Militarised  PAP, Nengi and suspended students

SIR: If there is any action in recent weeks that glaringly confirm as true the words of Alabo (Dr) Nengi James OON, second National Vice President, Ijaw National Congress (INC), that the Presidential Amnesty Programme is failing in its responsibilities because it was executed with militarisation, rather than with civilianisation, it is the widely circulated statement signed by Mr. Freston Akpor, Special Assistant on Media to the Interim Coordinator of PAP, Major-General Barry Ndiomu (rtd), announcing the suspension of two amnesty scholarship beneficiaries identified as Patrick Ipidei and Papems Peter Etolor.

On Tuesday, November 29, 2022, at BON Hotel, Warri, Delta State, where he presented a paper, during a Niger Delta Economic Discourse Series, Nengi among other things stated that the Amnesty Programme is a presidential policy that was executed with militarisation rather than with civilianisation. The programme was poorly handled by military elements, which lacked capacity for mediation. Stakeholders were not given enough opportunities through the Post Amnesty Conference to discuss the best ways to implement the Amnesty Programme. The Presidential Amnesty office lacks the personnel with the requisite skills set to manage the Amnesty Programme.

Regrettably, the Presidential Amnesty proclamation, he continued, did not factor-in mediation and conflict transformation. This is sequel to poor strategic conflict assessment of the Niger Delta struggle. Amnesty is no instrument for conflict resolution or conflict management. Amnesty is a general pardon of offence by the government. It is a deliberate overlooking of offences against a government. It is a pardon to release criminally culpable persons from the just punishment of the law.

For me, when one juxtaposes Nengi’s words with the quoted portion of the suspension letter by PAP, it elicits the following questions; if not a militarised government, what stopped PAP leadership from telling the world spurious allegations against the leadership of the programme? If not a militarised environment, what else shall we call an agency that suspends students without fair hearing? If not an environment that is devoid of legitimate and democratic ethos, how shall we address an institution that frowns at citizens’ freedom of expression and makes no provision for questioning by stakeholders?
 
While noting that the amnesty programme had become a cesspool of corruption, Nengi called for the rehabilitation and reintegration phase of the amnesty programme which should be approached with utmost seriousness and professionalism. The activists, pressure groups, political leaders etc, according to him, should convene post-amnesty conferences, and issue communiqués. This will intellectualise the struggle and make it a national discourse for answer to the Niger Delta question.
I totally agree with the recommendations.
• Utomi Jerome-Mario is the programme coordinator (Media and Policy), Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA), Lagos.