Avengers' Threat: Northern Pioneer SAN Begs Militants to Embrace Dialogue

 

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

 

A nonagenarian and a pioneer Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in the northern region of the country, Alhaji Abdulganiyu Folorunsho Abdulrazaq, has urged militants under the aegis of Niger Delta Avenger to rescind their plans to resume bombing of oil facilities in the region.

He advised the warring group to consider the ruins the recent threat could cause Nigerian economy if it made good the resumption of the hostility.

Niger Delta Avengers few days ago threatened to begin mass attack on oil pipelines in what it described as failure of the federal government to meet its demands.

Abdulrazaq, who spoke through his son, Dr Alimi Abdulrazaq, at a special lecture commemorating his 90th Birthday in his Ilorin at the weekend said grievances are better channeled with absolute decorum and dialogue.

He said he was conversant with the suffering of the people of Niger Delta but warned that violence could only aggravate the situation on the ground.

Abdulrazaq, a former Nigeria envoy to Ivory Coast, however said it was imperative for the Federal Government to take drastic action on their plight.

“My father knows exactly what the people of Niger Delta are suffering and we must express our grievances with decorum not with violence”, he said.

The frontline legal icon called on the government to develop policies that would meet the interest of the people by adequately utilising natural resources abound in the country.

He also urged the government to make job available for teeming unemployed youths through equitable distribution of resources, saying this would enhance national development.

Abdulrazaq said to government, “Ensure that you involve policies that are in the interest of the people, ensure that there is good employment for our people, adequate resources for our people. He (my father) always tells me that we have the capacity and we have the resources to exploit, develop and utilize for the betterment of people.

“National development starts from the Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution. It emphasizes principle of equality. That is where the beginning of any governance starts from; meaning that you must govern and be guided by defence for our people. You must ensure our people derive the best from the resources we have”.

The special lecture commemorating the birthday ceremony of Alhaji Abdulganiyu Folorunsho Abdulrazaq featured eminent Nigerians including the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Professor Ish’aq Olanrewaju Oloyede; the immediate-past Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Abdulganiyu Ambali; Engineer Lanre Sagaya and a former governorship candidate of the defunct C People Congress (CPC) in 2011 general elections, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq among others.