Contending Issues in the Niger Delta Crisis of Nigeria - Journal of ...

Chapter I: Understanding the Niger Delta Conflict: Matters Arising
areas through military or police occupation, harsh laws to ban their
activities, arrest and detention of activists, and harassment and
intimidation of the people. Also, the state play communities against
each other through its policies like the creation of local governments
and the siting of local government headquarters or secretariat. It is
believed that the state is not alone in some of those activities. The
complicity of the oil multinational corporations is also alleged. All the
actions of the government were seen to contradict most of the
promises of the former President that his administration is out:
To heal the wounds of the past and quickly put the
ugly past behind us so as to continue to stretch our
hands of fellowship and friendship to all Nigerians
for complete reconciliation based on truth and
knowledge of the truth in our land (Obasanjo,
1999).
The President went to make his seriousness in moving the country
forward through the maintenance of peace and genuine reconciliation
by asserting that:
We want to reconcile all those who feel alienated by
past political events, heal wounds inflicted on our
people and restore harmony in our country. We
want the injured and the seemingly injured to be
reconciled with their oppressors or seeming
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