PIND’s Goof On Rivers

Last weekend in far away Abuja, a Chevron initiative for the promotion of equitable de-
velopment and peace building in the Niger Delta region, the Foundation for Partnership Initiative in the Niger Delta (PIND), in its Annual Conflict Survey Report for 2019, which it released at the weekend, named Rivers, Cross River, Delta and Edo States, as recording the greatest number of political, electoral and other violent crimes and their resultant casualty and fatality figures which are themselves mind-boggling.
In the report, PIND said the above listed States recorded highest number of lethal violence in the Niger Delta in the year under review.
The report, which was signed by the body’s Knowledge Management and Communications Manager, Mr. Chichi Nnoham-Onyejekwe, indicated that 969 lives were lost in 415 recorded violent incidences in 2019 in the region, with the four States recording the highest number of crises and casualties.
It further claimed that the survey was carried out in the areas of political/election violence; violent crimes (armed robbery, kidnapping, piracy and ritual killings, among others); gang/cult clashes, as well as communal/ethnic clashes.
According to the document, “Available data/report has revealed that in the overall, the most reported incidents of violence related to criminality (including piracy, abductions, armed robbery cases, and ritual killings), which totalled 260 incidents resulted into 444 fatalities in all the States”.
It further indicated that gang/cult related clashes accounted for 272 fatalities while communal/ethnic tensions claimed 197 lives. During the period under review, the report said 100 lives were lost to political and electoral violence, especially in Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa States. The report equally said gang violence, on the other hand, was reported in all the states in the region but that it was more prevalent in Rivers, Edo and Delta States.
Also noteworthy is the disputable claim by the body that in the run-off elections held after the 2015 general elections and during the 2019 elections, political tension was heightened in the whole of the Niger Delta, adding that in February 2019, for instance, no fewer than 56 deaths were recorded in the area during the presidential election.
According to the report, conflict flashpoints in the region remained largely unchanged in 2019, from that of 2018. The body, therefore, in the report, listed 10 local government areas in six States as the most violent in the year under review.
While The Tide is not in any way encouraging violent crimes in whatever guise, we are appalled by the staggering figures released by the organisation in its report, particularly as it relates to Rivers State which has today been enjoying relative peace.
Infact, to rank the State as the most violent among the States of the Niger Delta region is not only discomfiting but also distasteful. We, therefore, dismiss such unfortunate generalisation about the State as alarmist.
We are tempted to believe that the PIND report is another calculated attempt by some faceless individuals and groups to paint Rivers State black among the comity of States in the country, with the sole aim of de-marketing the State and scaring away potential investors from the State.
While we whole-heartedly condemn and reject the report as it concerns Rivers State, we are glad to note that the State, under the watch of Governor Nyesom Wike, has been experiencing unprecedented giant leaps in all facets of human endeavours. The economy of the State, more than ever before, is swirling in unquantifiable prosperity. Businesses and economic activities are flourishing. Basic infrastructure are receiving significant boosts on a daily basis. The entire landscape of the state capital is wearing a fresh look. The Garden City status of Port Harcourt is fast returning.
Little wonder that the State has gone down in history as having hosted more persons and events than any other state in recent times. More organisations are today planning to host their annual conferences and other events in the state.
Thus, if the sordid pictures painted about the state by PIND and its co-travellers were true, this would not have been the case. The truth remains that today, Rivers State is very safe. Residents of the state are by no means inundated by woeful tales of insecurity and violence as experienced in several parts of the country, particularly in the North. At least, contrary to insinuations, the citizens are sleeping with their eyes closed.
However, we are not by any means suggesting that there may be no isolated cases of violent crimes perpetrated in parts of the fast growing oil rich state, but these are not enough to completely decapitate the state as some unrepentant propagandists would want the world to believe.
To this end, we are at a loss on how PIND got its staggering figures to the extent of ranking Rivers State as one of the most violent States in the Niger Delta region within the past one year. Against this backdrop, therefore, we state equivocally that the report is politically motivated.
If the report is not one of the ploys by the vocal majority to undermine the good works of the Wike administration, particularly its tireless efforts to rebuild the socio-economic base of the state, we wonder what it is. We strongly believe that PIND goofed in the report.