Joel Bisina is a community leader and Niger Delta activist. In this interview with journalists in Warri, he talks on sundry topical issues, including the amnesty programme, President Goodlucl Jonathan’s re-election bid, and Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s administration. HARRIS-OKON EMMANUEL, Correspondent Asaba was there and reports.
Recently, politicians from the South-South geopolitical zone met in Calabar, Cross River State capital, where they endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan for a second term. Don’t you think this endorsement is pre-emptive considering the fact that Jonathan is yet to declare his intent to seek re-election?
Thank you very much. As typical of every politician and political process, before he declares his intention, he also has the support of his constituency and the people you really want to serve are to endorse you. You cannot just declare without their endorsement. So I think the endorsement is appropriate. It is timely and it is necessary against the fact that Jonathan is from the South South. It goes to show that he has the respect and support of his people and it is also show that he has credibility and the right man that is in touch with the people. So I think the endorsement is appropriate.
Can we say categorically that Jonathan has done well for the South South region, where he comes from?
He has shifted a lot of political and social capitals to the region. Its beyond what is physically on the ground. Even at that, he has done very well. As we speak, the Federal Maritime University at Okerenkoko, for the first time ever was located at a rural riverine area; these communities that were like cut off from the rest of the country. They were more or less living in their own country because of the level of neglect and deprivation and, exclusion from benefit of successive administration. Jonathan has taken a bold step by sighting a maritime university at Okerenkoko. He has also approved the Export Processing Zone at Ogidigben, the East/West road is ongoing. He brought in a lot of political capitals to accelerate the construction. Jonathan has also ensured the smooth implementation of the amnesty programme. Whether you like or not, lives are being transformed; manpower is being built. He is imparting on the lives of individuals and communities. His administration has brought regional stability. We no longer have organized militancy other than pocket of crimes, criminal activities here and there. So when you look at it holistically, he has done very well. So, every Niger Deltan is proud to have their son as the president.
From your summation, can we really say that every Niger Deltan is satisfied with Jonathan because if you look at composition of key positions, there are dominated by the Ijaw. For instance, the Amnesty Office, Niger Delta Ministry, NIMASA, you name it?
Thank you very much. We need to get something right. As we speak, the present Minister of the Niger Delta Ministry is an Urhobo man. So, to say that everything in the Niger Delta Ministry is about Ijaw is not true. I know that Elder Godsday Orubebe was an Ijaw man. He did his job and he is no longer there. I attended one of their conferences in Uyo and I did not even find among their Directors an Ijaw person, because it is a federal ministry. So, the federal character principle is reflected. These facts are there. I would not like to hold brief for the ministry.
What is your take on the amnesty programme?
Amnesty proclamation was not tie to oil production. It has nothing to do with oil production. And let us also try to understand something that it does appear as if the amnesty largesse was a reward for people with tendency to be violent. People of the Niger Delta are not violent people. That is one thing people need to understand. Niger Delta people are not violent. They are people who believe in social justice, who believe in environmental rights, who believe in fundamental human rights, who believe in equity and fairness. And it is on the basis of that, that they protested. People only protested. They were not violent. The only thing is that sometimes, when people protest it could manifest in some kind of violent activities. I say this against the backdrop of what is going on in the northern part of the country. If you look at the Niger Delta, there was never a time that people just woke up to go and bomb a community or to go and kill innocent people. Oil installations were not just destroyed or burnt down. People protested and it was when those protests were marred by state force , it sometimes resulted in the death of protesters. That is when it went out of control.
To that extent, there was no tendency to being violent or rewarding violent in amnesty. The other thing we also need to understand about amnesty is that, there was a period of amnesty proclamation. And amnesty was not a federal government programme that requested every local government area to bring five people each to become beneficiaries.
There was a period between June and October that was proclaimed for amnesty. That late President Musa Yar’Adua of blessed memory, may his soul rest in peace, looked at the situation at the time and felt that there was the need to address the social environmental injustice in the region. And to deal with that, he proclaimed the amnesty and the proclamation was very, very clear. It stated that those who had bore arms or those who aided and abetted should drop the arms and accept amnesty.
It was a blanket, unconditional amnesty that was not based on ethnic nationality. It was not declared for the Ijaw. It was declared for the Niger Delta. And people were asked to willingly, voluntarily, unconditionally lay down their arms and get documented and renounced militancy. When the proclamation was made people came out and got documented and they were registered; hat was between June and October of 2009.
The first batch of people who were documented were 20, 192 people. Again, at that time, they were those who laid down their weapons but who for fear of the unknown did not go through the documentation process. So when they saw how the first batch was doing, the sincerity of government and the way the government was implementing the amnesty, they came out to say, we were also involved and we want to be documented, so that we can also benefit and another 6,166 were added. So, it was not based on ethnic nationality. For those who protested that the programme was actually an Ijaw agenda, I think the protest is not properly placed, because amnesty was not proclaimed on the basis of ethnic nationality or on the basis of state or local government. It was proclaimed for those at that time who fell within the parameters that were spelt out for the proclamation. And it just happened that they were more Ijaw people.
Don’t you think it would have been appropriate for the federal government to also proclaim a corresponding capacity building programme for those who did not carry arms?
They are such programmes. The Sure-P programme of the federal government is there. The NDDC has a lot of programmes to that effect. The Ministry of Niger Delta, the various state level oil agencies such as DESOPADEC and then the various states in the region, are expected to provide for their people to meet their needs and yearnings through economic empowerment programme or vocational programme. They are so many things they are doing. Again, we try to create the impression or notion that amnesty is a reward for violence; it is not. This is very important. If today amnesty is proclaimed in the north and the Boko Haram people are accepting the amnesty, then we can begin to question the rationale, because it is a clear case of violence against law-abiding citizens.
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