A NEW but despicable pattern in criminality is gradually evolving by those elements from the Niger Delta Region who say they want to be part of the amnesty programme of the Federal Government. I am referring to about 1,600 so-called ex-militants of the Niger Delta who recently blocked the busy and the extremely strategic highway of Okene-Abuja at Lokoja. According to reports, the road was blocked for several hours which made thousands of commuters whose journeys were abbreviated to, literally, see hell. The so-called ex-militants used the buses in which they were travelling to block the road. This is unfortunate in the modern-day Nigeria.This was not the first time these folks who should be described as vagabonds had the temerity to have disturbed the public peace. They had tried it once on this same Abuja axis, going as far as to Gwagwalada, right in the Federal Capital Territory. But that was not at a grand scale much as the recent one the police stopped at Lokoja. The first time was right within the bowels of Niger Delta a couple of months back. It took place at the popular Mbiama. In their hundreds, they had blocked the major Warri-Port Harcourt road, ever so busy and strategic to travellers in that Niger Delta axis. For hours, travellers were held hostage until a full complement of security forces freed them, and cleared the road in land and air operations. The recent incident at Lokoja is third in the series. For how long will travellers in Nigeria continue to suffer, routinely, in the hands of this band of hooligans' Is this another 'Boko Haram' in embryo' Are these people really ex-militants desirous of rehabilitation or are they just a part of the many jobless youths roaming the streets' In the heat of the crisis in the Niger Delta occasioned by youth restiveness, the federal government, with the support of well-meaning Nigerians, granted a general amnesty. It was one of the enduring feats of late President Musa Yar Adua. The amnesty closed on October 4, 2009. In all, over 26, 000 militants embraced the offer. They surrendered their weapons and were properly documented. The government set up a demobilisation training camp at Obubra in Cross River State to specifically re-orientate them towards peace. It is on record that the Amnesty programmes of the federal government have recorded phenomenal success. Thousands of the ex-militants are undergoing vocational training in different parts of the country; several thousands are also training in foreign counties for skills relevant to the oil and gas industry. So, whatever failings the federal government might be accused of, no one can sincerely fault it as far as preparing and re-absorbing the ex-militants into the mainstream of the Nigerian economy is concerned. The government has been faithful on this.The government must therefore feel concerned that a group of young men-about 1,600 'are organised, still in the prowl, roaming the streets and masquerading as ex-militants. It is not enough for the security agencies to disperse them each time they embark on suspected nefarious gathering or journeys to the seat of government. What are these people up to' The security agencies should profile them to clearly determine their purpose. It is a thing of surprise that such a huge number of able-boded men, in hired buses, can travel from wherever in Nigeria, to as near as Lokoja without being detected. Where was their take-off point' And how come such a massive movement escaped the notice of the security agencies at that point. Who is their sponsor' If they have no sponsor, how were they able to afford hiring vehicles to embark on a mission of doubtful economic benefits' It is no secret that the amnesty programme closed two years back. So, anybody agitating to be part of it now is engaging in outright illegality and the government must not mince words on this. The recent blockade of a major road linking the Federal Capital at Lokoja must be viewed with seriousness and handled as a threat to national security; it is an offensive blackmail of the government and a breach of public peace. It is even against the very spirit of non-violence which the ex-militants have embraced. This is the time for the government to be very firm, by dutifully enforcing the laws of the land. These elements with inimical tendencies must not be encouraged by default to metamorphose into another armed gang. However, in profiling the 1,600 so-called ex-militants, it will be helpful to know which states of the Niger Delta region they come from, so that the government of the states can be held accountable for what it has done about rural development and youth empowerment. For too long, many of the state governments in the Niger Delta see the 13 percent derivation from oil, which they receive, as free money. They hardly appreciate its import as the money to be specifically used to redress the depravities induced by the oil activities, both environmental and human, in their states. It is not money to finance the extravagancies and fancies of the state chief executives and their politics. Beside the governments of Rivers and Akwa Ibom States that have meaningful evidences of the 13 percent derivation within their domains, others, particularly Bayelsa and Delta States, are long on rhetoric of economic achievements devoid of commensurate evidences on ground.
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