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Nigerian State and the management of oil minority conflicts in the Niger Delta: A retrospective view
Abstract
Controversy generated by oil minority rights and agitations in the Niger Delta is as old as the Nigerian State. On the eve of Nigeria's independence, even before the exploitation of oil commenced in the Niger Delta, a colonial government commission of enquiry, the Willink Commission of 1957/1958, acknowledged its peculiar developmental needs and thus recommended a developmental board. The Niger Delta Development Board (NDDB) that was consequently established by the Tafawa Balewa administration in 1961, which hardly made an impact before the chaotic political situation culminating in the 1967 to 1970 civil war which finally truncated the prospects of its success. About three decades later, on account of serious discontent over growing conditions of socio-economic and political deprivations, agitations by the Niger Delta peoples turned militant, violent and ultimately degenerated into an armed struggle that threatened the stability and progress of the country. Various Nigerian administrations responded to the challenge through an admixture of legal/constitutional, coercive, as well as pacifist strategies. However, fifty years after independence, the festering conflict in the Delta alongside its critical national consequences is just beginning to elicit signs of abating. This paper argues that the Niger Delta conflict remains intractable, largely as a result of the half-hearted and uncomprehensive nature of the conflict resolution and management initiatives of government, both at the Federal and State levels. The work seeks to examine the nature, scope and impact of the various official conflict management approaches in the region. The study concludes that only an enduring institutional approach can provide a durable panacea for the Niger Delta conflict.
... Terrorism is not new to Nigeria. Domestic terrorism within the country has a long history (Adesoji, 2010;Adesoji, 2011;Solomon, 2012;Adeyeri, 2012). One of the earliest documented accounts of extremist events occurred in the 1980s due to the Maitatsine movement, a series of violent uprisings instigated by Islamist militants in Northern Nigeria between 1980and 1985(Adesoji, 2011. ...
... Both the Southern and Northern geopolitical zones of Nigeria have experienced terrorism. Groups like the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) in the South-South region and Boko Haram in the Northern region have posed the most significant security challenge in Nigeria (Adeyeri, 2012;Maiangwa & Agbiboa, 2014;Nsude, 2016). These groups adopted strategies such as looting, arson, kidnapping, illegal detention, killings, and suicide bombing. ...
... The crises in the Southern region, which started in the 1990s, arising from different militant groups' activities have negatively impacted economic development in Nigeria (Nwogwugwu et al., 2012). Organizations such MEND, Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC), Niger Delta Vigilante Force (NDVF), Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force (NDPVF), among others, in the Southern region, was famous for hostage-taking, kidnapping for ransom, pipeline vandalism, oil-theft, arson and ambush (Nwogwugwu et al. 2012;Adeyeri, 2012;Obi, 2015). These groups utilized kidnapping and hostage-taking to force experts involved in crude oil exploration to pressure the Nigerian government to take decisive steps towards ameliorating the environmental, social, and political problems bedeviling the area (Obi, 2015). ...
During the administration of Nigerian President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, there was a marked increase in the country's violence and frequency of terrorist attacks. The purpose of this study is to provide a descriptive analysis of terrorist incidents during the Jonathan administration. Using the START dataset, the study analyzed data over 84 months to examine the effect of Jonathan's presidency on terrorism in Nigeria. The study found a wide variation in the number of terrorist attacks between 2009 and 2015. The full presidency phase experienced a markedly more significant number of terrorist attacks than the post-presidency, acting presidency, and pre-presidency phases. On average, the full presidency and post-presidency phases experienced significantly greater rates of terrorist attacks per month than the acting presidency and pre-presidency phases. The casualty rates were consistent with this variation except that post-presidency appeared the bloodiest of all four phases. The study also revealed that Boko Haram was responsible for most terrorist attacks and casualties during the administration. Implications for these findings and recommendations for further research are discussed.
... The report recommended, among other things, an immediate 'upward review of the minimum 13 per cent derivation to not less than 50 per cent' and repeal of some laws, including the Land Use Act of 1978 and the Petroleum Act of 1969, which it said 'dispossess[es] oil producing areas of their land'. Yet the federal government ignored the recommendations (Adeyeri 2012;International Crisis Group 2007). In 2005, the government initiated the National Constitutional Reform Conference in which the Delta delegates argued for a phased increase in the transfer of oil revenues to the oil-bearing states to 50 per cent. ...
... Despite the formal existence of oversight mechanisms, corruption and a lack of transparency and oversight have also been major problems. Three NDDC directors were sacked for corruption and there have been recurrent concerns about fictitious projects and contracts being granted to family members or used to prop up patronage networks (Higgins 2009;Adeyeri 2012;International Crisis Group 2007;Omotola 2007 ...
... The agencies include the Niger Delta Development Board (NNDB) established in 1961; the Niger Delta Basin and Rural Development Authority (NDBRDA) established in 1976; the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC) established in 1992; the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) in 1995; the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) established in 2000; and the creation of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs in 2008. Other non-violent mechanisms employed were the occasional increment in revenue allocations to the Niger Delta and transitional justice and constitutional conferences (see Omotola 2007; Oluwaniyi 2011a; Adeyeri 2012). The violent approach to resolving the crisis manifested in the promulgation of military decrees criminalising local protest groups in the region. ...
The focus of research on the Niger Delta has shifted considerably from the large-scale violence affecting the region, to the effects of the post-amnesty era which followed the introduction of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) by the government in 2009. Unfortunately, the emergent literature on the amnesty topic has been pessimistic in its reductionist assessment of the whole programme as a mere 'cash-for-peace' or 'settlement' exercise which can only lead to a fragile peace in the Niger Delta. This paper, being a product of an in-depth investigation of the programme through direct observations and field interviews, presents a different perspective. The paper demonstrates the capacity of the amnesty programme to facilitate and sustain peace in the troubled Niger Delta, with specific focus on the reintegration aspect of the PAP. The paper shows that the reintegration programme has recorded some positive progress which has not been well captured in the literature. Indeed, these achievements are a clear sign of the potential of the PAP to bring about a lasting peace in the Niger Delta. Furthermore, the paper analyses the current challenges bedevilling the programme. Following the highlighted challenges, the paper offers recommendations on how the reintegration programme can be properly utilised to sustain peace in the Niger Delta.
... They also failed to seriously address the fundamental factors, such as leadership failures, social corruption, environmental pollution, poverty, and the resource control controversy, that define the context of instability in the Niger Delta (NDDC 2012). The Nigerian federal government's attempt to assuage dissatisfaction in the Niger Delta by increasing accruable oil derivation revenue going to oil-producing states from 3 percent (Adeyeri 2012) to the current 13 percent (Oseni 2013) has been insufficient to bring lasting peace and stability to the region because the revenues are of ten misappropriated by powerful politicians at the state and local government levels. Tarila Ebiede (2011: 146) concludes that "corruption fuels the crisis in the Niger Delta region and creates new challenges for resolving the conflicts." ...
The protracted conflict in Nigeria’s Niger Delta is linked to the power dynamics that define the interaction among micro-and macro-sociopolitical factors related to oil production. This paper examines how individual, interpersonal, community, and societal factors fuel violent conflict and affect efforts to build peace through cooperation, dialogue, and participation in the Niger Delta. Using a cohort of eighty-five focus group participants from fifteen oil-producing communities in Rivers State, this article analyzes the extent to which violent conflicts in the Niger Delta are produced by the exercise of manipulative and coercive power by the Nigerian government and multinational oil companies operating in the region. The participants identified several primary sources of conflict, including divide and rule policies, unemployment, rigging of elections, military raids and suppression, chieftaincy tussle, secrecy, bribery, corruption, and environmental degradation. These factors pertain to the exercise of manipulation and coercion by government and oil companies in the Niger Delta.
... They also failed to seriously address the fundamental factors, such as leadership failures, social corruption, environmental pollution, poverty, and the resource control controversy, that define the context of instability in the Niger Delta (NDDC 2012). The Nigerian federal government's attempt to assuage dissatisfaction in the Niger Delta by increasing accruable oil derivation revenue going to oil-producing states from 3 percent (Adeyeri 2012) to the current 13 percent (Oseni 2013) has been insufficient to bring lasting peace and stability to the region because the revenues are of ten misappropriated by powerful politicians at the state and local government levels. Tarila Ebiede (2011: 146) concludes that "corruption fuels the crisis in the Niger Delta region and creates new challenges for resolving the conflicts." ...
It is increasingly common for international development actors to work in difficult and fragile settings, yet much of our understanding on accountability through social and political action comes from more stable settings. As an increasing percentage of the world's population live in places characterized by fragility, it is essential to understand the context for accountability in these settings. This article proposes a framework based on three domains of contestation: natural resources, identity, and legitimacy. Based on this framework, it unpacks the constraints towards progress on accountability in difficult settings, and the challenges in creating an environment for citizen claim‐making. The article draws on research from a five‐year Action for Empowerment and Accountability (A4EA) programme which focused on examining social and political action in Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria and Pakistan. Research papers from the programme were analysed together with a close reading of existing literature to decipher the common traits hampering citizen action and state response in difficult settings. The core argument is that fundamental to difficult contexts is a weak state and the prevalence of non‐state groups vying for power in three different domains: natural resources, legitimacy and identity, in which underlying contestation generates conflict, violence and fragility. The three domains are set within two structural factors: historical legacies and social norms. The article traces how contestation in these domains within structural factors influences the behaviour of powerholders as well as the outlook of citizens who could make accountability claims. The article concludes by suggesting that lessons for development actors attempting to promote accountability in these settings are: to “work with the grain”, e.g. recognize the context and work with it; explore possibilities for change at the local level, e.g. where alliance‐building and networking might be more feasible; and look for the small wins—because in a context fraught with difficulties, small achievements such as overcoming fear should be counted as a success.
ABSTRACT
necessary since the mandate of NDDC is to “resolve conflict and build peace”in the region. It is
Development Commission (NDDC) between 2001 and 2008. This appraisal has become
spearheaded by the youths, have in recent times resorted to violent disruption of oil installations,
region of Nigeria, the people are still “poor, neglected and under-developed” resulting from the
This was followed by so much prolonged, unfruitful peaceful negotiations that the people,
kidnapping, hostage taking in the region.This study has appraised the efforts of the Federal
After 53 years of discovery of crude oil and gas in over 500 communities in the Niger Delta
our believe that, this study is significant in several ways, and the findings/recommendations are
suffocation caused by the Nigerian State and hazards associated with oil and gas exploitation.
Government’s interventionist agencies over the years with specific emphasis on the Niger Delta
to forestall the looming war in the region.
Federalism brings diverse ethnic, religious, cultural, linguistic, and regional groups under one umbrella. Nigeria's federalism is characterized by inter-ethnic rivalry and religious intolerance, unfair distribution of income, the question of minorities and state creation as well as the question of division. These factors have posed serious threats on the nation's federalism as it conflicts unity in diversity. Issues such as the challenge of history, arbitrary military intervention in governance, the challenge of socioeconomic inequality, the minority question, etc. are identified as the challenges facing nation-building in Nigeria. The paper recommends fostering factual federalism in the area of revenue sharing and derivation principle, and resource control so as to alleviate the fears of the minority, strengthening federal character principle, setting up strong institutions that ensure the development of the various part of the country as well as the need on the part of leadership to showcase policies of good governance that will bring about a fundamental re-definition and restructuring of the Nigerian federal structure to accommodate the many proclivities of her diverse constituting interests.
The Niger Delta is reputed to be the bastion of the economic survival and by extension, the corporate existence of Nigeria. Several years of crude oil exploration and production have resulted in environmental despoliation and pollution and the inhabitants of the area desperately poor. Successive administrations in Nigeria have attempted to tame the lingering developmental challenges of the region without much success. When the Yar Adua administration was inaugurated in 2007, the Niger Delta was one of the Seven-Point Agenda of the administration. Though the administration was brief, it had a revolutionary approach to the denouement of the crisis in the region. Using primary and secondary sources, this paper therefore, attempt to explicate and dissect the administration's approach to the resolution of the crisis in the region. This is done against the backdrop of early attempt to redress the crisis. The study argues that the hallmark of Yar'Adua's initiative is the declaration of amnesty to the militants in the region. It is contended that for lasting peace to reign in the region, the present administration must go beyond the Amnesty and reintegrate the militants into the mainstream of society by winning over their minds and making them to be stakeholders in the oil industry.
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