring threats are the potential spread of Jihadist ideology among disaffected Muslim populations and the region's growing importance as a source of energy. We are most concerned about Sudan and Nigeria.”
Posts: 166 | From: chicago | Registered: Jun 2003
| IP: Logged
posted
Nigeria braces for outbreaks of unrest By Dino Mahtani in Lagos Published: February 7 2006 18:42 | Last updated: February 7 2006 18:42
nigeria oilThe commander of Nigeria’s military operation in the oil-rich Niger delta has warned of more unrest there as Africa’s biggest oil producer and most populous nation heads towards national elections next year. ADVERTISEMENT
Brigadier General Elias Zamani is acutely aware of how electoral politics can disrupt Nigerian oil output. Indeed, the 54-year-old was appointed to command thousands of troops after an ethnic uprising in the delta in the run-up to 2003 elections forced a 40 per cent cut in the production of the world’s eighth largest oil exporter.
The kidnapping of four foreign oil workers and co-ordinated attacks against oil facilities in recent weeks have cut production and left several soldiers dead, once again demonstrating the industry’s vulnerability.
Heightened ethnic and political tensions ahead of next month’s national census and the 2007 elections are a worry for both multinational oil companies and Nigeria, which produces about 2.5m barrels of oil a day.
Nigeria on Wednesday is expected to conclude bidding for new offshore oil contracts, many of them outside the delta region.
“We have to prepare for the worst when a major event is coming up like the census,” General Zamani told the FT at his military base in the delta town of Warri.
Echoing the fears of the multinationals, John Negroponte, US national intelligence chief, said last week that the 2007 elections “could lead to major disruption in a nation suffering frequent ethno-religious violence, criminal activity and rampant corruption”.
At the root of the delta’s insecurity is local animosity towards the government and the multi-billion-dollar oil industry.
The Ijaw tribe, who make up most of the delta’s 20m people, say they have been cheated out of their oil wealth. Ijaw militants involved in the 2003 crisis still complain that their people are under-represented politically because of skewed census figures and rigged ballots.
Despite the end of 15 years of military rule in 1999, electoral violence and rigging have marred Nigeria’s last two elections and corruption and political thuggery remain a part of daily life.
The delta’s complex maze of creeks is home to armed groups, many of which have been armed by political figures to garner influence ahead of previous elections.
They have used the proceeds of stolen crude oil to build up sizeable arsenals, including rocket launchers, which were used in a recent attack against a facility operated by Shell, Nigeria’s largest oil producer, said Gen Zamani.
But Nigeria is not planning to increase its troop presence in the delta, according to Gen Zamani. Analysts claim this is partly due to a lack of military capacity. Experts believe 200 patrol boats would be needed to secure the 112,000 sq km of the delta, but Nigeria has only a fraction of that capacity. The navy has itself come under scrutiny after two admirals were sacked over the disappearance of a tanker impounded for oil theft.
Meanwhile, President Olu-segun Obasanjo has dismissed notions that unrest could affect oil investment. By contrast, a recent report commissioned by Shell said the company could by 2008 be forced to leave the delta, where an estimated 1,000 people are killed every year.
Mr Obasanjo’s confidence reflects his belief that he can resolve such crises.
The release of four expatriate hostages last week was secured at high level behind closed doors, according to sources close to the negotiations.
Analysts say this shows that the delta’s grassroots grievances are being exploited by political players at the national level. The danger is that delta tensions could be manipulated by Mr Obasanjo’s enemies to force political concessions in the run-up to elections.
Loyalties are mixed. The same armed groups who espouse Ijaw rhetoric are in some cases empowered as double agents on behalf of the government or used by other political figures. Despite the apparent co- ordination of the latest attacks, industry officials also fear a security dilemma posed by different armed groups without a central command structure.
Meanwhile, many soldiers are on edge. They have previously cracked down hard in response to attacks on them in the delta. In 1999, scores were massacred in the town of Odi after soldiers were killed. Last year, a major reprisal took place on another delta community.
posted
Oka ka! quote: The question that the nations that make up that abomination, especially the Igbo, must answer is, are you ready for the eventual collapse of that Abomination? ..................................Oha Ka
yes! you see this Report calls for contigency measures. the tension in the Land is so high that nobody can tell in what Form its going to start-massacre or pogrom or genocide, but one thing is sure- there is going to be bloodshed and killings- and igbos should blame themselves if they allow themselves despite all these Warnings to be caught unawares and unprepared! the Niger Deltans are already far ahead in the preparation, the yorubas via OPC have stock pilled huge ammunition for eventualities, the North has a standing Army in neigbouring Niger rep. and Chad.and they are training rigorously for possible take over of Abuja etc. Danger also exit here for the igbos since some of these fighters are foreigners and can not differentiate between a yoruba( their main target) and an igbo or efik, ijaw, edo etc. you see the analysis and expiereince of ruwandan Genocides where more than half a Million was brutally butchered concludes that if these people were armed with anything say Pistoles atleast about 300- 400 thousands would not have just die like that! there is need to start Arming and training igbos outside igbo Land and setting up a protective Force in igboland itself- predictably Obasanjo will be jittery and will send his ill motivated soldiers to prevent the establishment of such a force- but forget it! - you see there is at the moment tens of thousands of heavy and small machine Guns in the hands of Ijaws and they are acquiring more day by day for their people and their Force. in the night they go freely with their arms, and in the day they hide it off. they have nigerian military and police uniform to put on incase they have to go somewere in the day with their weapons. for 4 years now since the hunts, Obasanjos ill motivated and hungry security operatives have not been able to recover even 1 single riffle from them!! so if igbos want to set up a force, that will be there and yet ousiders will not know that they are there- is just a matter of will. i just hope Ohaneze and others will read this and start implenting something.people should simply look beyond Obasanjo !
Now you’re talking, son! You’ve written like one with all his faculties still intact. I hope you keep this newfound thought going for appreciable while. Let us collectively address the Igbo situation first and foremost. When it comes down to being counted for Igbo defense force you can bet your bottom Euro that this old hog will be their and standing. No ifs, buts, how, about it, I’ll be there! Just like Aburi, Ghana, ON THIS WE STAND.
___________________ BIAFRA: The land of my ancestors now, yesterday and always. So it will be! Posts: 2482 | From: Ala Igbo | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged
posted
**** From the Archives **** (Written while I was a member of the discussion group BF)
"Are you ready for a revolution?" Feb. 29, 2004
“By agreeing to be part of the discussion group BAF, you have agreed that it must be achieved peacefully. Now that you are a member of BAF, it is important that you get together with like minded Biafrans in your area and start discussing issues related to our New Republic of Biafra based on more than thousand years old time tested Igbo philosophy.”
Ndeewo Ada-Eze Oruh na Maazi Onyekwere,
The older members of this forum will recognize the quotation above, this was the part of the e-mail to every new member to the discussion forum – Biafraland, before I beat a hasty retreat to attend to other issues since it appeared that we were not ready to actualize Biafara. It is good that we are finally ready to come together and hopefully finally complete this very easy mission – THE ACTUALIZATION OF BIAFARA!
Yes, Umu Igbo, it is simple, in fact very simple. The job was completed five years back. This was supposed to be a two year project, now we have entered the seventh year and going into the eight year. Did Yah not give us the yam and the knife, is it not up to us to decide who eats or who does not eat. If we decide that the abomination Nigeria dies today, will it not die? Is Nigeria not already dead?
Yes, the revolution started seven years ago, but as our fore-parents said, “when a person awakes is his/her morning”. It is good that some of us have finally gotten the message.
Please go back to the quotation above:
1.) Get together with like-minded brethren and start discussion groups or call it organization and start studying what it means to be Igbo. These organizations can be all male, all female, mixed, etc.
2.) The more organizations formed the better (this way not all the organizations can be wrong and not all can be bought – like it or not those who do not wish Igbo well are already in our mist and will do anything to either buy or destroy our organizations. By having as many organizations as possible, it will be impossible to target all of them! ALSO OUT OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS WILL COME THE LEADERS OF BIAFARA.
3.) Every organization must be completely independent and equal to all others, NO ORGANIZATION CAN BE MORE EQUAL THAN THE OTHER.
4.) The Bible of this revolution: Leadership Series by Ekwe Nche (call it Igbo 101) is a must study guide for every organization.
5.) Truth must not and cannot be compromised, no matter who is involved (remember we are not calling for the lynching of any one) or this revolution will fail. There must be no SACRED COWS, NO ONE MUST BE ABOVE THE LAW, Biafara must be an example and pride of not just the Black world but of the whole world!
6.) “Eziokwu bu Ndu – truth is the foundation of Life” must be our mantra, there must be no compromise on truth.
7.) We must all (bar none) relearn what it means to be Igbo and learn how to stand immovable on TRUTH!
8.) To our organizations in Igbo Land, this must be a low energy campaign, talk about Igbo, start Igbo study groups, and carry the message of Igbo renaissance to every nook and corner of Ala Igbo. Help the traders, farmers, students, and college students, start their own organizations, present them with the leadership Series. WE MUST HAVE A WELL INFORMED OHA, this revolution belong to OHA and OHA alone!
9.) Those of us in Diaspora will do the High Energy work.
There are some other steps that will be put in play as soon as OHA is ready, and believe you me, no Igbo, no matter what they believe in or who they work for will stand in the way when we are ready, that Umu Igbo is a promise.
Maazi Emeka Onumonu
Posts: 166 | From: chicago | Registered: Jun 2003
| IP: Logged
If Aluko wants ********************1.com linked from BNW, Aluko should link BNW at ********************1.com Posts: 66 | From: Kalamazoo, Michigan | Registered: Nov 2001
| IP: Logged
posted
BBC Last Updated: Tuesday, 21 February 2006, 08:45 GMT
Nigeria's shadowy oil rebels
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, which has threatened "total war" in Nigeria's main oil-producing region and is behind the recent kidnapping of oil workers is a shadowy group, about which little is known.
The BBC's Abdullahi Kaura Abubakar managed to meet one of the group's leaders, who used the alias Major-General Godswill Tamuno.
But he refused to be interviewed on tape or for his location to be disclosed.
Our correspondent says the "general" was not visibly armed and you could easily walk past him in the streets without noticing him.
Mend's leaders like to be faceless, our reporter says, and they usually send statements to the media via e-mail.
Yet their threats and attacks on oil installations in the region have caused a 15% cut in Nigeria's oil output and a surge in world oil prices.
Support
Mr Tamuno told our reporter that Mend was fighting for "total control" of the Niger Delta's oil wealth, saying local people had not gained from the riches under the ground and the region's creeks and swamps.
He said the Delta had been exploited for the benefit of other parts of Nigeria and foreign companies and ordered all oil companies and Nigerians whose roots lie elsewhere to leave the region.
Nigeria's oil hope and despair
This argument has been made by several other militant groups who have staged attacks in the Niger Delta in recent years.
Nigeria is one of the world's biggest oil exporters and yet most Delta residents live in poverty.
There are few major roads in the area and even fewer decent hospitals.
The group enjoys considerable local support and it is difficult to pinpoint exactly who is a member, our reporter says.
But unlike at least one other group, Mend has not specifically called for the Niger Delta to secede from Nigeria.
Oil thieves
This was one of the demands of Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, the leader of another militant group which said it was standing up for the rights of the Niger Delta's biggest community, the Ijaws.
Last year, his threats of open warfare against foreign oil companies caused similar turbulence on the world markets.
He was invited to the capital, Abuja for a meeting with President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He operated quite openly and after talking about independence once too often, he was arrested and is in custody, awaiting charges of treason.
Another Mend demand has been for the release of Mr Asari but they insist they are a separate organisation.
However, Mr Asari's Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force has gone quiet recently and it is quite likely that at least some of his supporters are behind the new group.
While Mend and the other militant groups claim to be standing up for Delta residents, some locals say they are just oil thieves.
The region is home to a huge industry of stealing oil and selling it on the black market.
This trade is believed to fund the purchase of weapons.
___________________ Biafra is inevitable.Illegitimis nil carborundum. Posts: 760 | From: europe | Registered: Jan 2005
| IP: Logged
posted
Nigerians Make Demands, With Hostage's Support Militants, U.S. Captive Address Press on Water
By Craig Timberg Washington Post Foreign Service Saturday, February 25, 2006; Page A11
OKERENKOKO, Nigeria Feb. 24 -- Nigerian militants who last week abducted nine foreign oil workers, including three Americans, demanded Friday that their government commit to jump-starting development in their chronically poor, southern region, which derives little apparent benefit from its vast oil fields.
"We are not troublemaking people," one of the militants told a group of reporters, "but if they want trouble, we will give them trouble."
58-year-old Macon Hawkins from Kosciusko Texas, held hostage and surrounded by militants, speaks to journalists in the Niger Delta area Friday, Feb. 24, 2006. (George Osodi - AP)
The militants allowed one of the American hostages to speak to the journalists. Despite the weaponry arrayed around him, Macon Hawkins, 68, of Kosciusko, Tex., appeared to be in good spirits and said he and the other hostages were safe. But he urged President Bush and the United Nations to help resolve the increasingly violent standoff between the Nigerian government and the people of this restive area.
"They get nothing out of the oil, and they produce all of the oil," Hawkins said of the Niger Delta residents. "They're tired of it, so they're going to fight, and they're going to fight until death."
He added, "Tell President Bush we want to get this thing settled."
Hawkins joked with the journalists about the group's conditions in captivity, which include air-conditioned rooms to sleep in and noodles for meals. He said he had been provided with medicine to control his diabetes and that the other eight hostages were being treated so well they were getting "fat and sassy."
"All is well," he said. "I just hope it ends well."
The militants, who declined to give their names, arrived at the meeting on the water near this riverside village in several powerboats and wearing camouflaged tops, black hoods and colorful pieces of cloth tied around their arms. Many people in this region believe the cloth strips protect wearers against attacks.
In addition to belt-fed machine guns and Kalashnikov assault rifles, the militants had rocket-propelled grenade launchers. As they approached, they made a series of dramatic circling maneuvers and encouraged journalists, who were in two boats of their own, to take pictures as the white flags of the militants' movement whipped in the breeze.
Gunmen abducted the nine oil workers -- three Americans, two Thais, two Egyptians, a Briton and a Filipino -- from a barge on Feb. 18. All were working for Willbros Group Inc., an oil services company headquartered in Panama. The attack came just weeks after four other foreign oil workers, including one American, were released after 19 days in captivity.
A newly emergent militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, has asserted responsibility for those kidnappings and also for attacks on oil installations that have cut the country's exports by 20 percent. Nigeria, which normally exports 2.5 million barrels a day, is the fifth-largest supplier of oil to the United States.
The militants complained bitterly about conditions in the Niger Delta, an area that has had little development in decades despite being home to the oil that provides the bulk of the nation's foreign export earnings. The delta has a marked shortage of schools, hospitals, roads, bridges and sources of clean water. It was part of the southeastern region that sought to break away from Nigeria during the 1967-70 Biafran war.
The militants said they would not release the hostages until a new agreement to develop the region was in place and had been witnessed by Bush.
"We are fighting for justice," one of the men said. "We, the Niger Delta people, are fighting for our rights."
They called for the Nigerian military to abandon the area and for the government to release two of the region's leaders: Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, who was jailed on charges of treason in September, and a former state governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, who was arrested in Britain on money laundering charges last year but fled to Nigeria, where he was rearrested.
Hawkins, white-haired and wearing a checked, button-down shirt, appeared almost jovial. He noted that his birthday was approaching on March 1 and spoke with seeming contentment of the rhythms of life as a hostage.
"We're always looking forward to teatime," he said with a smile.
The men guarding Hawkins interrupted him only once, after reporters asked him to describe his capture. He began describing a scene at an oil barge, but a man wielding a rocket-propelled grenade launcher began yelling at him angrily, and Hawkins stopped.
A few minutes later, though, he seemed relaxed again, sipping from a box of orange juice. When asked what he would say to his wife back home in Texas, Hawkins replied, "I hope I see her soon."
___________________ Biafra is inevitable.Illegitimis nil carborundum. Posts: 760 | From: europe | Registered: Jan 2005
| IP: Logged
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
