Several facts emerged from the data collected and analysed in this study. The findings are discussed below.
Responses to the questions used to test our first hypotheses: show that the amnesty programme cannot lead to sustainable peace and development in the Niger Delta. This view is supported by Judith Asuni (2011), who notes that until you address fundamental issues in the Niger Delta, you are never going to achieve sustainable peace. This is true; the amnesty programme has failed to address socio-economic needs of the region.
Umukoro, (2011) reinforced this view by saying that “The relative peace experienced in the Niger Delta Area is as a result of the amnesty programme whose major impact is on the Nigerian economy and the potentials for the generation of adequate revenue for development. The policy has helped to boost the nation economy through oil. How many companies have returned? What is the present level of business or commercial activities in the region? Has true normalcy been restored? According to Onyema, (2012) the amnesty is dealing with over 26,000 persons and it calls for lots of finding. Do the 26,000 persons include non-militants the amnesty programme claimed to be re integrating ex-militants into society as normal citizens? What about youths that are non- militants? And are neglected, affected by environmental degradation?
To show the inadequacies in the amnesty programme, some Niger Delta youths recently took to the streets protesting their non-inclusion in the amnesty programme. The Amnesty Programme should include all youths in the region; it is failure on the part of its implementers to exclude some youths in the region. What was the objective of the amnesty programme? Has the programme been able to achieve its set objective?
Recent attacks by ex-militants on the region have created room for doubt on the success of the amnesty programme. On January 28 gunmen attacked the home of Minister Godsday Orubebe and blew up parts of his mansion, on the 29 of January there was another attack on the Agip trunk line at Brass in Bayelsa State. (Amaize 2012). Again militants staged attacks on security personnel which claimed the lives of a lieutenant colonel and three other soldiers. Reports had it that, there were groups of militants who rejected the amnesty offer, they refused to surrender their arms for reasons best known to them (Amaize, 2012).
It is a truism to the fact that, the amnesty has failed to address developmental issues confronting people in the region including the activities of pirates in the high sea, has affected the people at the creeks, leading to loss of lives and properties, lack of alternative road networks and other means of transportation for the local people to make ends meet.
Instead of government to map out strategies, to address the root causes of the Niger Delta crises, government keeps giving directives to JTF to confront and eliminate the challenges responsible for the loss of the Federal government revenue to the tune of S 15.8 Billion through pipeline vandalism and associated economic crimes (Amaize, 2012). This point is alleged to be the underlined objectives of the amnesty which is to boost the nation’s economy through disarmament, demobilization and re-integration.
According to Hon. Kingsley Kuku, that the Niger Delta Development Commission, the ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, and L.G.As should provide alternative means of empowerment for unemployed youths in the region (Idumange et-al., 2012). Agencies such as NDDC, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs state and Local Government lack the capacity, experience and fund to implement the amnesty programme. This will create room for corruption. The federal government has the best capacity to manage the amnesty programme and also formulate programs for the development in the region.
According to Kuku, “The amnesty programme was meant to disarm, demobilize and re-integrate ex-militants who dropped their arms and embraced amnesty”.
Kuku, confirmed the “erroneous belief in some quarters that the amnesty programme was meant to address development projects in the region, a situation which, he said had made some state holders to be reluctant to assist.
The above statement confirms the fact that Amnesty Programme was aimed at training ex-militants and not carrying out developmental projects and confirms huge success of the amnesty programme, the rate at which it has transformed the lives of ex militants, some trained as, some are doctors, pilots, engineers and oil workmen. Most militants who would have been committing crimes in the creek are now meaningfully engaged, dreaming and acquiring skills.
Asari Dokubo opined that “the tag amnesty should be dropped and the programme be expanded”. The statement embrace the fact that the amnesty programme has not addressed fundamental issues, but disarmament, demobilization and re-integration of ex militants, to pave way for the increase in production of petroleum product.
To acknowledge the factors that led to peace in the region. Asari Dokubo acknowledged the managers of the project, who have managed the project as well as to the benefit of the recipients. With the help of the amnesty programme, thousands of young men and women are being trained in various training centre’s e.g. Obubra Camp, some were sent abroad to countries such as South Africa, Ghana, Malaysia, and Russia, US among others for training as doctors, engineers, and oil workers.
Some of the skills acquisition programme put in place for ex-militants includes sea welding, sea faring, and pipeline welding and crane operation. Some of the beneficiaries claimed their lives have been transformed by the programme they are now bona-fide citizens. That the programme has made them understand that “they could fight for their right without necessarily resorting to violence.
Before the crises, daily production of oil was about two, million barrels per day during the crisis oil production dropped to 700,000 barrels per day, during the implementation of the amnesty programme; oil production sky- rocketed to 2.6 million barrels per day. The amnesty programme is still on, with militants who rejected the offer, due to the fact that they doubted the Modus Operandi of the programme, saw the way the Amnesty Programme has transformed the lives of some ex-militants, this made them to agitate for a third face of the amnesty programme, which automatically means their inclusion in the programme. The effects of their non-inclusion into the programme, has resulted in recent attacks on oil installations, at the home of Minister of Niger Delta, Godsday Orubebe, Agip trunk line at Brass in Bayelsa state. The killing of a senior army officer and three naval ratings, who were gunned down in the Nembe and Brass creeks in Bayelsa state (Hassan et-al, 2012). This might lead to resurgence of militancy.
Presently, due to the relative peace the amnesty programme has restored in the region the production of oil has raised to 3 million barrels per day (Onyema, 2012). Government should address the huge infrastructural deficits and lack of opportunities that were the excuses of militancy in the first place. Developmental problem in the Niger Delta area is the root cause or justification of militant activities and violent conflict (Umukoro 2010).
Responses to the questions used to test our second hypothesis: Indicate that corruption affect Amnesty Policy. Corruption among political leaders has affected the amnesty programme. The process whereby some of youths who benefited from the programme were not militants and had never been to the creeks before, the amnesty programme not including-establishment of industries that will accommodate the ex-militants after their training programmed shows the gap in the programme.
Adequate funds have not been provided, to encourage some of the skilled militants who would be self-employed. They need robust starter packs. This calls for adequate finding of the programme. More resources should be committed to sustain the peace in the region.
The chairman of the amnesty programme Hon Kingsley Kuku’s, refusal to admit or include more militants into the programmed, claiming that the amnesty window has closed. Symbolizes lack of fund to admit more militants into the programme. Provision of more fund, will admit more militants into the programme. Non-inclusion of militants, stand as threat to the relative peace already sustained by the amnesty programme. According to Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo Asari, who claimed that the resources allocated to the amnesty project was inadequate and could not dig deep to satisfy the aspirations and yearnings of the people of the oil-bearing communities”.
Senator Godwin Abe had been called upon to explain, how the 50 billion amnesty fund was spent by the Presidential Amnesty Committee, claiming that some of the facilities which include the building of various Centre as collation and store points for the weapon submitted by the Niger Delta ex-militants. Yet, none of these facilities have been provided (Dennis, 2011).
There are claims that 90% of repentant militants were not real militants, 90% of militants undergoing training in various countries now had never been to the creeks during the reign of terror (militancy) in the region (Dennis, 2011).
Obi and Nwachukwu, (2008) further claimed that “sometimes, funds meant for policies were not approved by the relevant government officials and if approved were not released at all or on time. Funds released at all are most times misappropriated or directed to other less important things. Sometimes funds were embezzled or stolen by those in authority.
Responses to the question used to test our third Hypothesis: Indicate that ethnic pluralism affect policy making and implementation. According to Ikelegbe, (2006). Public policy should promote the interest of the general public, rather than the interest of the particularized, parochial, sectional and primordial groupings. Sometimes , some ethnic groups claimed to be neglected, which can be ascribed to the incremental dispersal of resources to different segments of the population,( groups and institutions) as it favor’s some ethnic groups, not all ethnic groups benefited from it. There are traces of impartiality and in the distribution of resources, this affects formulation and implementation of policy.
A good example is the Niger Delta region, a region so blessed with vast natural resources, made up of different ethnic groups, the Ijaws, (the largest ethnic group) the Itsekiri, Yoroba, Efiks, Ibibios and other small groups. The Niger Delta includes states of Abia, Imo, Delta, Edo, Rivers, Bayelsa, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Ondo. Nigeria is made up of 36 states. The region produces the resources used in developing the other regions (states), but above all, the regions remained underdeveloped. The region has been threatened with extinction due mainly to very serious ecological damage caused by over fifty years of crude oil exploration and extraction whose resultant effect has posed serious negative impacts on the fertility and life span of inhabitants. Malnutrition is a major problem among children, water related diseases, and waste disposal practices which have caused serious problems in the region. The Niger Delta region claimed to be neglected, marginalized by the Nigerian Government and multinational companies, this singular act from the government has affected the formulation of policies that will not only address developmental problems in the region, but rather resources from the region are used to develop other parts of the country. Again, multinational companies claimed they pay huge grants to the Federal government, and that the role is on government to take responsibility for the upkeep and development of the Niger Delta region. This singular act, prove evidence of impartiality on the part of Federal government. Resources are not evenly distributed — No uniformity in the aspect of development of regions in the state.
Again, most oil companies domicile in the region, neglect the region, by not employing youths in the region. In Yenagoa, Indigenes of Ogboinbiri, an Oil rich community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area. Protested against, the refusal of Agip Oil Company to employ their youths (Vanguard April 16, 2012).A company operating in the region for 26 years, with over 11 oil wells in the community and currently operating on a gas gathering project. Yet the people of the region have nothing to show for its operation in their land. The company claimed they pay huge grant to the federal government.
The people of Ogoni have been deprived of the benefit from the resources discovered, and derived from their land, rather they suffer hazards such as environmental degradation, imposed on them — still commensurate development had never taken place in Ogoni.
Responses to the questions used to test our forth hypothesis: Show that non-availability of relevant data affects policy making and implementation. “According to Akpan, (2000) inaccurate and untimely data is one of the causes of policy failures in Nigeria”. Irrelevant information is tantamount to policy failure from the first stage.
The implementation problem, arise also from corruption, emergence of unforeseen execution difficulties derived from inadequate analysis, government failure by not providing adequate fund to encourage research for the discovering of new or additional useful information.
The amnesty programme has been directed to disarm, demobilize and re integrate the ex-militants, the chairman of the programme, Hon. Kingsley Kuku, is specifically directed to pursue the objective of the amnesty programme, but failed to realize that the major cause of militancy is as a result of serious ecological damage caused by over fifty years of crude oil exploration and extraction in the region and other consequences which include negative impacts on the fertility and life span of inhabitants in such manner that life expectancy is falling, birth rate of animal babies and plant has increased.
Amnesty as a programme, it is likely to say that, adequate research have not been carried out, and necessary policy which include the generation of relevant information and data to address the root causes of the crises have not been formulated. In this case the amnesty programme has failed to address issues such as developmental projects which also include the provision of industries that absorb ex-militants after their training.