Date of Conferral

2017

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

Karel Kurst K. Swanger

Abstract

Although research has been done on amnesty, little is known about amnesty as a public policy tool toward countering insurgence in Nigeria. The purpose of the study was to examine the role of amnesty as a public policy tool. The research questions are: Is there a difference in people's view of amnesty that explain the relevance of infrastructural facilities to stimulate economic growth and development in Nigeria? And, are there specific citizen characteristics that explain the differences in the way citizens perceive amnesty as a public policy choice? The theoretical framework was based on Marx's ideology of conflict theory. This study employed convenience and purposive sampling methods in selecting participant and employed a cross-sectional ex-post facto quantitative research design. Data were collected through a researcher developed survey administered to 100 randomly-selected participants at the Gwagwalada shopping mall, located in the capital city of Abuja. Descriptive statistics and analyses of variances showed a significant mean difference in the perceptions of participants who believed that amnesty would play a viable role in countering insurgency, based on age, income, education, sex, employment status and type of work performed, and the regions in which they reside. However, findings indicate that there is no statistical significance between religious differences or views on economic growth and development and amnesty as a public policy choice. The awareness will provide a framework for better understanding of amnesty as a public policy choice. The positive social change implications include advocacy for amnesty as a public policy tool toward countering insurgence. Implementation of the recommendation of this study lends support to amnesty policies in Nigeria by providing a greater awareness of citizen preferences in policy development.

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