Amnesty program: kudos to Jonathan

I am not one of President Gooduck Jonathan’s biggest fans. However, I now have reason to sing the man’s praise; albeit grudgingly.

The cause for which I must now sing GEJ’s praise is the amnesty program, or more significantly, that part of program that saw thousands of rustic Niger Delta youths (ex-militants if you like) attending human capacity development training programs in Nigeria and overseas.

Despite the negative news reports in the media about some unruly participants who found it hard to let go of their “jungle” ways even though they have literary been removed from the jungle, the facts from the amnesty program insiders indicate that the youths in general conducted themselves exceptionally and were outstanding in training.

While some might say I should have awaited the return of the “boys” and see their effectives in the field before calling their trip a success, I will humbly beg to disagree on the preset that the echo of a big storm cannot be mistaken for a light shower; at least that was what I made of facts available to me and the comments of a staff of Trumps Consulting – one of the companies handling the Malaysian arm of the training program. The staff member said, “The only problem we had with the boys in our group is how fast they were learning. We had to add more to their curriculum as they exhausted the standardised training that was recommended for them.”

Now, that caught me off guard, especially as I have for long associated bloodletting, Indian hemp smoking and generally unruly behaviour to the “boys”.

Okay, while I am not in the mood to read any kind of negative meaning into “standardised” training, I am very much in the mood to express my awe that the creek-bound militants have proven their abilities to excel if the right opportunities are presented. That I was one of those that felt the amnesty program and its attendant facets are nothing more than drain pipes through which the political class would pillage our collective wealth, while playing the fiddle like Nero and the Niger Delta deteriorate further, should not be in doubt. However, since it turned out not to be so, at least the first batch did not; I think we should celebrate it and again warn against the usual evils.

The success of those that took part in the program, which I heard was supervised by GEJ’s Special Adviser on Niger Delta Affairs and Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Committee, Kinsley Kuku, is said to be receiving commendation from the international community. While I do not agree that we should judge our performance as a nation based on what foreign entities are saying, I do feel it is right, in the face of the general good done, to clap along with GEJ for a successful training of the first batch, who are set to graduate by 14 December.

The standard for Malaysia was very high, with accommodation, transport and feeding at top notch quality. Thus, the prayer is for the government to retain the high standard, not just because of the negative fallout of the second batch finding things not as palatable as what was available to their forerunners, but also as a means of keeping faith with the much avowed target of bringing lasting peace to the Niger Delta.

Also, like most things Nigerian, the success recorded by the first batch would surely draw the attention of political jobbers who would be kin to not just share in the presumed glory, but would also attempt to hijack it for their own whims, thereby derailing a worthy cause. It is the duty of the president and Kuku to ensure that those consultants/companies that facilitated the first batch are vetted and granted second take based on performance. Not doing so is calling on anarchy to take charge and profit chasers, as we say in Naija parlance, “to come chop”.

In the mean time, the achievements of the first batch is worthy of a clap offering; and for the first time since GEJ assumed the mantle, I say we clap along with him. Whether you agree with the idea to take those boys overseas for training or not, I am sure few will disagree that receiving training on skills with which to better themselves and their communities is a very welcomed development.