[War] Nigeria: MENDP

[lee.tarnow at utoronto.ca]

MENDP
---
26 July, 2014
Abuja (AMAC), FCT, Nigeria
Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
---

Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai had returned from Algeria. Negotiations had gone  
well, and the Arab outcry over Nigeria's gesture of goodwill towards  
Algeria, an Arab nation in Africa, had driven the Algerians to the  
Nigerian cause; they had felt slighted, even betrayed, by their fellow  
Arabs. Why should they be under cut while the Saudis sucked on the  
American teet, or the Iranians went to play war in Azerbaijan? They  
had obviously been corrupted...

But that wasn't the matter at hand today. Representatives from  
ChevronTexaco, ExxonMobil, and Dangote Energy Equity Resources, a  
small Nigerian and Norwegian company, had brought up an interesting  
idea. With oil prices well over US$300/barrel (ooc:  
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/512436-oil-could-reach-us300-claims-expert),  
the reserves in the Gulf of Guinea, which accounted for as much as 10%  
of the planet's proven reserves, proved incredibly enticing. Unlike  
Equatorial Guinea, whose production-heavy habits were quickly reducing  
that nation's proven reserves, Nigeria had proven reserves well into  
the 2040s. That was before the good news.

There was now a confirmed 10 billion barrels, with possibly more to be  
verified, in the Gulf of Guinea, 1.1B belonging to Equatorial Guinea,  
about 100M belonging to Cameroon, and an agreed 60% of the remainder  
belonging to Nigeria, and 40% to Sao Tome and Principe...
---

He called himself Godswill Tamuno. He promised to localize control of  
Nigeria's oil and to secure reparations from the national government  
for pollution caused by the oil industry.  He had warned the oil  
industry:

"It must be clear that the Nigerian government cannot protect your  
workers or assets. Leave our land while you can or die in it.... Our  
aim is to totally destroy the capacity of the Nigerian government to  
export oil."

But instead the Supermajors continued their exploration in the Gulf of  
Guinea. By 2015, 25% of the United States' oil would come from the  
region. No matter what the Nigerian government did, they could not  
figure out MEND. While the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force gave  
into the government ceasefire under Yar'Adua's weak government, MEND  
continued to flourish. Coordinated attacks on Nigerian government  
representatives, foreigners, refineries; there were no limits. They  
were even capable of successful raids on government buildings: In  
early 2007, Soboma George, a relevant militia commander, was arrested  
by security agents in Port Harcourt and detained at a police station  
in the city. In response, MEND constructed a rescue operation and  
freed him.

MEND's leadership was highly amorphous, and various leaders, such as  
General Columbus Brutus Ebipade, Jomo Gbomo, General Tammo or Akpos  
Nabena, issued statements on behalf of the group. The above names were  
believed to be pseudonymous, and MEND was careful to not reveal the  
true identities of its various commanders. MEND possessed hubs in  
various states across the Niger Delta area?primarily in Bayelsa,  
Delta, Rivers and Ondo states?which were in communication with each  
other. Now they were expanding to Principe.

The establishment of MENDP (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger  
Delta in Principe) was the next logical step in the group's  
development. With the discovery of nearly 3.5B bbls off the coast of  
Principe, and the construction of refineries, MEND leadership sought  
to curb American exploitation of native AFRICANs, on AFRICAN land.  
That's where the plan came in.

It was simple. Principe was a small island of approximately 7000  
people, 2000 of which were foreigners working at any of the various  
oil platforms. Mend was known to have a formidable navy: On June 20,  
2008, MEND naval forces attacked the Shell-operated Bonga oil  
platform, shutting down 10% of Nigeria's oil production in one fell  
swoop. The oil platform, Shell's flagship project in the area capable  
of extracting a massive 200,000 barrels of oil a day, was widely  
assumed to be outside the reach of the militants due to its location  
120km off-shore. This attack has demonstrated a level of prowess and  
sophistication never before seen by the rebels and it is now known  
that all of Nigeria's oil platforms are within range of MEND attack.  
This was their trump card.

In cooperation with Modern MASSOB, OPC, OLM, and the RCN, among  
others, MENDP would stage a coup on Principe. They would remove the  
non-Africans, and negotiate a new deal with a now sympathetic OPEC,  
since Nigeria had decided to become uncooperative, and Algeria,  
Angola, and the other petroleum producing African nations were  
following suit. MEND gunboats would swarm the oil platforms around  
Principe, and cut off the Supermajor's blood in the region.

An army of over a thousand guerillas, from all over the region,  
prepared to take what was rightfully their's back from the American  
pigs.

Now it was only a matter of time...
---

Actions:
1. A brief introduction to MEND, and the situation in the Gulf of  
Guinea and the Niger Delta.