Presidential Amnesty Programme – A time for more understanding, more purpose

By Ikeddy ISIGUZO

SOME critics of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, have questioned its continued stay, an indication of their under-rating of what PAP has achieved in its 16 years. They do not care. They are part of those who find reasons not to support improvements of the Niger Delta. Interestingly, some of them are from the Region. Their expertise is in putting themselves, only themselves, first.
Another pointer to the many challenges of PAP is the recent media buzz that Dr. Dennis Otuaro, PAP’s current Administrator should be changed. He has over-stayed his welcome.
Dr. Otuaro is just 12 months in office. How long does it take to solve the problems in PAP, some of which have been around since the inception of PAP? What can be achieved in 12 months, outside continuing with existing programmes while laying new policy pathways?
With hindsight, it is easy to determine what should have been done with PAP which came into existence at a time of one of the biggest threats that Nigeria faced.
Hindsight offers the advantage of being able to analyse events that had taken place with “wisdom”. In 2007, PAP hit the ground and everyone took off to fix the sinking Nigerian ship.
Negotiations were on to secure enough peace to get resources from crude to sustain the economy. At the same time, militants were being convinced to lay down their arms with the offer of an amnesty nobody knew what it. It was a testy time.
Yar’Adua has never got adequate recognition for the deft moves he made that saved Nigeria’s wells from going up in flames possibly with the country. He navigated those waters like a sea master. His poor health was not an excuse.
Oil fields were on fire. Bombs were going off in different parts of the Niger Delta. Militant groups sprouted daily. They formed fiefdoms where they held sway.
Militants had their little countries and decided who they dealt with. Those were the days that any security agent posted to those parts had almost the equivalent of a death sentence on his head.
Warnings by the security agencies for the groups to de-escalate their threats were greeted with more threats. Nigeria was sitting on a time bomb with a clear and loud ticking.
The activities of militants were security as well as economic threats. The economy was sliding to dangerous sides. Oil production nose-dived to about 700,000 barrels daily, barely enough to meet Nigeria’s obligations.
Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua jumped into the matter and got great results.
He created PAP following series of consultations with different groups. The militants were convinced to disarm and accept the government’s amnesty.
They poured out in unbelievable numbers from the creeks. The last count in 2009 was over 29,000. Government had no idea that militants were that many.
It was from the beginning of PAP that the challenges began. There was shortage of funds, shortage of expertise, and shortage of resources in camps where the ex-militants were quartered. The numbers were overwhelming coupled with unfinished fights that certain militants and their followers wanted to continue with other groups.
The tenacity of those running PAP, fear of new militants and government’s understanding of PAP’s importance counted.
Yar’Adua was not around long enough to nurture PAP to his intention. Subsequent administrations have merely tolerated PAP
They saw the programme progress to another measured success of interventions to stabilise the Niger Delta.
Peace, stability, and the security that PAP generated for the Niger and the country, are lost on those who did not witness those dark days, or have decided to ignore the importance of PAP for other reasons.
The mission of PAP that was stated as, “To transform ex-agitators into entrepreneurs and/or employable citizens who will become net contributors to the economy of the region and the country through effective collaboration with relevant public and private institutions and state governments in the region,” has proven to be more challenging than as plainly written.
If deciding what to do with over 29,000 was a major matter, the problems include appropriate education and skills to enhance the integration of ex-militants. Funding remains a very big challenge.

Fewer resources have meant a cut on the number of scholarships, reduction in the numbers that can attend some courses and programmes. PAP is continuing with its mandate in line with the times.
One area where Dr. Otuaro has been outstanding is working with “corporate stakeholders” to establish partnerships and collaborations that would afford PAP opportunities to expand its works. The PAP Administrator practically talks to anyone he thinks has something that the Presidential Amnesty Programme needs. Commendations flow for his efforts.
An area PAP has not blown its trumpet is how the thousands of ex-militants it reformed are making useful contributions to society. When PAP talks about the number of people it has trained enough importance is not made out of those statistics with linkages that project the value chains of PAP.
Why are people calling for Dr. Otuaro’s head? What did he do in one year that irks some people?
Dr. Otuaro arrived at a time of leaner resources. Some PAP stakeholders are reportedly unhappy about the turn of the tide. He talks about “a more structured and sustainable approach to development”.
Sustainable development is a great idea, and it is long-term.

Delicious as smoked meat is, our elders insist that there must be something with which to warm the mouth while waiting for the delicacy.
The PAP Administrator should reach out more to explain his policies to the public even in times of peace. He is in the best position to let us know his vision of PAP and where he needs him. We should help him. When we do, we would be helping ourselves, Dr. Otuaro, not PAP. The stability that the PAP provides in the Niger is too important to be left to guesses.
PAP needs more resources to do more. Dr. Otuaro’s next task is to find those resources.

Finally…
OMOBOLA Adeseye Ogunlewe, 81, former Senator, former Minister of Works, weighed in on the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. He said Natasha’s beauty was central to the dispute; she is too beautiful to be ignored. He did not suggest a cessation of election of pretty women. An elder has spoken.
NASIR el-Rufai, former Governor of Kaduna State has made a couple of confessions that should interest the security agencies. He said he knew some people who made monetary payments to improve their chances of being Minister. He did not indicate that he reported the crimes, formally called bribery and inducement, to the police.
THERE have been too many petrol tanker accidents and many lives lost that the authorities should have found a solution. Do lives no longer matter? They should matter after all, “The security and well of the people should be the primary purpose of government,” says our Constitution.
ANOTHER suicide off the famed Third Mainland Bridge. Suicide is not a solution but such final pain as leaping off a bridge challenges us individually to care more. Too many things are happening around us. We are the ones to save ourselves – government is too busy being government.

ISIGUZO is a major commentator on minor issues