Conflict in the Niger Delta

INTRODUCTION TO THE CONFLICT IN THE NIGER DELTA Nigeria is the 7th world largest oil producer and is a major player in the world energy market. Oil and gas is Nigeria’s main source of revenue. It accounts for about 40% of the Gross Domestic Product and 70% of government revenues (Lawal 2004). Crude oil was first discovered in 1956 by Shell British Petroleum in a small village called Oloibiri present day Bayelsa State. Two years later oil in larger quantities was discovered in Ogoni. The Niger delta region has

type of intelligence that would be proactive in preventing future armed conflict. The Nigerian Police Force, a humongous, monolithic body of law enforcement officers, remains ill-equipped, ill-trained, and ill-funded to provide the much needed service to Nigerian people. Moreover, the task of using one central force to police a nation of 150 million people that are fragmented along multiple lines begs for urgent

The Niger Delta is a region of Nigeria that is very rich in crude oil and gas. Crude oil and gas make up 70% of the country 's revenue and 95% of it 's export earnings (Ezekoli, 5608). Those percentages are incredibly high and represents large amounts of money that can be found in the region. However, the people of the Niger Delta never see the wealth that comes from their natural resources. The wealth instead goes to the oil companies set up in the area as well as the pockets of a few elite government

prevalent in the Niger delta region of Nigeria; public officers in this oil producing state of Nigeria are corrupt. Consequently, it has defied the Niger delta from developing politically and economically which has left the states reputation in a mess. Radicalization of youths, abject poverty and -political instability are the three leading effects of corruption in the Niger delta region of Nigeria. Corruption in the Niger delta region of Nigeria has led to

SOLUTIONS TO THE NIGER DELTA PROBLEMS IN NIGERIA AN ASSIGNMENT WRITTEN IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE COURSE DVS 512: TECHNOLOGY, ENERGY, NATURAL RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT BY ISU, DORATHY AKWUGO PG/MSC/07/46529 LECTURER: DR. OGAKWU INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, ENUGU CAMPUS. AUGUST 2009 BACKGROUND The Niger Delta produces the oil wealth which accounts for the bulk of Nigeria’s foreign earnings. Paradoxically however, these vast revenues

(Amnesty), a local form of Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR), on crude oil production in Nigeria. The President of Nigeria announced the program on June 25th, 2009 which aimed to put an end to the insurgency crisis experienced in the Niger Delta region, particularly between 2006 - 2009 which had led to an average loss of about 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day (cited in Asuni, 2009) and which had major implications for the government 's revenue. Militants were given the opportunity for

TOPIC: THE NIGER DELTA STRUGGLES: ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR RESOURCE CONTROL. A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY The Niger Delta region, Nigeria 's oil belt has been the site of a generalized ethnic and regional struggle for self-determination since 1998, the location of often-violent confrontations between local ethnic communities and agents of the Nigerian state and oil companies involved in the extraction and exploitation of oil in the area. What began as community agitation

destruction of the fertile area of Niger delta due to oil spills. The most affected area is in Nigeria where reports state that there have been more than 400 tons spills. The major reason given behind the spills is due to human mistakes. In a report provided by the national oil spills detection in Nigeria indicated that there were more than 1200 oil spill sites that had been left out by the oil companies by the year 2008 along the Niger delta. Even though the Niger delta from a front view shows the pace

considered to be the top three Super Powers as they are categorized as being . I consider oil to be a primary cause of conflicts globally, for example the hostilities in the Niger Delta. It is a common thought that oil and conflict go hand in hand wherever found. The purpose of this

like Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, and other countries have become economic stars in the global economy. Up until recently, Africa had had few major producers of this precious liquid, until the twentieth century, specifically in Nigeria. In the small delta region of Nigeria exist over 40 ethnic groups with 250 distinct dialects, specific traditional religious and cultural practices, and, being first contacted by the Portuguese in the late 1400’s, a long history of western contact (Lagassé 2000). The