Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs (SAPND) and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Prof. Charles Quaker Dokubo, has urged leaders and elders of the Niger Delta not to pursue individual interests, but offer him advice and guidance that would benefit the people of the region.
Dokubo, who noted that issues of the Niger Delta were being addressed, described the amnesty programme as work in progress, just as he said it was time for Niger Deltans to put things in order and do the needful.
"We've questioned authority, we've questioned governance; and now, we also have the time to set our house in order; to do the things that we are supposed to do. I believe that with the powerful organization that has come to my office and the guidance you are going to give me; guidance that will only benefit our Niger Delta people, guidance that is not supposed to benefit individuals, but our people, I believe we shall be on course".
He spoke yesterday, in Abuja when members of the national executive committee of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), paid him a courtesy visit in his office.
While expressing his determination to chart a new direction for the amnesty programme, Dokubo harped on the need for qualitative training that would give jobs to beneficiaries. He said this was the panacea to sustainable peace in the Niger Delta.
"Without peace, there will be no development, and without development, there will be no peace. For me, that is a cardinal thing. The Niger Delta has gone through difficult period; agitations over marginalization and the fight for redress of the situation. I believe that we have started redressing the situation.
This policy did not start with me; it has been there for sometime before I took over office. And what I have to do is to drive a new direction; a direction that has been influenced by meetings with people that are better exposed to the situation here.
Training people, retraining people, but with what? What do they end up with? You don't just set up trainings for training purposes or for contract issues. I believe we should train people and train them in such a way that they should have qualifications that will give them job, and that is the direction I am going to adopt.
Contracts on training and all that will, not just be trainings; there must be a City and Guides issue that we must address. We must have the capacity to give our delegates some qualification that would enable them to work wherever they could; that will empower them. It's not only about mass education; it's qualitative education. Let our people have quality education that will make them stand tall. That is what I want to do".
He said with the cooperation and support of PANDEF and other stakeholders in the Niger Delta region, he would achieve his set objectives. "I strongly believe that with your support and guidance, this new task that I have set out for myself would be pursued. I was not just appointed because I am a Nigerian; I was appointed because I am from the Niger Delta region. And it was not because I had the best of credentials and all that, but because I believe in what the Niger Delta is.
If we fail our people, then we fail for everything. If we don't empower our people, stabilize their lifestyles, then, I believe that we will only be playing catch-up. That is why inasmuch as we look for development, there is need to retrain the minds of our people. It is not only about stipends, but the quality of life for the Niger Delta people.
There is also the issue of reintegration, which is very important. When you are dealing with post conflict situation where you have to review the institutions, review the standard of living and all that, it's a difficult issue. You cannot selectively adopt policies and other things", Dokubo said.
Earlier, PANDEF National Chairman, Air Comdr. Idongesit Nkanga (retd), attributed the peace in the Niger Delta to the amnesty initiative, which he said, was vital for development of the region.
He however, enjoined the federal government to adequately fund the programme and ensure that participants are meaningfully engaged. "For us to achieve total peace, the amnesty programme should be pursued seriously, and there must be an exit strategy; the boys must have something to do. It is not just for us to achieve peace; those participating in the programme must be meaningfully engaged".
Elaye Igbian Warifagha Yagila...,The Tarakiri Boy
Reporting
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