Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, may play a key role in resolving the current conflict between the Federal Government and the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), the militant group which has claimed responsibility for the renewed militancy and bombing of oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta.
Spokesman for the Dialogue Group, Mr. Ballantyne Agiri, who disclosed this in an exclusive chat with New Telegraph, confirmed that the NDA had constituted a contact and dialogue group to engage the Federal Government in meaningful dialogue as part of the initiatives to resolve the crisis.
Agiri, who declined to mention the names of the other members of the dialogue team, said Soyinka was chosen because of track records as a freedom fighter as well as a credible and detribalised personality.
The move to select a dialogue team, Agiri said, has been going on for months, but was delayed due to the fact that the leadership of the NDA was looking for credible personalities who are capable of presenting their grievances before the central government and insist on extracting useful commitments from the other side. “I was on my own when they invited me to work for them.
“But I told them that one person cannot hold dialogue with the government, that we should look for eminent Nigerians who have the pedigree to do a good job. The moment I mentioned Professor Wole Soyinka, they became interested because, according to them, he is somebody who is not from the Niger Delta, but has a credible and detribalised personality.”
