Government intervention and conflict resolution in the Niger Delta

Abstract

Since 1960, the Nigerian state has been bedevilled by incessant security threats, which have distorted the drive for nation-building and sustainable development. The insecurity imbroglios, which have manifested in form of an uprising, social instability, election crises, armed conflict, insurgency and terrorism, have significantly defied several government engrained initiatives and/or mechanisms aimed at finding lasting peace. While some palliative measures were successful to a certain extent in some regions or states, the Niger Delta crisis has become almost intractable. The region has continued to be the hotbed of Nigerian oil politics and the cauldron of volatile activities. It is our position in this paper to critically appraise the challenges of governmental interventions in the Niger Delta crisis. While outlining some of the government intervention mechanisms for peaceful resolution of the region’s crisis, the study interrogates the challenges or factors besetting these interventions since independence. It discusses the blueprints for sustainable peace and development in the Niger Delta.In its conclusion, the study establishes that leadership problems and bad governance underpin the intractability of the Niger Delta crisis.