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鈥檚 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鈥檒l take your calls.
The commander has renounced the use of violence in peace deal 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 大象传媒 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. He was responsible for some spectacular and deadly attacks against the oil industry and Nigeria government, perhaps the most infamous being an attack on a Shell off-shore facility.
It鈥檚 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 Facebook are keen to talk to Mr Ben, we have many interesting questions for him already.
You鈥檙e keen to find out how he justifies the violence he鈥檚 used in the past, why he鈥檚 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.
That''s all for WHYS Live tonight - but you can continue the discussion on General Boyloaf and his tactics below, or on Facebook - at .
Comment sent via YOURSAY
19:00
113631290
Godwin in Nigeria called - which part of MEND is responsible for the recent attacks? Now you have accepted an amnesty, how will you persuade your colleagues to do the same?
Comment sent via Facebook
18:59
113631290
Mohammed on Facebook - U are a FAKE general. True generals don't kidnap & seek ransom. lay down your arms and get down to business.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:58
113631290
Barbrah - Nigeria is got enough problems of cleaning up the system of corruption and uniting the christians and muslims, please don't add more to the current ones.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:57
113631290
Raphael - General, we have met on two occasions & u've proven 2b a man of valour, don't u think u'll b more legally useful in d army?
Comment sent via SMS
18:37
115335429
Am prince from Singapore. My question is that, why Oboylo and his group are stil kidnaping the oil workers and they are still geting 65 thousand Naira from government every end of month.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:54
113631290
Philmore - To General Boyloaf i say continue what you are doing, to stop will be a failure. There is no proper emancipation with out blood look at the history on the Africans and how the west became rich by it.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:53
113631290
Bardere - Why don't the west recognise 'mend' as a terror group..
Comment sent via Facebook
18:53
113631290
Suleiman - what is mend doing to Immortalised comrades who died 4 d struggle n heroes like Ken Saro-wiwa.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:52
113631290
Lanray - Militancy can't split Nigeria,it can only add to the sorrows of the ordinary citizens
Comment sent via Facebook
18:51
113631290
Java - MEND,according to you,is fighting for a share of the resources in the area for its inhabitants. Is bloodshed,kidnapping for ransoms and so forth the only channel open for you to achieve your ambition?
Comment sent via Facebook
18:50
113631290
Kirumira - Negotiating and Putting the guns down describes a good intiative. keep it up General Boyloaf of Mend
Comment sent via SMS
18:47
115335616
General,can your movement deal with babangida and some other past presidents that enrich themselves through our oil money?
Comment sent via SMS
18:47
115335614
africa need 2 realiz development cums with gret sucrifice,be it violence.i give aplause 2 th gen.kaluba frm zambia
Comment sent via BLOG
18:46
113631290
Ihas on the blog - Can somebody ask this man to give us the rough estimates of the amount of dollars he has gotten from ransom money for the very many kidnapping he has undertaking. How many schools, or hospitals he was able to build for his people with the money.
Comment sent via BLOG
18:46
113631290
Lincoln on the blog - I know Nigerians that claim that the peace deal is not a fair shake for the general's side of the struggle. They seem to suggest that the general has been paid off to promote some kind of peace so that oil can flow freely again.
Comment sent via SMS
18:37
114647981
some believed that gen. boylo and co negociated out of fear for their lives because they want enjoy the riches they got in the struggle. ahmad skt nig.
Comment sent via SMS
18:35
115335412
Emmanuel Davies from Sierra Leone. General Boy loaf why did think that militantcy was the best way to act?
Comment sent via SMS
18:33
115335398
Why did MEND kill so many innocent people, including my older brother, when it organised the plane crash of the Belleview flight from Lagos to Nigeria
Comment sent via SMS
18:31
115335385
You will never sort it out by force. Sign new contracts with the oil companies to get a higher share. It is just business, any violence is pointless. Think about the country鈥檚 image, people get scared away to visit. Juraj from Montreal
Comment sent via SMS
18:31
115335384
Aiah Quiwa from Sierra Leone. Did you actually believe that with all the killing & kidnapping achieved your desired goals. Fire for fire will not cool down the fire.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:31
113631290
Asha on Facebook - What positive impact has MEND achieved in the lives of the people they claim to be fighting for? Please be specific.
WHYS: Your questions to General Boyloaf
| Thursday, 11 Nov. 2010 | 17:08 - 19:08 GMT
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鈥檚 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鈥檒l take your calls.
The commander has renounced the use of violence in peace deal 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 大象传媒 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. He was responsible for some spectacular and deadly attacks against the oil industry and Nigeria government, perhaps the most infamous being an attack on a Shell off-shore facility.
It鈥檚 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 Facebook are keen to talk to Mr Ben, we have many interesting questions for him already.
You鈥檙e keen to find out how he justifies the violence he鈥檚 used in the past, why he鈥檚 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.
Your comments
Comment sent via host
That''s all for WHYS Live tonight - but you can continue the discussion on General Boyloaf and his tactics below, or on Facebook - at .
Comment sent via YOURSAY
Godwin in Nigeria called - which part of MEND is responsible for the recent attacks? Now you have accepted an amnesty, how will you persuade your colleagues to do the same?
Comment sent via Facebook
Mohammed on Facebook - U are a FAKE general. True generals don't kidnap & seek ransom. lay down your arms and get down to business.
Comment sent via Facebook
Barbrah - Nigeria is got enough problems of cleaning up the system of corruption and uniting the christians and muslims, please don't add more to the current ones.
Comment sent via Facebook
Raphael - General, we have met on two occasions & u've proven 2b a man of valour, don't u think u'll b more legally useful in d army?
Comment sent via SMS
Am prince from Singapore. My question is that, why Oboylo and his group are stil kidnaping the oil workers and they are still geting 65 thousand Naira from government every end of month.
Comment sent via Facebook
Philmore - To General Boyloaf i say continue what you are doing, to stop will be a failure. There is no proper emancipation with out blood look at the history on the Africans and how the west became rich by it.
Comment sent via Facebook
Bardere - Why don't the west recognise 'mend' as a terror group..
Comment sent via Facebook
Suleiman - what is mend doing to Immortalised comrades who died 4 d struggle n heroes like Ken Saro-wiwa.
Comment sent via Facebook
Lanray - Militancy can't split Nigeria,it can only add to the sorrows of the ordinary citizens
Comment sent via Facebook
Java - MEND,according to you,is fighting for a share of the resources in the area for its inhabitants. Is bloodshed,kidnapping for ransoms and so forth the only channel open for you to achieve your ambition?
Comment sent via Facebook
Kirumira - Negotiating and Putting the guns down describes a good intiative. keep it up General Boyloaf of Mend
Comment sent via SMS
General,can your movement deal with babangida and some other past presidents that enrich themselves through our oil money?
Comment sent via SMS
africa need 2 realiz development cums with gret sucrifice,be it violence.i give aplause 2 th gen.kaluba frm zambia
Comment sent via BLOG
Ihas on the blog - Can somebody ask this man to give us the rough estimates of the amount of dollars he has gotten from ransom money for the very many kidnapping he has undertaking. How many schools, or hospitals he was able to build for his people with the money.
Comment sent via BLOG
Lincoln on the blog - I know Nigerians that claim that the peace deal is not a fair shake for the general's side of the struggle. They seem to suggest that the general has been paid off to promote some kind of peace so that oil can flow freely again.
Comment sent via SMS
some believed that gen. boylo and co negociated out of fear for their lives because they want enjoy the riches they got in the struggle. ahmad skt nig.
Comment sent via SMS
Emmanuel Davies from Sierra Leone. General Boy loaf why did think that militantcy was the best way to act?
Comment sent via SMS
Why did MEND kill so many innocent people, including my older brother, when it organised the plane crash of the Belleview flight from Lagos to Nigeria
Comment sent via SMS
You will never sort it out by force. Sign new contracts with the oil companies to get a higher share. It is just business, any violence is pointless. Think about the country鈥檚 image, people get scared away to visit. Juraj from Montreal
Comment sent via SMS
Aiah Quiwa from Sierra Leone. Did you actually believe that with all the killing & kidnapping achieved your desired goals. Fire for fire will not cool down the fire.
Comment sent via Facebook
Asha on Facebook - What positive impact has MEND achieved in the lives of the people they claim to be fighting for? Please be specific.