Extending gains of Amnesty to Boko
Haram
Attaining development, in the
absence of peace, is a mirage. In view of this fact, ORIAIFOH GODWINS writes on
the need for pragmatic solution to be sought to the menace of Boko Haram
insurgents. Excerpt:
In
his last parley with the press recently, as his tenure ended with the
government of President Goodluck Jonathan, Honourable Kingsley Kuku, Special Adviser
to Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta, and Chairman, Presidential Amnesty
Programme, recalls how the Niger Delta, the economic mainstay of Nigeria, that
was once
It
will be recalled that, the processes of achieving political
solution, rather than sustaining the military option in solving the Niger Delta
crisis, began earnestly in 2007 and was ably coordinated by the then Vice
President, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and approved by the late President,
Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. This political option, which culminated in the
extraction of peace commitment from the agitators and of course the
proclamation of amnesty by the Federal Government, doused a lot of tension and
eventually prevented the escalation of the activities of the agitators.
Before
amnesty was granted to the agitators, military activities to check the
activities of the agitators, was all to no avail, and the huge sum of money
that was expended on it, all went down the drain until truce was brokered by
some persons on behalf of the federal government.
In
all, 30,000 persons from the Niger Delta, who accepted the offer of amnesty,
were enlisted in the Presidential Amnesty Programme. In strict compliance with
the commitments made in the Amnesty Proclamation, the Federal Government, in
October 2009, instituted a post-Amnesty Disarmament, Demobilisation and
Reintegration, DDR, package for the ex-agitators.
However, in the terms of the amnesty
that was offered by the Government, the agitators were conditioned to willingly
surrender their arms, unconditionally renounce militancy and sign an
undertaking to that effect. In return, the Federal Government also pledged its
commitment to institute programmes that will assist the Disarmament,
Demobilization, Rehabilitation, DDR and reintegrate the former agitators. Again,
the Federal Government pledged to decisively address the issues of resource
control, environmental remediation, shore protection, pollution and gas
flaring, provision of critical infrastructure as well as construction of
coastal roads, bridges and railway lines which were the issues that led to
militancy.
However, even though the government
has not made good some of its promises especially that concern the issues that
led to the uprising of the agitators, Kuku seized the opportunity to call on
the incoming administration to sustain the amnesty programme, and also
endeavour to tackle the degradation in the area.
Also, one of the leaders of the ex
agitators, Stanley Patrick Ogbakri, from Bomadi, Delta state appealed to the
incoming government of Muhammadu Buhari to sustain the amnesty programme,
saying, even if their stipends must be slashed so as to make funds available
for the provision of the much needed infrastructure, the ex agitators will be
willing to make that sacrifice; so long as the infrastructures are made
available for the benefit of the people. He said, with the presence of
infrastructures, firms will be attracted to the region and will eventually lead
to the employment of the youths. Mr
Ogbakri went on to say that, the youths in the Niger Delta region are in
Millions and not just the 30, 000 youths that are currently benefiting from the
amnesty programme.
Thursday June 25, 2015, marks exactly
six years since the Federal Government of Nigeria, in a bid to stabilise
security conditions in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, proclaimed
unconditional amnesty for former agitators. So, what are the gains that have so
far been derived from the declaration of amnesty and from the programme?
We must understand that the peace that
the Niger Delta region are currently enjoying, wouldn’t have been possible if
not for the amnesty that the federal government granted to, and was embraced by
the agitators. The multiplier effect of the prevalence of peace in the Niger
Delta region is manifested in the confidence that business concerns are beginning
to now have in going to operate in the region; again, in the long run, the
creation of employment and gradual rebuilding of the region will sure follow
suit as the Niger Delta is now relatively safe, secure and ripe for fresh
investments in the oil and gas sector, the Agro-allied businesses as well as in
the services sector.
Again, it would be recalled that, at the
peak of the crisis in 2009, Nigeria’s crude production fell to as low as
700,000 barrels per day. However, owing to the success of the Presidential
Amnesty Programme, Nigeria’s crude production, in the last five years has
hovered between 2.2 - 2.7m barrels per day.
In
the words of the Senior Special Assistant, SSA, on Niger Delta Affairs to
President Goodluck Jonathan and the Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty
programme, Honourable Kingsley Kuku; ‘…I can boldly affirm that the Amnesty
proclamation and the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Rehabilitation, DDR,
programme for former agitators in the Niger Delta, have generally met the desired
goal, which is the stabilization of security conditions in the strategic Niger
Delta area, as all the ex-agitators who were in the creeks fighting against the
federal government and impacting against investments and oil production, have
since been fully disarmed, demobilized and are either currently in training or
have since been trained with a view to adding to national GDP and improving
themselves and their families...’
It is
on record that a total number of 30,000 persons were enlisted in the Amnesty
Programme. It must however be clarified that it is not true that all the 30,000
persons enrolled in the Amnesty Programme were arms bearers, as the
internationally recognized post-conflict Disarmament, Demobilisation and
Reintegration (DDR) rules, as spelt out by the United Nations, permits the
enlistment of non-arms bearing relatives, children, informants, and several
other allies of the actual ex-combatant in Amnesty programmes.
Today, a good number of the agitators
are studying different courses including law, political science, international
relations, engineering, accounting and medicine in institutions of higher
learning across the world. One of the beneficiaries of the programme, Mr Tarila
Nathan Dressman, who is currently a chemical technician with Impact Chemical
Technologies, Texas, USA, said; if not for the amnesty programme, he would have
been useless to himself and a nuisance to the country in spite of the fact that
he had a bachelors degree at the time he was in the creeks with the Niger Delta
agitators, but today, through the amnesty programme, he has not only been able
to obtain a Masters degree, but has also secured a befitting job with a
petrochemical firm; saying, he plans to work out ways of the company he works
with, setting up a subsidiary in Nigeria for the benefit of the country as well
as to create employment for other less privileged youths in the country.
Furthermore, the Amnesty Office has
trained over 20,000 Niger Delta youths in different skills and vocations. The
Amnesty Office has aided a number of them to secure gainful employment or set up
their business.
All these
wouldn’t have been possible if not for the support and backings of the
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, and the National Assembly.
In view of all the above, can the same
gesture be extended to the Boko Haram insurgents that are currently marauding
the North Eastern Nigeria, so that the region can once again heave a sigh of
relief, and breathe some real fresh air? Again, Kuku explained that it can, but
that, three different sets of persons, those that are traumatised, and hopping
that the Boko Haram activities will someday be curtailed by the government,
those that are sympathetic to the cause of the insurgents, but dislike their
mode of operation, as well as the members of Boko Haram that are currently
being held by security agents must all be involved and be used to find a
lasting solution to the Boko Haram problem. He said, if these sets of people
are properly managed and their psyche worked on, the results that will be
achieved, will be marvelous.
The
multiplier effect of the prevalence of peace in the Niger Delta region is
manifested in the confidence that business concerns are beginning to now have
in going to operate in the region; again, in the long run, the creation of
employment and gradual rebuilding of the region will sure follow suit as the
Niger Delta is now relatively safe, secure and ripe for fresh investments in
the oil and gas sector, the Agro-allied businesses as well as in the services
sector
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