Posted by By Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa on
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has described the recent overhaul of Service Chiefs which led to the replacement of the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Patrick Owoeye Azazi as good riddance to bad rubbish.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has described the recent overhaul of Service Chiefs which led to the replacement of the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Patrick Owoeye Azazi as good riddance to bad rubbish.
According to the South-south based militant group, it saw his replacement coming because he had outlived his usefulness to those who appointed him.
The spokesman of MEND, Jomo Gbomo in a statement said since as Azazi saw the agitation of the militants to correct five decades of injustice as criminality, he would not find peace because he did not use his position to help the Ijaw people.
The statement reads: 'We saw it coming. It is good riddance to bad rubbish. Of course Azazi has outlived his usefulness to those that put him there.
He saw our efforts in righting a five decade wrong as criminality, forgetting that the threat from militants from his ethnic Ijaw tribe caused the highly politicized northern dominated position in the army to be reluctantly given to him. If he decides to spend his retirement in his village where there is no access by road or bridge and see his impoverished kinsmen who gained nothing from his positions, maybe he will reflect on his wasted years. No matter how much his immediate family and himself have benefited from the system, he will never find peace and satisfaction'.
MEND accused Azazi of failing to protect democracy under the Obasanjo presidency and refused to resign even when he realized he was being led to follow a written script to deal with the Ijaws, adding that it is pathetic that he was blind to the injustice meted out to the Ijaws because of his position.
The group noted that Azazi is like the former Director-General of the defunt DFFRI, AVM Larry Koinyan who were out of touch with their people while in position of authority and failed to leave a worthy legacy for the people.
'Gen. Azazi reminds us of the one time head of DFFRI, Air Marshal Larry Koinyan (rtd). Both men are Ijaws who were so out of touch from where they came from. Both men, after leaving office , did not leave a legacy for their people. Gone are the days when one took pride because his or her tribesman occupied a particular political position. Today, most people are wiser. They have realized that the only beneficiaries remain the immediate family of the appointee.
Azazi, sadly stood by and allowed a northern dominated JTF commit extra-judicial killings on youths, raping under-aged girls and spreading disease, disrespecting the traditional rulers and committing senseless uncoordinated attacks on whole communities. He is a disgrace. Moses is an example of a true leader who could not tolerate an injustice even though he was a heir. He sacrificed all the luxury because he was deeply touched by the plight of his people' the statement further said
MEND advised Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan to be wiser and resign in the face of the hijack of power in the presidency by the National Security Adviser (NSA)others 'who are clinging to an outdated Northern agenda of continued domination even when the handwriting of change is on the wall'