WEDNESDAY, July 11, 2018 rekindled hope for a better Niger Delta and
Nigeria as a political entity. By 2.pm when oil rich Niger Delta
indigenes from all strata of the society including technocrats,
diplomats, intellectuals, traditional rulers as well as youth and
opinion leaders converged on the Main Hail of Eko Hotel and Suites in
Lagos, the atmosphere left no one in doubt that the thick cloud of
uncertainty, suspense and anxiety over the Presidential Amnesty
Programme which had pervaded up till the first quarter of this year,
had evaporated.
On assumption of office after his appointment as Special Adviser to
the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator, Amnesty Programme by
President Muhammadu Buhari on March 13, 2018, Charles Quaker Dokubo,
an erudite Professor and nuclear scientist had a clear mandate: to
retool the Programme to make it more robust and impactful for the
enlisted ex-agitators in the Niger Delta with the ulitimate goal of
achieving sustainable peace and development in all facets of the
region.
“I believe we should train people and train them in such a way that
they should have qualifications that will give them jobs, and that is
the direction I am going to adopt.
We must have the capacity to give beneficiaries of the Amnesty
Programme some qualification that will enable them to work wherever
they could. 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 to do”, he said on his vision and mission.
Barely three months on, precisely in 100 days, leaders and
stakeholders in the Niger Delta, are convinced of President Muhammadu
Buhari’s quest to transform the region through the instrumentality of
the Amnesty Programme with the appointment of Prof. Dokubo who they
describe as a messiah that has come to chart a new path for the
Programme. Their conviction is apparently based on his stering
performance and achievements within a short period.
Towards deepening peace
The meeting with Niger Delta leaders and stakeholder in lagos was the
hallmark of his desire to deepen peace for stability and development
in the hitherto restive region. It was the first of its kind since the
inception of the Amnesty Programme and preceded four others with
critical stakeholder.
A pragmatic, humble and visionary administrator, Dokubo commenced his
consultative drive by successfully hosting earlier in Lagos, key
leaders of various camps of ex-agitators in the Niger Delta who, at
the end of the novel meeting, pledged to work assiduously with the
Federal Government towards deepening peace and stability in the
oil-rich region to pave way for hitch free elections in 2018 and
beyond. The leaders included Chief Bibopre Ajube, aka General
Shoot-at-Sight; Dr. Ebikabowei Victor Ben, Alias Boyloaf, and HRH
Ateke Tom.
Representatives of other frontline leaders of ex-agitators in the
Niger Delta including Chief Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompol,
attended the meeting.
On June 7, he met with over 30 Phase One leaders of Niger Delta
ex-agitators at the Abuja Sheraton Hotels and Towers in furtherance of
his peace efforts, and parleyed 70 phase Two and Three leaders the
next day at the same venue. He had earlier hosted the leadership of
the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), and visited a former Federal
Commissioner for information and respected Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin
Clark, in his determination to deepen peace in the Niger Delta.
Vocational training
As a first step after mounting the saddle Dokubo constituted a
committee headed by a university teacher, Prof. Ayibaemi Spiff, to
review operations of the Amnesty Programme. Part of the findings of
the committee was that while the Amnesty Office had undertaken the
construction of five Vocational Training/Reintegration Centres across
states in the Niger Delta, however, even two of the centre (in Ondo
and Bayelsa States) have been largely completed, none has been
activated for the training of thousands of persons enrolled on the
Programme that are yet to be skilled due to the failure of the
Amnesty Office to pay in full the contract sums, lack of proper
supervision and demand for variation by some of the contractors.
Interestingly, of the 30,000 persons enlisted in the Presidential
Amnesty Programme, 11,297 persons are yet to be placed in either
vocational training facilities or deployed for formal education as of
when Dokubo assumed office.
Consequently, besides ensuring a smooth sail for 200 delegates of the
Amnesty Programme currently undergoing training in automobile at
innoson Kiara Academy, Nnewi, Anambra State, and about 559 training in
agriculture at other facilities, he has put measures in place for the
completion and activation of all the Vocational Training Centres under
construction to fast track the training of the several beneficiaries
awaiting skills acquisition. These include the Maritime Vocational
Training Centre at Oboama, Rivers State; Basic Skills Vocational
Training Centre in Boro Town, Kaiama, Bayelsa State, Power and Energy
Vocational Training Centre in Bomadi, Delta State; Oil and Gas
Vocational Training Centre, Agadagba-Obon, Ondo State, and the
Agricultural Vocational Training Centre in Gelegele, Edo State. The
vocational centres at Agadagba and kaiama are expected to come on
stream soon, to empower ex-agitators with viable skills to become
economically independent and relevant to themselves, families,
communities and the nation.
Offshore/Onshore education
Top on the priorities of Dokubo, a scholar of international repute, is
the welfare of beneficiaries of the Amnesty Programme undergoing
educational programmes in various tertiary institutions within and
outside the country. 20 students spread across 66 institutions in 20
countries are currently studying various courses. On Thursday, July
19, he visited students sponsored by the Amnesty Programme in London
and met with 47 students and recent graduates from 25 institutions in
the UK at the Nigeria High Commission.
The objective of the visit is to enable him evaluate the students’
academic progress, celebrate those completing their programmes and
charge the remaining ones to be good ambassadors of the Programmes. He
also wanted to hear directly from the students, progression in their
academics and general well-being, as well as interact with the Nigeria
High Commission representatives.
The meeting had in attendance, the Nigeria High Commissioner,
Ambassador George Adesola Oguntade; Deputy High Commissioner,
Ambassador Kabiru Bala, and a representative from the Office of the
Vice President of Nigera, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
Review of Onshore/Offshore Education Policies
Following appeals from students for the amendment of educational
policies particularly for offshore education some of which had severe
negative impact on them Dokubo constituted a Policy Review Committee
to undertake the assignment with a view to ensure that students under
the Amnesty Programme successfully graduate, and for the federal
Government to reap its investment. While the Offshore Education Unit
had in the past five years implemented eleven key operational policies
to guide deployment and management of offshore students, committee
reports indicated there were no set policies as of May, 2018 to guide
operations of the Onshore Education Unit. Dokubo has also set the bail
rolling in this regard with the drafting of new policies which have
been adopted.
Effective monitoring of offshore students by relationship Mangers
under his watch has reduced agitation of students since he assumed
office, just as he directed the Onshore Education Unit to develop a
sustainable plan for the next two years. This included the preparation
of students’ allowances on a quarterly basis to ensure deadlines were
strictly met and to avoid unforeseen circumstances that could warrant
last disbursement of funds by the Federal Government. A verification
exercise to ascertain the actual number of students who are
beneficiaries of the Amnesty Programme at various universities across
the country will soon commence to check misappropriation of government
funds. Plans are also at advanced stage for deployment of fresh
delegates educational programmes.
Restoring Amnesty Database
In furtherance of President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption
crusade, Dokubo has maintained zero tolerance for corruption, and
remarkably succeeded in cleaning up the mess at the Amnesty Office.
Apart from putting strong measures in place to deter and forestall
future breaches, he has taken steps to restore the certainty and
sanctity of the database of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.
Sequel to alarming invoices Sent by some universities in the country
to the Amnesty Office for payment of tuition fees and allowances for
students purportedly deployed to the institutions to undergo various
educational programmes for the 2017/2018 academic session, Dokubo
constituted a committee to conduct a verification exercise. The
committee was mandated to amongst others; ascertain how 1,061 students
were deployed in March 2018, to various institutions in the country,
whether they are beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programmer,
and if their deployment followed due process. The committee discovered
that out of 1,061 delegates deployed for educational programmes for
the 2017/2018 academic session, only 314 were found in the database of
the Amnesty Programme.
It was a major anti-corruption feat achieved by Dokubo within a short
period in office which has become a subject of investigation by
relevant authorities.
Empowerment/Job Placement
Cognizant of the fact that the success of the Reintegration component
of the Amnesty Programme depended largely on the Reinsertion part of
it which entails aiding Processes of returning already trained
ex-agitators to civil society, Dokubo has taken hold steps on
empowerment, through the provision of start-up packs and mentoring for
several already trained and qualified ex-agitators to become
entrepreneurs. Between April and July, 2018, the post Training
Engagement Unit of the Amnesty Office empowered 535 beneficiaries in
various trade areas. Within May 25 and July 5, 271 beneficiaries were
empowered in Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa states. The empowerment trade
areas include, building materials (cement); fish farming, poultry, and
provision shops.
On August 9, 2018 Prof Dokubo inched a step further on his ladder of
achievements with the distribution of starter-packs to 150 already
trained ex-agitators at Boro Town, Kaiama, in Bayelsa State. Two deep
freezers, a ceiling fan, Sumec Fireman Generator, plastic buckets,
2000 litre overhead water tank, waste collection items, plastic chairs
and tables are to be distributed to the beneficiaries in various
locations across three states. The empowerment pakage for the 150
beneficiaries at the epoch making Kaiama even attended by top
traditional rulers, community leaders youth groups and government
functionaries, also includes payment of a two year rent for a shop for
each of the beneficiaries; frozen food items worth 500kg, shop setup
with electrical, painting and furniture items. The beneficiaries are
also assisted in business name registration, and are provided
packaging materials, signage and stationeries.
While 3,150 graduates of vocational training programmes were scheduled
for business set-up and empowerment in 2017, 2,500 delegates among
them were rolled over to this year due to fund related challenges.
However, 5,700 delegates including the expected roll-over from the
previous year have been proposed for empowerment/business set-up this
year, depending on availability of funds.
Determined to facilitate job placement for beneficiaries of the
Amnesty Programm, Prof. Dokubo created a job placement and
International Development Partners Engagement Unit (JPIDPEU) on May 2,
2018. So far, the unit has profiled 28 delegates for underwater
welding jobs in oil servicing companies; 100 delegates for aviation
crop spray pilot jobs. It has also concluded profiling of 25 delegate
for catering services, hotel and fast food jobs and 75 delegate for
other job opportunities. This is just the beginning of an action plan
of the Post Training Engagement and Job placement units of the Amnesty
Office for the next two years. The 28 successful delegates for
underwater welding jobs in oil servicing companies are among 53
delegates profiled for selection after a data verification of 103
beneficiaries on the list of those trained in welding.
The Job Placement Unit of the Amnesty Office has stepped up efforts at
securing job placement opportunities for beneficiaries trained in
catering, garment production and agriculture. Towards this end, it is
partnering life –ND, and agriculture-based project whose concept not
was approved in December 2016 by the United Nations International Fund
for Agricultural Development (UN-IFAD/Nigeria) Executive Board, and
aims to integrate the youth into profitable agriculture in the Niger
Delta.
Fresh initiatives by Prof. Charles Dokubo to fast-track the training
and empowerment of ex-Niger Delta agitators enlisted in the
Presidential Amnesty Programme has also at transforming beneficiaries
of the Amnesty Programme including those to be deployed to UNITAR into
successful professionals, whether in the public or private sector, and
it is linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which is to
reduce poverty by 2030.
The component of UNITAR programmes covered by the MOU included
Sea-farers’ Certificate and National Diploma Course; Subsea Welding
Programme, Agribusiness Skills Training Programme, as well as
empowerment and job placements for trained delegates which though a
critical factor in the reintegration component of the Amnesty
Programme, had not been successful in the past. The partnership with
UNITAR will yield positive results, as Prof. Dokubo initiates and
develop a new paradigm of reintegration programmes from national to
international-based synergies.
While trained delegates in maritime related skills had suffered lack
of seafarers’ component to their skill acquisition in the past, the
new partnership with UNITAR in this area will put an end to it.
Apart from achieving synergy between the Amnesty Office and other
Ministries, Department and Agencies of the Federal Government saddled
with the task of aiding the deepening peace efforts and sustainable
development in the Niger Delta, Prof Dokubo has also ensured effective
Iiaison with Governments of the states in the Niger Delta with a view
to creating platforms for the gainful employment of trained
ex-agitators. This is just the beginning of several initiatives in his
drive to refocus the Amnesty Programme for the benefit of its
beneficiaries and the Niger Delta people. He is keeping hope alive
with work in progress.
Amnesty is Now Working!