My Reappointment, a Challenge to Fulfill Yearnings of Niger Delta

Interview

In this interview with THISDAY, The Interim Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Col. Milland Dixon Dikio (rtd) speaks on a number of issues including his plans to sustain the peace in the Niger Delta

How did you receive your reappointment from the Presidency?

I want to thank God, that Mr. President found me worthy to be reappointed but most importantly, I want to acknowledge destiny helpers, who worked behind the scene. I would not forget to thank the ex-agitators’ community that felt very strongly about my being reappointed. The fact that they expressed their concerns through the media instead of the street protests that used to be the tool of choice in the immediate past was heartwarming. The reappointment, to me is a kind of challenge to fulfill the yearnings and expectations of primarily, the ex-agitators’ community and the larger Niger Delta region.

The Presidency’s statement concerning your reappointment reads: “you command a lot of respect among stakeholders in the Niger Delta”. How do you want to sustain that?

I have worked and still work very closely with many key stakeholders in the region. Some have been working very quietly behind the scene to advance our vision for the Niger Delta, so that it could be the safest and the best place to live and do business in Nigeria. Seeing this number of people who believe in the paradigm shift motivates me every day. It is an endless motivation to do better every day.

What are your plans for ex-agitators in the New Year?

Principally, we want them to be trained, employed and mentored but this will start with about 8,000 delegates who have never been trained at all. The second group of people will be those who have been trained but not empowered. To aid that process, some of the contracts that were awarded are being reviewed, especially the ones that have not been executed up to 50%. We are working with the vendors to ensure that they adjust their contracts to reflect our current vision to train, employ and mentor our delegates. We are ready to partner with anyone who is ready to align with our vision especially if they meet our viability criteria.

Ultimately, what we want to achieve is that these ex-agitators are given the training they need to either become entrepreneurs or acquire the qualification they need to compete in the job market successfully. For the economy at large, we want to encourage them to think about shared prosperity. Where there is prosperity or what is called human security, the urge for violent agitations will be reduced to the minimum because their sources of livelihood are protected. That’s the whole idea.

What were your findings when you first assumed office?

If I had not been a soldier who had faced tough challenges in the past, I probably would have chickened out, because to say the least, the place was very dysfunctional. I inherited a debt of N71.4bn and a fractured logistics process that was evident everywhere; there were goods lying around in the rain because they were procured without due needs analysis. It was very disheartening.

To compound it all, there was dichotomy between the Reintegration consultants who are principally the main drivers of the Programme and the civil servants who are supposed to support them. This lack of staff harmony is still evident though to a less degree now. We are addressing this through a complete top to bottom reorganization.

There was trust deficit from the ex-agitator community and the students; often times they had to block roads for their stipends or In-training allowances to be paid. So, one of the first things I did was to say: “Hey, this thing is not rocket science, you know you must pay people every month, let’s challenge ourselves to a date.” Many people thought that I was walking on thin ice and said that payment on the 25th of every month was not possible. However, by the grace of God we have been able to do that. Most times, these payments are made before the 25th of the month.

The Minister of Finance and the Accountant-General of the Federation have been very supportive in processing our finances and in ensuring that there are no bottlenecks concerning our releases. My immediate superior, the National Security Adviser has gone above and beyond the call of duty, to enable us to overcome the challenges I mentioned earlier.

We are also mindful not to bend the structure so hard so we don’t break it in the course of trying to fix it. I insist on all concerned to understand that they have a part to play. This is a collective responsibility because the image of PAP is not the image of Dikio, but that of everybody associated with the Programme and peace in the Niger Delta region.

What has been your experience in the last one year of touring the Niger Delta?

One of the things that was widely expressed by delegates and other critical stakeholders, was that, they had never seen someone in my position in the Amnesty Office come that close to the people in the region, and I believe that is why I have the kind of support I enjoy. People are hungry to meet with decision makers to express their views. For example, when we went to Uyo, many of our delegates came out of curiosity to find out if I was really on ground. When they saw me, they said they had a lot of complaints to make, but because I was there physically, they would not express those concerns anymore. Their leader asked if I could go to Oron to see his jetty and I agreed. On getting to Oron, even the paramount ruler came out to greet us. These are the kind of interactions that have created the connection they had craved for so long. It’s really the ‘hearts and minds’ approach that connects us to the stakeholders.

Why is the Amnesty office verifying ex-agitators?

The question of who is in and who is out is a moving target. This is because some of these problems were based on decisions that were pragmatic at the time of disarmament but have become problematic over time. After the disarmament in Phase 1, there were some agitations to increase the pool of people that needed to be included in the Programme. Incidentally, the diligence that went into Phase 1 appeared not to have been carried over into Phases 2 and 3. Hence, you have a situation where slots were allocated to the Phases 2 and 3 leaders, whereas in Phase 1, the ex-agitators were identified as individuals under various leadership camps. The problem is therefore identifying the bonafide individuals or identity of those in these slots. Over the years, there has been acrimony about people that were included or those removed. Our task now is to dialogue with the key players so we can sort it out amicably and reduce everybody to an individual instead of groups.

What exactly are you doing differently that changed the horrible reputation of PAP you inherited?

We have different motivations in life. I come from a background where failure is not an option, so I don’t make excuses. People just want you to level with them and the few occasions when, for instance, we were not able to pay as promised on the 25th, we proactively let the ex-agitators know ahead of time that the stipends won’t come as expected, but it will come not long after the expected date. So, these are the kind of things that have built the kind of confidence that we have enjoyed so far. I was trained as an officer to face challenges with the clear objective to win; I keep that in focus all the time.

What legacy do you intend to leave behind?

I don’t claim to have a magic wand but I believe strongly that my appointment was divine and all along I have had destiny helpers assisting me. With the support of people of the region, we will be able to make a mark that cannot be erased.

I am in that stage of life where I intend to leave a legacy of righting some of the administrative wrongs in this special agency created to address some of the challenges in the Niger Delta region. Ultimately, I want to contribute to making the Niger Delta the best place to live and do business in Nigeria.