When the late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua unfolded the Presidential Amnesty Programme in 2009, for the Niger Delta, not many Nigerians saw the wisdom in it. At that time, when Niger Delta militants held the country in the jugular, blowing up pipelines and disrupting oil exploitation and exploration, which made it difficult for the country to meet its oil production quota, Nigeria’s economy bled. The government lost enormous revenue and the financial books never balanced. It was one of the trying times for Nigeria. And those who felt that amnesty programme was a position of weakness wanted the government to return fire for fire. The late President Yar’Adua thought otherwise.
Accepting the proposal to grant amnesty, which meant that the sin of sabotaging the economy, in the name of agitation, was forgiven, the Federal Government had evolved a programme in which then militants surrendered their arms and got paid for them, received monthly stipends, be trained in vocational institutes to acquire skills, from which to eke out a living, and attended formal education, in the best schools abroad, as the case might be. The deal was agreed upon by both parties and implemented. With this, the violence in the Niger Delta ceased, as ex-militants stopped their agitation and the economy had bounced back. In the amnesty programme, therefore, many former militants or their wards got vocational training in various fields. Others were trained as pilots. And yet others were enrolled in universities in the United Kingdom, Russia, South Africa and United States.
Seven years after the commencement of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, many of those who benefitted from the university education scheme have graduated in many disciplines. Indeed, a parade of some of the graduates on July 29, 2016, at the Nigerian High Commission in London, showed that many good things could actually come from the Niger Delta. For a region, which has been known and noted for bombing of pipelines, kidnapping of expatriates, illegal bunkering and economic sabotage, it is, indeed, cheering news that some young men and women therein have shown academic brilliance, to the extent that they came out in flying colours in overseas universities.
To be sure, many Niger Delta parents ought to be proud that their sons and daughters, who benefitted from the amnesty university education scheme are not only proud degree holders but also made good grades. The latest graduates in the UK were showcased when the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Amnesty Programme, Brigadier-General Paul Boro, travelled to London with a Federal Government delegation to savour the glory of the academic prowess of former militants, now referred to as “former agitators.” At the event, which also had in attendance two members of the House of Representatives (Hons. Wole Oke and Nasir Ahmed), Acting Nigerian High Commissioner to the UK, Adah Simon Ogah, and other top embassy staff, Presidential Adviser on Economic Team (Donald Nwokoma), Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the amnesty office, Colonel Segun Okungbere and Nigerian-born United Kingdom Member of Parliament (MP), Kate Osamor, among others, former Niger Delta agitators shone like a thousand stars. With three students (Nicholas Goodness, Terubein Fawei and Lucky Azibanagein), making First Class honours in such professional and competitive courses as Public Relations, Telecommunication and Networking Engineering as well as Mechanical Engineering and Robotic System, and 18 others graduating with Second Class Upper division in UK universities as well as other First Class graduates, produced by the programme in other countries, the best of Niger Delta has manifested. The academic feat shows that militants could actually rise above violent agitation cum crimes to excel in noble causes and endeavours. This shows that some of those who lived in the creeks, in their agitation, are sharp brains, who could, with their potentials, become a positive change agent in the country.
Despite whatever shortcomings, the President Buhari government deserves kudos for not truncating the amnesty programme. Yes, leaders come and go, but government is a continuum wherein good programmes started by a former leader should be embraced by the new one. Therefore, the continuation of the amnesty programme, which ensured the payment of the fees of students in overseas universities, many of whom have graduated now, is a good gesture, as a discontinuation would have amounted to ending the academic programme of the beneficiaries or subjecting them to hardship, if they have to continue at their own expense. Also, the restoration of the stipend paid former militants is okay, as long as it lasts. And the fulfilment of other obligations will positively impact on the Niger Delta. For me, therefore, the General Boro team’s visit was one action that has not only corrected the misconception that the current government has no interest in the amnesty programme, but also reassured the Niger Delta students that government is there for them. Indeed, Boro deserves commendation for not only talking the initiative on the London trip but also the way he talked to the graduates. The fact that he psyched them up, with the view to gingering them for greater things is a clincher.
To be sure, the amnesty programme-produced graduates and others who acquired special skills through vocational training are living example of good things coming from Niger Delta. These accomplishments, therefore, ought to serve as a tonic to indigenes of the Niger Delta region to believe in themselves, knowing that they do not have any limitation in intelligence, compared to other Nigerians. The amnesty programme graduates should, therefore, serve as ambassadors, who should influence the thinking and perception of other youths from the Niger Delta. They should return and apply their skills and knowledge in Nigeria. However, for them to find their footing, it will not be a bad idea for the government to offer the outstanding ones employment and also to extend loans to those who have skills and want to be entrepreneurs/employers of labour.
I support the continuation of the scholarship scheme of the amnesty programme. Yes, the Federal Government should keep it running, in collaboration with the Niger Delta governments. The Federal Government should press forward with the Ogoni clean up and other progressive programmes towards the uplift of the Niger Delta. However, the payment of dole to people, in the name of stipend, is not sustainable. It is better to teach people how to fish instead of giving them fish on daily basis. I am persuaded that government should set a terminal date for such payments and publicise it. Before exiting, however, a programme should be evolved for those who receive the so-called stipend to be self-reliant, so that they would cater to themselves and by so doing maintain their self-worth.
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