Another look at the Niger Delta Amnesty

Sahara Reporters
1 July 2011

http://www.saharareporters.com/article/another-look-niger-delta-amnesty-program-uche-igwe

The sky was very cloudy that Thursday morning. I decided to go to Lagos after postponing the journey for one week. It has become my habit to take an amateurish look at the weather before heading towards the airport. I have a phobia for flying and so making any journey in country is usually a big task for me. I had arrived the airport with a disposition to spend five hours waiting- no thanks to delays which is now part of the routine of air travels in Nigeria. As I sat absentmindedly by the newspapers vendor, I dozed off. A kind of stampede woke me up an hour later when a certain man arrived in the company of seven uniformed men of the Nigerian police.

The rifle carrying policemen displayed as though he was one of the governors or at least a minister. However his look did not in any way convey the slightest civility. He had this dirty dark complexion that made me curious. I made a move to inquire about who he was as he worked carelessly into the VIP lounge at the airport of the Nigeria’s capital city Abuja. He is one of the ex militants- someone whispered. I cannot recall his name but is sounded like one of the south western states. While I stood wrapped in the wonder of the display, a co-passenger explained to me that it was normal for them to move with an entourage. “This one na small, if you go to some states in the Niger Delta you will hardly differentiate the governors’ convoy from that of the militants because they have the same number of exotic cars and they all live in government house” He murmured in a very low tone.