The Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Chairman, Presidential Amnesty Programme, Hon. Kingsley Kuku, at the weekend, tied the amicable resolution of the challenge posed by the activities of the militant Islamist sect, Boko Haram, to the full participation of political, traditional, intellectual and religious leaders in northern Nigeria in the peace process initiated by the federal government.
Kuku, who was a guest speaker at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC, told a packed audience that with the setting up and inauguration of the Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North, President Goodluck Jonathan had shown that his administration is irrevocably committed to the restoration of peace, safety and security in the northern part of the country.
He however warned that the President’s genuine intentions may become futile if known and respected leaders in the North continue to remain aloof.
“President Jonathan has shown good faith. He has shown leadership and he has shown commitment. He truly wants every part of Nigeria to be in peace. However, respected leaders in the North must help Nigeria; they must help our President; they must get involved in the peace process. They must help rein in the leaders of the Boko Haram sect. These northern leaders know several of these persons, and they have to help bring them to the negotiating table. This is how this crisis can be solved,” Kuku said.
The presidential aide commended those who accepted their nomination to serve in the committee constituted by the government, noting that it was a crucial national assignment and that his office was willing and open to share knowledge and experience with members of the committee on how to resolve the crisis.
Speaking extensively on how militancy in the Niger Delta was curbed, Kuku held that but for the fact that prominent Niger Delta leaders keyed into the late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s vision to dialogue with former militant agitators in the zone, the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme would not have been a success and that part of Nigeria would still be in in turmoil.
“It is true that it was President Yar’Adua who proclaimed amnesty for militant agitators in the Niger Delta but it must also be clarified that Yar’Adua proclaimed amnesty for the former agitators in the Niger Delta after months of dialogue with them. The process was led by then Vice President, who is now the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan,” Kuku said.
The Special Adviser told his American audience that Dr. Jonathan defied security advice and went to the then dreaded Camp 5 in Delta State to dialogue with the militant leaders led by the dreaded Tompolo and extracted peace commitment from them.
“As a sitting Vice President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan led the charge; he led the negotiations. Against security advice and against the advice of even his boss, the late President Yar’Adua, Dr. Jonathan decided to visit the key leaders of Niger Delta militant agitators in the then dreaded Camp 5, which was located in the creeks of Oporoza in Delta State. Dr. Jonathan was accompanied by several other Niger Delta leaders like Chief E.K Clark, Alabo Tonye Graham-Douglas, Senator David Brigidi and several others. I was there. The then Vice President and other respected Niger Delta leaders sat on the floor begging and convincing the militant agitators of the propriety of accepting the peace option offered by Yar’Adua,” Kuku recalled.
He said the effort of Dr. Jonathan and the other Niger Delta leaders paid off as the militant leaders in the zone eventually acceded to the appeal of their leaders and accepted the Yar’Adua peace offer.
The presidential aide contended that this dialogue method should be adopted in the collective quest to check and end the activities of insurgents in the North.
“Even when I strongly believe that the Niger Delta struggle and the unfortunate activities of Boko Haram are not related in any way and should not even be compared, I am however of the view that dialogue must precede the offer of the amnesty that everyone is talking about. Do the Boko Haram leaders really want amnesty? We really have to hear from them and the job and processes of dialoguing and hearing from them is where the leaders of the North must come in. I am personally of the view that leaders in the North know leaders of Boko Haram. They can talk to them just the way Dr. Jonathan and several leaders in the Niger Delta spoke to and convinced former militant agitators in the Niger Delta to accept the peace overture made by the Federal Government in 2009,” he averred.
Kuku also cautioned that the politicization of the activities of terror cells in northern Nigeria would spell doom for the whole country.
“The gravest mistake anyone will make is to politicise the battle against terrorism in Nigeria. I hear people call the President all sorts of derogatory names each time Boko Haram carried out its activities. They forget that terrorism is a global phenomenon. In the U.S., for example, there is a bi-partisan commitment to the combat and rooting out of terrorism. In Nigeria, also, the President needs the support of all patriots irrespective of party affiliation, state of origin or even religious persuasions to stamp out terrorism. Sadly, some people want to score very cheap political points by heaping the blames for Boko Haram’s activities on a man (the President) who inherited the problem.”
In his paper, Kuku took the audience through developments in the Niger Delta, particularly the Presidential Amnesty Programme for former agitators in the region.
He told them that following the proclamation and the acceptance of amnesty by former agitators in the Niger Delta, Nigeria’s economy witnessed astronomical growth as crude oil production, which had declined to as low as 700,000 barrels per day in the first quarter of 2009, has been rising steadily and currently stands at 2.6 million barrels per day. He attributed the success of the amnesty programme to the staunch backing of President Jonathan and the National Assembly.
Kuku, however, warned that unless the thousands of youths being offered skills and vocational training by the Amnesty Office were gainfully employed, peace may once again elude the Niger Delta.
“We were given the mandate to disarm, demobilize and reintegrate these ex-agitators. We are doing just that and peace has returned to the Niger Delta as several of the ex-agitators are now very busy in schools and vocational centres across the world. But what becomes of them after their training is our biggest challenge now. On our part, we have done our best but we now need the practical support of all persons and nations who truly seek and want peace in the Niger Delta to join efforts to create employment opportunities for our youths,” Kuku said.
The Presidential Adviser disclosed at the session that over 9,000 Niger Delta ex-agitators have since completed their training and that several of them are currently being directly assisted by the Amnesty Office to set up small and medium scale businesses.
“Just two weeks ago, we distributed assortments of start-up equipment to 300 already trained Niger Delta ex-agitators to commence their respective businesses. We are going to do more of that this year. But it will be impossible for us to do that for the totally enrolled number of 30,000 persons in the programme. This is where we need help. This is where international investors, particularly Americans, must come in to help deepen the peace and help development in the Niger Delta,” Kuku appealed.
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