MANAGING POST-AMNESTY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

From historical times, the peculiar topography of the Niger-Delta and the pollution from oil and gas exploration in the region for decades has qualified that area for special development and attention by its various governments. But due to neglect; poverty, unemployment, lack of infrastructure of every essential type such as roads, water, health facilities and poor housing conditions among others, have continued to pervade the land. Even the traditional fishing and farming occupations have all been abandoned due to widespread oil and gas pollution ravaging the landscape. The failure of past government to find solutions to these problems and improve the welfare and the standard of living of the people, in spite of the huge foreign exchange earnings tumbling into the national coffers has necessitated the reactions of the youths of the area who have taken to militancy and other criminal activities.

The negligence of various past governments since Independence in the management of the welfare of the people has resulted in the perpetration of numerous criminal activities by the youths all over Nigeria; such unwholesome activities include armed robbery, kidnapping, assassination, thuggery and all forms of militancy. The greed of politicians has resulted in the arming of youths to assassinate opponents and rivals and to carry out other unwholesome activities during elections such as stealing and stuffing of ballot boxes with votes. The greed of politicians to win elections by ‘do or die’ means has given rise to the arming of thugs, thereby militarizing the society as evident in the possession of various sophisticated weapons. After elections, many of these thugs are abandoned to fend for themselves; while many of them in the hinterland take to armed robbery, those in the riverine areas take to bunkering, kidnapping for ransom, wanton destruction of pipelines and other destructive ventures.

The destructive activities of these youthful elements have obstructed and retarded all meaningful developments, particularly in the Niger-Delta. It must be stated emphatically that the President Yar’Adua led Federal Government has been impeded in its development efforts, particularly in the Niger- Delta, by the numerous groups of armed gangs of militants, hence the clamour for peace as a prelude to meaningful development. The Joint Task Force was an arm of the Nigeria military packaged to deal with the various shades of militancy in the Niger-Delta but in realization of the strength of the groups vis-à-vis the Joint Task Force, the Federal Government opted for reconciliation in form of amnesty. As the JTF could not subdue the militants, the amnesty deal became a soft landing ground.

Considering the volume and sophistication of arms submitted so far by militants who have embraced the offer of Amnesty, one would wonder how the youths were able to acquire such sophisticated weapons. There is no doubt that bunkering has provided a lot of funds for the youths, while pipeline destruction has reduced the level of income accruing to the nation. While the efforts of President Yar’Adua in making the militants of various categories to submit their arms is novel and commendable, no one is certain if the militants have done this with all sincerity. Can one definitely claim that the volume of arms submitted by every group is total, or just a fraction of the total possessed by them just to earn some money from the Federal Government? Whatever anybody might say, this problem has long been in existence, it is not the creation of this government, therefore this government has a duty to manage judiciously, efficiently and productively the Amnesty project it has embarked upon.

Some claim that the agitation of the youths for a fair deal in the sharing of the proceeds of the oil exploitation was partly responsible for the armed struggle against the Federal Government; can one safely claim that the masses have benefits anything from the enormous gain made by the militants from bunkering? The militants are the singular beneficiary of the financial deals emanating from amnesty. But since the militants have turned in a substantial part of their military hardware, the Federal, State Governments and other development Agencies should seize the opportunity to package a meaningful development plan for the country that would reckon with the interests of the masses this time. The singular beneficiary of this proposed new development plan should be the masses on whose behalf the militants claimed to have carried out a bloody struggle. But if the Federal Government is out only to placate the militants who so far had been paid billions of naira for their arms, when the masses embark on a revolution to demonstrate their resentment to their abject poverty and neglect, this might lead to the disintegration of the country.

All the governments of Nigeria and people must unite to manage the post-amnesty development process. In pursuance of the improvement in the overall development of the people, the funds packaged for all the tiers of government must no more be allowed to be disbursed at the whims of politicians but must be managed through the implementation of a comprehensive-development plan. The purpose of this piece therefore is to advise and chart the way forward in the post-amnesty road to avoid a repeat performance of the mistakes of the past. Since the poverty-stricken masses of the Niger-Delta and other geo-political regions of the country are not the singular responsibility of the Federal Government, all the other tiers of governments and other numerous development agencies should be made to play meaningful roles in the overall development of Nigeria. Instead of embarking on installment projects, Nigeria should revert to the pattern of producing overall master plans to guide all these developments agencies.

In a well-co-ordinated master plan, every development agency should be guided to carryout meaningful development projects in the overall interest of the people. Annual budgets are passed by legislative assemblies in vacuum as a result of which they have little or no impact on the environment. The militants and millions of unemployed youths must be rehabilitated and provided with employment opportunities, while the welfare of the masses should be uplifted. The economy must be re-positioned, instead of depending on crude oil as the dominant source of export revenue earning, the economy must be diversified. This nation must utilize its potentials for agricultural and industrial developments. This is the opportunity to embark on infrastructural development.

The militants have submitted their arms for which government have compensated them. It is not the singular responsibility of the Federal Government to develop Nigeria, the roles of every tier of government and all development agencies should be spelled out in a comprehensive master plan which can be monitored by everybody in the society. The practice of implementing annual budgetary provisions without anything to show for it must be brought to an end. In a period of economic recession like the world is in right now, Nigeria should utilize the opportunity provided by the amnesty project to re-appraise its potentials with a view to utilizing its resources prudently in an effort to achieve a sound economic development.

Joseph Omowa wrote from Iju, Ondo State.