HOMEF: State of Emergency in Rivers State Unacceptable.
Katherine Abayomi.
Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has frowned at the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s declaration of a state of emergency in River State and suspension of two arms of government.
They stated that the appointment of a sole administrator is nothing but an assault on democracy which will snowball to socio-ecological challenges not just in Rivers State but the entire Niger Delta.
Noting that the action also signifies a grave rupturing of democratic principles, the rule of law, and the expressed will of the people.
Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), in a signed statement by the Media/Communications Lead, Kome Odhomor, strongly rejects the recent declaration of a state of emergency and subsequent military takeover of democratically elected institutions in the State.
Noting that the Delta has not been a hotbed of insurgency and terrorism, has been one of the most militarised regions in the country due to a need to support oil companies in their colonial extractivist modes with unbridled impunity.
They further stated that the history of military rule in Nigeria is particularly underscored by bloodletting and environmental genocide that has left indelible scars in the psyche of the people. Plunging any state into military rule with the attendant abridgement of citizens’ rights is deeply objectionable. This military might have been continually used to underscore the regrettable pointers from the government that crude oil is more valuable than environmental and human health.
The Executive Director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Dr Nnimmo Bassey mentioned that the president’s statement is disturbing, one-sided, and unconvincing.
“Although the actions that led to the murky situation in Rivers State have been a national embarrassment, declaring a State of Emergency worsens the scenario. A return of military rule in any part of the Niger Delta is an egregious assault on the psyche of traumatised people. Any action that awakes the nightmarish memories of 1990 must be condemned in the strongest terms.”
“We will not forget that the region was, and has remained, militarised at the pleasure of multinational oil companies. Communities were levelled, and blood flowed across the land and creeks. In recent months, egoistic barriers have been raised to block dialogue and civility, and militarisation is now hoisted as a panacea to the rotten situation. Will military rule allow the good people of Rivers State to breathe? Is it a ploy to further militarise the region, deepen impunity, and reopen closed wells for barrels of oil under the protection of barrels of guns?
There are many questions to ask and many rivers to cross in Rivers State.”he stated.
Dr Nnimmo further expressing his displeasure mentioned that its very unacceptable, the premise that the State of Emergency became necessary because oil pipelines were being threatened. Governors of the states are not the Commander in Chief of the armed forces.
Moreover, decrepit oil facilities have been blowing up on their own accord, without third party interferences, suggesting that incidents in the oil fields are acts of sabotage without due investigation is spacious.
HOMEF calls on any attempt, through means such as militarisation, to expand oil drilling operations in the Niger Delta using military force or cover. Such attempts should be ill-advised considering the ecological harms in the region that have reduced lives to a mere whisper.
Furthermore, they condemn the secretive divestment processes conducted without transparency or accountability. Demanding the government’s silence on these critical matters as cause for serious concern about potential backdoor deals that may compromise the interests and rights of local
communities and the nation.
The Non governmental organisation calls for a restoration of democratic governance,respect for the rule of law stating that no statutory requirement gives power to the president to replace a democratic institutions .
“We call for the immediate restoration of democratic governance in Rivers state and respect for the rule of law and the Constitutional order because there is nowhere in the Nigerian Constitution that gives the President the power to replace democratic institutions with military
rule. We demand strict adherence to the rule books regarding any resource extraction or divestment decisions and responsible actions that do not undermine our democratic institutions.”
