Amnesty as a metaphor

“Come what may, all bad fortune is to be conquered by endurance. Fortune favours the bold.”
By Virgil

When in 2009, the federal government bent over backwards to establish the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), no fewer Nigerians hailed it as a welcome development- an idea whose time had come. Although, it came a little too late, even so, the effort was unpretentiously applauded by observers.

The reason was not far-fetched given the orgy of violence that had become a permanent feature of the Niger Delta landscape. Some analysts fittingly described the region as the cauldrun of violence. The disenchanted youths unlike their more tolerant elders took up arms against the State. These incredibly courageous as well as indomitable militants held the country hostage on account of the prolonged neglect, injustice and myriads of other systemic challenges visited upon the people. For too long the citizens had kept faith with the balmy rhetorics of government but not any more. The creek boys are done with deceit of the past. Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta ably led by Henry Okah and other rag tag organisations were not interested in enduring the excesses of the past. The youth groups went into the war not for the pleasure of narcissism.
But to question the abject poverty and the absence of opportunities in the land. And to liberate, chiefly the Ijaw nation from the unbridled oppression and unrestrained marginalization by government. More in part due to the ruthless exploitation of its mineral resources by the IOCs. The Egbesu boys had no option but to follow the footsteps of Isaac Adaka Boro, the hero of the Ijaw struggle.

They would no longer put up with the hardship in the face of plenty. Enough of the blow in the wind phantom phlosophy of subjugation. Enough of the cavorting. It is time for the serious business of redemption. The boys threw caution to the winds.

For the first time the militants discountenanced the unprofitable lip service of government. As Virgil rightly stated, fortune favours the bold, the militants dared the government by inflicting consequential injury on the nation’s source of revenue. The lethargy of the past was history. Afterall, it is said quite succinctly too, if you push a people to the wall, they may react violently with full agression.

It was a fierce and feisty struggle that brought untold hardship on the nation and specifically to the people of the oil rich region.

At the end of the day, the war claimed hundreds of thousands of lives- albeit, untimely. Quite unfortunately, criminal elements unwittingly infiltrated the ranks of the freedom fighters. They were the ones who wrecked havoc on innocent lives in the creeks. Sadly so.

Howbeit, the President’s overture helped to reverse the downward slide of the nation’s economy and ultimately rescued it from imminent collapse.
It was Nigeria’s second darkest hour. The first being the Civil War of 1967.

The directive brought succour and relief not only to the nation but also to the victims of the war.

That bold and radical step taken by Late President Umaru Yar’Adua supposedly drew the curtain on what seemed perennial and intractable.

The outcome was long-prayed-for by persons of goodwill nationwide. Even though citizens of the Niger Delta region bore the greater brunt of the crossfire between the waring parties.

The reprieve brought to a halt the drift and the insanity that was the Niger Delta region. At a time when life in the region lost its value and sacredness. People were hacked down, maimed or kidnapped at will. Citizens of Ijaw nation in the creeks slept at night with their eyes wide open. Life was short and brutish. No place was safe as some elements indulged in heinous crimes as lords of the manor. It was that bad. And pathetic.

That policy directive by the President at the time, was not only necessary, it was equally topical.

It bears repeating that the economy of the country was undoubtably on its knees, prostrate at best. The boys from the creeks fortified by the Egbesu deity intensified the onslaught and the bombardment of oil facilities and infrastructures- both onshore and offshore. The entire region was one big theatre of guerilla warfare.

There was chaos and confusion and catastrophy everywhere. The Ijaw boys who spearheaded the arms engagement with the military almost neutralised the fire power of the military. Needless to say, the outlook was anything but scary and hopelessly gloomy.

However, after due appraisal
of the situation, Late President Yar’Adua had no option but to seek a way out of the quagmire.

The President was magnanimous enough to assuage the anger of the boys by granting them unconditional pardon. So that the freedom fighters would lay down their arms and embrace dialogue.
At first, the act was seemingly tentative but measured even though the outcome was uncertain. Especially at a time when mutual distrust had created a gulf between the boys and the government. And of course, there was an undercurrent of rage, despair and discontent running through the veins of the citizens due to the abject neglect of the region.
The activities of the international oil companies and their federal government collaborators had compounded the woes of the people. The enviromment was no longer conducive for any profitable venture as a result of the environmental degradation.

Both sides, at the peak of the hostilities engaged in propaganda as the most viable machinery of communication. Truth was the sacrificial lamb offered at the altar of propaganda. Little wonder when the amnesty offer came on a platter of gold the response was poor. Not too many leaders who went by the appellation of geneneral this and general that were ready to take advantage of the offer.
Many doubted the sincerity of government. And so they boycotted the venues designated for disamament.
They were skeptical about the process. It took the intervention of Ijaw leaders to negotiate a truce between government and the boys.

It is necessary to mention that the amnesty programme was part of a holistic and all encompassing solution to the challenges of the Niger Delta region. The amnesty paradigm was just one component in the ecosystem of an enlarged bouquet of solutions aimed at ameliorating the challenges of the region. Time and space will not allow us to delve into the details. But suffice it to say that the programme was the game changer that prefaced the cease-fire and the relative peace that prevailes in the region.

By the way, no fewer persons, in their wildest imagination envisaged that the programme will endure till this moment.

Because amnesty programmes the world over have a terminal date- often times between three and five years. Does it mean, PAP has over stayed its welcome? Far from it.

However, it is important to bear in mind that we have a peculiar situation at hand due to the operating dynamics of the Niger Delta region. The area is without doubt, the beautiful bride that lays the golden egg that feeds the nation. That strategic position unwittingly sets her up to receive the short end of the stick. No thanks to deliberate policies of subjugation by holding the people down. Often through divide and rule policy of government. And popular by the IOCs. These policies have over the years fueled anger rage and discontent.

That explains why the region is a tinderbox waiting to be ignited. As could be expected the conflagration of ‘yesterday’ fatally injured the financial health and wellbeing of the country.

The prevalent environmental challenges of the region made worse by the paucity of opportunities. Not to mention the age long injustice, inequity, acute marginalization and other sundry policies informed the establishment of the amnesty programme and other interventionist initiatives.
However, the Presidential Amnesty Programme has over time acquired the status of a sustainable development programme. It has become an integral part of the development agenda of the federal government.

It is reasonable and indeed logical therefore, to demand for the establishment of the amnesty programme as a social interventionist agency of government. It is therefore imperative that the programme be transformed and rechristened in tandem with the present realities of the region.

It is obvious, government cannot scrap or do away with programme just yet. The consequences will be too dire to imagin. Past efforts by government failed because of the push back it received from indigenes of the region. Ask Major Gen Barry Tariye Ndiomu. It was an herculean task, too weighty to execute.

The need to re-engineer the entity by injecting new blood to its veins can not be over-emphasised. Be that as it may we must commend the new ceo, Dr. Dennis Burutu Otuaro for the innovation has introduced in the management of the body.

It may interest you to know however, that the programme is living on borrowed times. What do I mean? There’s no legal framework backing the establishment of the programme. It is a programme not am agency.
Therefore, I urge the Tinubu administration to be courageous providing a legal framework justifying its existence. President Tinubumust take a keen look at the body with a view to revitalise its operations. Its flagship programme of human capital development must be goven a pride of place in the new agency. The body should be renamed Niger Delta Education and Social Commission with a mandate to empower the youths of the region with skilks and scholarships. Especially in this third phase of its existence. The reintegration phase is the most crucial of any amnesty agenda. Already, we are through with two phases- disarmament and demobilization.

PAP for now is not a legal personality. Of course, the implication is that the entity cannot sue ot be sued, even though the reverse is the case now. The existence of PAP is at the mercy of the President of the country. All its operations are based on temporary basis. It may interest you to know that there are no permanent staff in the programme. Hence, no pension schemes for the staff. Employees are usually engaged on hadhoc basis. There are no entrenched systems and ethics of operations as it is presently constituted.
Don’t forget, the entity came into existence on a Presidential directive in 2009. This is the time to rebrand the agency and give it a legal framework through an act of the National Assembly.

Another issue worthy of consideration is the funding of the body. The monthly budget of six billion naira which it started with Sixteen years ago is no longer sustainable. The orgsnisation can no longer meet its obligations to its creditors, contractors and partners. Government must inject funds to the agency. The IOCs operating the region should also be made to contribute to the funding of the organization being proposed. Government alone cannot shoulder the responsibility of keeping the agency afloat.

Another issue that so germain to the survival of PAP is the frequent turnover of its chief executive officers. Government must ensure that the position of the ceo is tenured like every other agency of government. The abrupt removal of administrators within 24 months will not help in the smooth management of the programme.

Another important issue is the financial management of the body. Because, the programme is involved in national security, hence, its financies should not be subjected to regular procurement regulations.

It is my sincere prayer that PAP should be given a legal backing. It should be transformed into a social intervention programme in the interest of peace in the Niger Delta region.

This my stand.




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