TRIBUTE IN BRIEF

Reward for selflessness

By Bilesanmi Olalekan

It has been said that the ultimate honour a person offering public service gets is when he is fulfilled in the work. I do not totally agree.

The ultimate honour a public servant receives is when those he is serving are fulfilled; their satisfaction or contentment is his success and fulfillment. All honour and applause heaped on the public office holder derive from what those he works to please say. Compliments that do not stand on the people’s pleasure are fraudulent and deceptive. They will not be recognized by history and posterity.

This is the basis on which the nation must rate Mr. Kingsley Kemebradigha Kuku, Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme. He has sat atop the bureaucratic and operational machinery of the scheme and the notion nationally and globally is that you have to examine his impact on the ex-militants he has worked on in order to arrive at the verdict on Kuku. The statistics say it all. Under his watch, the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme has enlisted some 30,000 youths, most of whom had been at war with the state. Some of them are now pilots, students abroad  or onshore training to be doctors, electricians, engineers, welders, entrepreneurs, ship builders, architects, farmers etc. These were young men and women who made the Niger Delta a no-go area for peace-loving citizens. It was also a danger spot for business, notably oil exploration, which account for more than 80 per cent of Nigeria’s wealth.

Kuku

Oil production came down to about 700,000 barrels per day before the amnesty programme was initiated. It was so difficult to finance the budget then because of this. But from the midnight of October 4, 2009 (which was the deadline for accepting amnesty), oil production steadily rose to between 2.2million and 2.4million barrels per day. Oil is Nigeria economic mainstay. So it goes without saying that any harm to it is arrow shot in to her heart. The disarmament process yielded arms and ammunition in excess of 20,000 in the first phase. This was a most successful exercise as the Nigerian amnesty initiative has been described as “the most successful post-conflict Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programme in Africa.” This is in comparison to 24 other United Nations-driven DDR programmes since 1992, which are struggling to achieve full demobilization even with huge financial and technical assistance from the world body and several international partners.

Because an idle mind is the devil’s workshop, the Kuku-led programme quickly moved on to secure education and vocational skills for the young Nigerians. He is kitting them with the education and entrepreneurship of the future. Hence the choice of fields of learning and training: medicine, oil and gas technology, maritime, marine engineering, aviation, agriculture, welding and fabrication, underwater welding among others.

This is what has brought peace to Nigeria and Niger Delta and enabled oil to flow for Nigeria to get funds for its budget spending since 2009.

Kuku, the Arogbo-born former member of the Ondo State House of Assembly, treats these redeemed ex-militants like his own children and siblings. It is this patriarchal passion to public service work that substantially explains why he has made a success of his job. You must seek to tenderly nurture your service to humanity the same way you wish to see your child succeed in life. A view less passionate and committed would bring failure. While we hail Kingsley Kuku for his vision and ideas about the future here in Nigeria, he recently received an award in the United States. The Honorary Citizenship of the State of Georgia was conferred on him in recognition of the way he has administered the Amnesty deal. Those who spoke referred to his accomplishment as the key to the flow of encomiums.

I do not disagree. But I associate more with the sentiments of Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman. He says: “The main award will be when these kids studying here get back home and start giving back to the country’s development in 10 to 15 years. That is when we will all rise up and give you (Kuku) the highest honour.” This, I believe, is the ultimate honour; the honour of seeing satisfaction and contentment and smiles on the faces of those you are serving. I believe the thousands of youths the Amnesty Programme team has produced will stand as the symbols of that enduring honour. It is recognition beyond the applause of man. It will stand the test of time and recommend Kuku and his team to any government of any ideological hue. The incoming government of Muhammadu Buhari has some lessons to learn from this Ondo-born gentleman. The way forward for Nigeria is to shop for men and women whose vision and mission in public service will be to serve with passion and patriotism that will earn praise from posterity, not from today’s ephemeral men.