Dialectical Expressions - Conflicts in Nigeria's Niger Delta

Abstract

Government troops, amphibious assault craft, armoured personnel carriers, helicopter gun-ships, high powered speed-boats, arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings on the one hand. On the other hand- arms trafficking, youth militancy, rival gangs, kidnapping of personnel operating the oil industry (foreign and local), sabotage of oil pipelines and installations, and heavy handed state repression have come to typify the social conditions that are manifest in the Niger Delta region for over 25 years. Add to the mix, impunity, illegal bunkering, a legacy of endemic state corruption and political kleptocracy. Over the past 50 years, 90% or the bulk of the nation`s source of wealth (gross domestic product- GDP) has been crude oil and gas, production and supply. Over time, transnational oil corporations have dominated oil exploration, drilling, pumping and shipping in the Niger-Delta and the indigenes of the Niger-Delta area have experienced environmental degradation, economic poverty, and disharmony. This in effect has led to the emergence of social movements, youth violence, increased geo-politics etc. The activities of transnational oil corporations have been a contentious issue leading to increased disputes and militant activities in the area. Women, children, and the elderly as usual feel the impact of these social disruptions- their voices have remained unheard and subdued. This paper examines what a critical sociological unpacking of oil politics in the Niger Delta reveals about the nature of development and social movements that has emerged. The paper concludes by illuminating what the present administrations` plan is to address the crisis of environmental degradation and poverty in the region.