Managing Violent Conflicts over Marginality from Below: the role of Nonstate Actors in the Management of the Niger Delta Conflict in Nigeria

Violent conflicts in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria over marginality in the oil economy, and the negative externalities of over five decades of oil and gas production have created immense development and human security challenges. Non-state organisations have flowered considerably since the late 1980s and have constructed collaborations and partnerships with international organisations to address these challenges through relief and humanitarian assistance programmes, development interventions, conflict resolution and peace building. Drawing on secondary data and survey research results, this article examines the role of non-state actors and critically assesses the machinery of interventions, the effectiveness of efforts and the challenges faced. The article concludes that though some progress has been made in terms of empowering youth and women, providing some infrastructure and building capacity for peace building, a lot still needs to be done to achieve conflict transformation and prevent the reoccurrence of violent conflicts.