An Evaluation of the Presidential Amnesty Programme in Nigeria’s Niger Delta Region (original) (raw)
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Effectiveness of Nigeria's Amnesty Programme in Peace Restoration in the Niger Delta
The declaration of amnesty to the Niger Delta militants by the Federal Government was seen as a roadmap to restore peace in the region. Thus, this study was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of the amnesty programme in restoring and promoting sustainable peace in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The study was conducted in four local government areas of Delta State. Data were collected through the administration of questionnaires, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Using a survey research design, 1407 questionnaires which served as the sample size of this study were distributed but 1370 were retrieved and used for data analysis. Also, 75 indepth interviews and four focus group discussions comprising 10 participants each were conducted for the study. The quantitative data were analysed using percentages and cross tabulations (SPSS software), while the qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. The data analysed revealed that there is no connection between the amnesty programme and sustainable peace in the Niger Delta; the amnesty programme has not resolved the Niger Delta conflict; peace has not returned to the Niger Delta since amnesty and the programme has led to the uprising of new militants in the region. Based on these findings, we recommended that the amnesty programme should be all embracing and it should continue until sustainable peace is achieved in the region, the unemployed youths should be identified for engagement in skill acquisition and empowerment programme while those ex-militants that have been trained should be employed to dissuade them from falling back to militancy and the infrastructural and developmental deficiencies of the region should urgently be tackled by the Federal, State and Local Government in collaboration with the oil companies operating in the region.
Amnesty Programme in Nigeria: The Impact and Challenges in Post Conflict Niger Delta, Region
The Niger Delta crisis has been a major threat to both socioeconomic activities in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The amnesty is now six years since it implementation however, this study seeks to capture the impact and challenges of the amnesty programme in post conflict Niger Delta region. The qualitative and quantitative method sampling procedure was used for this study. This research study was carried out in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa state, Nigeria. The purposive sampling method was used for this research because of the nature of militancy activities in the area. More so, in-depth interview with youth's leaders, community members, elders and relatives of ex-militants was carried out in the area. For decades, the people of the region have long been neglected, marginalized and lacked the basic infrastructure. Since then, the agreement made by the Federal Government is still unfulfilled. Therefore, there is urgent need for the FG to address the problems in the region.
The Implementation of Presidential Amnesty Programme in Niger Delta, Nigeria: A Review
International Journal of Social Science & Economic Research
The activities of oil exploration by the multinational oil-company for over five decades in the Niger Delta has led to underdevelopment, environmental degradation and thus given rise to military, oil pollution, deepening poverty and sundry other challenges in the region. Militancy in the Niger delta has been having damaging effect on the economy of Nigeria and it has taken its tolls on the accrual from crude oil. In a bid to address this perennial problem, the federal government instituted presidential amnesty programme with its core elements of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration to solve, if not all, the fall out of militancy in the region. The data for the study were content analysis and were derived from the available relevant secondary data. This study adopted Marxist political economy approach as its framework of analysis; it is an approach with a holistic view point on the contradictory nature of relationship that underlie social formation, the social law of distribution and production in the society. This study evaluated the presidential amnesty programme with a view to determine the extent of its implementation in the Niger Delta. It concluded that the presidential amnesty programme implemented in the Niger Delta just like other previous governments interventionist programmes, has not adequately fulfilled its stated objectives due to inherent flaws in the implementation process. The study made recommendations for the creation of more employment opportunities for the millions of jobless youths, feasible poverty reduction scheme and adoption of human security framework that is people centred in the Niger Delta.
An Assessment Of The Amnesty Programme Implementation In The Niger Delta Of Nigeria (2009-2011)
2011
One of the most current and topical issues within the context of peace and conflict resolution in Nigeria, borders on the lingering militancy and the subsequent President Yar"Adua"s (2008) amnesty programme in Niger Delta. The objective of this paper is to unravel the puzzles behind the fact that, in spite of the on-going amnesty implementation, the region is still entangled by militancy insurrection. The paper adopted the methodology of secondary sources of data, hypothesizing in the process that there are constraining factors inhibiting the effectiveness of the amnesty programme. The findings of the study established that, the amnesty programme is regrettably too petite on the imperative developmental requirements, for redressing the demands of the region.
The Niger Delta Crisis: Taming Violence beyond the Amnesty
2013
The declaration of Amnesty to the Niger Delta Militants by the Federal Government of Nigeria was acknowledged as the needed roadmap to the Niger Delta crisis. It was expected to draw out the militants from the creeks for skill acquisition training and rehabilitation, end violence and pave the way for a comprehensive development of the long neglected Niger Delta Region (NDR). Despite the seemingly overwhelming acceptance of the package by the militants, trademarks of violence reminiscent of the pre-amnesty era are still the lots of the NDR. Against this background, this study was undertaken with the objective of investigating the factors that are responsible for the renewed violence in the region with a view to finding solutions. Using a survey design, we administered questionnaire on 293 ex-militants to elicit information on their socio-demographic background, belief in amnesty, fear about amnesty, perception of amnesty by deserters, as well as the push and pull factors to militancy...
This paper intends to examine peace building efforts in post-conflict Niger Delta. The conflict which has affected oil production in Nigeria. This is also because oil is the main stay and a major source of energy in Nigeria. The study tends to look at the method, causes and assessment of the amnesty programme. The study covers a time frame between 2009 to 2015. The qualitative method is adopted and the use of secondary data will be employed for data generation and analysis as well. This study will reveal individual or group involved in the conflict. It will further proved that persistent neglect, deprivation and marginalization without development or compensation, high level of unemployment, environment degradation, uneven resource distribution and lack of basic amnesty. It was these problems that led to the emergence of militancy in the region for the past years. The study also reveal an attempt made by successive Nigeria Government to establish different commission to look into the Niger Delta issue, the DDR programme, security implications and its challenges in the Niger Delta clearly indicate that until the root cause of the region is achieved there will not be enduring peace, security and stability in the environment.
The Amnesty Programme and the Challenges of Ending Youth Militancy in Nigeria’s Niger Delta
Insight on Africa, 2012
The Amnesty introduced by the late President Umaru Yar Adua in 2009, no doubt brought some respite to the crisis in the Niger Delta region. However, there remain strong concerns on how to sustain the relative peace that has been achieved so far. The Amnesty was preconditioned on the surrender of arms and renunciation of militancy to be eligible for inclusion in an Amnesty programme for rehabilitation and reintegration, which included monthly allowances and training for the ex-militants. Despite the progress made through the amnesty, it has been characterised by various challenges which could reverse the gains of the programme if not properly managed. The paper examines the amnesty programme from its inception under late President Yar Adua, and what it portends for the youth, including those that are not/were not militants. The paper is qualitative in terms of its methodological approach. It argues that the amnesty programme should go beyond dealing with the problem of militancy and should include youth that were not militants, but who also have a stake in the region. The paper concludes by recommending that ending youth militancy fundamentally depends on the commitment of the government as well as other stakeholders to address the developmental challenges in the region, as this holds more promise of sustaining peace. This to a large extent depends on a leadership that takes seriously the issue of governance, development and environmental justice, which have eluded the region for decades.
War-to-Peace Transition in the Niger Delta: Is Amnesty Working
Civil disobedience in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria had been a threat to the cooperate existence of Nigeria since the late 1960s and particularly in the early 2000s when several non-state actors became very active in resistance struggles against the Federal Government and multinational oil companies. A lot of peacebuilding programmes had consequently been implemented to curtail activities of militants in the area. The Amnesty Programme been implemented since 2009 for armed militants was the Nigerian Government's strategy to demilitarize the region and integrate ex-agitators into civil life after several years of combat engagement in order to allow for immediate and massive socioeconomic reconstruction. The ex-combatants had deposited huge quantity of weapons as sign of peacemaking in that conflict-ridden region of Nigeria which in turn have reduced active and sustained physical combat. The Amnesty and peacebuilding programme ushered a regime of fragile peace, though did not translate into a better life for majority of the region's people for their grievances are still unaddressed. The objective of the work is to discuss the practical implementation of the Amnesty Programme, the challenges encountered, achievements made and areas of weaknesses. Lasting peace remains elusive, as renewed violence has began to cast shadows on the progress on the DDR front, and continue to raise questions on the prospect for sustainability of the tentative peace induced by the Amnesty in the region.
13 years of the amnesty programme in Nigeria: an assessment of its impact on the Niger Delta region
Journal of Global Social Sciences
The study is aimed at assessing the impact of the amnesty programme in the Niger Delta Region over the 13 years period. The historical method of data collection involving a systematic and critical analysis of secondary data was adopted for the study. The findings indicated amongst other things that while the amnesty programme has succeeded in reducing youth restiveness in the Niger Delta Region, the general state of underdevelopment, environmental degradation, poor infrastructure, lack of sustainable employment still constitute visible features of the Niger Delta Region. The study further noted that the amnesty programme has been inundated by corruption, political manipulation/interference, poor monitoring and evaluation of the programme, delay in payment of stipends to ex combatants, lack of meaningful economic engagement activities for trained ex militants amongst others. Based on these findings, the following recommendations were outlined: there is need for transparency in the im...