Nigeria’s Amnesty Program

Abstract

This article investigates the role of the amnesty program in sustaining peace and development in post-conflict Niger Delta. The amnesty program introduced a number of strategies including educational and vocational skills training of ex-militants as alternatives to violence and militancy in the region. The introduction of education and vocational skills training to ex-militants is an innovative approach to transforming one of the major stakeholders in the conflict—youths. Youths had hitherto been majorly associated with violence and criminality in the region. These approaches have achieved some level of successes as violence and militancy have greatly reduced in the region. However, there are challenges that need to be addressed before the program can be regarded as fully successful. Employment opportunities must be provided for ex-militants after their training, and combatants who have not been accommodated by the program should be catered for, to prevent a return to violence and militancy. With this, ex-militants will become change agents that will spur peace and development in Nigeria’s post-conflict Niger Delta.