Date Published: 06/22/09

“President YarAdua's Amnesty Deal must cover all Niger Delta Militants" …Ambassador Segun Olusola

“President YarAdua and the Council of States must ensure that the much-touted Amnesty deal being offered Niger Delta militants is holistic, sincere and covers all the militants of the Niger Delta”, says Doyen of Nigerian broadcasting and culture, Ambassador Segun Olusola, who is also the Founder/Patron of the African Refugees Foundation (AREF), “if we are to avoid a spread of the current destructive ‘search-and-capture’ activities of the military JTF into the rest of the Niger Delta, and subsequent fall-outs”.

Assessing the fears that some militants may refuse to embrace Mr. President’s Amnesty deal if it does not cover the leading militants currently in government custody, or declared wanted, as is being widely speculated in local and international media and diplomatic circles, Ambassador Olusola, one-time Nigerian envoy to the Organisation of African Union in then war-torn Ethiopia, reminded Nigerians that even the leader of the Biafran attempt at secession, then Colonel Odimegwu Ojukwu, was included in the magnanimous granting of amnesty by General Yakubu Gowon, who is currently a member of Nigeria’s Council of States; which amnesty was not opposed by any Nigerian leader, including then Colonel Segun Obasanjo, also a member of Nigeria’s Council of States.

The AREF Founder and African Union Consultant, speaking on behalf of the world’s humanitarian community, further posited that “It would be a tragedy if the President were to misuse this opportunity to nip a civil war in the bud or create a situation where hundreds of thousands of Nigerians flee this country as refugees and millions more become Internally Displaced Persons like hundreds of women and children currently displaced in Gbaramatu kingdom with little emergency and relief aid available to them.”

Chief Olusola declared that as leader of hundreds of millions of multi-ethnic Nigerians, President Umoru Yar’Adua “must never tire of reviewing his decisions to arrive at what is best for all Nigerians. He must always do (and be seen, by all, to be doing) the best for all Nigerians. Anything less, especially in this case, is to invite multi-faceted disaster. The amnesty deal must cover all Niger Delta known militants, including those currently in government custody, or hitherto declared wanted by government.”