Kingsley Kuku @48: Illuminating a nation

Unto the Kuku family of Arogbo Ijaw was a shining star born on Saturday, February 14, 1970. The newborn that has now turned out a globally recognised environmental activist was delivered to his humble family in a modest and small package. This further lends credence to the aphorism that most great products are delivered in small packages. The birthdays of most great men are often than not heralded with glowing tributes, heartfelt felicitations and princely celebrations. Dr. Kingsley Kuku is a man who has given his all for the sake of Ijaw nation and the cause of Niger-Delta. He, therefore, deserves nothing short of a kingly birthday celebration. The story of Ghana cannot be told without making mention of Nkwame Nkrumah. The same way the liberation struggle in South Africa will always be dominated by the name of late Madiba, Dr. Nelson Mandela. The story of lasting peace restoration and transformation of the lives of former agitators in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria cannot be told without mentioning the invaluable contributions by Kuku.

Although Kuku has only turned 48 today, his contributions thus far to his Ijaw nation and Nigeria at large clearly outweigh that of so many people that were born decades before him.  There is no doubt that the place of the Arogbo Ijaw-born politician and environmental rights activist has been safely preserved in the nation’s history. The unusual patriotic commitment of Kuku was noticed when he hurriedly left the venue of his wedding party to attend to a pressing communal issue at Arogbo Ijaw. He had instructed his best man to hold the fort for him at the reception party. This was no doubt a rare patriotic sacrifice by Kuku on his supposed day of conjugal happiness. The many years of his selfless commitment to the Niger Delta struggle were rewarded with his appointment as the Special Adviser on Niger-Delta Affairs and chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme during the administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. Kuku had promptly gone ahead to confirm the assertion that only a prepared mind can make the best use of opportunities. He quickly hit the ground running by rolling out plans that transformed the lives of 30,000 former agitators and restored the crucial but elusive peace to the nation’s oil sector.

One of the notable contributions of Kuku to the Nigerian oil sector was the scaling up of the nation’s daily crude oil output from 680,000 barrels to 2.2 million barrels. The nation’s daily oil production now stands at over 2.7 million due to the gains of the Amnesty Programme. Kuku had also assured in his book that a daily crude target of 4.5 million barrels was achievable if the Amnesty gains were sustained. The first concern of Hon. Kuku upon the assumption of office as chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme was the immediate disarmament and demobilisation of 30,000 ex-agitators; a move that was swiftly followed up with their aggressive foundational training. Many of the agitators have since graduated and turned out as responsible citizens that now give back to their various communities. A good number of the ex-agitators were enlisted in flight training schools at Oxford, England and Lufthansa, Germany. Some other equally undertook helicopter training in Italy. It must be noted that nearly all the students that were enrolled for flight training are now qualified, pilots.

It was to the credit of Kuku in his capacity as the Amnesty Programme’s chairman that well over 800 ex-agitators were enrolled in 72 universities in the United Kingdom. Record also has it that more than 300 of the repentant agitators were registered in various universities across the United States of America. Another appreciable number of the ex-agitators were given academic lifelines in leading Malaysian and Ghanaian universities. The less academically endowed amongst the repentant agitators that could not secure overseas university placements and those that chose not to travel abroad were enrolled in the best private universities in Nigeria. Kuku saw to the enrolment of more than 700 former agitators in Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo state. Another 400 were also registered in Benson Idahosa University, Benin. A good number of the former agitators also got enrolled at the prestigious Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti. Another 156 were likewise sent to Novena University for undergraduate programmes. It is worthy of note that some of the repentant agitators that studied Law at Igbinedion University had successfully completed their Law School attendance before Hon. Kuku left office as chairman of the Amnesty Programme. Another remarkable highpoint was the fact that some of the students were able to graduate in the First Class division in their programmes. In all,  Hon. Kuku successfully enrolled more than 2,000 students in Nigerian universities alone, while another 2,000 students were also enrolled in overseas universities.

Kuku was a pioneer member of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), and the second spokesman of the council. He was signatory to the historical Kaiama Declaration before he contested and was elected as a member of the Ondo State House of Assembly. Kuku was made the chairman of the House Committee on Information. He had also served at various times as Special Assistant and Head of Conflict Management Unit at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).  Kuku has prepared himself early in life as a conscientious activist with a distinction. He was a student leader while in the university and was once the National Mobilization Officer of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS). Despite his young age at the time,  he was quite active in the struggle to return the nation to full democratic governance. It must be noted that the experience gathered by Kuku in the cause students unionism had helped in a great deal to prepare him for leadership positions in the nation. Many happy returns of the day, KKK.

• Salako , a publisher, is based in Akure, Ondo State.