Posted by From FEMI FOLARANMI, Yenagoa on
Bayelsa State Governor, Timipre Sylva has kicked against the statement that Northerners are parasites declaring that the Niger Delta region as a whole does not hold such opinion.
Bayelsa State Governor, Timipre Sylva has kicked against the statement that Northerners are parasites declaring that the Niger Delta region as a whole does not hold such opinion.
The leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF), Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari had triggered the controversy in an interview accusing the Northerners of being parasites, sucking Niger Delta oil.
The statement had provoked mixed reactions with the Niger State Governor, Muazu Babangida Aliyu saying the North could do without the oil from the Niger Delta.
But joining the argument Sylva explained that while he respected every Nigerian to hold his or her personal opinion, the statement that Northerners were parasites was not shared by majority of the Niger Delta people.
According to Sylva, the era Nigeria was in did not call for statements that would heat up the polity but those that would promote unity even in diversity.
His words: 'The statement credited to Dokubo-Asari is his personal opinion that does not represent the view of the well-meaning people of the Niger Delta.
'While I respect the right of any Nigerian to freely hold and express opinion on any issue of interest, I believe Dokubo-Asari's statement is not the language of politics. In this age and time, what Nigeria needs is objective negotiation and cooperation of all the geopolitical zones and ethnic nationalities.'
Sylva who acknowledged that the region had genuine grievances being pursued through legitimate methods, cautioned against trivializing the Niger Delta question with statements of emotion.
'We do not subscribe to the creation of avenues for the confusion or trivialization of the fundamental question of the Niger Delta, which, as the whole world has acknowledged, borders on justice, not sentiment or emotion,' he said.
Sylva advocated fiscal federalism, adding that the corruption of the principle of federalism was what had led Nigeria to where it was.
The Bayelsa governor spoke further: 'I believe it is only just, fair, and equitable that we return to fiscal federalism and restore the country to the path of peace, development and justice.
'As a people, the time has come to distinguish between the legitimate grievances and aspirations of the peoples of the Niger Delta and the private agenda of individuals or groups.'