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Niger Delta Amnesty Programme as a slippery slope 12 Jun 2017

On 15 August, 2011, the federal government announced the approval of a “Transitional Safety Allowance” for ex-Niger Delta militants under the Presidential Amnesty Programme. This was in addition to the ₦65,000 each militant had been collecting monthly, and separate from the foreign excursions they were undertaking, since the start of the programme in 2010.
    
The Niger Delta militancy, it must be said, was the consequence of decades of neglect by the federal government, of the goose that lays Nigeria's golden eggs. The agitations in the region came to be, regardless of the series of half-hearted attempts by successive governments, from the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida, to the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, to redress the situation.

Under President Obasanjo, the approach to dealing with the militancy was to use carrot and stick. While the military Joint Task Force was permanently deployed in the Delta, militant leaders were occasionally invited to Abuja, given lavish receptions, and their cooperation was secured for a period of time. The cycle continued in what can best be described as a self-fulfilling loop. Eventually, the stick altogether disappeared. By the time Goodluck Jonathan ascended to the presidency, the militants were being treated to genetically-modified, sweetened carrots.

Looking for “change”, Nigerians voted in Muhammadu Buhari's All Progressives Congress to shake things up. The new government initially attempted to change the carrot approach and use the stick. This approach backfired, spectacularly. Nigeria became worse off, as 2016 turned out to be one of our worst years ever, economically speaking. The last time the economy was this bad, Ibrahim Babanginda, architect of the first Niger Delta palliative programme, was Head of State.

Well chastened, the Buhari's APC government has made a 180-degree turn, proposing to treble the budget for the Presidential Amnesty Programme in 2017. Suffice to say certain stakeholders like the Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide (IYC) are not particularly pleased by the gesture. Spokesman for the council, Eric Omare, said the budget increase should not be applauded because it was designed to enable the government meet its output target, rather than for the development of the Niger Delta.

It is not a hidden fact that the vast majority of Nigeria's foreign exchange earnings come from the oil-rich region. It is also evident that the region has been criminally neglected by successive governments. Environmental degradation in the Delta is among the features that characterise the abysmal living standards in the oil-producing region.

Since Sani Abacha's 1994-1995 Constitutional Conference, the states of the Niger Delta – widely defined in a political sense to encompass Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers – have earned more than the other states of the federation in the monthly allocation bazaar. The additional earnings for the oil-producing states are ostensibly to improve living conditions in the region. Yet, there is almost nothing in those states that shows judicious use of the extra revenue. Their infrastructures are still largely decrepit. And what about the ordinary people in these states? Well, the less said of their plight, the better, perhaps.

This all leads to very pertinent questions: What were the militants who successfully fought the government to a standstill aiming to achieve? What was their goal, and how does it affect Nigeria's economy?

For a start, the "militants" never thought to bring their state governments to account. Although it appeared "they were fighting for their people," the militants actually turned out to be fighting for their own pecuniary gain. Hence, the reason for the much-publicised war between the now-deceased Soboma George and an alliance led by Ateke Tom in the aftermath of the 2007 General Elections in Rivers State. That conflict was simply about gaining access to patronage networks within the Rivers State Government. It had nothing to do with the survival and rights of the people of the Niger Delta.

What is interesting is that the misgovernance of the Niger Delta has continued. We are still being treated to the constitution of one committee after another to address the Niger Delta problems. Ordinary people in the region have lost faith in the Nigerian state's ability to bring justice on their behalf by developing the region.

As a country, we need to ask ourselves: What is the message the Nigerian government is passing across with its carrots approach in dealing with the militancy problem? Whether the Niger Delta militants have a genuine grievance against the Nigerian state is a moot point, to the extent they don't hold any overt mandate from the generality of the people of the region. What is clear is that they, at different times, have taken up arms against the state. By any definition within our constitution, and other supporting laws, that is a crime.

To make matters worse, as they took up arms against the state, the militants turned on Nigerian citizens, mostly people from their own region. They have looted, raped, maimed, pillaged and plundered. Yet, not one militant has been hauled before a court of law to face justice. Oh, scratch that! Henry Okah fell out with some powerful people, and he has been incarcerated in far-flung South Africa. Meanwhile those who continue to play ball are being rewarded lavishly.

In all of this, ordinary Niger Deltans are routinely denied the compensation that they deserve. They have not had Vice Presidents, or Acting Presidents visit them. They have not been invited to the Hilton in Abuja for any largesse; they have not been given ₦65,000 a month, neither have they been sent to Sri Lanka for any form of training. By the way, what major industry is located in Sri Lanka that we are sending people there for training? The last time I checked, tea – richly produced in Sri Lanka – was neither produced, nor is it conducive to be produced, in the Niger Delta!

At the end of the day, the dangerous message that the government is sending is that crime does pay. If you decide to go to school, educate yourself, and work in civil society, you may not even earn up to the ₦18,000 minimum wage. You will not have the opportunity for a decent paying job; and you will live in squalor. However, if you pick up a gun and go into the bush for a while, you will be called to the round table for discussions, and given a generous stipend to boot.

What will be the effect of this message on the country's growing workforce? There is the current 80.6 million-strong workforce and there are millions more who are graduating every year. Could we conceivably see rising discontents in other parts of the country, with the current failing economic deal? What is the effect of this message on the economy?

By actively aiding criminality and terror, it would seem that the federal government is undercutting its message of rebooting the economy by diversifying it away from oil and unleashing the creative energies of Nigerians. A mobile and politically-aware youth, bereft of economic opportunity outside of the sports and entertainment industries – or the punishing drudgery of starting and running a Nigerian business – would possibly resort to violence. This option would not be simply to insert themselves into the ongoing national conversation; but it would also be a means of survival.

The havoc such a prospect would wreck on the economy is better imagined. We have seen how concerted attacks on a few strategic pipelines within a space of six months knocked the sails out of Nigeria's economy in 2016. What this means is that the slippery slope of this carrot approach is something we cannot afford to continue on.

In the age of the Internet, global interconnectedness and the increasing deployment of terrorism for political ends will only encourage willing and disaffected elements within the country to package their own back story and pick a fight with the Nigerian state. Since the advent of Nigeria's independence, violence has been the only effective method by which disaffected populations in the country have spoken to each other. How Nigeria finds a lasting solution to tackling these issues will be crucial to determining its future. Offering carrots simply will not cut it.