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Forwarded by: webmaster@nigerdeltacongress.com
CC: President Olusegun Obasanjo
Dear Fellow Niger Deltans: We, the leaders of Niger Delta organizations in the Diaspora, come to you in this religious season of suffering and reflections for two
purposes. First, we want to assure you that your brothers and sisters who are away overseas all over the world -- in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and
other regions of Africa -- have not forgotten the dangers that now threaten our futures and the very survival of our ancestral heritage in the Niger Delta. We
promise to fight along with you, side by side, for the survival of the Niger Delta and for the reversal of the dangerous policies and practices that besiege our
lands, rivers, and populations. We promise to come to you directly in the next weeks, months, and years, until we are all assured that the evil forces that seek to
ruin us for the sake of our resources turn away from their wrongful plans and policies. We come to you for a more immediate second reason. This is a religious season which enshrines contemplation and reflections in the
midst of suffering. We offer you five poems that reflect on our suffering and pain in the Niger Delta. They also make pronouncements about those who inflict pain on
the Niger Delta and who seem to enjoy our suffering. We think it is proper that we reflect on the meanings of these poems. They have no bullets in them. But they
bear wisdom. We ask that they be taught in our schools. Let our teachers and students study them. They will lay the moral foundation of the projects that we
will
embark upon and about which we will come to you in the next several months. The first of these poems was written by one who labours to call attention to our damaged environment in the Niger Delta and who
resides with you in the Niger Delta. The next two of these painful poems were composed by Niger Deltans in the Diaspora. The fourth was penned by a Briton who was
in the colonial service in Nigeria. The fifth, we stumbled across at the Niger Delta Congress website
and is self explanatory. We believe these poems deliver direct messages to President Olusegun Obasanjo and Chief Bola Ige of the Federal Government of
Nigeria. We have therefore copied this letter and these poems to these powerful men. We do so because we believe these men are supervising their Government's
persecution and victimization of the Niger Delta. We want them to know that Niger Deltans are not fools and that we know those who seek to destroy us. We have also copied this letter to the Union of the Niger Delta and to all the Governors in our region. We want them and our legislators
to stand firm on our common behalf in our present travails. We call on every Niger Deltan to help distribute this letter and these poems to our people at home by
every available means. The five poems are presented below. We salute you all in the good name of the Niger Delta. We wish you good reflections and deep
contemplation in this season that exposes men's inhumanity to their fellow men and women. Sincerely yours, Interim Niger Delta Leadership Group in the Diaspora: WE THOUGHT IT WAS OIL, BUT IT WAS BLOOD By
Nnimmo Bassey
The other day We danced on the street Joy in our hearts We thought we were free Three young folks fell to our right Countless more
fell to our left Looking up, Far from the crowd We beheld Red hot guns We thought it was oil But it was blood We thought it was oil But this was blood Heart jumping Into our mouths Floating on Emotions dry wells We leapt with fury Knowing it wasn't funny Then we beheld Bright red
pools We thought it was oil But it was blood We thought it was oil But this was blood Tears don't flow When you are scarred First it was the Ogoni Today it is Ijaws Who will be slain this next day? We see open mouths
But we hear no screams Standing in a pool Up to our knees We thought it was oil But it was blood We thought it was oil But this was blood Dried tear bags Polluted streams Things are real Only when found in dreams We see their Shells Behind military shields Evil,
horrible evil gallows called oilrigs Drilling our souls We thought it was oil But it was blood We thought it was oil But this was blood The heavens are open Above our head Toasted dreams in flared And scrambled sky A million black holes In a burnt sky But we know our
dreams Won't burst like crude pipes We thought it was oil But this was blood We thought it was oil But this was blood This we tell you They may kill all But the blood will speak They may gain all But the soil will RISE We may die but stay alive
Placed on the slab Slaughtered by the day We are the living Long sacrificed We thought it was oil But it was blood We thought it was oil...... But this was blood ---Nnimmo Bassey ERA, Benin City 1998-1999. Dedicated to Oronto Douglas and the youths of the Niger Delta. A PRAYERFUL RESPONSE TO NIGERIA'S VICE-PRESIDENT ATIKU ABUBAKAR'S MILITARY THREAT AGAINST THE PEOPLE OF THE NIGER DELTA
______________________________________________________________ Nigeria harvests the bulk of its finance-laden resources from its Niger Delta where abundant petroleum oil resources lie beneath
its watery terrain. After forty years of reckless drilling, the lands and water resources of this "rich" but impoverished region of Nigeria have been
ruined, poisoned by oil leakages and uncontrolled flare of gas into its atmosphere. To make matters worse, pipes carrying crude oil to the privileged Northern city
of Kaduna for refinement have ruptured in several places, causing tremendous loss of lives through huge fires gushing from them. Complaints from Niger Deltans about the dangers they experience from the Federal Government's exploitation of their lands and
resources have often been met with scorn. In effect, the Federal Government of Nigeria blames Niger Deltans for the difficulties that they experience. The Almighty
Federal Government of Nigeria has enjoined Niger Deltans to keep law and order over Its properties in their region, failing which they would be punished. The
military invasion and devastation of the town of Odi in Baylesa State of the Niger Delta in late 1999 was a clear warning and signal to the people of the Niger
Delta that the Federal Government of Nigeria would punish Deltans if they did not uphold Its interest in the region. That invasion, considered unjustified by
independent observers, was at the instance of President Olusegun Obasanjo. Less than a year later, his Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, has issued another military
threat against Niger Deltans, warning them of another military action if they failed to protect the oil pipes and other oil-carrying equipment in the region. The following Psalm is a reply to Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the Federal Government from a "Nigerian Publius." May
his prayer be heeded. The Niger Delta’s Answer to Atiku’s Threat – A Psalm Deliver us from our enemies O our God Defend us from those who rise up against us Deliver us from the workers of iniquity And save
us from bloodthirsty men. For look, they lie in wait for our lives The mighty gather against us Not for our transgression nor for our sins, O Lord But
because we want control of the resources You gave us. Forty years they have stolen from us Yet they are not satisfied Forty years they robbed the widows that they created They have
killed the young men so that none should rise up They have polluted the land and the water We can neither farm nor fish. Now they have made an alliance with the powerful To obtain weapons and training Not to enthrone righteousness, nor to glorify Your
name Not to establish justice, but to intimidate and suppress They run and prepare themselves through no fault of ours They have said to themselves Who can stop us? Awake to help us and behold: You therefore O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel Awake to punish all the nations Do not be
merciful to any wicked transgressors. At evening they return They growl like a dog And go all around the nation Indeed they belch with their mouth Swords are in their
lips For they say, “Who hears?” They poured concrete on the desert sand And planted a seed, and said it will not grow. But You, O Lord, shall laugh at them You shall have all the oppressors in derision. We will wait for You, O You our strength For God is our defense Our God of mercy shall come to meet us God shall let us see our
desire on our enemies. Do not slay them, lest our people forget Scatter them by Your power And bring them down O Lord our shield. For the sin of their
mouth and the words of their lips Let them be taken in their pride. And for the cursing and lying which they speak Consume them in wrath, consume them That they may
not be. But we will sing of Your power Yes, we will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning For You have been our defense And refuge in the
day of our trouble To You O our strength, we sing praises For God is our defense Our God of mercy Forgive us our sins in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Nigerian Publius
"Take a reflection on this poem presented to a world audience at the European Peace University, Stadtschlaining, Austria, on
the 30th of March, 2001: 'Towards a Culture of Peace in the Niger Delta.'" Akpobibibo Onduku EPU-Austria. "Dear Chief Bola Ige: "In this strange week in Nigerian politics, Urhobo Historical Society is much honoured to send to you a poem composed by
Harold Smith from the United Kingdom. He wrote his poem in February 2001, following a letter from Urhobo Historical Society to you. You will see in this poem that
Harold Smith holds the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo in very high regard. We suspect that you and Harold Smith share these sentiments about Chief Awolowo, although it
is entirely possible that you may disagree on how the late Chief saw Nigeria." Urhobo Historical Society (April 10, 2001) Coastal Oil and Troubled Waters by Harold Smith Fire in the Delta; Fire in the Land by Orok Edem
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