By Festus Ahon

General’ Kingsley Muturu is the Chairman of the Amnesty Phase Two in Delta State. In this  interview, he speaks on the implementation of the amnesty programme, President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration and other burning issues.
Excerpts:

How would you assess the implementation of the amnesty programme since it was put in place by late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua?

The amnesty programme is going on very well. Timi Alaibe was the first amnesty Chairman before he handed over to Kingsley Kuku who hav been in the system. He has been working closely with us one on one and we are satisfied with what is happening. I know there have been pockets of criticism from some disgruntled elements over his handling of some issues concerning the programme. But it is not out of place for those occupying political offices to be criticized by those who think things are not going their own way.

Criticisms bring the best out of anybody, but, by and large, I think Kingsley Kuku is doing a fantastic job with the amnesty programme. Most the people criticizing Kuku are not members or beneficiaries of the amnesty programme. It is those of us who are part of the programme that are in the best position to complain about any problem arising from the implementation and give advice on areas that should be improved upon.

Who specifically do you mean by people outside the amnesty programme? 
The people outside the programme that are opposing him are his political enemies, some of his old friends who, at any little opportunity, mobilize and begin to protest.

In the amnesty programme, we have Phases One, Two and Three. We gathered that the implementation of  Phase Three has not been as effective as one and two. Ex-militants in Phase III,  particularly those from Urhobo and Itsekiri, say they are marginalized.  What is your take on this?

The problem with the Phase Three is that the slots approved for it are not enough. Ex-militants in Phase Three are far more than those in Phases One and Two and only about  3,000 or so slots were approved for them by the Federal Government. The slots are not even enough for Phase Three ex-militants in Delta State let alone other states in the Niger Delta region.

There is this erroneous impression among the Phase Three ex-militants that it is Kingsley Kuku that is holding back the slots that they feel was due to them, hence they are directing all accusations and blames at him. Those aggrieved ex-militants who are not included in  Phase Three should direct their protest to the Federal Government and not Kingsley Kuku because he was not the one that made the approval. They should appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan to look into the matter.

President Goodluck Jonathan is from the Niger Delta.  How would you describe his attitude towards the amnesty programme?

We are satisfied with what he is doing. Since Phase Two was approved in December 2010, we have been receiving our monthly salaries regularly. As I am speaking, we preparing to go for training and I am the one compiling the list that would be submitted at the Amnesty Office.

Obviously there is a time frame for the amnesty programme. When it finally ends, do you think the youths would have been  empowered enough such that they will not  go back to the creeks again?

The amnesty is coming to an end in 2015,  but if it ends without empowering the youths adequately, the crisis that will come up will be more terrible than the one that came before. So I will advise the government to package them well before that time.

Some persons have been writing petitions against the Amnesty Board headed by Kingsley Kuku, that he is using the programme to favour the Ijaws mostly. How do you react?

I am the Phase Two chairman of the Amnesty  Programme in Delta State and I know how many Urhobo youths that are benefiting. I know how many Isoko youths, Itsekiri youths that are benefiting.