⁸By Thomas Peretu
Ordinarily, I do not indulge in responding to debates on-line or contribute to needless conversations on television, or elsewhere.
Not because I am adversely deficient intellectually or lack the ardour to so do but because I am not unduly obtrusive. Neither am I given to unnecessary grandstanding —–with an eye for public acclaim and applause. Most important, I am not, as legal minds would put it, a medlesome interloper fishing in other people’s ponds.
In this instance, however, I am forced to take leave of my self imposed code of silence. At least in defence of the truth. It is imperative that I step out of the shadows to uphold the sanctity of the truth—- and wave the untainted banner of Ijaw nation. This does not diminish my cosmopolitan bearings, for I am first and foremost an Ijaw man. Therefore, I will not look away when my people are maligned and denigrated by scums and the likes.
Howbeit, this reaction is not hinged on egotistic impulse, rather it is anchored on altruistic paradigm.
Because there is an attempt to peddle deliberate falsehood with the intent to mislead the undiscerning public. This mischief must not be allowed to flower at the expense of truth. Moreso, the the adversary or purveyor of this dubious media assault has a reputation of fanning the embers of discord in the guise of rights advocacy.
If this onslaught is not nipped in the bud, undiscerning viewers may be trapped in web of deceit.
A few days ago, precisely on June 11, I watched with keen interest, a news documentary on Arise Television entitled “The proliferation of small arms in the Niger Delta region”. After the short clip, the two anchors of the nightly news, Suleiman Aledeh and Ngozi Aliegbu played host to one Alfred Kemepadou, a former Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC) spokes person and an Abuja based lawyer in the person of Frank Tietie, noted for his wanton display of raw energy and aggression on set.
The two analysts were interviewed on the impact of the Presidential Amnesty Progrogramme (PAP) on the peace and security of the Niger Delta region. Especially in the face of rising wave of criminality in the region. Noting that insecurity seems to have taken a foothold in the region, 13 years after amnesty was granted to the ex-agitators.
In the course of the interview, Alfred commended the federal government for the initiative. He went further to reel out the successes of the programme and gave reasons why it should be sustained despite its shortcomings. He was as articulate as ever and convincing too.
His co-disussant however, was of a contrary opinion. Tietie did not mince words as he forcefully lay out his unctuous ideas. For him, the establishment of the programme by President Yar’Adua was an unfortunate incident, adding that it was an aberration ibi nitio; an unnecessary venture; a misplacement of priorities at best.
From Tietie’s imperious point of view, the programme was a total waste of tax payers money. In his usual visceral manner, he submited that, the programme was established ostensibly to benefit only the Ijaw nation.
He argued strenuosly that Billions of Naira have been squandered feeding a group of persons who ordinarily does not deserve to be treated with kid’s gloves. He urged the Tinubu administration to scrap the programme forthwith as uhari had toyed with the same idea.
According to him, the body has outlived its usefulness, and to add insult to injury, the outfit is now a cesspool of corruption.
What can be more spurious and facetious? Tietie’s lacerating remarks were obviously aimed at polarising the the people of the Niger Delta region. His meretritious argument leaves one wondering if he understands the geopolitical dynamics of the region where he claims to come from.
Where was Tietie when the Ijaw youths took up arms against the federal government in the heydays of the agitation occasioned by the environmental degradation of our water ways? How many Urobho youths were involved in that agitation? Truth be told, it was the Ijaws who had the presence of mind to confront the government at the time. Indeed, thousands of our youths either lost their limbs or died in the process of girding and prosecuting the war. No any other tribe in the region dared what the Avengers and MEND and several other groups did in those days. Ask comrade Joseph Evah and other patriots who were holed up in the trenches. The Ijaws are the largest ethnic nationality still bearing the brunt of oil exploitation and the effects of oil spillage in the region. It was as a result of the activities of the above groups that amnesty was birthed to assuage the anger of the people. These facts are incontrovertible any attempt to subvert the truth will definitely be resisted.
To put the records straight, the Ijaws are not the only beneficiaries of the amnesty programme. The Urobhos, the Igbos, the Ilajes, the Isokos, the Ogonis, the Ibibios, the Ndokwas and many other tribes are also being accommodated in the amnesty Programme even though they were not involved the struggle. Every nationality in the Niger Delta region are given equal opportunities in the activities of the body especially with regards to vocational training and the scholarship scheme. It is mendatious and abuse of privilege to erroneously claim on national television that the programme has failed to meet up to its responsibilities. The relative peace in the region, I daresay is obvious outcome of the amnesty programme. One can state with an element of certitude that most of the youths are meaningfully engaged in fruitful business ventures as a result of the amnesty programme cooperative initiative.
Tietie’s casuistry outburst on television is nothing more than an abject display of gravitas. His cynism is understandable given his obvious lack of knowledge about the operations of the amnesty programme.
The performative theatrics of the lawyer failed to hoodwink the viewing public because it does not enjoy general concensus, thankfully so. While I acknowledge the fact that the management of the programme may not be perfect and of course no human endeavour is, it does not necessitate the need to discard the baby and the birth water. By the way, is there any interventionist agency in Nigeria that is free of corruption? Even the federal government is being accused daily of opaque dealings. The Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited is always in the news for lack of transparency. Does that imply that such agencies should be thrown over board? Not at all.
Now that we have a new administration in place ably led by Dr. Dennis Burutu Otuaro PhD. He is a transformation leader who undertands the essence of the amnesty progra.me. It behoves us as citizens and stakeholders from Niger Delta region to rally round the new Administrator. He needs everyone of us including Frank Tietie to
succeed in the onerous task ahead of him.
Individuals like Tietie who fixated in bringing down the roof the programme must not be allowed to derail the programme mid way.
Of course, I do share in the view that the amnesty programme is not meant to.last forever. However, we have a peculiar case in our hands. I would rather suggest that PAP be morphed into a social interventionist programme with a mandate to continue the activities of PAP under a new nomenclature. Afterall,
amnesty is derogatory. It is only granted to criminals and offenders. My people are not criminals, they are freedom fighters. QED. Let me add that the termination of PAP will be a recipe for chaos in the Niger Delta region.
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