Democracy: The Post-Amnesty Window

The Federal government’s post-amnesty programme for ex-militants in the Niger Delta may end next year (2013) – two years earlier than the originally planned date of 2015, according to the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs and chairman of the Amnesty progamme, Hon. Kingsley Kuku.

Hon. Kuku was speaking in Lagos, recently, at a pre-departure ceremony for another batch of ex-militants who were going overseas, to Italy, South Africa and Belarus, where they will undergo various programmes in electrical engineering, computer engineering, petrochemical engineering, radio informatics, mass communication, mathematics, biological sciences, physics and chemistry.

Kuku’s declaration underscores the success of the Post-Amnesty progamme in dealing with a major threat to the economic development and security of Nigeria’s democracy, namely the building of human capacity and sustainable engagement of youths for peace in the Niger Delta.

When on June 25, 2009, President Umaru Yar’Adua (may his soul rest in peace) announced his plan to grant amnesty to all those engaged in militant activities in the Niger Delta and who were willing to renounce violence and surrender their arms in exchange for presidential pardon, not a few people outside the presidential kitchen cabinet believed him, considering the spate of virulent criticisms that greeted the announcement. Even those who were the prime target beneficiaries of the plan were suspicious and would rather treat it very cautiously as one of those specially packaged and signed programmes that was however fated to pass through a cul-de sac and remain undelivered.

The fears so blatantly expressed in the media were that the president’s amnesty package was merely a desperate reaction by the Federal Government to save the nation’s economy from the speedy decline in oil revenue as oil production dropped from over 2 million barrels per day to less than 800,000 barrels per day; and also saved the administration from ridicule by the opposition and good governance analysts as it sought to prove its capacity to manage our democracy. For, more than the issue of economic survival, what posed a critical challenge to the Federal Government during the pre-amnesty days was its ability to steer the ship of state in such a manner that could increase the faith of Nigerians in the effectiveness and beauty of democracy (economic development and survival being merely part of democracy).

And it was to sustain democracy that the Federal Government treated the amnesty programme  with urgency, ensuring that everything about it was done with dispatch. Indeed, nothing threatened the collapse of democracy under Yar-Adua’s watch more than the challenge posed by the activities of militant gangs scattered in several camps in the swamps of the Niger Delta.

Vibrant and agile young men and women but largely unemployed or under-employed, and marooned in militant camps that cannot be properly numbered and toughened by the harsh realities of poverty and hostile economic and environmental conditions, found attraction in lawlessness and brigandage. With tens of thousands of able-bodied youths, some of them  very skillful and well educated and with strong ideological underpinnings, it was easy to understand the level of sophistication that was brought into pipeline vandalization, hostage taking, piracy and detonation of bombs. Anger and protestation wore a new toga.

It was to say the least unsettling in the Niger Delta as state governors complimented the Federal government in committing huge resources to combat militant activities. It was in view of their contribution and direct involvement as chief security officers of their respective states that the governors threatened to pull out of the Amnesty deal if the Federal Government did not carry them along. It is gratifying that all hands have been on deck to ensure the success of the scheme.

According to the former presidential adviser on Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Timi Alaibe, the key objective of the Amnesty programme “is to stabilize, consolidate and sustain security conditions in the Niger Delta as a pre-requisite for promoting economic development in the area.”

Also, Hon. Kuku echoed this at a stakeholders interactive forum in Lagos recently, when he said. “The concern over the security and of the Niger Delta and the stability of the economy was palpable and could be seen against the backdrop of pre-amnesty activities when foreign investments in the upstream sub-sector greatly dwindled as investors found safer alternative destinations in Ghana and Angola.”

Nigeria could not meet its target of 40billion proven resources by 2010 as foremost oil company, Shell, saw its production capacity drop from one million barrels per day to about 250,000 barrels per day. With several diplomatic Advisory notices by the United States of America and other foreign countries to their nationals to avoid the Niger Delta over security concerns, the Niger Delta was virtually a no-go area. The growth of militant groups was so widespread that the mangrove swamps became host to numerous militant camps fortified with heavy weaponry and providing comfort to youths who were satisfied with blowing up oil pipelines, seizing oil vessels and making the oil platforms unsafe for oil workers.

It was therefore not surprising that by October 4, 2009, the last day of the amnesty grace period, 20,192 militants had accepted amnesty. With over 6000 persons approved as supplementary by President Jonathan, the list of militants under the amnesty programme is better imagined. Even with this huge figure, there are still agitations by some persons claiming exclusion from the  amnesty. Hon. Kuku has declared that the door for amnesty is closed, and has urged state governments to provide such opportunities as have been created by the Amnesty office to deal with the expectations of such persons.

In three years, the post amnesty programme is really on course as its focus on training and capacity building has been far-reaching. Several batches of ex-militants have received training in various skills that have adequately prepared them for opportunities in oil and gas associated industries. In particular, many of them have been trained in under-water welding; pipeline welding, ocean diving, crane operations, oil drilling, automobile technology, fish farming and entrepreneurship, for periods of trainings scheduled to last between six months and two years.

While others are attending training  programme that could take as long as five years. The aim is to give the ex-militants  the best possible training in their preferred areas of study to qualify them for any possible opportunity.

In addition to those who have received training that have prepared them for the petroleum industry, many ex-militants have received training as pilots and agro-scientists in Israel. Out of the 18 pilot-trainees in South Africa, at least three have successfully operated solo flights and have received their Private Pilot Licences to fly aircraft. From the deep swampy creeks have emerged well trained pilots that fly airplanes like every other trained pilot.

While training as part of the post-amnesty programmes appears to be succeeding, the issue of rehabilitation and reintegration still pose formidable challenges. These are due largely to the inadequacies of job spaces to accommodate those who have been trained. The huge number of unregistered ex-militants demanding to be part of the amnesty scheme cannot also be overlooked in view of the fluid character of those involved in militant activities. Not less is the occasional flashes of discontent by militant groups issuing ultimatum over unsatisfactory implementation of the amnesty package.

To be sure, the expectation of many people in the Niger Delta is that the amnesty package will first track infrastructural development that will transform the entire swampy region to be commensurate with the volume of deprivation the people of the area have suffered in our 50 years of oil exploration and exportation.

If Government’s intention for the Amnesty programme is to restore the economy and stabilize democracy, the hope of the people is the quick and wholistic development of the Niger Delta through the construction of projects such as the East-West Road, the coastal road networks, and the construction and expansion of industrial establishments such as the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project at Bonny and the completion of the LNG at Brass. The package should also recognise the right of the Niger Delta people as equal partners in the Nigerian Federation.

The fact could thus, be restated, that whereas the post-amnesty programme has numerous challenges, the journey has been swift and laudable because not only has the nation’s oil production capacity made appreciable progress, the threat of economic collapse and the danger it posed to democracy have been successfully handled. And with many ex-militants well trained and integrated into the society as useful and gainfully employed citizens, the country is once again on the right path to sustainable democracy through the window opened by the post amnesty deal.

Alpheaus Paul-Worika