In Search of Lasting Calmness: How Sustainable is the Federal Government’s Amnesty Program as a Peace Strategy in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria? (original) (raw)
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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.
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science
From early 1990 to 2009, Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta region was engulfed in conflict between multinational corporations (MNCs) and restive youths (popularly called militants) over the adverse effects ofoil pollution on their environment, live and economy. To curtail the conflict, Nigerian government initiated an amnesty programme for the militants in June 2009. This paper examined the impact and limitation of the programme, and measures to avert further conflict. The study was conducted via content analysis of books, articles in journals, editorials, and in-depth interviews conducted in the Niger Delta region between December 2018 and June 2019. This paper detectedthat the amnesty programme has brought about fragile peace, but the propensity of violence resurging is high,because the prime issues that triggered the conflict remain unaddressed. To forstall further conflict, Nigerian government and the oil MNCs must eradicate environmental degradation and invest in human and community development. Should conflict such as the one discoursed in this paper occur in the future, Nigerian government may grant amnesty, but must avoid 'paying for peace' as such approach is unsustainable. Rather than spend to lure people away from violence, the root cause of the conflict should be addressed.
Militancy and the Amnesty Program in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria; 2005-2014
IJMRE, 2021
The clamour for resource control by the Niger Delta region has become one of the contentious issues in Nigeria. The desire to address the structural deficiency gave birth to militancy. The study examines the activities of militant, and amnesty programme within the context of understanding justice and equity in the Niger Delta Region of the country. The study employs the use of content analysis to carry out the task which relies only on the use of secondary data collection. The paper argued that amnesty package have focused almost entirely on military and security objective as expressed in the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programmes. The study revealed national loss of income and resources; security challenges; downsizing of oil companies' employees; dwindling foreign direct investment; and destruction of national unity among others as implications of the militancy in the region. The paper concluded by recommending more proactive response to the crisis in the region, an all-encompassing approach, an articulated regulatory framework acceptable to all stakeholders, for there to exist a modicum of Niger Delta security, and by extension, a secured federation.
Review of History and Political Science, 2017
Over the years, as a result of its strategic importance to national development, coupled with perennial and fierce resource-induced agitations, the Niger Delta, Nigeria has become a veritable laboratory for all sorts of government interventionist and management policy measures. Although the implementation of the peace building initiative has brought about cold peace to the conflict-ridden region, the paper argued that the Amnesty Programme does not have the capacity to engender genuine and durable peace to the crisis-ridden region. This is because the focus of the peace-building strategy is geared towards addressing the symptoms rather than the root causes of the Niger Delta conflicts. The post-amnesty security environment is characterized by kidnapping, hostage-taking, oil-bunkering and attacks on critical national oil assets, a vivid indication of the deceptive peace the programme may have fostered on the oil-rich region. This has given peace-loving humanity cause for anxiety. In appraising the amnesty peace initiative, the study adopted a combination of descriptive qualitative and case study research design, with insights from structural violence paradigm. The paper concluded that, until and unless the real drivers of restiveness and violence are holistically and constructively engaged, genuine and sustainable peace and security will continue to elude 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...
Evaluation of Potentials for Peace Sustainability in the Post-Amnesty Niger Delta, Nigeria
Abstract: The Niger Delta areas, Nigeria, through rich in natural resources had witnessed several decades of conflict on account of systematic degradation of the region. Cosmetic measures adopted by previous government achieved little or no result until relative peace was accomplished on implementation of amnesty programme by the federal government in 2009. This paper assessed the prospects for achieving sustainable peace to prevent a relapse of armed conflict. The paper was descriptive and relied on secondary data sources. The paper found that the disarmament programme had achieved relative success as not all the militant groups keyed into the programme. In addition the coverage of the rehabilitation programme was positively skewed in favour of the militants to the exclusion of the generality of the citizens while such exclusion may portend danger for the future. Furthermore, the amnesty programme was anchored on militants and notable personalities rather than institutionally based while the infrastructural development could still be improved upon to serve as solid foundation for speedy development. The study therefore concluded that sustainable peace is a possibility with sincerity of purpose by the stakeholders. The study recommended that the stakeholders adopt inclusive approach to correct the identified deficiencies. Key words: Conflict, Militancy, Amnesty, Disarmament, Peace Sustainability, Niger Delta
Insurgency and State Response in Nigeria: A Study of Amnesty Programme in the Niger Delta Region
FUDMA Journal of Politics and International Affairs (FUJOPIA), 2020
This paper examined the incidence of insurgency and government's response with focus on amnesty programme in the Niger Delta region with reference to Bayelsa State. The paper is essentially qualitative. Primary data and documentary sources were the major sources of data collection. Respondents of In-depth Interviews (IDIs) were purposively selected. To correlate resource conflict discourse, the paper drew upon greed and elite thesis. It indicated that amnesty programme is lopsided as victims of environmental degradation were excluded from enjoying amnesty benefits. The paper recommended that Amnesty is a laudable policy for Niger Delta region, but it is not an end itself and must be complemented by broader socioeconomic, structural and political reforms to address the deep-seated grievances that have resulted in violent agitations in the Niger delta region.
Amnesty Programme and the Challenge of Poverty and Insecurity in the Niger- Delta of Nigeria
The decades of violence in the Niger Delta region has prompted several initiatives aimed at addressing the causes of unrest in the region. In spite of the contributions of these initiatives, the crisis appears to have persisted which points to the fact that the initiatives have failed to satisfactorily solve the problems in the Niger Delta. This led to the introduction of amnesty programme by the late President Yar'Adua led-administration. This study critically looks at amnesty programme and the challenges of poverty and insecurity in the Niger Delta. It argued that in spite of the fact that amnesty has halted violence in the Niger Delta, high expenditure on reintegration of ex-militants without a corresponding infrastructural development, poverty reduction and physical environmental transformation will doom the current fragile peace. The paper concluded that the prevailing fragile peace seems not to have only been plummeted but exclusively not driven by amnesty programme rather other political considerations such as sympathy for a Nigerian President of Niger Delta extraction and financial empowerment of the former militants. The study used content analysis and adopted the Marxian political economy approach as a theoretical guide. It recommended among others that the government should exert more efforts generally at building human capacity and infrastructural development in Niger Delta so as to dissuade and avert future slide back to crisis especially at the end of President Jonathan's leadership.
POLITICS OF AMNESTY AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA'S NIGER DELTA
This work examines the Government's Amnesty Programme and other strategies adopted in the Niger Delta since 1958 as a conflict management mechanism to tackle the conflict in the region and how to sustain the amnesty-induced peace. The causes of failure of previous strategies were highlighted as lesson for implementers of the peace building programmes. No one knows to which extent the Government is sincere in addressing issues of security and socioeconomic reconstruction in the region. Findings revealed that there is no legal framework on which the current amnesty and peace building programme is hinged instead the mode of implementation has been tied to key political and militant leaders with no clearly established institutions on which it is embedded. The study recommended that stakeholders should collaborate to tackle the question of massive socioeconomic reconstruction, and confront the challenge of environmental despoliation, poverty and unemployment head on with a 'Marshall-type' intervention.
The Niger Delta Crisis in Nigeria: Pre and Post Amnesty Situation
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2013
The emergence of militancy in the Niger Delta region led to problems of insecurity, pipeline vandalisation, disruption of oil output and revenues to the Nigerian government. Against this background the Federal Government initiated an Amnesty programme in 2009. The highly descriptive nature of the study necessitated the adoption of extensive desk research. This study examines critically the pre and post amnesty situation in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The findings show that the Amnesty extended to the militants in the area was one of the necessary steps towards resolving the restiveness in the region. In it we recommended that, it is important for government to look beyond the amnesty to address the key issues of underdevelopment (such as widespread poverty, high level of unemployment and lack of basic infrastructure and amenities and environmental degradation) in the region.