Re: Onslaught Of Falsehood And Self Interest—The Urhobo Press Conference With Tantita Speaks Louder Than UPU’s Misrepresentation -

By Uche Alvin

OPEN LETTER TO THE PUBLIC AND STAKEHOLDERS IN THE NIGER DELTA

RE: THE ONSLAUGHT OF FALSEHOOD AND SELF-INTEREST — THE URHOBO PRESS CONFERENCE WITH TANTITA SPEAKS LOUDER THAN UPU’S MISREPRESENTATION

Fellow Nigerians, Esteemed Leaders and the Conscience of the Nation,

In the face of recent misleading and dangerously divisive comments issued by the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) rejecting the operations of Tantita Security Services, we, as citizens and critical stakeholders from within and beyond Urhobo land, feel compelled to speak truth to distortion.

As we write, a press conference is actively being held, not by distant elites or self-acclaimed “mouthpieces of the people” but by Urhobo generals, ex-agitators, pipeline host community leaders and youth representatives, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the leadership of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited. This single act dismantles every false narrative peddled by the recent UPU youth publication.

WHAT MORE EVIDENCE DO WE NEED?

When those who once took up arms in defense of their people now stand in peaceful partnership with a company they describe as transformational, it begs the question: Who then are the true enemies of progress?

These ex-generals and field commanders who understand the terrain and its realities far better than any air-conditioned rhetoric have boldly declared that Tantita has brought peace, employment, dignity and progress to our communities. And this isn’t just true for the Ijaw. It is true for Urhobo, Itsekiri, Isoko and the entire oil-bearing stretch of the Niger Delta.

THE HYPOCRISY OF THE UPU’S POSITION

We are disappointed but not surprised by the UPU sudden outcry. Their rejection of Tantita Security has nothing to do with capacity, performance or the welfare of the people. Rather, it is a shameful exhibition of elitist desperation, rooted in exclusion from contract negotiations, not the actual protection of Urhobo land.

How can any sincere leader claim that Tantita is a stranger in Urhobo land, when Urhobo sons and daughters are actively employed under its structure, paid from its system, protected by its coordination and now boldly defending it in front of the world?

We ask again: Isn’t this press conference proof enough that the UPU’s rejection was never collective but selectively selfish?

URHOBO MUST CHOOSE: UNITY OR CONTRACT POLITICS?

Tantita has achieved what years of federal military patrols, navy deployments and empty surveillance contracts could not. It has revived Nigeria’s oil output. It has returned life and hope to our rural communities. It has replaced bullets with books and war boats with wages.

We urge the Federal Government, the Nigerian people and all stakeholders to ignore the distractions of a few who speak only for themselves and their narrow interests. The real voices of the grassroots, the ones with scars, with sweat, with service, have spoken loud and clear beside Tantita.

And we stand with them.

CONCLUSION

History will remember who stood for peace and development and not does who stood for personal gain.

Tantita is not perfect, but Tantita is working. And no amount of slander can erase the visible truth already etched into the lives of thousands.

We salute the Urhobo field commanders and leaders who have spoken today. Your courage is the shield that protects our future.

Tantita is not the problem. Tantita is the proof that progress is possible.

Signed,
Johnny Obas
Chairman

Princewill Ruona Ujeyah
Secretary

Comr Omokpe Austin
Publicity Secretary

Collective Urhobo Defenders Front