Nigeria: Kuku Advocates Development Programme for Youths

Ike Abony

21 June 2011

Presidential Adviser on Niger Delta and Chairman of the Amnesty Programme of the Federal Government Chief Kingsley Kuku Monday urged various State Governors and Local Government Chairmen across the country especially in the Niger Delta region to urgently initiate development programmes for the teeming unemployed youths to engage them and take their minds off crime.

The Presidential Adviser spoke in Abuja at the unveiling of 34 trainees beneficiaries of the amnesty programme going to Israel for vocational training.

Kuku said his advice had become necessary because of the erroneous thinking in some quarters that amnesty programme will run in phases pointing out that the programme has no phase as its for those who surrendered their arms and were demobilized.

He said the governments at state and local level should device a means of developing their youths as the amnesty is not indefinite.

The Adviser announced that the programme is only catering for the 26,358 ex-militants who were demobilized. He added that so far, 4,000 of them have benefited from the training programme locally. While 74 are in Malaysia , 65 are in Russia, all pursing degree programmes. There are also 421 of them in South Africa undergoing various training including 21 pilot trainees. In the United States of America, 24 trainees are in Texas while 32 are in Florida.

Earlier the Managing Director of ONIDA Development ltd, the Israeli firm coordinating the training Mr. Israel Kidron had briefed the trainees on their expectations in Israel and urged them to take full advantage of the programme. He said that Israel is a small country of about 7million people but a lot happens there. He advised them to take maximum advantage of Israel ‘s rich agricultural potentials pointing out “agriculture in Nigeria still has a long way to go, I urge you to make best of this your programme in the area of agriculture”

The highpoint of the unveiling was the signing of an under taken by the trainees to be of good behavior and abide by the rules and regulations guiding the programme.

Amnesty office in Nigeria will pick the bill of the training including tuition, accommodation and feeding and also $500 monthly stipend and another $500 winter jacket allowance. The programme is for three months.

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