Your questions to senior MEND Commander Ebikabowei Victor Ben AKA General Boyloaf
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The man behind the gold shades and camouflage jacket is the self styled General Boyloaf, his real name is Ebikabowei Victor Ben. In the past he’s commanded thousands of young militants who demanded the people of the Niger Delta receive more benefits from the oil production in the Nigerian region. Today he’ll take your calls.
The commander has renounced the use of violence in but he remains a senior MEND figure (MEND stands for Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta.) The organisation remains split into factions with the use of violence being the key divisive issue.
Here is a recent ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ profile of MEND.
(You may have seen that earlier this week, one MEND faction took responsibility for an attack on oil facilities.)
It's worth adding that the attacks in Abuja during the 50th anniverary celebrations were attributed to MEND but General Boyloaf had nothing to do with them. In fact he condemned the actions.
That said, there was a time when he believed violence was justified.ÌýÌýHe was responsible for some spectacular and deadlyÌý against the oil industry and Nigeria government, perhaps the most infamous being an attack on a Shell off-shore facility.
It’s thought that in the past The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) cut Nigeria's oil production by one-third - causing spikes in the global oil price.
Many of you on are keen to talk to Mr Ben, we have many interesting questions for him already.
You’re keen to find out how he justifies the violence he’s used in the past, why he’s accepted peace and what makes him different from an ordinary criminal? No subjects are off limits.
Another area I'm interested tro discuss is whether the wealth created by a country's natural resources should be shared across the nation. Or does the region - in this case the Niger Delta - deserve a disproportionate amount of the benefits.
Please leave your phone number along with your commentÌýif you'd like to come on air. We won't publish the number.
