EDITORIAL: THE ABANDONED AMNESTY PROGRAMME — NIGER DELTA DESERVES BETTER LEADERSHIP!
By Tarakirivoice Editorial Team
There are moments in national conscience when silence is betrayal. Today is one of those moments. We speak not as enemies, not as agitators, but as citizens of a nation whose fragile peace in the Niger Delta hangs by a thread — a thread entrusted to the Presidential Amnesty Programme… a programme now wobbling under the weight of administrative neglect.
This editorial is addressed squarely and solemnly to the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Chief Dennis Brutus Otuaro, and with equal gravity to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Something has gone terribly wrong — and pretending otherwise is not patriotism, it is sabotage.
AN OFFICE WITHOUT A LEADER, A PROGRAMME WITHOUT A SOUL
Two Abuja offices — Nile Street and Amazon Street. Two clusters of responsibilities. Four critical departments — Peacebuilding, Accounts, Legal, and Documentation.
Daily:
Letters arrive at Amazon Street
Memos move to Nile Street
Files await approval
Financial decisions hang
Operations freeze
Yet the one person constitutionally empowered to sign, approve, and move this machinery forward is simply not there when needed.
This is not bureaucracy — it is paralysis.
Not oversight — but abandonment.
Not inconvenience — but injustice.
It is a betrayal of the hopes and futures of those whose destinies depend on timely administrative action.
EX-AGITATORS: HUMAN LIVES, NOT FILE NUMBERS
The Amnesty Programme is not about ink and paper — it is about men and women whose tomorrow was promised when they laid down arms and embraced peace.
Yet today, we ask:
How can peacebuilding work when peacebuilding files rot unapproved?
How can youth development happen when leadership programmes are trapped in limbo?
How can reintegration happen when the administrator is absent while destinies gather dust?
This is not a clerical delay — it is slow-motion tragedy.
THE QUESTION NO ONE CAN IGNORE: WHERE IS THE ADMINISTRATOR?
The loud public perception is that the Administrator spends far more time outside Abuja — particularly in Gbaramatu — than in the programme’s operational offices.
Whether fully accurate or partially true, it has damaged public confidence.
In governance, presence is leadership. Absence is failure.
When the office becomes a ghost town, confusion thrives. When confusion thrives, peace dies.
THE COST OF ABSENCE IS NOT JUST FAILURE — IT IS DISTRUST
Every private air trip has a cost. Every absence has a cost. Every unapproved document has a cost.
The Niger Delta pays that cost. The Nigerian nation pays that cost. The future pays that cost.
And when the public perception becomes
> “He only shows up when monthly disbursement is due,”
— even if that perception is wrong — leadership has already lost legitimacy.
Optics matter. Trust matters. Leadership presence matters.
A WARNING TO THE PRESIDENCY: THIS IS AN EMBARRASSMENT WAITING TO EXPLODE
President Tinubu is known to be physically present in his office. The NSA shows up. The Senate President shows up. Governors show up.
Nigeria deserves the same level of seriousness from the Administrator of its most sensitive peace programme.
If this neglect continues, it will not be the Administrator alone who bears the shame — the reputational damage will rebound on the Presidency itself.
THE NIGER DELTA IS NOT SILLY — IT IS WATCHING, IT IS HURTING
People are whispering. Communities are frustrated. Youth leaders are confused. Ex-agitators feel abandoned.
Silence is becoming fear. Fear is becoming agitation.
Peace is too precious to gamble with.
THE HONOURABLE CHOICE: IF YOU CANNOT LEAD — STEP ASIDE
If the Administrator is:
Overwhelmed
Unavailable
Disinterested
Unable to meet the demands
Then the honorable path is clear:
Step aside.
Let someone capable take up the mantle.
Leadership is not a title — it is a responsibility.
A programme like this cannot survive absentee governance. The Niger Delta will not survive leadership on autopilot.
CONCLUSION: A PLEA, A WARNING, A CALL TO ACTION
We write not to attack a man but to protect a mission.
The Amnesty Programme is not a favour to the Niger Delta.
It is not a political gift.
It is not an employment scheme.
It is a moral, constitutional, and national obligation.
The Niger Delta deserves:
Leadership that shows up
Leadership that takes responsibility
Leadership that understands the urgency of every pending file
To the Administrator:
Lead or step aside.
To the Presidency:
Wake this programme before silence becomes disaster.
To the Niger Delta:
Your frustration is valid. Your voices matter. Keep speaking — your future depends on it.
By Tarakirivoice Editorial Team
