Niger Delta, beyond amnesty

With the recent appointment of a Brig. Gen. P. T Boro (Retd), the stalled amnesty programme set up to cater for former Niger Delta militants can now go on full steam. Gen. Boro is an experienced hand in war time and post war time peace building effort. He is also vast in distribution of relief materials and resettlement of victims of war and war veterans. He had participated/headed the Economic Community of West African, ECOWAS states peace keeping relief centre. And with the Amnesty Programme winding to a halt, save for any major detour in the coming months, he is the right and proper person to ensure the intervention ends on an ovation note.

The Amnesty Programme was instituted by the Federal Government during the administration of late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua. This was one of the terms of the truce at a time when Niger Delta militants had practically crippled oil exploration and the country was almost at its knees. The programme was meant to directly take care of repentant militants in exchange for their weaponry. They were also supposed to desist from further waging war against their country. This programme ensured that beneficiaries par took in different kinds of vocation and educational training. Others were also paid stipends of N70, 000 each. Their leaders were paid higher and in other cases handed contracts that ran into several billions of naira.

The programme has so far run for over five years. Interested former militants have been trained in some of the best schools abroad in areas such as engineering, pilot, law, etc. while others were trained at home. However, hitches have been noticed from time to time over failure to comply fully with the terms of the amnesty, especially for those sent abroad to study. There have been reports of students being thrown out of school or out of their accommodation because either rents have not been paid or school fees are pending. This situation has been compounded by the failure of the new government to name a head for the Amnesty Office, who will not only drive the process but ensure that cheques are signed and on time too.

So with the naming of Gen. Boro to head the Amnesty Office, some of the tension generated in recent times with regards to what looked like the ignoring the programme can now settle. However, what will not settle is what will now happen after the life of the programme comes to an end. December is the termination schedule. But with what is on ground, it does not appear that December will quite cut it. There are still grey areas that require attention. Secondly, in winding down too, there must be evaluation of what has been achieved and what can be done. It therefore appears the programme will still take a further six to 12 months extension. And that is where Boro's job becomes very critical. There have been suggestions and reports of massive corruption at the Amnesty Office; therefore, such reports must also be investigated. This is so because we cannot afford to have the country pencil money down to be used to solve a major problem only for some people to divert such funds into their own pockets!

Also, when all is done, we should begin to think clearly on what happens to the land and the people from where the oil resources emanate from. Therefore, beyond amnesty, what are we really doing to solve the poverty, environmental and infrastructure challenges in the Niger Delta? If nothing is done in this regard, it will appear to us that the amnesty intervention is a tokenistic adventure to satisfy a few connected men and women. The real everyday people appear not to count for much. And that could explain the despoliation of that environment and very little care for the residents. Both the Niger Delta Ministry and the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC are now required to step up. The government of the day should ensure that the master plan of the region is dusted and implementation started. There is no more time to waste if indeed that part of the country is expected to feel a sense of belonging, especially haven seen the resource contributions that has been made from that part of country. We owe it a duty to do all we can to ensure greater benefit from the oil resources that come from the soils and waters of the Delta.

We believe that there is no other more honest leader than President Muhammadu Buhari, who will most certainly drive that process to a commendable end.

#editorial