Bassey Inyang in Calabar
Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator, Amnesty Programme, retired Brigadier General Paul Boroh, has stated that the blowing up of oil and gas installations by the Niger Delta militants was counter-productive to the region, its economy and its people.
Boroh stated this against the background of the vandalism of oil and gas installations by a militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA).
According to Boroh, the militants who are vandalising oil and gas installations in the country were unwittingly destroying the Niger Delta region and exerting negative economic consequences on Nigeria.
Boro stated these on Wednesday while delivering his address at the graduation ceremony for seventy-two former-militants from the region who undertook training in fish farming at the Institute of Oceanography, University of Calabar.
“You can agitate through various means but not through violence. Blowing up pipelines in the Niger Delta only affects us, our children, our environment and the economy of our country. You can protest peacefully and you will be listened to. We must develop as a country. Nigeria is the only country we have. Any other country you go to you will always be a second-class citizen.
“A strategic thinker never uses his home as a battleground. You have to make sure your resources are preserved. If you damage your place, where will your children stay? What future will we have? Let us not damage our territory. The Niger Delta must develop and we are the only ones that can do it. We must think forward and positively,”Boroh said.
Boroh said with the completion of the training the former militants would contribute towards revamping the nations economy by providing additional employment opportunity.
Further details later
