|
|
| Escalation of Niger Delta crisis dominates Nigerian papers
|
|
|
| |
Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) -
The escalation of the perennial crisis in Nigeria's Nige
r Delta oil region so dominated the country's newspapers during the week that li
t
tle or no attention was paid to other big events, especially on the sports scene
.
For the second time in a year, uncertainty envelopes Nigeria's hosting of the FI
FA Under-17 World Cup as world soccer's governing body, FIFA, said the country '
'
is not ready'' to host the global event billed to start in October 2009.
That damning verdict would have made headline news, had it not been that the mil
itary and militants had turned their incessant skirmishes in the oil region to a
full-scale fighting, which started 13 May and has continued till now.
''Niger Delta crisis escalates'' was the way Punch captured the development on M
onday. ''The face-off between the Joint Task Force and militants entered its fif
t
h day on Sunday with an unspecified number of persons, including a pregnant woma
n
, killed,'' the paper reported.
''Fed Govt: Militants killed Lt.-Col, Major, five others'' was the headline in T
he Nation newspaper on Wednesday, quoting federal Attorney-General and Justice M
i
nister Michael Aondoakaa as saying the ambush and killing of the soldiers trigge
r
ed the fighting.
''No country will expose its armed forces to unwarranted attacks. But an attack
when the army has not even shot one time but they have been killed,'' Aondoakaa
w
as quoted as saying.
Writing on the effect of the Niger Delta crisis, which entered into the armed ph
ase in 2006, the Punch reported on Thursday: ''N'Delta: We lose one million barr
e
ls of oil daily - FG''.
''The federal government Wednesday bemoaned the effects of the violence in the N
iger Delta, saying that Nigeria's oil production capacity has dropped by more th
a
n a million barrels per day. Oil sold for about $60 per barrel in the internatio
n
al market on Wednesday, and going by that figure, Nigeria is recording a loss of
about 8.7 billion naira daily,'' the paper reported.
As the pressure mounted on the government to end the fighting, amid claims that
it has killed hundreds, including women and children, and displaced thousands, T
h
e Guardian captured the development thus: ''Enahoro, Soyinka, others want halt t
o
military action in Niger Delta''.
``A barrage of condemnations has continued to trail the rising death toll among
civilians, especially women and children, in the military assault on militants i
n
the Niger Delta.
``Elder statesman and leader of Pro-National Conference Organisation (PRONACO),
Chief Anthony Enahoro, has called for immediate and unconditional stoppage of th
e
military action, while Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has condemned the si
t
uation as 'unconscionable and unacceptable', warning that unless something is do
n
e to halt the killings, it will soon feature in the International Court for crim
e
s against humanity,'' The Guardian reported.
In an attempt to end the crisis, President Umaru Yar'Adua reminded the militants
that the amnesty he announced for them recently was still open. Saturday Guardi
a
n reported the story with the headline, ''Amnesty still open for militants, says
Yar'Adua.''
Perhaps when the fighting ends and the smoke clears, Nigerians will realise the
urgency of the task at hand to ensure that four of the six venues being prepared
for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup are made ready within the next one month, the ul
t
imatum given to Nigeria by FIFA.
The headline: ''FIFA gives Nigeria 30-day ultimatum'' in The Nation, captures th
e development. A FIFA inspection team had named only two venues - in the commerc
i
al city of Lagos and the capital city of Abuja - as being ready to host, while f
o
ur others are not ready.
Last October, Nigeria withdrew from hosting the competition, saying it could not
afford the huge cost of 37 billion naira. After much pressure, President Yar'Ad
u
a rescinded the decision but slashed the hosting budget to 9 billion naira (US$1
=
140 naira).
|
| |
| Lagos - 23/05/2009 |
| |
|
|