Audio By Carbonatix
Militants who have fled Nigeria’s troubled oil Niger Delta Region into Ghana say they are ready to offer advice to their hosts on ways to prevent oil-inflicted conflicts.
Ghanaian security analysts have been alarmed by news of the influx of the militants and are already ringing the alarm bells as Ghana readies to cash in on its oil find.
Three of the militants - Samuel Adeleye, ThankGod Frankpaulji Azakiri and Francis Okporo who appeared on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show with Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah on Wednesday, however insist their presence in Ghana is not to foment trouble as is widely feared.
“The best we can do is to offer advice; the best we can do is to make sure that what happened in Nigeria doesn’t happen in Ghana,” Samuel Adeleye said.
He maintained that the militants estimated to be about 3,000 are in Ghana not to foment trouble, but to take advantage of the peace, rule of law and enabling business environment in Ghana.
Francis Okproko said that "the real warlords are back in the trenches in Nigeria", assuring, that they who are in Ghana are of no threat to the country.
They are also courting the Ghana government to persuade the Nigeria government to begin a post amnesty peace programme which will empower residents in the Niger Delta region.
The 'militants' have begun doing business already; ThankGod is a systems engineer - repairs and sells computers and owns an internet café; Samuel Adeleye is a journalist and editor of Next International Magazine while Francis Okporo runs an NGO, Salvage International which takes care of deformed kids.
ThankGod said they have been forced out of the Niger Delta region largely due to the squalor, depravity and careless abandon by governments of Nigeria. All they need is an environment in which they could thrive.
“There is no land to farm, no electricity, no water, but oil spillage everyday ,” he said.
They are also not impressed with the tag of militants given them by the media, saying they are just harmless residents of Niger Delta.
They admitted though that they are freedom fighters, but unlike the warlords in the trenches, they use democratic means to fight for their rights.
Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana
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