VOA标准英语2009-Nigerian Army Says Insecurity in Niger Delta

The Nigerian military says the oil-rich Niger Delta¹ has returned to normal after years of attacks that crippled the country's oil industry and created widespread insecurity.

Gilbert da Costa | Abuja 21 November 2009

The Nigerian military says the oil-rich Niger Delta has returned to normal after years of attacks that crippled the country's oil industry and created widespread insecurity.

The Nigerian military spokesman in the Niger Delta, Timothy Antigha, says a four-month ceasefire  has re-established stability in the troubled southern oil-producing region.

"Nigerians and foreigners have for the past three to four months been going about their normal business without any fear of insecurity," he said. "So to that extent the JTF [Joint Military Task Force] has achieved tremendous results in terms of ensuring that there is a return to normalcy in terms of security. So things are back to normal and people are going about their business without any fear of insecurity."

In June, President Umaru Yar'Adua offered amnesty to militants² in the Niger Delta.  It was aimed at ending years of fighting in the region that has cost Africa's top oil exporter billions of dollars in lost revenue.

More than 8,000 gunmen gave up their weapons and accepted the amnesty offer. Insecurity has long plagued Nigeria's oil industry, with the local communities in the delta angry at their continued poverty despite five decades of oil extraction.

The army says while it welcomes the ceasefire, its strategy of fighting a network of criminal gangs involved in crude oil theft in the Niger Delta remains³ unchanged.

Oil industry executives say the security situation remains very fragile despite a recent decline in violence. Already, some repentant⁴ militants are angry over the non-payment of allowances and have threatened to renew violence if their allowances were not paid.

The government says the amnesty is the first step to bring peace to the region and has outlined development plans for the Niger Delta.

Nigeria derives⁵ more than 90 percent of its foreign exchange earnings⁶ from crude oil sales.

1 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

2 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 repentant   

adj.对…感到悔恨的

参考例句：

• He was repentant when he saw what he'd done.他看到自己的作为，心里悔恨。
• I'll be meek under their coldness and repentant of my evil ways.我愿意乖乖地忍受她们的奚落，忏悔我过去的恶行。

5 derives   

v.得到( derive的第三人称单数 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• English derives in the main from the common Germanic stock. 英语主要源于日耳曼语系。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derives his income from freelance work. 他以自由职业获取收入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。