By Scott A. Morgan
The current President of the United States is a "lame duck". This is a term that means he will be taking actions that will shore up his legacy. Or even take steps that will change how both the world at large and the citizens of the United States view how he led the country during the last 8 years.
Currently the President is on a week long goodwill visit to Africa. The stated purpose of this trip is to see how PEFAR (Presidential Emergency Funds For AIDS Relief) is working, to generate new economic contacts and to see how democracy is working in several nations. The situations in both Darfur and in Kenya were sure to be brought up as he made his trip.
So imagine his surprise when MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) sent the President of the United States a letter. This was not an ordinary letter however. It had a request for assistance. The group was asking the outgoing President of the United States to mediate their dispute with the Nigerian Federal Government in Abuja. And what they were asking for wasn’t anything to be taken lightly either.
Now, various experts will debate whether or not that MEND are terrorists or insurgents. After all, they have attacked both Nigerian government outposts and the oil facilities of several major multi-national companies in recent years.
They have kidnapped foreign oil workers as well to raise awareness of their plight. The Niger Delta Region generates income for the Nigerian economy but few dollars are invested in the region unless they are used for the development of the petroleum industry.
The reason that MEND is asking for the mediation of the United States is plain to see even to the casual observer. The group simply does not believe that the current Nigerian government will act in good faith. Based on this belief they made their proposal to the President. After all, having third party broker negotiations can yield positive results in a much shorter time than having direct contacts between parties in a conflict.
So what is the proposal that the group made? Basically the group wants their leader freed from jail in Angola so he can negotiate on their behalf. Then they make some key demands and concessions in their proposal. In exchange for their starting a cease-fire that will lead to a possible disarming of the delta region as a whole if the Nigerian government agrees to it. But there is one interesting aspect of the proposal that the rebels are bringing forward.
The rebels would like greater transparency in how funds are transferred from Abuja to both state and local governments in the region. Poverty is a real problem and there have been some complaints of corruption at all levels of government. They would like to see an increase in funds to alleviate some of the problems that plague the residents of the region such as poor health care and lack of potable water. Another potential issue is the economic damage caused by oil exploration in the region.
President Bush could take on this task to further promote the interests of the US. Security in the Gulf of Guniea region is paramount to US interests and not just for oil. Both drug and human trafficking are becoming major problems in the region. Liberia is reemerging after a decade of civil conflict and Al-Qaida has struck at targets in regional neighbors such as Mauritania. So if the US can have a positive influence on a situation of internal strife then the US should take it. This should be done for good will however and not for the legacy of a President.
*Scott Morgan(photo) publishes Confused Eagle on the Internet. It can be found at morganrights.tripod.com
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