It is now obvious that most of the youths involved in militancy in the Niger Delta are not dummies as some people claimed, rather they are people with high intellectual potentials. Most of them resorted into arms-struggle perhaps due to neglect from the government and the IOCs after their graduation from the university, while some had in the past undergone special training to understand the workings of oil and gas installations, that’s why they can target any installation and get it blown with little or no resistance from the military.
Thus, the graduation of three ex-Niger Delta militants with
a first class degree from universities in the United Kingdom recently should
pass a signal to the government that if they take the human capital development
of the people of the region, militancy could be curbed at least to the barest
minimum.
They are among those sponsored by the federal government
under the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme.
The students who were sponsored by the Goodluck Jonathan led
federal government, under the Niger Delta Amnesty Programmed are: Nicholas
Goodness and Terubein Fawei graduated from the University of Bedfordshire with
first class honours in public relations, telecommunication and networking engineering
respectively, while Lucky Azibanagein graduated with first class in mechanical
engineering and robotic system from the University of Liverpool.
Also it was gathered that eighteen others graduated with
second class upper degrees also from UK universities.
In his reaction, the Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty
Programme, Paul Boroh, congratulated the ex-militants, assuring that President
Muhammadu Buhari will sustain the amnesty programme.
“President Buhari is ever ready to implement the blueprint
upon which the amnesty programme was established.
“The era of impunity and phony contracts are gone for good,”
Boroh said.
He also used the opportunity to further callon restive
militants to embrace peace.
No comments:
Write comments