We want self determination not secession - Annkio Briggs

We want self determination not secession - Annkio Briggs
By Victor Edozie, Port Harcourt | Publish Date: Nov 15 2015 12:01AM | Updated Date: Nov 16 2015 5:41AM
We want self determination not secession - Annkio Briggs
Ms Annkio Briggs

Niger Delta right activist, Ms Annkio Briggs, said at the weekend that people of the region are yearning for control of their resources, not to break away from Nigeria.
 Briggs, who spoke with our correspondent in Port Harcourt, called on the federal government not to misconstrue their demand for self determination for secession, adding  that what the people of  Niger Delta want is to control their resources and still remain part and parcel of  “one indivisible Nigeria”.
She said: “It is not illegal for a group of people to demand self determination. The indigenous persons are recognised by the United Nations. An indigenous person is someone that has its own distinct culture, language and religion. In the case of the Niger Delta region, who are mainly from the creeks, we are recognised by the United Nations as an indigenous people”.
“In September, the president attended the  United Nations  conference and during that meeting, he  categorically  supported the  request that the United Nations should give indigenous right to the Palestinians. If  the president can do that, I am yet to be convinced how that can be wrong in Nigeria, if other ethnic groups are making such request. We in the Niger Delta are asking for self determination for us to be able to determine our development, economy, political lining, who will govern us and who will not govern us”.
  According to her, “the control of our destiny as far as Niger Delta self determination movement is concerned is not to say that we want to break away from the country. What we are saying is that we want to control the creeks; that is in our territory. We want to control our wealth in those creeks”.
She called on all the ethnic groups in Nigeria that are requesting for self determination to follow the part of law to achieve their objectives instead of resorting to violence.