Jonathan recounts risking life to negotiate peace with Niger Delta militants
By Taiwo Scholarstica
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has narrated how he entered a militant camp in the Niger Delta without armed security while serving as vice president, saying the risky decision became a turning point in the peace process that eventually led to the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme.
Jonathan made the revelation on Monday while delivering the chairman’s address at the De Mangrove Conversation, held at the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board Conference Hall in Yenagoa. The event was organised in partnership with the Bayelsa State Government, the Niger Delta Development Commission, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Renaissance Africa Energy and the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation.
Reflecting on his long-standing connection with the oil-rich region, Jonathan said his experience dates back to childhood when oil exploration began near his community in what is now Bayelsa State. He noted that his professional journey later took him from academia into environmental management, where he participated in scientific assessments of the impact of oil exploration across the Niger Delta.
According to him, serving as a scientist, governor, vice president and eventually president gave him firsthand knowledge of the environmental and developmental challenges confronting the region.
Jonathan recalled that while serving as vice president, he took charge of negotiations aimed at ending militancy in the Niger Delta. Despite security concerns, he insisted on visiting one of the militants’ camps without armed escorts to gain their trust and encourage dialogue.
“As the vice president, I was to go and negotiate to bring peace to the Niger Delta. And I was to visit all the camps, including Camp One that you all know very well and who headed it, all the boys disturbing all facilities respect those in Camp One,
“As a vice president, I flew to warri, to the water front with my security. When we got to the other front, the Niger Delta militants sent words across to me that they were ready to receive me, but nobody should carry gun and follow me and that if any of my team members carry a weapon, there will be exchange of fire.
“So, the Commissioner of Police in Delta State said ‘Mr Vice President, you will not go.’ The State Director of SSS said ‘Sir, you will not go.’ I told them I will go. There must be peace and development in the Niger Delta.
“As the vice president, I said anybody wearing uniform should not follow me to the militants camp, only my CSO and my ADC followed. I ordered CSO and ADC to handover their guns to the Commissioner of Police and state director of State Security Service respectively to keep. I told them if we come back alive, you get your guns back and we will go back to Abuja
“When we arrived at the camp, there were two lines of young people, one facing this way, the other one facing this way, with assorted riffles.
“From there, they lined up to where I was holding meeting on both sides, we passed in-between the two lines, we moved through them, of course that’s a story for another day.
“When we had the negotiation that lasted about one and a half hour, then we returned to Abuja and things started to unfold, that meeting led to the birth of Amnesty granted to the Niger Delta militants, and other things, Amnesty is still there till today. That was the beginning of peace in the Niger Delta region.”
Jonathan said the experience reinforced the importance of dialogue in resolving conflict and maintaining stability in the oil-producing region.
He stressed that sustainable peace in the Niger Delta cannot be achieved without tackling environmental degradation, promoting development and addressing years of neglect. According to him, the region’s progress should remain a national priority because of its strategic role in Nigeria’s economy.