By Abel Kolawole

In this interview,  Delta State Chairman, Phase 2 of the Amnesty Programme, Mr. Kingsley Muturu, explains the benefits of the scheme for ex-militants. Muturu asks President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the termination date of the programme among other issues.

Kingsley Muturu

How would you say the Amnesty Programme has fared?

There is much improvement. Youths are on training within and outside the country, some have been successfully trained and are waiting to be engaged. So far so good; we are progressing.

So, you are saying the programme is going in the right direction?

Yes, because the programme has produced pilots among others for Nigeria, skilled labour in various sectors.  There are others still being trained in schools abroad. So, this is a plus for our country and economy, and we hope that, at the end of the programme, Nigeria will have reason to rejoice over the youths.

Are you sure President Buhari will review and extend the programme as being clamoured for in some quarters?

We hope so, and that is why we have made calls on him to allow the goodwill of the Federal Government to continue, considering the achievements of the programme. Yes, there is the need for the extension of the Amnesty Programme seeing the facts that a lot of training is ongoing, coupled with the dedication of ex-agitators to the maintenance of  peace in the Niger Delta. We are okay with the way President Buhari’s government is handling the programme as he rightly promised in his inaugural speech.

On the handling of issues in the Amnesty Office, would you say you are satisfied with Brig-Gen. Paul Boroh’s (retd) approach?

Yes, Boroh is a technocrat and he is handling the issues well.  This year’s training was supposed to commence earlier but, due to political reasons, it did not. So, I urge Boroh to fast-track the training process because that is our expectation, as we are concerned with the training of our boys which has also drastically re-oriented the minds of a good percentage of them.  We should also join hands with Boroh to make the programme a complete success. We should avoid dissenting voices and work together to achieve the goal of the Federal Government.

Can you highlight the extent of your much-emphasized orientation of youths in the Niger Delta through the programme?

The difference is very clear. The Amnesty Programme has transformed the lives of a good percentage of Niger Delta youths; their orientation has drastically improved, their perception of issues affecting the region has improved and the approach to issues affecting mature. I call on the Federal Government to implement the programme to the full to enable beneficiaries contribute meaningfully to the growth of the nation. Personally, I also give scholarships to youths for training abroad, as well as financial care to the elderly back in my community, to complement the Amnesty Programme.

On President Buhari’s administration

We Niger Delta ex-agitators mean well for this government, we want it to be a success. We urge Buhari to look into issues affecting the region. I would also like to use this medium to remember the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, who initiated the Amnesty Programme for ex-agitators in 2009; Niger Deltans remember him for his passion for the region. We urge the Federal Government to treat Niger Delta and ex-agitators fairly as Yar’Adua did,  for the benefit of all.