Impact of Federal Government Amnesty Programme on Peacebuilding in Niger Delta, Nigeria

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 v eritable 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, this seminar paper offers a critical ac count of the amnesty programme introduced by the Nigerian state in 2009. It examines the impact and limitations of the amnesty as an instrument of peacebuilding, and emphasizes the need for wider reforms that address underdevelopment and poverty in the Niger Delta region. The seminar argues that the amnesty programme is a laudable effort but is by no means a silver bullet. It is better understood as a specific response to a resource -driven conflict that requires a broader, comprehensive resolution. 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.