Diasporic Views on the Role of Youth in the Niger Delta Conflict: Explaining Violence, Talking Peace and Constructing Masculinities

The role of diasporas in the protraction of conflicts, including wars in Africa, has been emphasised in recent literature. Yet little has been written specifically about the role of Nigerians in the diaspora in relation to the Niger Delta conflicts. This research focuses on the Nigerian Diasporas in The Netherlands and Belgium. It seeks to explore the views of the diasporas regarding the Niger Delta conflict, focusing on the Ijaw militant youth as both victims and actors. The research examines the interface between the Niger Delta conflict, ‘New War’ theories; the greed and grievance debates in the literature, and theories on youth, conflict and masculinity. The research argues from the narratives of the diasporic respondents, that the grievance hypothesis complements other explanations for the prolonged conflicts in the Niger Delta with issues of marginalization, economic deprivation, threat of a bleak future, necessitating the construction of different hegemonic and rebellious forms of masculinity between the state and the militia youth, especially in the Ijaw case. Moreover, the study identifies diasporic views about how best to resolve a conflict in with the role of youth is central. The research concludes with some diasporic ideas on how to promote peace in the Niger Delta.