Conflict Resolution and Amnesty Programs the Quest for Sustainable Development
CHAPTER ONE
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of this research are as follows.
- To examine the problems militating the developing of Niger Delta region.
- To examine the prospects of peace in the Niger Delta through the Amnesty granted the militants by the federal government.
- To examine the measures taken by the federal Government in meeting the immediate and future needs of the militants that are granted Amnesty.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction
Peace is often believed to be the absence of war, and a situation where people go about their normal businesses without any form of hindrance. Recent discussions on peace negate this view; a state of calmness does not necessarily presuppose a state of peace, as we may be experiencing a ‘peace of the grave yard’1 . On this, Goodhand and Hulme (1999) argue that peace is commonly conceptualised as the antithesis of war, ‘the beating of swords into ploughshares’ (p.14), and a situation in which physical violence does not occur’. According to them, recent definitions of peace have extended the meaning beyond this view point which conceptualises “negative peace”. Galtung (1990) discusses structural violence, which manifests itself through structural inequality and the unequal distribution of power, which must be resolved by action that fosters “positive peace”. From this perspective peace is conceived not purely as an absence of physical violence but is intimately connected to the analysis and practice of social and economic development which is fostered by building peace (Goodhand and Hulme 1999, p.15). Peace-building on the other hand is conceptualized by the United Nations as ‘the promotion of institutional and socio-economic measures, at the local or national level, to address the underlying causes of conflict’ (cited in Goodhand 1999, p.15). Goodhand et al (1999) state that peace-building has become increasingly common and is often used broadly to mean any activity undertaken with the purpose of preventing, alleviating or resolving violent, or potentially violent, conflict. ‘It is the strategy which most directly tries to reverse the destructive processes that accompany violence’ (p.15). This involves a shift away from the warriors, with whom peace keepers are mainly concerned, to the attitudes and socio-economic circumstances of ordinary people. Therefore, it tends to concentrate on the context of the conflict rather than on the issues which divide the parties (Goodhand et al 1999, p.15). In this way amnesty, this according to Reiter (2011) is the process which has great potential for negotiating peace and is directly linked to the process of peace-building. Reiter avers that: The most promising amnesties, theoretically, are those attached to a peace process. Advocates of amnesty insist that amnesties are often necessary to get adversaries to the negotiating table and ultimately reintegrate rebels into society. Rebels are not likely to lay down arms, their main source of power, if they fear that prison sentences will immediately follow (Reiter 2011, p.3). Amnesty is a process initiated to grant pardon to the warring parties for peace to take place and it is more often than not initiated by external parties and most often the United Nations (UN). In this study, the amnesty programme is conceived as a home-grown peace-building initiative undertaken by the Nigerian government in order to achieve immediate cessation to conflict in order to enable a post-conflict peace-building effort to take place in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
CHAPTER THREE
THE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF AMNESTY
Writing on the historical importance of amnesty, Tieman (2002) takes a cursory look at the Amnesty in Athens and discusses the views of authors like William Mifford who opines that the programme was a failure due tothe passion and uncontrollable self-interest of the demos. Grote was of the view that the programme was a success due to the moderation and the gentle bearing of the demos. Tieman, drawing on the experience of amnesty in Chile where General Augusto Pinochet was later brought to account thirteen years after the self-imposed amnesties, argues that amnesty is never a matter of forgetting. Tieman draws on the character and attitudes of the Athenian demos which he emphasizes as contributed to its success. He claims that Athenian amnesty was a success and helped to lay a good foundation for Athenian democracy. Thus, the character and genuine ability of the parties in amnesty may go a long way in determining the effectiveness of amnesty in any country. Moreover, the relevance of amnesty to peace building is present as part of a series of mechanisms employed under a transitional justice system. It has therefore been utilized by countries such as South Africa, Sierra Leone, Chile, Argentina and El-Salvador in their processes of democratic transition from apartheid, civil wars and military authoritarian regimes to democratic political systems.
In the South African case, for example, amnesty was employed as a tool for nation-building; that is, a nation transitioning from a system of governance which excluded, degraded and dehumanised its citizens during the apartheid system, to an all inclusive system which encourages national unity for the development of the country (see Gibson, 2002). Wepener (2012) used the concept of liminality39 to explain what he refers to as social dramas which symbolizes the cleansing processes during the TRC period in South Africa. This, according to him shows ‘the dynamics of a ritual process of a society experiencing conflict, the so-called social dramas with their phases of breach, crisis, redressive action and reintegration/schism’ (Wepener 2012, p.300).What the whole processes signify is that the new state has been wiped clean of its old crimes and is thereby deemed to be new and one in which trust is warranted. Commenting still on this, De Lange (2000), reports that during the transition, the leadership of the African National Congress (ANC) made a Faustian bargain in order to secure majority rule in democratic South Africa. Corroborating this, Gibson (2002) claims that the ANC traded amnesty for peace; the leaders of the apartheid government accepted freedom from persecution for human rights abuses in exchange for power sharing.
CHAPTER FOUR
THEORETICAL REVIEW; CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION THEORY
There are dissenting views on how one might conceptualize the terms conflict management, conflict resolution and conflict transformation. The variation implies that while conflict management and resolution can only mitigate the incidences of conflict for a short period and thereby get it resolved, conflict transformation is conceived as the process of changing, and adequately providing, a lasting solution to long term intransigence.This takes place over a long period of time and it is said to be applicable for resolving contemporary conflict. For instance Miall (2004) defines conflict management as the art of appropriate intervention to achieve political settlements, particularly by those powerful actors who possess the power and resources to bring pressure to bear on the conflicting parties in order to induce them to settle. It is also the art of designing appropriate institutions to guide the inevitable conflict into appropriate channels (Miall 2004, p.3; see also Bloomfield and Reilly 1998). Conflict resolution theorists such as Azar and Burton, in contrast, reject this political power view of conflict, arguing instead that in communal and identity conflicts people find it difficult to compromise on their fundamental needs. However, they argue that it is possible to transcend conflicts if parties can be helped to explore, analyse, question and reframe their positions and interests. Conflict resolution theorists (Azar and Burton), therefore, emphasise intervention by skilled but powerless third-parties working unofficially with the parties to foster new thinking 88 and new relationships. They seek to explore what the roots of the conflict really are and to identify creative solutions that the parties may have missed in their commitment to entrenched positions. Conflict resolution is about how parties can move from zero-sum, destructive patterns of conflict to positive-sum constructive outcomes. The aim is to develop ‘processes of conflict resolution that appears to be acceptable to the parties in dispute and effective in resolving conflict’ (Azar and Burton 1986 cited in Miall 2004, p.4). In efforts towards building a definition with conceptual clarity for the term conflict transformation, Lederach (2003) defines conflict resolution in contrast to conflict transformation suggesting that it is a process that is content-centred rather than relationship-centred.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Summary
AMNESTY AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN THE NIGER DELTA
This study demonstrates that the amnesty programme has been able to impact positively on peace in the region. In so doing, the study contradicts the array of scepticisms which narrowly defined the amnesty programme as a measure employed to buy off the militant leaders, and as an approach adopted to enhance government’s unhindered access to oil exploration in the region. The study uses empirical processes to show that the amnesty programme, besides the immediate cessation of hostility in the region, has been able to transform a number of people who previously took up arms against the state. These people now cautiously and peacefully navigate their role within the society. The programme successfully disarmed 30,000 former militants, out of which over 16,000 militants have been made to go through several skill acquisitions, ranging from formal and informal education and vocational skills training. The quality of training given 264 to the ex-militants and the youth in the region, and the process of reintegration when compared to other countries in Africa where similar programmes were deployed such as South Africa, Liberia, Sierra Leone and others, demonstrably prepared the people for the job market at home and abroad. From observation of the programme, it is deemed unlikely that products of high quality training processes will want to revert to violent lives. It is argued by the study that when an individual is given amnesty, and is not condemned to the guilt of the past, and also, when the state takes it upon itself to add value to the person through capacity building that the person in effect becomes a new born. He/she wants to sustain the present status, because he or she has become a transformed person. This, according to the study, is what it means to be transformed. Here, the study is informed by an inference from Galtung (2000) that real transformation takes place when an individual is now capable of taking vital decisions peacefully, able to fend for him/herself and live a wholesome life after going through a process of redemption that the amnesty programme provided. Through the kind of skills they have acquired, the ex-militants and other youth in the region are better positioned to seek their means of sustenance in a peaceful manner. Whilst unemployment is being taken care of, the former militants, the youth, and the stake holders in the region will now continue to agitate for the development of the region through peaceful means. As some of the ex-militants confided in the researcher, the kind of training they received and the exposure given to them by the programme, have inculcated in them the method of peacefully demanding their rights from the state, and peacefully conducting their affairs with fellow human beings. (Personal Communication, Nov. 2014). 265 Moreover, apart from the behavioural changes, capacity building, and employment openings the programme’s achievement in providing peace and security for the people of the region is another strength of the programme. The improvement in infrastructural development in the region (albeit slow paced) and the increase in oil production capacity is due to the terrain of peace, given that little or nothing can be achieved in these areas if peace does not exist in the region.
Conclusion
While findings in the study show that the programme has some noticeable achievements, the study also identified some of the challenges that are bedeviling the programme. They include corruption, problems of inclusion and placement, politicisation of the programme, post-training opportunities, a group mentality/ entitlement syndrome, and the problem of unmet expectations. Since corruption is one of the problems hindering Nigeria’s development, the amnesty programme cannot be treated as an incorruptible exception to the rule. Corruption problematics include, for instance, selection for training. Here, the study identified some anomalies in the selection, where due to favouritism, some real militants are left out and non-combatant relatives are brought in. In the area of contracting the training to consultants, some people who are not qualified were given contracts due to bribes and other dubious practices (Personal communication with an evaluator, Nov. 2014). Thus, the level of successes recorded is said (by authoritative respondents and reputable sources quoted in the study) not to be commensurate with the money budgeted for the programme. Without doubt, this adversely affected the number of people that would otherwise have benefitted from the programme. 266 Another challenge identified in this study is that of inclusion and placement, given that a number of former militants and youths who initially were sceptical about the programme now want to be included, having seen the successes and benefits provided by the type of training given to the beneficiaries. This, according to findings in the study, has caused some of the aggrieved militants and youths to sue the amnesty office, claiming that they were excluded from the programme. This partly explains the reason for the recent gradual increase in oil bunkering and occasional skirmishes in the region. It was also discovered during the course of the study that job placement is another major challenge to the programme. This is because many of the ex-militants who have graduated from various skills and educational programme are still struggling to find meaningful employment. In addition, the research further showed that the programme is faced with several criticisms as many people expected that the amnesty office can do better than they are in fact doing at the moment. This increase in expectations is understandable against the backdrop that previous intervention efforts in the region were not this effective. When most people in the region are seeing the quality of training and opportunity that the amnesty programme afforded the participants, a lot of people want to be part of it and to benefit from the programme. Careful observation of the programme shows that the initial purpose for introducing the programme was mainly to address the immediate challenge of militancy; however, realities on the ground made the sole admittance of militants into the scheme impracticable, hence, the reason why some other youths and marginalized groups in the region were subsequently included. This research seeks to address the amnesty programme in Nigeria within the context of exploring the impact and challenges in post conflict Niger Delta region. As it stands, the post amnesty needs of the Niger Delta people have not been met and some of the promises made by the Federal Government during the consultation preceding the amnesty have not been redeemed. Therefore, the resolution to the crisis in the region goes beyond amnesty programme to the substantive solution, the solution is for the FG to create employment opportunities for the youths and develop the region.
Recommendations
From the facts exposed in the course of this study, it becomes necessary to make the following recommendations:
The first and foremost recommendation that would assuage the problem in the Niger Delta region is the unrestricted implementation of the recommendations of the Niger Delta Technical Committee (NDTC) that was constituted by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. The NDTC in its recommendation upheld the twenty-five (25) percent derivation formula for oil producing states. The committee also proposed three sets of reform tackling issues of governance and the rule of law, socio-economic development and human development. These they proposed would ensure the achievement of sustainable peace.
Secondly, there should be a major trilateral conflict resolution and peace building conference for key stakeholders in the Niger Delta conflict namely: the oil bearing communities, the state (federal, state and local government levels) and the oil industry. The conference should be anchored by a reputable international non-governmental organization such as the Amnesty International and should have binding resolutions on the three parties. 84 The method for nominating delegates to the conference must be democratized to include the people mostly affected by the oil exploration activities in the Niger Delta. Likewise, the representatives of the major militant outfits in the Niger Delta should be involved. These stakeholders must contribute in the choice of venue and issues to be discussed. Thus, it would not be restricted to the decades of one party; as was the case of the amnesty and demobilization programme. In addition, these stakeholders need to articulate their demands so as to make a positive suggestion that would reduce the consciousness of relative deprivation among the people of the Niger Delta.
Thirdly, the lax environmental regulations guiding oil exploration in Nigeria should be properly re-enacted to ensure strict compliance to safety measures by the Trans-national Oil Corporations (TNOCs) operating in the Niger Delta. Moreover, it should make provisions for proper compensation to affected areas, in the case of oil spillages or other negative consequences of the oil exploration activities in the area. Such compensation should be targeted at the affected areas and people and not towards the pockets of politicians, government officials or irresponsible community or youth leaders.
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