Nigeria’s Niger Delta: Is the Fragile Peace Holding?
Recent events in Nigeria suggest that the potential for major resurgence of violence in the delta is extremely high. The central dynamic in understanding this threat is the Niger Delta Amnesty Program, which indicates a growing structural permissiveness of the state to ethno-militarism. The Niger Delta Amnesty Program was established in July 2009 by late President Umaru Yar’Adua to create disincentives for violence through an interconnected program of personal, attitudinal, relational, and cultural changes. Three of the programs four principal motions (disarmament, demobilization, and rehabilitation) involved individual combatants and the fourth motion (economic reconstruction) would address both the fragile eco-system of the delta and the economic needs of its people. Read the full report.
