Beyond the conflict: youth militants, amnesty, and challenges of post-conflict life in the oil-rich Niger Delta of Nigeria

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper argues that there is need for current efforts to reintegrate youth militants in the Niger Delta of Nigeria into normal community life to be anchored on a thorough understanding of the peculiar agency of youth and the socio-cultural challenges of post-conflict reintegration. Such efforts should also take cognisance of the complex nature of the problem. The paper contends that while the on-going amnesty programme in the region has achieved partial success, it was founded on a parochial philosophy, which creates a booming economic environment for the managers. Therefore, it recommends that the initiative should be anchored on both a thorough understanding of the youth as social agency and the deleterious impact of the conflict on ideal socio-cultural norms of expectations and roles among different generations of the population in the region. In effect, a proper sociological framing and nuancing of the programme would appear imperative for sustainable peace in the region.