Navy urges N’Delta militants to embrace dialogue
Simon Utebor
The Nigerian Navy has asked Niger Delta
militants to embrace dialogue as part of the measures to address the
challenges of the region.
The Flag Officer Commanding, Central
Naval Command, Rear Admiral Mohammed Garba, gave the advice on Saturday
during the command’s free medical service to Etegwe community in Yenagoa
Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Garba said if the militants refused to
embrace dialogue, there was the tendency that the sympathy they were
getting from the people would dwindle.
He said the free medical mission to
communities in the state was part of the Navy’s corporate social
responsibility and to boost civil-military relations.
Garba said, “I expect the people to
remember that struggle is not drawing a line and making it look like a
kind of crusading spirit. There must be ways of reaching compromises and
concessions.
“And you can only reach those
compromises and concessions through dialogue. The government has already
given room for dialogue, let them embrace it. If they embrace it, it is
better for the society and Nigeria at large.
“But if they refuse to go into dialogue,
there might be a tendency that that sympathy they are getting from the
people will be lost and it means they are now surrendering the call for
peace to chaos and violence which is not good for the society.”
Commending the programme, the Paramount
Ruler of Etegwe community, King Todumema Geoffrey, said the free
medical mission was the first in the history of the community.
The monarch warned youths against
pipeline vandalism and destruction of critical national assets, saying
that such tendencies would not bring development to the Niger Delta
region.
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