Dr. Shola Mese’s Ethnic Jingoism: A poison to PAP Agenda of Unity, Peace and Development in the Niger Delta, By Ben Binebai 

By Ben Binebai

The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) emerges as a beacon of hope for demobilised youths seeking redemption in the Niger Delta. Amidst this chorus of reconciliation, Dr. Shola Mese’s assertions that the PAP favours others over the Itsekiri people introduce discordant notes. The programme’s noble aim is a federal intervention nurturing reintegration and empowerment. The PAP’s resplendent purpose is a federal intervention of sublime intent, aspiring to nurture the reintegration and empowerment of 30,000 documented beneficiaries from across the Niger Delta’s ethnic mosaic, sans ethnic or sectional bias.

The Itsekiri, proclaiming themselves refined denizens averse to the bearing of arms, declaiming themselves free from the ambit of disarmament like ethereal beings untouched by mortal conflicts, yet find themselves entwined in the benevolent embrace of the PAP administrators, borne of magnanimous conscience. Dr. Dennis Otuaro, a luminary administrator of the PAP, navigates the intricate waters of the Niger Delta with sagacity and inclusivity, weaving a brocade of peace where every ethnic nation’s threads are interlaced. His tenure is a paean to diligence, a hymn to unity in diversity. Dr. Shola Mese, perceived as an Itsekiri ethnic jingoist amidst a federal agency’s impartial halls, proffers allegations that seem to stir the embers of discord rather than fan the flames of unity.

Such criticisms of the PAP under Dr. Otuaro risk sowing seeds of conflict in a region savouring the sweetness of peace. In this fecund region where peace is a treasured jewel, Dr. Mese’s ethnic sentiments should not be the fulcrum to lever discord. Dr. Shola Mese and his Itsekiri nation should be grateful to the PAP, a benefactor agency extending benevolence and opportunities for empowerment. The populace of the Niger Delta is deeply impressed by the judicious management of funds and programmes of the PAP under Dr. Otuaro’s aegis. Moreover, the Olu of Itsekiri was not one of those who surrendered weapons of war and faced the ritual of disarmament and demobilisation. The Olu will, therefore, be considered to be crossing his boundaries if he projects himself as a meddlesome interloper in the affairs of the PAP.

Chief Dr. Dennis Burutu Otuaro is a round peg in a round hole as far as the Amnesty vision is concerned.

Prof. Benjamin Binebai, writes from Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State