Once upon a time in Nigeria, the Niger Delta region as we know it today did not exist. The land mass and its people were there alright, but the state of affairs, the life they live and the well-being of the entire region was nothing short of perilous.
The region was at war – a war mainly against itself, but a perilous war, all the same.
Security, peace and other human development indices took flight, and chaos reigned.
Youth restiveness and armed struggle with all its dark and dire outcomes reigned unchecked.
Then, the late President Umaru Yar’Adua-led federal government introduced the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) in 2009 to salvage the region. That decision became a watershed moment, not just for the area but for the entire country, which was constantly feeling the heat from the fire raging in that region.
Its primary goal was to de-escalate and defuse the youths’ restiveness and was designed to provide a framework for disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration of ex-militants.
The warring militants were offered a time-boxed opportunity to surrender their arms in exchange for amnesty and rehabilitation.
They were to be re-integrated into their communities by providing formal education, vocational training and employment opportunities.
From 2009 till now, PAP has made significant and even giant strides under its mandate.
It’s on record that more than 20,000 repentant militants surrendered their arms and ammunition to the federal government and that many have also benefited from the programme’s vocational training and education initiatives.
It’s a no-brainer to say that peace, stability, and growth have also long returned to the region.
And since March 2024, when Dr. Dennis Otuaro took over the reins of leadership at PAP, the programme has experienced boundless progress in the different aspects of its mandate.
It has taken him just one year to take the vocational training and economic empowerment to a new height, particularly in aviation’s deployment of aircraft maintenance engineers for on-the-job training (OJT), 40 AMEs were type rated on ERJ – 145 and CRJ – 900/B737 aircrafts by Alom Aviation Services Limited.
The engineers were deployed for their one-year mandatory OJT in March of 2024.
It’s also public knowledge that 16 AMEs are undergoing their OJT at the 7 Star Global Hangar, while 21 others are at Aero Contractors Limited.
One of them is presently at King Airlines and Travels Limited.
Four Cadet Pilots were deployed to SimAero Training Limited Johannesburg, South Africa, for type rating on ERJ–145 and ATR72–500 on the 31st of May, 2024. They graduated and returned to Nigeria on the 30th of June, 2024.
PAP had a caseload of two cadet pilots who completed their instrument rating course on AW139 at Henley Air Flight Training in Johannesburg, South Africa, on April 10, 2024. Due to their outstanding performance at the instrument rating course, they were further deployed for their Type Rating Course on 29th May 2024 at Caverton Helicopters Limited in Lagos State.
Moving over to the maritime sub-sector, many can still recall the story of the 98 Maritime Cadets whose training programmes were truncated in Poland, Vietnam and Sweden between 2011 and 2014 due to frequent change of leadership at PAP. Well, one of the distinct actions Dr. Otuaro took on assuming office was to ensure that they were sent to Joemarine Institute of Nautical Studies and Research, in Delta State, to complete their programmes.
Just last October, the Dr. Dennis Otuaro-led PAP enrolled the cadets in a boot camp that would enable them to refresh their memories on the maritime training and for the naval consultant to figure out which cadets are ready to go further for the mainstream maritime training.
As the astute and pragmatic leader and administrator that he is, Dr. Otuaro, since coming to PAP, has taken stakeholder management and engagement to an admirable level. This is because he understands the role of the critical stakeholders in achieving and sustaining the goals of the amnesty programme. He has organised various stakeholder engagement sessions with the different categories of leaders and community representatives in the region.
The 2024 PAP Stakeholders Engagement Summit specifically convened by Dr. Otuaro also reinforced the importance of dialogue, collaboration, and inclusivity in sustaining peace in the Niger Delta.
The event provided a platform to address key concerns, proposed solutions, and strengthened relationships between the PAP and its stakeholders.
In line with his resolve to sustain effective stakeholder engagement at PAP, Dr. Otuaro has continued to forge mutually beneficial relationships with different government agencies and officials.
For instance, due to his determination to secure a better future for the graduates of the various development initiatives of PAP and to strengthen the synergy with the nation’s civil service, Dr. Dennis Otuaro held a crucial meeting with the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoCSF), Dame Didi Walson-Jack.
Just last November, the Dr. Otuaro-led PAP reiterated his commitment to keeping the peace in the Niger-Delta region by ensuring that all the PAP objectives are always met. This was done during a meeting with the Defence Headquarters Joint Monitoring Team led by Major General Jamil Jimoh.
The region and the country have continued to reap the dividends of the prevalent peace and security in the area as the country’s daily oil production output has significantly increased over the years to the present 1.8 barrels.
Indeed, Dr. Otuaro has proven in the short time he has been at the PAP’s helm of affairs that he has everything it takes to ensure that PAP continually delivers on its mandate.
Arilesere, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Ibadan
