The United States government has refrained from being drawn into the issue of whether former President Jimmy Carter should intervene in the Niger Delta, preferring to allow the Nigerian government deal with its domestic affairs.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) on Monday claimed Carter had accepted to mediate in the Niger Delta conflict.
State Department Spokesman, Sean McCormack yesterday told reporters in Washington, D.C. that the US believed there are �mechanisms� to deal with those issues in Nigeria.
He said: �There are mechanisms to deal with some legitimate political grievances among groups in the Niger Delta. Obviously, we�ve seen some of the effects of those political differences with kidnappings and violence and nobody wants to see that continue.
�Like I said, there are mechanisms that exist to deal with those political differences and we support those mechanisms and we believe the Nigerian Government should also avail itself of those mechanisms.�
Asked if President Carter�s efforts will be one of those mechanisms, he replied, �I�ve seen press reports. I can�t offer any substantiation for the accuracy of them.�
The Carter Center through its Spokesman, John Stremlau said it only responded to an e-mail sent by MEND. In the mail, the Foundation stated Carter has a busy schedule and would only mediate if the Federal Government invites him, said Stremlau.
The spokesman also recalled that the former president�s efforts in 1999 to intervene in the Niger Delta failed to produce much.
The Senator Barack Obama Campaign Organisation also denied the presidential candidate pleaded with MEND to halt attacks on oil installations in the region, a claim the group made through its spokesperson, Gbomo Jomo.
A similar controversy arose between the State Department and Carter a few weeks ago when the former president met with Hamas leaders in Palestine, a group the US describes as a terrorist organisation.
Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice publicly declared Carter was warned against meeting with the group because it believed the meeting would not further a political settlement between Israel and Palestine.
Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his work in mediating conflicts during his tenure as president and his humanitarian travels for the Carter Center. One of his peace efforts was the 1978 Camp David Peace Accord between Egypt and Israel, for which Egypt’s Anwar Sadat and Israel’s Menachem Begin were awarded the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize.
Also yesterday, Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka attributed the wave of violence and militancy in the Niger-Niger to many years of injustice perpetrated against the people of the region by successive governments in Nigeria.
Delivering the maiden annual public lecture organised by the Chief Executive of Flomat Books Limited, Dr Athony Akpokene, at the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) in Effurun, Warri, Delta State, Soyinka stressed that the spate of crisis had been engendered through the flouting of what he called �the law of natural returns� in the way and manner the valuable resources of the region have been tapped.
Soyinka warned that the country would continue to drift towards �a state of anomie� if government failed to allow the reign of unfettered rule of law in all ramifications.
�The law of natural returns simply requires that we must give back to the source of your resources in commensurate measure,� Soyinka declared but observed that the evident squalor and misery in the Niger-Delta did not suggest that enough had been done for a region �that produces the bulk of the country�s income.�
He also queried the decision by the Federal Government to conduct the trial of one of the leaders of Niger-Delta militant groups, Mr. Henry Okah, in secrecy, saying it placed a question mark on President Umaru Yar�Adua�s orchestrated respect for the rule of law.
Soyinka said it was particularly nauseating, uncivilised and unacceptable that Okah is not only being �kept in a horrendous condition,� but he has been denied fair access to his lawyers and relatives.
�I have a full dossier on this,� he said, revealing, �even his wife was subjected to all forms of dehumanizing treatment� when she went to see her husband in detention.
�For the last eight years, this nation had lived a lawless existence,� he lamented, saying the Yar�Adua administration must go the full hog in its pledge to promote the rule of law and respect court decisions and judgments.
Soyinka further challenged various civil groups in Nigeria to brace up to their calling by being �more active in challenging all acts of injustice and bestiality in the society,� whether perpetrated by the government or political, religious or other groups.
He wondered why the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), lawmakers, women�s groups, religious leaders and civil rights groups have said very little about the inhuman treatment and cold-blooded murder of a female teacher who tried to stop students cheating during examinations in Bauchi State.