France 24 Did Not Incite Niger Delta Militants
The Claim
France24 encouraging Niger Delta militants to fight for their right to equity in resource sharing.
News posted on
Emerging story
A famous Twitter user recently claimed that French state-owned international news television France 24 encouraged Niger Delta militants to take up arms and fight for their right to equity in resource sharing.
Misbar’s Analysis
The term ‘marginalized people of the Niger Delta' does not imply a call to arms as claimed in the tweet, as this has been a widely used term for the situation of the people of the Niger Delta region in Southern Nigeria.
This term has appeared in journals and several local and international news outlets such as Channels, Vanguard, and Maritime Executive.
The complaint about a balanced and fair share of crude oil resources sourced from the oil-rich Niger Delta has given rise to continuous agitation by indigenes over the years. An example is Ken Saro Wiwa, who was brutally killed and eight others on November 10, 1995, to call for equitable resource control. Earnings from the sale of crude oil have been the primary source of revenue powering the Nigerian economy since it was discovered in 1956.
Given the previous, Misbar concludes that France 24 did not incite Niger Deltans.
