What Next After Amnesty Programme?

When the federal government embarked on the amnesty programme in 2009, Which came on the heels of the same rehabilitation programme established by the Rivers State Government, under Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, people commended the programme and prayed for necessary tools to be put in place to ensure its success and sustainability.

The issue of militancy cannot be completely eradicated when the evil that played a vital role in its formation is recurrent in nature.       

Prior to the 1998 electoral campaigns, there were campaign by youth groups in Rivers State and Niger Delta with aims and objectives, which amongst others include campaign for resource control. This did not pose any threat to the lives and properties of individuals or prevent investors from coming into the State.           

Socially, no activity was injurious to night life in the state. For example, people went about unmolested, and parents could vouch for the conduct of their children.             The advent of 1998 & 2003 political campaign era saw desperate politicians, in their bid to cling to power or secure electoral offices, recruited innocent youths as thugs, some converted the already existing groups to political thugs through offer of financial rewards and support for their formative goals after elections.

With negotiations concluded, verbal agreements were reached between the boys and the politicians. The boys were equipped with sophisticated weapons and financial backings to intimidate opponents by ensuring that they stop or outrightly eliminate them.

In the end victory was secured for their political employees without consideration for the view of the electorates. No sooner had the election ended and successful politicians took oath of office than the boys dropped like pieces of garbage, leaving them to fend for themselves.

Disappointed and dejected, the boys who at this time had formed territorial zones of operations and incorporated people with diverse interest into their groups, took their weapons to the streets to make ends meet and express their disappointments, giving rise to increased number of militants that the nation is now fighting hard to control.

Today Rivers State has experienced some degree of sanity under the Gov. Amaechi led administration coupled with the amnesty programme of the federal government.  

As the nation is again warming up for intense political activities in readiness for 2011, what strategies this time around will the politicians use to carry out their campaigns, It’s safe to assume that they will apply the methods of their predecessors by using our sons, brothers and friends as thugs thereby, creating another set of problems after achieving their arms which the country would have to contain with.

For the amnesty programme to be truly successful and devoid of relapses from the activities of militants, it is pertinent that every facet of the society must be involved in checking the activities of desperate politicians.

The federal government should ensure that promises made to repentant militants are kept to the letter as it is not enough to confine them’ to resettlement camps and pay stipends which sometimes come late.

They should be carefully and systematically re-orientated to fit into the larger society, taking cognizance ‘of the fact that these’ boys had wasted human lives and death meant nothing to them. They should be taught trades and adequately equipped to stand on their own.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should be empowered financially and legally, to disqualify candidates found to have used thugs as part of their campaigns.

INEC should map out strategies to monitor the activities of people vying for elective positions, from the point they indicated interest, to ensure that those with questionable records were disqualified during screening.

The nation educational curriculum must include patriotism as a core subject in our schools at all levels, and students should be further enlightened on the dangers of allowing themselves to be lured or used as thugs by desperate politicians.

Lecturers should be made to realise that  embarking on strike action at this time for any form of provocation or request is not in the interest of the nation, bearing in mind that “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”

Parents should play their God-given role of providing for their children and not push them out to fend for themselves and the entire family, simply because they have passed out of school without consideration to how they will achieve that responsibility.

The media on its part should promote programmes that will enlighten the people on the ills of political thuggery and showcase on why the people’s vote must count.

Churches should reduce the emphasis on tithes and offering by working hard to preach more about salvation and dispense morals and integrity in the minds of the youths and their congregation. They should ensure that members imbibe good orientation that will prevent them from falling out of faith. Political god-fathers should choose credible persons in their community who would easily win the votes of the people at the grassroots. If this is done, the use of force-or thugs will be unnecessary. They should not field people with questionable character to contest if they should resist the temptation of imposing candidates on their people during elections all for the sake of eliciting total loyalty as well as attract returns from their so called, ‘investments.’ Law enforcements agents should be enlightened on the need to monitor the activities of political office seekers during campaign.

Mathew is a staff of Ministry of Information and Communications.

Carol Mathew