THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF MILITANCY IN THE NIGER DELTA

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I was born and raised in the creeks of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, precisely Bayelsa and Rivers State. I experienced a lot of militant activities while growing up as a child. Before the intervention of the Presidential Amnesty International in 2009, we lost a lot of young boys who would have been useful to the society today.

Militancy became at the minimal level after the Amnesty Program but it was never wiped out up till today. We often times wake up to the sounds of guns with bullets flying on top our roofs only to run for our lives.

I've always imagined what positive impact this militant agitation has brought to the region, the only positive impact I can tell of is the placement of ex-militants on salaries, sending people in the region abroad for studies in the name of Amnesty and empowering the people with skill programs.

I then ask myself, can these aforementioned benefits be compared to the negative effect of this agitation ? My answer was NO! and still remains NO!

Let me point out some of these numerous negative effect this militant agitation has caused to prove my point. These are some of my reason to prove the negative impact of Militancy in the Niger Delta region before and after the Amnesty International Program.

BEFORE THE AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM

LOST OF LIVES AND PROPERTIES: Many young boys were killed while battling with the military on some occasions. Many killed themselves. Even innocent peoples were killed. The military burnt down many villages where the militants dwells leading to lost of properties.

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PIPELINE VANDALISM: Pipeline vandalism was at its peak during this period owing to the fact that the militants feels they were oppressed by the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA with their God given natural resources. The militants heavily destroyed some pipelines and the oil spills caused a lot of damages to their environment whose negative effect is still felt up till today.

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INTIMIDATION AND OPPRESSION: The people living in those areas suffered a lot of intimidation and oppression from both the militants and the military. Most young girls were abused sexually by the militants as well as the military who came in search of the militants.

LACK OF FREEDOM:The inhabitants of the area lack freedom to carry out their daily activities. Every young person was regarded as a militant. Once a military gunboat approach any community the young people have to run to save themselves from been beating by the military. Even traders could not do their business with freedom. Hence, there was no freedom within the region.

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ECONOMIC INSTABILITY: The economy was never stable because the government spent a lot of financial and material resources to tackle the challenges.

AFTER THE AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM

SINGLE MOTHERS WITH FATHERLESS CHILDREN: Many women were left behind to suffer with their children due to the fact that the Militant activities claimed the lives of many young people who had children before or after venturing into the Militancy. Some military men who were married with kids died leaving their wives behind as widows. This actually affected many young girls who had children with the militants. This has placed some children in a place of helplessness which makes them to indulge in many criminal activities at a very young age. As a result, juvenile delinquency is rampant in the region up till today.

THE YOUNGER GENERATION IS MISGUIDED:The negative impact of Militancy on the younger generation is very great. Every young boy in the region is used to it, they don't fear gun and are very brave. Many of them started doing sea-piracy after the Amnesty Program. This is because they were taught by the then militants on how to handle the gun very well irrespective of its type and size.

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MANY COMMUNITIES HAVE BAD LABEL: Even after the Amnesty Program there are still some militant activities going on in the region. The government has labelled some communities as "militant zones" which made the government to leave such communities undeveloped with no social amenities.

CONCLUSION
The root cause of Militancy is not yet addressed and if necessary measures are not taken it will be worse in years to come. Most of the then leaders of the Militant groups are not paying their boys who fought the fight for them to gain the Amnesty. This has led some of them back to rivers and creeks with guns.

Everything written here is from the experience I had as a young man who grew up in the Niger Delta Region.

Thanks for reading!