Mujahid Dokubo-Asari
| Alhaji Mujahid Asari-Dokubo | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Melford Dokubo Goodhead Jr. June 1, 1964 Warri/Ijaw Niger Delta |
| Nationality | Nigerian (1964-2013) Beninese (2013-present) |
| Years active | 1998-present |
Dokubo-Asari (born 1964), formerly Melford Dokubo Goodhead Jr. and typically referred to simply as Asari, is a major political figure of the Ijaw ethnic group in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. He was president of the Ijaw Youth Council for a time beginning in 2001 and later founded the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force which would become one of the most prominent armed groups operating in the Niger Delta region. He is a Muslim with populist views and an anti-government stance that have made him a folk hero amongst certain members of the local population.
Asari was born in 1964 into a middle class Christian family headed by a court judge and a housewife in Warri, Delta State, who also had four other children. He received both primary and secondary education in Port Harcourt and was accepted into law school at the University of Calabar but dropped out after only three years in 1990, citing problems with university authorities as his reason for doing so. He made other attempts to complete his education but his activism caused him to quit on his degree at Rivers State University of Science and Technology for reasons similar to those at Calabar, Cross Rivers State.
After dropping out of school, Asari converted to Islam and changed his name to Mujahid Dokubo-Asari to reflect this. He spent much of the 1990s attempting to become involved in regional politics, running for two offices in Rivers State in 1992 and 1998 but failing to win on either.
In 1998, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) was formed and Asari, as a founding member, was appointed to the vice-presidency of the organization. The organization issued the Kaiama Declaration in November, expressing long-held Ijaw concerns about the loss of control of their homeland and their own lives to the Nigerian state and oil companies operating in the region. The declaration and a letter addressed to oil companies called on them to suspend operations and withdraw from Ijaw territory. The IYC pledged “to struggle peacefully for freedom, self-determination and ecological justice,” and prepared a campaign of celebration, prayer, and direct action - 'Operation Climate Change' beginning December 28. The Nigerian government responded with an immediate crackdown on the group.
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