Environmental pollution by way of oil spillage and gas flaring are the lots and bane of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, where the country’s oil exploration activities are carried out by the oil multinational companies.
The cries of the people as well as several non-governmental organisations for attention in the area were not only spurned, but were at intervals rebuffed with crackdown and repression from successive administrations in the country, with the strong connivance of the oil multinationals.
The situation reached a crescendo, when the people of the region took to self-help by bombing, kidnapping and abducting expatriates and other categories of personnel of the oil MNCs in exchange for monetary ransom.
The government, not being able to bear the embarrassment and the drop in daily oil production, coupled with the substantial loss of revenues, devised the amnesty programme in 2009 as solution to the quagmire.
What is Amnesty? Amnesty was defined by Encarta (2009) as an international law and an act of effacing and forgetting past offences granted by the government to person(s) who have been guilty of crime and rebellion against the state.
Another definition says it is a general pardon of offence by government, a deliberate overlooking of offences against a government.
Some examples of amnesty in United States history were those granted by President Andrew Johnson after the American Civil War and those given to certain wartime offenders after World Wars 1 and 11.
Amnesty may be conditioned upon fulfillment of certain obligations within a specified period.
In 1974, President Gerald Ford instituted a programme for Vietnam War deserters, and draft evaders requiring them to spend two years doing public service work as the condition for amnesty.
The only panacea for sustaining the current stability and peace in the Niger Delta is the continuation of the amnesty programme. Any attempt to stop it would lead to unimaginable catastrophe
Few people took advantage of these terms within the time allowed for the programme. Back to Nigeria.
The Amnesty programme is a part of the Federal government’s determination and desire to put an end to the agitations and violence in the region, with the aim of disarming, rehabilitating and reintegrating militants into their communities as a means of tackling the challenges facing the region.
The Amnesty programme was a huge success as the militants accepted the offer and began coming out of hiding to hand over their arms and ammunition to the government through the peace committee set up to coordinate the programme.
Therefore, in order to sustain the emerging peace in the region and to support the post amnesty agenda, public relations have an important role to play if the country is to witness lasting peace and development in the volatile region.
The public relations expertise is inevitable in the challenge of how to ensure that government institutions and agencies saddled with the responsibility of rehabilitating the youths, infrastructure development of the area and provision of social amenities are being carried out without compromising moral integrity and honesty.
For the Amnesty to become successful and sustainable and for the government to achieve these objectives, it is vital that the right machinery be put in place.
One of the benefits of Amnesty programme is to enhance youth development in all ramifications. It will be recalled that before the proclamation of Amnesty for the Niger Delta ex-militants, oil production dropped to an all-time low of 700,000 barrels per day.
With the initiation of the Post-amnesty programme, production immediately rose to 2.4 million barrels per day. It later increased to 2.6 million barrels per day, an increase of 1.9 million barrels per day.
This means that production savings of crude oil stood at $104 million per day for the country, before the recent renewed activities of the militants in the region.
The FG further consolidated its gains on its post amnesty programme as the United Kingdom Department for International Development gave its approval to collaborate in the re-training of Niger Delta ex-militants in community reintegration on completion of their ongoing offshore vocational training.
The collaboration between Nigeria and DFID is part of the contributions of the international community to bring lasting peace and development to the region region in particular and the country as a whole.
The Amnesty promoted active listening, assertive communication and affirming environment for dialogue: It protected the nation’s referent power in the global village. Circulation of illegal weapons was reduced, if not eliminated. It promoted reconciliation between the militants and the offended residents who want peace to reign.
To the amnesty are tied some benefits. It is only in peaceful regions that meaningful collaboration and developments can take place.
Where there are investment and development, there is influx of income, thus earnings increase and socio-economic development programmes abound, which goes a long way in ensuring the safety and the reduction of societal vices. The cycle goes on.
These are all as a result of the realisation of peace; via the successful implementation and sustainability of the Amnesty programme.
These will ensure that the gains accrued as a result of Amnesty such as youth empowerment, reduction of vandalisation, human resource development and socio-economic independence and stability, increased revenue in the oil and gas sector, creation of Niger Delta Affairs Ministry, high level of productivity and investment opportunities are sustained.
Hence, it is safe to conclude that Amnesty does have economic benefits to the country. To this end, some former Niger Delta militants have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to ignore calls by some mischief makers to scrap the Presidential Amnesty Programme.
The former agitators, in a statement recently, maintained that the call was in bad faith and utterly misguided. The National President of the body, Pastor Reuben Wilson maintained that the only panacea for sustaining the current stability and peace in the Niger Delta was the continuation of the amnesty programme, adding that any attempt to stop it would lead to unimaginable catastrophe.
According to him, “The Amnesty Programme currently has several thousands of Niger Deltan youths undergoing academic studies and skills acquisition programmes abroad.
If it is scrapped, how will they complete their studies and skill acquisition programmes? What will be the fate of those waiting for their turn to undergo such programmes and studies?
The amnesty programme was established by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua as a bargain to secure stability and peace in the region.
The ex-militants have done their part by turning in their arms, ammunition and stopping their militant activities. The FG should also completely fulfil its own part of the bargain.
It is therefore reckless and mischievous for anybody to call for the scrapping of the programme at this point in time.
Rather, the programme should be better funded in order to meet its objectives.
Marcus Idiodi writes from Asaba, Delta State
