Obasanjo in Warri, Port Harcourt

Obasanjo has left the troubled town of Warri for Port Harcourt, 170 km to the souteast, where he is expected to meet with community leaders to discuss the problems of underdevelopment in the Niger Delta, news sources told IRIN. Before leaving Warri, the scene of violent clashes between the Itsekiri, Ijaw and Urhobo over the site of a local government area, Obasanjo told the warring groups to begin talks and give his government time to develop the neglected oil-rich Delta. “Our responsibility, our duty, our obligation is to redress the neglect of the past,” Reuters quoted him as telling the Delta people, “but please, please give us the opportunity, give us time.” Political analyst Nimi Walson-Jack told IRIN the government of Abdulsalami Abubakar, who has been credited with returning democracy to Nigeria, did little during his short stay in office to bring immediately visible development to the Delta. Walson-Jack also said Obasanjo’s government could immediately stop the fighting in Warri by giving a local government to each of the three ethnic groups fighting over the matter. “If the people want a local government give them local governments,” he said. On Thursday, the Nigerian House of Representatives passed its first motion in 16 years, urging the government to take urgent security measures to quell the violence in Warri.