Former President Goodluck Jonathan has revealed how he risked his life to maintain peace in the Niger Delta region.
Jonathan disclosed that he walked into a militant camp in the Niger Delta without armed security to negotiate peace, at the danger of his life.
He made the announcement on Monday while delivering the chairman’s address at the De Mangrove Conversation, which was organised by the Bayelsa State Government, the Niger Delta Development Commission, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Renaissance Africa Energy, and the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation at the NCDMB Conference Hall in Yenagoa.
Jonathan said his experience as a scientist, governor, vice president, and president provided him with a unique perspective on the region’s challenges.
He recalled that as vice president, he personally led negotiations with militants and insisted on visiting one of their camps without armed escorts, despite security officials’ concerns.
According to him, the decision helped to foster trust and dialogue, which ultimately contributed to the peace process and the implementation of the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme.
Jonathan emphasised that the Niger Delta’s development must continue to be a national priority, stating that long-term peace in the region is dependent on addressing environmental degradation and decades of neglect.
“As vice president, I was to go and negotiate for peace in the Niger Delta. And I was to visit all the camps, including Camp One, which you all know very well and who led it, all the boys disturbing all facilities respect those in Camp One.
“As vice president, I flew to Warri, to the waterfront, with my security. When we went to the opposite front, the Niger Delta militants communicated words across to me that they were ready to greet me, but nobody should carry gun and accompany 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 SSS State Director stated, ‘Sir, you will not go.’ I told them I’d go. There must be peace and progress 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 submit their guns to the Commissioner of Police and state director of State Security Service respectively to maintain. I told them if we come back alive, you get your guns back and we would 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.”