South South top politician, Chief Edwin Clark has urged Buhari to shun the use of force in dealing with the rampaging militants.
Edwin Clark
Ijaw leader Chief Edwin Clark has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to follow the footsteps of his predecessors in handling the upsurge in militancy in Niger Delta, The Nation reports.
Clark said the President needed to dialogue to resolve the crisis, instead of applying military might, since the nation’s military had been over-stretched in recent operations.
The Ijaw leader also advised members of the Niger Delta Avenger (NDA) to retrace their steps and embrace dialogue.
He noted that violence never served any good purpose. Clark, who addressed reporters yesterday in Abuja on the rising militancy in Niger Delta, urged former militant leaders, like Tom Ateke and Boyloaf, to quell the crisis.
The Ijaw leader said the recent attacks on pipelines were not in the interest of the region and its residents. He said it was economically wrong to destroy government infrastructure because they also have direct effects on the people and the environment.
Clark called for a meeting of Ijaw leaders from the six coastal states, including the executives of Ijaw National congress (INC) and Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC) Worldwide to discuss what he called the unpatriotic and dangerous upsurge in Niger Delta.
The elder statesman, who said the activities of the Avengers could be quickly resolved, if the President opened a channel of discussions, added: “At this point, I turn to the leaders of our governments, especially President Buhari, to emulate his predecessors and embrace dialogue on the current perplexing issues threatening the peace, possibly the existence, of our dear country.
“How many war theatres can our very limited number of military and security personnel be deployed at the same time? How effective can they be against Boko Haram, IPOB/MASSOB, Fulani herdsmen, kidnappers and, now, Niger Delta Avengers and their likes?
“Violence, even against violence, is not, has never been, the answer. Dialogue is! Let’s all embrace dialogue as the best and only means to achieve an equitable society in which everyone feels a sense of belonging and patriotic commitment.
“I repeat here, as always, that this country belongs to everyone. We have no other country than Nigeria. No one should be treated as first or as second-class citizen, causing some to take up arms to assert their rightful status.”