The Kidnap Of Asari Dokubo
Seven years ago, very few people in Rivers State knew his name, let
alone in Nigeria. But his profile as of today is intimidating, as a
champion of the people of Niger Delta. Many people felt he was a common
criminal when he first emerged from the bushes of the Niger Delta. The
extraction and drilling of petroleum in Nigeria, especialy in the Niger
Delta may have been the course of his struggle, being the largest
industry and main generator of GDP in the West African nations.
The British discovered oil in the Niger Delta in the late 1950s. The
crude-oil industry has been characterized by political and economic
indecency. This followed sooth to the present day Nigeria due to a long
history of corrupt military regimes and complicity of multinational
corporations, notably Royal Dutch Shell.
The Nigerian government and its oil corporations and oil-dependent
Western countries are too slow to implement reforms aimed at aiding a
desperately under-developed areas in Nigeria, especially the Niger
Delta. Since the 1950s the oil was handled by misapproperiation, it was
in the early 1990s that the situation was given international attention
following the murder of playwright and environmental activist Ken
Saro-Wiwa by the General Sani Abacha military junta, led to the
immediate suspension of Nigeria from the Commonwealth of Nations. There
is still human rights and environmental degradation. The Nigerian
government and the companies actions are abetting to the unsustainable
environmental deformity that petroleum extraction has wrought.
Typically referred to simply as Asari, he is a major political figure.
Though, of the Ijaw ethnic group. He was president of the Ijaw Youth
Council for a time beginning in 2001 and later founded the Niger Delta
People's Volunteer Force. According to Asari, the struggle of the NDPVF
is to retrieve and regain the stolen sovereignty of the various nation
states, which was started by the doyen and everlasting hero of their
struggle; the patriot Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro of the Niger Delta
People’s Volunteer Service declared the Niger Delta People’s Republic in
January 1966.
This group today became one of the most prominent armed groups operating
in the Niger Delta region. Asari is a devout Muslim who was with
populist views and an anti-government stance that made him a hero
amongst certain members. Asari was an outspoken admirer of Osama bin
Laden, for the terrorist’s al Qaeda's struggle against the West. Asari
in the same vein drew parallels with al Qaeda, between his wars against
the Nigerian government.
Born Dokubo Melford Goodhead Jr. in 1964 into a middle class Christian
family headed by a court judge and a housewife, who also had five other
children. Asari received both primary and secondary education in Port
Harcourt and was accepted into law school at the University of Calabar
but dropped out after only three years in 1990. Asari would always
incite that his chickening out of the school was his always friction
with the authorities. Would he also incite that he made other attempts
to complete his education but his activism caused him to quit on his
degree at Rivers State University of Science and Technology for reasons
similar to those at Calabar? As of 2005, Asari had two wives.
Asari converted to Islam and changed his name to Mujahid Dokubo-Asari
after dropping out of school. In the 1990s he spent a chunk of his time
and energy attempting and running to become a politician for two
political offices in Rivers State in 1992 and 1998 but failed to win on
both occasions. The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) was formed in 1998, as soon
as Asari failed in his official political pursuit. Asari, as a founding
member of IYC, was appointed to the vice-presidency of the organization.
With annoyance, the organization issued the Kaiama Declaration in
November.
In its bid, the group expressed long-held Ijaw concerns about the loss
of control of their homeland and their own lives to the Nigerian state.
It also mentioned the effects of oil companies operating in the region.
This threatened the oil companies in the Niger Delta to suspend
operations and withdraw from Ijaw territory. “To struggle peacefully for
freedom, self-determination and ecological justice,” was the IYC pledge.
By December 28, IYC prepared a campaign of celebration, prayer, and
direct action called, 'Operation Climate Change.' But the Nigerian
government responded with an immediate crackdown on the group. Noticing
what the government has done, whether by democracy or by autocracy,
Asari took the helm-of-affaris of the IYC's president in 2001 and led
the group to pursue an agenda of called, "Resource Control and Self
Determination By Every Means Necessary".
By 2004 Asari had retreated into the bush to create the Niger Delta
People's Volunteer Force (NDPVF). Asari saw this group, NDPVF, as a
major catalyst for unrest in the Delta region. The militant group was
funded in large part by local and regional politicians. These
politicians sought great profits from the region's oil revenue. With the
support the NDPVF had, it quickly escalted an armed conflict with a
rival group, known as the Niger Delta Vigilante (NDV).
The NDV was also seeking to control the Niger Delta's oil resources.
Combat between the two militant groups were concentrated primarily in
Warri and incesantly in the oil-rich Port Harcourt. The groups engaged
in oil bunkering. Later there was a change in political formations by
the NDPVF. And this change caused the group's former sponsors to
withdrew their financial support. The sponsors began fielding funds to
the rival NDV. This angered Asari-led NDPVF. The group then made a
declaration of "all-out war" against the Nigerian state. NDPVF threatened to attack oil wells and pipelines by companies
operating in the area. The companies withdrew most of their personnel
from the Niger Delta. This resulted to a massive drop in oil production
of 30,000 barrels per day and pushing up the price of petroleum
worldwide significantly.
Due to the crisis this precipitated, Nigerian ex-President Olusegun
Obasanjo called Asari and the leader of the NDV, Akeke Tom to Abuja. The
call was called, “for peace talks”. The peace talks became a large
failure, following Asari’s refusal to endorse the legitimacy of the
Olusegun Obasanjo government of 2003 elections. Asari did this
considering his public support. The public support was for the self
determination of his native Ijaw people and independence for the Niger
Delta. Asari was arrested. Not only was he arrested, he was charged with
treason by the federal government.
When Asari was arrested, different Ijaw groups met at Olu-Kperebo in
Gbaramatu Kingdom of Warri, South-West in the Western Delta to protest
the attempt on his life on May 22nd and October 12th 2003 by the
Obasanjo regime. Asari being the President of the Ijaw Youth Council
(IYC), the various Ijaw groups felt that it was an outrage by the
Nigerian state to kill their president. At that meeting, several leaders
of the organizations such as Government Ekpenkpolo, British Columbus
Ebipade, Alhaji Muhammed Powell, Awala George, Boma George, Farah
Dagogo, Richman Nyimbrin, Commander Andabofah Opunamah, Sunny Tari,
Tamunokuro Princewill, Bob-Manauel Monima, Eleye Princewill, Borotu
Braide, Odepupenibra and Dan Moscow etc. were there.
Following public outcry over the arrest after Obasanjo left power, on
14th June 2007, Asari was released on bail as part of new President
Umaru Yar'Adua's pledge to try and bring peace to the Niger Delta
region. Since his release, Asari now seeks to work with the federal
government than carrying gun in the Niger Delta grooves fighting the
government he has in many occassions accused of not ameliorating the
problems of his people. Is he not a runaway soldier? Is he not kidnapped
by the Federal Government to shutup? What will the doyen and everlasting
hero of the struggle, patriot Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro of the Niger Delta
People’s Volunteer Service who declared the Niger Delta People’s
Republic in January 1966 say in the grave?
By Odimegwu Onwumere
Onwumere, poet and author,
is of Nigeria4BetterRule, Rivers State.
(08032552855).