EMBRACING NONVIOLENCE ADVOCACY TO PROBLEM SOLVING IN NIGER DELTA

By Rev Oweikeme Peter

It is time for Nigeria to take a new cause, this new cause can not be driven by our leaders, but could be piloted by young passionate leaders and serious minds. The few at the top are the beneficiaries of our old struggle. They cause 70 percent of our people to live in abject poverty.

Our new cause must be a change of mindset and a reformed approach to promote true democracy and not dictatorship, federalism not unitary system of Government, accountability instead of Corruption. We must see this struggle as a second struggle for independence, and we must come together as one, irrespective of political parties.

Our problem today is the LEGAL FRAMEWORK of our country, which has made politics a very lucrative business rather than a move to serve the country. What we have today is a country of super rich leaders and super poor masses,
and it will be foolish for us to wait for the people who have benefited from this constitution to make this change. We have to struggle for this change nonviolently.

Nigeria as a country gained her independence through nonviolence approach. The problem we suffer today isn’t caused by the old but by the young military officers in 1966, after the first Nigerian coup. It should have been our duty, as the masses of Nigeria to make the change we seek for. When our predecessors struggled for independence they didn’t do that with the separation as political party suggests. They did that by coming together with one goal, now is our turn to unite for the liberation of our country Nigeria.

We must be ready to do the GROUNDWORK to change the FRAME WORK of this illegal (Constitution) for NIGERIA to be Prosperous and a true democratic country in the world. To achieve this we must understand the country Nigeria and her problems.

Nigeria is a multi-ethnic country, which means that we are a country of different Nations before the amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914. Nigeria was call the Niger Area, in this Niger Area, there are different nations, e.g Hausa , Yoruba , Igbo, Ijaw , Urhobo , the Tivs and so on. In a real sense, cooperation and working together make a country stronger both in security and economy wise. This was the main reason the British joined all these nations to form Nigeria, today we don’t enjoy the benefits of coming together rather we suffer the problem of separation and division, which are caused by greed and selfishness, permitted by the social structure of our Constitution.

It’s good to remember that we started as 3 regions and after the ex- military President Gowon split this from 3 region to 12 regions, the regions lost their powers to operate as democracy suggest and further more divided into 36 states. And the resources made to build this states are being taken to some minority few by making of the constitution, which claim to unify the people in a unitary system of government but yet claim it’s a Federal System of government as Democracy demands.

Our constitution brings unitary system in the unifying decree to rob the state from controlling 50 percent of the resources it makes as federalism demands.


Before Independence in 1960, the Ethnic Nations in their formations as three regions agreed that they would only unite their regions into a country called Nigeria if the country would be a Federation, plus if that country would be a secular one. The military coups of 1966 terminated that union.

The present day 1999 Constitution being used is a forgery imposed upon Nigerians under the pretense of a real one. It was not made or agreed upon by the people, as it is stated in the constitution and that 1999 Constitution was to actually continue the grand deception of Military Decrees. Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution even as Illegitimate and fraudulent as it is, nevertheless states the universal truism that, the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be a state based on the principles of democracy and social justice. Also in section 14 it started that Sovereignty belongs to the people. That simply means that it is indigenous Ethnic Nations that are kings over their ancestral land and resources, it means that the people decide the type of government they want, so the politicians governing them are their public SERVANTS. Holding on to one’s Sovereignty is all-important, throughout history. The only people whose Sovereignty were snatched from them, are slaves.

It has become a mentality in our society that one must be involved in illegalities to be successful,the growing poverty rate has led majority of Nigerian youths into 419(yahoo) as a means of livelihood. Mainly because of the lack of opportunities in the environment for them to use their potentials in a positive way that will contribute to the country Nigeria.

For long, the desperate response of many Nigerians to the unitary system of government in the name of federalism created by that fraudulent 1999 Constitution is to flee Nigeria. Professionals use the benefit of their skills to escape to Europe, America or Canada. Young people who have the opportunity escape by being a student but with the intention of never to return to Nigeria. The poor and unskilled become illegal migrants seeking which foreign country can have mercy on them and take them in. Some go as far as escaping from Nigeria through the desert and crossing the seas in balloons. Without doubt, that illegitimate 1999 Constitution creates a burden to all except to those who crafted it and are benefitting from it. Instead of fleeing abroad, the elite who have opportunities to go to school to save Nigeria with what they have learnt due to our corrupt way of life today in Nigeria, use their intelligence to help uphold and defend that document(constitution of 1999) with the intention of replacing the leaders one day, even to become a burden on our own country which we are supposed to serve. The more reasonable approach would be the implementation of the laws of true democracy which are the laws of true federalism.

In the past, many people have come in with a manner of change but they got into power and disappointed Nigerians, in fact all the military coups came in such manner but they failed Nigerians when gotten into power, these have made a lot of people loss hope on our dear country Nigeria.

This right can not be given back to Nigerians by our leaders but can be gotten with the spirit of unity of the masses who suffer as a result of the political error.
It is time to shine a light on this political darkness. Politicians orchestrated separation among the masses because our disunity is their strength.
We must separate ourselves from any political Party to achieve this change, because the politicians are all like-minded people who move from party to party to have their way and let the people divided.

HOWEVER, NON VIOLENCE CAMPAIGN IN NIGERIA suggests that we get involved and harness it as the antidote that will make the positive change Nigerians craved for. Political parties cannot help us but break our strength to be united. For example, end SARS was just a signal of the future outcome if this illegal Constitution continues, but for the benefit of Nigerians, we must understand that all political parties are the same because non of them have ever campaigned with the change of Nigeria’s constitution, a major cause of our problems.

This problems have led our people to violence means which have not worked. It was the major cause of Nigeria’s Civil war, militancy and the different agitations of ethnic groups, like IPOB, too many lives have been lost and too much blood shed, yet we struggle to find a balance as a God gifted country Nigeria. According to Rev Martin Luther King Jr, the universe is on the side of justice, except true federalism or these violence agitations will continue from generation to generation until they express regard for our peaceful co-esistence as a country. We must change the foundation of the social document structure of our constitution for the peaceful co-existence of our country Nigeria.

The Government alone tries to settle all the agitation temporarily without true justice by trying to bring in the agitators and settling them and avoiding the root cause of the problem to keep the political game very lucrative.

According to Rev Martin Luther King Jr in conflict resolution says, attack the forces of evil not the person doing evil. As a team we are not against any ethnic group but against injustice that makes it abnormal to live, swimming and eating in corruption. So we use this medium to appeal to Nigerians to come out in their numbers to join us demand for a true reflection of the manifesto of democracy in Nigeria nonviolently.

To say that Nonviolence approach in conflict resolutions was only active in the late 50’s and 60’s that it’s not going to work today, that things are different now, is a failure to understand doctor king’s message and it relevancy. Nonviolence is always a fresh method with potentials to address all human conflicts and injustice in the society.

If it works for Rev Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela, then it’s going to work for us, if sincerely coordinated.

Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people. According to Rev Martin Luther King Jr, accept suffering with out retaliation for the sake of the cause to achieve the goals.

NONVIOLENCE CAMPAIGN IN NIGERIA! We unite for the betterment of Nigeria!