Life Getting Even Better in Nigeria
Things obviously are getting no better in Nigeria:
Another crisis stared at the strategic oil sector yesterday after a militant group responsible for the kidnapped of four foreign oil workers in the Niger Delta last month, threatened to unleash fresh wave of violence next week in the oil producing region.
The Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) said in statement e-mailed to THISDAY that the international community should do well to evacuate their nationals from the Niger Delta before February 12, or face violent attacks.
MEND claimed responsibility for the kidnap January 11, 2006 of the expatriate oil workers, an American Patrick Landry, a Briton Briton Nigel Watson-Clark, Honduran Harry Ebanks and Bulgarian Milko Nichev.
After it claimed the hostages were released on "compassionate ground", the militant group said it had been provoked into declaring another round of battle following reports in the media which claimed that the Bayelsa State Government paid over N264 million to the group to effect the release of the hostages.
MEND also said it had decided to launch attack on oil facilities based on information available to it that the Federal Government intends to poison two Ijaw leaders, the former Bayelsa State governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and Mujahideen Asari Dokubo.
"A social, economic and political disaster shall be launched by MEND in the shortest possible time at the heartbeat of the oil industry, to effectively dissuade Nigeria and her domestic and foreign collaborators from activities and criminal discretions inimical to the Niger Delta region," said the group.
"We shall cripple the capacity of Nigeria to export our crude by a fatal 85 per cent... The international community should do well to evacuate their nationals everywhere, within, about or around the Niger Delta before 12th of February, because the wrath of the gods of izon land is boiling and the blood of the oil invaders shall be made to appease the petulance of the rivers of our raging rebellion," it added.
To add to the dilight of living in this area, there is now spread of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in thenorth of Nigeria, but already there is fear it has spread to Lagos.
With violence, AIDS and now bird flu amongst the daily hazards of life in Nigeria, I hope all rotorheads working there will take care and not be targetts of the new campaign against expatriates by MEND. Stay away from this area and if you can't stay away, fly safe.