Niger Delta women call for talks

The Niger Delta Women for Justice has called on Nigeria’s government to arrange talks with restive youths rather than use the army to quell ongoing violence in the oil-rich area, ‘The Guardian’ reported on Tuesday. “The Niger Delta Women for Justice is concerned that military force rather than dialogue is now being employed as a solution to the issues of neglect, poverty, environmental degradation and social justice in the Niger Delta,” Jennifer Pere, the organisation’s director, said. Niger Delta Women for Justice says it also wants the government to make Nigeria a “true federation”. Another group, the Ijaw Protection Organisation, blamed the unrest in Bayelsa State, which includes the Delta, on years of neglect, ‘The Guardian’ said. Bayelsa, the group said in a statement, was the only state in the federation not linked to the national electricity grid. ‘The Guardian’ reported the organisation as saying the state had no post-secondary education institution and no pipe-borne water. Bayelsa, it added, had only one federal road 22 km long and a run-down primary and secondary school system.