13 years of the amnesty programme in Nigeria: an assessment of its impact on the Niger Delta region

Abstract

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 implementation of the programme, proper monitoring and evaluation of the programme, proper engagement in meaningful economic activities should also be made a priority. Furthermore, focus should be given to agricultural entrepreneurship and local communities should work with the Amnesty Programme to determine their unique development needs and objectives.