Dikio, administrator with a mission

Since the end of the civil war when oil revenue was firmly put in federal government’s hand, the Niger Delta region has suffered gross neglect and environmental degradation giving vent for the people of the region to agitate for a fair deal in the utilization of their God-given resources. It is interesting to note that Obasanjo’s government ill-conceived response to the issue of resource control agitation gave rise to the issue of militancy in the hitherto peaceful Niger Delta Region. It was in an effort to stem the tide of militancy and youth uprising in the region that made the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua government to establish the Presidential Amnesty Program in 2009. The PAP was intended to train and empower the over 30,000 Niger Delta ex-agitators as they are called who had willingly surrendered their arms. And the program has succeeded in disarming and demobilizing the militant youths which is the first phase of the program but is far from accomplishing the second phase which is about reintegration: training and empowerment as well as other integrated development plan for the troubled region.

Clearly, while no one can deny the fact the PAP has brought temporary peace in the oil-rich region, it has however not attained the its full mandate due to poor funding, corruption, debilitating politics, external interferences, poor implementation strategies, deviation from the original policy plan…Of course, there are insinuations of clandestine move in some quarters to discredit the program and some other strategic initiatives aimed at developing the oil-rich Niger Delta region.

In particular, the immediate past, the program has suffered a lot of set-backs so it requires a man with character, capacity and will power to restore order and credibility. The immediate past special assistants to the president on PAP seem to have deviated from the program master plan so the task before the new administrator now should be the actualization of the PAP original master plan

When therefore Col. Milland Dixon Dikio (retd) was appointed the interim administrator of the PAP in September last year, analysts and the Niger Delta stakeholders lauded the appointment given his pedigree and especially given the dismal performance of his immediate predecessor and the steps he has taken so far has shown that he is the right man for the job. The jubilations and the flurry of congratulatory messages he received upon his appointment indicates that he is eminently qualified and that the people approved his appointment for the job. And so far, he has been able to convince everyone including his most ardent critics that he understands why he is occupying that office.

Part of the reason why people fail in office among other things include: lack of will power to take decisive steps/initiatives, the ethical dilemma of conflicting personal interest and general interest, inadequate clarification of job mandate, poor consultation and neglect of stakeholders’ engagement, inadequate knowledge of job specification. Col. Dikio knows all these and hence he has taken off as expected. He is proactive, articulate and focused on his mandate. He knows that he has come to clear the Augean stable and restore credibility to the Amnesty Program. The steps he has taken shows that he knows the problems of the Niger Delta area and is poised to make a mark.

Col. Dikio’s inaugural address to the staff of the agency shows that he knows what his mandate as the administrator to PAP is; he was abreast of the purpose of the program. And he has taken the right steps to avoid the pitfalls of his immediate predecessors in office. In his inaugural address to the top management of the agency he had made it clear that his mission is for service delivery. And he was willing to engage all stakeholders for this purpose. His policy of service delivery through inclusive leadership is yielding fruits. The steps taken so far, his consultations with different stakeholders all point to the fact that he has indeed come to work. The office of the Presidential Amnesty Office is no longer run like a military garrison. It is now accessible to all stakeholders—the ex-agitators, staff, partners, contractors, community leaders etc. His open-door policy has given room for fresh ideas and strategic implementation of the programs of the agency.

No doubt Dikio is equipped intellectually and psychologically for the job. He is a distinguished soldier, a seasoned administrator and a security consultant with local and international exposure. He is an expert in conflict resolution and counter terrorism. In 2004, he retired voluntarily from the army after over 27 years of meritorious service to his fatherland. He had held several command positions while in service and creditably distinguished himself in various duties he was assigned while in the army. He was particularly outstanding in peace keeping operations being one of the officers in the ECOMOG, AU and UN contingents.

Thus, he has his pedigree and wealth of experience behind him having been involved in high profile international conflict resolution projects in the past. He is not new to Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programs. He was the Military Adviser/Principal Programme Officer Peacekeeping at ECOWAS Executive Commission. In Sierra Leone he was involved in the Child Soldiers Rehabilitation Camp in Orogu and Disarmament Camp in Newton.

Aside from his training and orientation as a soldier, he has his personal qualities and virtues; his high standard of discipline and integrity has worked for him. He is a stickler for rules, excellence and due process. He is purpose-driven and result-oriented in his approach to his duties. It is therefore not surprising that his appointment as the administrator of the Niger Delta Amnesty Program is endorsed by the Niger Delta stakeholders and is seen as fitting for the purpose by the ex-agitators whose interest he serves.

As a public policy analyst and concerned observer, I have monitored with interest the activities in the Presidential Amnesty office since the assumption of office of the current administrator of the program and have come to see the reasons behind the show of support and solidarity to the new man at the helm of affairs by different groups in the Niger Delta region. My independent survey indicates that all stakeholders are satisfied with the performances of the current administrator. So far, the ex-agitators have had significant attention paid to them. There is therefore the need for all stakeholders in the Niger Delta Project to continue to support Col. Milland Dixio Dikio in the onerous task of training and empowering the Niger Delta Youth. He is versatile, tested and accepted. With his wealth of experience and professional training, there is no doubt that he would steer the PAP on course. With Col. Milland  Dikio, it is a new dawn at the Presidential Amnesty Office. The full implementation of the different phases of the Amnesty program is a task that must be done. The various issues that gave rise to youth restiveness in the region must be tackled frontally. The government should continue to provide the funding for the program. The oil companies in the Niger Delta should be should be strategically involved in this assignment.

Irogboli, an neconomist, consultant, novelist and public policy analyst, writes via

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