MEND- Terrorists or Freedom fighters?

Oil & poverty? Do these words fit together? It’s almost like an oxymoron, but these seeming antonyms may stick to each other while describing the densely populated Niger Delta. In fact the region, which lies in Nigeria, accounts for over 80 percent of the country’s total annual income but still faces a great degree of destitution.  It’s like blatant irony since the Delta is so abundant in natural resources, especially oil.

It’s not surprising that such conditions serve as incubators for rebellious groups. One such group is the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta also known as MEND. MEND is one of the largest militant groups in the area. It has been known to kidnap workers, attack oil fields, blow up pipelines, fight the military and participate in oil bunkering.

As I was writing this piece, I looked up the definition of terrorism, I used this explanation by Boaz Ganor as my template; "Terrorism is the intentional use of, or threat to use violence against civilians or against civilian targets, in order to attain political aims.” As I read further to decipher whether MEND is a terrorist organization or not initially I thought, yes it is. Except that they fit the prototype of a terrorist organization, they have also harmed the people of Niger Delta. They are the reason due to which 80% of the companies have shut down which has led to major unemployment especially among the youth. Moreover the development of the area has been impaired, for example the telecommunication activities.

Objectively if MEND’s activities are viewed, they can pass the terrorist threshold easily. But taking into consideration the cause they fight for which is the rights of the locals in a situation where there is powerful military oppression, one might want to re-think.

Not only does the oil extraction economically fail to benefit the region but a report by Essential Action and Global Exchange cited that the oil corporations in the Delta have threatened the livelihood of the local people; because of environmental pollution their jobs such as farming and fishing have been disrupted. There has been loss of property, price inflation and scarcity of drinking water. Organized protests usually lead to military repression. There have been some serious environmental and humanitarian violations in the Delta, which the government has in some cases instigated and other times turned a blind eye to.

MEND steals oil, disrupts the oil companies work to protect the people of Niger Delta. The government’s ignorance results in distrust and hatred towards the government, which in turn leads to groups such as these. The militant group should not be seen as a terrorist organization anyhow, since they are the ones who are fighting for basic rights. The government lacks legitimacy, although recently dictatorship was overthrown and democracy was embraced, the people have not really been won over by their rulers.  Legitimacy is hard to establish in Nigeria since the government on it’s own needs experience with time, the brutal military oppression shows lack of rule of law and there are a lot of ethnic conflicts. Till the time the government consolidates legitimacy in it’s country and protects the basic needs of it’s people, it cannot convict organizations such as MEND for terrorism since they’re just fighting for their rights and rightly deserve to be called freedom fighters!

Tahhira Somal
20153048


Works Cited: 
"Niger Delta Fund Initiative: Additional information on the Current Situation in the Niger Delta." <Earth Rights>. N.p., n.d Web.
Shah, Anup. "Nigeria and Oil." <Global Issues>. N.p., 10 June 2010. Wed 27 Feb.2016.
Hanson, Stephanie. "MEND: The Niger Delta's Umbrella Militant Group." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, 22 Mar. 2007. Web. 27 Feb. 2016
https://quizlet.com/12065457/ap-comparative-government-chapter-8-nigeria-flash-cards/ "How to Define Terrorism [Sinai] Perspectives on Terrorism." <How to Define Terrorsim>. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2016.