OIL EXPLOITATION AND CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE NIGER DELTA

REGION

BY

AKUODU GODLOVE EREIBI PG/M.Sc/09/51378

A PROJECT REPORT PRESENTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, FACULTY OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES,

UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF

MASTER OF SCIENCE (M.Sc) IN POLITICAL SCIENCE (INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS)

SUPERVISOR: DR. ALOYSIUS-MICHAELS OKOLIE

FEBRUARY, 2011

i

TITLE PAGE

OIL EXPLOITATION AND CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE NIGER DELTA REGION

ii

APPROVAL PAGE

This project report by AKUODU GODLOVE EREIBI with registration

number PG/MSc/09/51378 has been approved for the Department of

Political Science, Faculty of the Social Sciences, University of Nigeria,

Nsukka.

BY

_______________________________ ______________________ DR. A.M.N. OKOLIE PROF. OBASI IGWE

Supervisor Head of Department

____________________ __________________ PROF. E.O. EZEANI External Examiner Dean of Faculty

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DEDICATION

I dedicate this work to the Almighty God whose wisdom guided me with

vigour and inspiration throughout this pursuit this programme.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

A popular aphorism goes thus: The quality of work or job performance or expertise exhibited by a bricklayer is influenced by the ingenuity of the project supervisor.

It is in the light of the above that I extend my unreserved gratitude to Dr. A.

M. Okolie, the “Overseer” of this academic undertaking. His prompt and

smart devotion with meticulous comments were most challenging and

inspiring.

I also thank the lecturers of the Political Science Department that taught me

they include: Prof. Obasi Igwe (HOD), Dr. K. Ifesinachi and Prof. Jonah

Onuoha for their mutual, invigorating and astute lectures. I also want to

warmly commend the relentless efforts of the Departmental P.G.

Coordinator Prof. M. O. Ikejiani – Clark for her commitment to effective

coordination.

I wish to place on record the contributions made by the following

individuals in making this piece of work see the light of day. They are, Mr.

Allen Sylvanus, Prof. M. F. N. Abowei, Hon. Engr. Emmanuel Frank-Opigo

and Hon. Doudei Week.

May I also thank and commend the patience of my immediate family.

Indeed, I really appreciate the moral and spiritual support I got from my

family.

To my cousins and friends I appreciate you all especially, Waigha Cameron,

Abule Gabriel Lucky, Solomon Inini and Ukuta Hendrix.

Finally to my classmates, I love you all especially Chijoke Aneke, popularly called C.J. AKUODU GODLOVE E. PG/M.Sc/09/51378

February, 2011

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ABSTRACT This research work is centered on critical analysis of the manner in which oil exploitation is conducted in the Niger Delta Region. It also focuses on how the Niger Delta environment is contaminated via the activities of oil exploitation, thereby leading to abrupt destruction of her natural habitats. As a result, hardship in survival of the inhabitants owing to refusal of the Federal government and Multinational oil companies to embark on drastic human and infrastructural development as an alternative to the bastardized environment in the Niger Delta. The methodological approach to this research work is based on content analysis of literature on available textbooks, journals, magazines, newspapers, internet sources, articles and other unpublished works by professionals. Against this backdrop of the research, we come to bear the fact that oil exploitation in the Niger Delta overtime has been wrongly fashioned and confirms the position of the Niger Deltans been deprived, alienated, marginalized and neglected. Also ascertained was the justification of the crises condition of the people of the Niger Delta as a result of idleness and poverty amidst the oil wealth. Despite the inadequacies in the development relations between the oil Host region and the Federal government/MNOCs, all hopes are not lost. Sustainable development could still be attained in the Niger Delta Region when environmental protection laws alongside favourable oil industry and land tenureship/derivation principles are stringently put in place in the Nigerian polity. Also significant in our findings is the machinery of governance to treat Niger Delta Region issues with probity, accountability and service to the people.

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TABLE OF CONTENT

Title Page i

Certification ii

Dedication iii

Acknowledgement iv

Abstract v

Table of content vi

Map of study vii

List of tables viii

List of pictures ix

Chapter One: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Statement of problem 4

1.3. Objectives of the study 6

1.4 Significance of the study 7

1.5 Literature review 8

1.6 Theoretical framework 29

1.7 Hypothesis 37

1.8 Method of data collection/analysis 37

Chapter Two: OIL EXPLOITATION AND THE NIGER DELTA ENVIRONMENT 2.1 The Composites of the Niger Delta Environment 38

2.2 Oil Exploration and its Resultant Effects on the Environment 43

2.3 Oil Prospecting and the Era of Arms Proliferation in the Region 51

2.4 Poverty Perpetuated Amidst Oil Exploitation in the Niger Delta 53

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Chapter Three: OIL HOST COMMUNITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURAL NEGLECT 3.1 Infrastructural Neglect – The Oloibir Example 58

3.2 Federal Government Boards/Commissions for Host Communities Development – A Mirage. 65

3.3 Expropraitory Laws of the Federal Government Against Oil Host Communities. 75

Chapter Four: THE POLITICS OF OIL EXPLOITATION AND REACTIONS FROM NIGER DELTA OIL HOST COMMUNITIES

4.1 Elites and Conflicts Generation in the Niger Delta Oil Host Communities. 79 4.2 Brief History of Crisis/Chronology of Crises in the Niger Delta. 81

4.3 Impact of Crisis on Oil Production. 85

Chapter Five: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

5.1 Summary 87

5.2 Conclusion 88

Recommendation 91

Bibliography 98

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LIST OF TABLES/CHART PAGES

Table 1.6.1 Historical Stages of development

Table 2.1.1 Population of the Niger Delta

Table 2.2.1 Oil Spill input in Nigeria 1976 – 1986

Table 2.2.2 Predicted oil spill data in Nigeria 1987 – 2000

(Estimated from table 2.2.1)

Table 2.4.1 Incidence of poverty in the Niger Delta 1980 – 2004

Chart 2.1 Inequality measure by zone in Nigeria

Table 3.2.1 NDDC Projects in the Niger Delta (2000 - 2003)

Table 3.3.1 Federal – State percentage in petroleum proceeds 1960 - 1999

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LIST OF PICTURES

Plate 1. A view of Oloibiri Community

(Mother of Crude Oil Production in Nigeria)

from the River side

Plate 2 A view of two rough and the only internal roads of the

Oloibiri Community

Plate 3 Half-way construction of one the major internal roads in

Oloibiri by the Bayelsa State Government in the year 2007

Plate 4 A view of the extreme of the uncompleted concrete road

Construction with (BRCs) dumped by the contractor

Plate 5 The sight view of the first oil well at Oloibiri in Nigeria with

A path road to the Oloibiri Community

Plate 6 A monument block laid by then President, Olusegun

Obasanjo in March, 2001 at Oloibiri first oil well

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CHAPTER ONE

OIL EXPLOITATION AND CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE NIGER DELTA 1.1 INTRODUCTION

Oil exploration activities commenced in the Deltaic region of Nigeria in

the early 1900s by a Germany entity referred to as the “Nigeria Bitumen

Corporation” which started her exploratory activities in the Araromi area of

the then Western Nigeria but their activities were truncated by the out break

of the World War I in 1914 (NNPC: 2005; 1-2). Oil exploration activities

thereafter started with the Shell D’Arcy (the forerunner of Shell Petroleum

Development Company, SPDC of Nigeria) in 1937 when Shell was awarded

the sole concessionary rights covering the whole territory of Nigeria. Their

activities were also interrupted by the World War II but they resumed in

1947 and with concerted efforts, after several years and investment of over

N30 million, the first commercial oil well was discovered in 1956 at Oloibiri

in present Ogbia Local Government of Bayelsa State in the Niger Delta

region. This discovery opened up the oil industry in 1961 in Nigeria,

bringing more oil firms like the Agip, Mobil, Safrap (now Elf), Texaco and

Cheveron to petroleum prospecting both in on shore/offshore areas of

Nigeria (Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC; 2005:1-2).

From then, “oil production rose from initial figures of 5,100 barrels

per day (bpd) from the first well in Oloibiri to today’s production of over 25

million bpd, even though our OPEC quota specification is based on 2.15

million bpd” (Okaba, 2008:8). Between 1956 and 1958, more oil fields were

discovered at Afam, Bonu, Ebubu and Later Ugheli and Kokori and the

production capacity steadily rised. By this period, oil has become so

prominent that the search for more of it had intensified in various

communities in the region.

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Ironically, this was the genesis of the series of problems which have

bedeviled the region in recent times. According to Premo (2005:16):

World attention shifted to the Niger Delta as oil rigs, wells and exploration activities eroded the territory, the initial excitement that greeted the discovery of oil in commercial quantity in the modest community of Oloibiri, soon died down. Exploration came with exploitation and like early colonialists into Africa; the western oil companies noticed the euphoria of the rural populace. For a little carrot of a ferry terminal or jetty, millions of dollars worth of oil was taken from their land. And then one day, the people woke-up to the reality that rather than peace and joy, the black gold had brought sorrows and tears to their land……….. Their dreams died in their strides. There could be more poor people in the region than there are in the remotest part of Koma, a primitive society in Adamawa State.

The emergence of oil industry did not only undermine the Agricultural sector

which was the mainstay of the local economy and create serious

environmental hazards for the people through exploration, exploitation and

transportation of oil and gas; it equally created serious value problem as the

hitherto cherished traditional value – system were weakened by the

emergence of the petro-dollar related behaviour.

The Niger Delta region of Nigeria richly endowed with both

renewable and non-renewable natural resources. It contains 20 billion of

Africa’s proven 66 billion barrels of oil reserves and more than 3 trillion

cubic meters of gas reserves. Oil and gas resources account for over 85% of

Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP), over 95% of the national budget

and over 80% of the nation’s wealth. A. A. Akinbuwa (2008)

Paradoxically, the Niger Delta remains the poorest region as earlier

stated, due to the ecologically unfriendly exploitation of oil and gas and state

policies that expropriate the indigenous people of the Niger Delta, of their

rights to these natural resources.

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Ecological devastation, which is occasioned by the activities of multinational

oil companies (MNOCs) have rendered useless farming and fishing, which

was previously the mainstay of the Niger Delta rural populace. The Niger

Delta environment is not developed to further sustain the people after the

destruction of the ecosystem that had kept the people together. The height of

it is that the environmental degradation continuously occur through oil

exploration activities such as gas flaring, oil spills, canalization to oil fields,

seismic explosives detonation etc. thereby creating artificial challenges to

development but the region is not considered for holistic development, rather

the concepts of wider, national and internal power struggle to control meager

funds for the development of the Niger Delta are always been politicized.

Hence, the areas remain in dire need for development.

It is the dynamics of this interconnectedness and probable solutions to the

problems causing the challenges of development despite the huge oil revenue

from the area; that we intend to explore in the course of this research.

However, for practical purposes, the Niger Delta area is defined as an

embodiment of the area enveloped by the natural Delta of the River Niger

and the areas to the East and West that also produce oil. The natural

boundaries of the region can be defined by it hydrology and geology. Its

approximate Northern limits are located close to the divide into two of the

River Niger at Aboh, while the West and Eastern bounds are located at the

Benin River and Imo River respectively (UNDP, 2006:19).

In terms of component states, there is always a polemic in which states

actually constitute the deltaic region referred to as the Niger Delta. As a

result, reference is made of periphery and core states. A trace of the region

thoroughly obviously indicate that states along the deltaic region are

Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers State, hence, these three constitute the core Niger

Delta states while considering the introduction of certain political and

administrative motives in the definition of Niger Delta, has culminated to the

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inclusion of six (6) more states namely; Abia, Akwa Ibom, Cross-River,

Edo, Imo and Ondo States.

Looking at the map of Niger Delta, following its definition encompassment

of the nine (9) states structure, it appears like a jigsaw shown the nine (9)

states situated in the Southern part of Nigeria with a boundary to the south

by the Atlantic Ocean and to the east by Cameroon. The region covers a land

mass of about 75, 000 square kilometers and it accommodates about 30

million Nigerians belonging to about 40 different ethnic groups with almost

250 languages and dialects.

The ecology of the Niger Delta tolerates myriad species of terrestrial and

aquatic plants and animals and human beings. The region posses a division

of four (4) ecological zones viz: Costal inland zone, Mangrove swamp zone,

Fresh water zone and Low level rain forest zone. It is considered the most

tremendous wet land in the African continent and among the three (3) largest

in the world. The Niger Delta region is consist of rivers, creeks, estuaries or

seas and the area accumulatively measures up to 2, 370 square kilometers,

while stagnant swamps covers up to 8, 600 square kilometers.

As a matter of facts, this research will be focused on the real “deltaic” zones

of the Niger Delta where the real challenges of development are prominent

in order to properly assess and harness “oil exploitation and challenges of

development in the Niger Delta.

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Oil exploitation and exploration which has its root in the Niger Delta

was celebrated February, 2008 as fifty (50) years of oil exploitation in

Nigeria. In spite of wealth generation by oil exploration and exploitation,

opinions of observers on the performance of the oil production sector

especially its developmental relation with oil host region/communities has

not been impressive. Nigeria’s former two times petroleum minister and

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former president of OPEC, Rilwan Lukman describes oil production in

Nigeria as “a blessing and curse (Aiyetan 2008:30). Similarly Shamudeem

Usman, Nigeria’s former minister of finance observed that Nigeria remains

poor in spite of being rich with oil (Tell, 2008: 32).

Actually, some persons and companies have benefited enormously

from the proceeds of the Nigerian oil while some communities and millions

of people from the source of oil “The Niger Delta” have been under-

developed, long neglected and impoverished. The people of the Niger Delta

are faced with problems as a result of the oil exploitation. The region in

expectation of positive societal benefits, ironically seems to be the least

developed despite the fact that the nation depends solely on its wealth. The

Niger Delta oil exploitation story is clearly synonymous to the aphorism that

goes thus:

The hen lays the golden eggs but not fed allowed to be in hunger perpetually.

The people of Niger Delta while facing the challenges of development

on their environment are simultaneously taking into cognizance the impact

of oil exploration on the environmental degradation of the land and the

economy as well as socio-political well-being of the people of the host

communities; hence the situation has caused the inhabitants of oil areas

physical, emotional, psychological and counter value frustrations as a result

of the Federal government’s deliberate policies and structure that causes

human suffering, death, harm, deprivation, exclusion and oppression; a

situation that leads to the extermination of the people’s cultural norms and

practices that creates discrimination, injustice and human suffering. This

systematic alienation of the federal government and Multi-National Oil

Companies (MNOCs) finally culminated to frustration-worries-Anger and to

violence.

6

As a result of the negativity recorded in human, capital and

infrastructural development of the Niger-Delta and particularly oil host

communities in the region, the inhabitants of the Niger Delta seeing the

wealth from their area being extracted without benefits have resorted to

taking matters into their hands; kidnapping oil workers, pipe-line

vandalisation, militancy/insurgency, inter/intra communities civil strife

among other deviant social vices have become the order of the day.

It is in the light of the above intricacies that the researcher intends to focus

attention on the following research questions:

1. Is there any link between oil exploitation in the Niger Delta Region and

growing poverty level in the oil bearing communities?

2. Has oil prospecting improve infrastructural facilities in the Niger Delta

Region?

3. Has the crises situation in the Niger Delta Region reduced the oil

producing capacity of Nigeria?

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The broad objective of this research is to investigate oil exploitation and

challenges of development in the Niger Delta region.

However the specific objectives are two fold.

1. To systematically investigate if there is any relationship between crude

oil exploration and the poverty level of oil bearing communities.

2. To critically examine whether oil proceeds had not improved

infrastructural needs of the Niger Delta and the effects of crises on oil

production in Nigeria.

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1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

We firmly believe that the findings of this study shall be of

immeasurable value to the oil host communities, the Niger Delta region, oil

companies, state governments in the Niger Delta and the Federal

government.

The study shall expose certain shortcomings in our approach as

students/researchers to tackle the Niger Delta question in the Nigerian

Federation. Multi-national oil companies (MNOCs) and government shall

through the result of this research rededicate their efforts to the morality

issues of why the Niger Delta region requires aggressive development.

Equally significant is that subsequent researchers will find results of the

project useful particularly in the fields of social sciences and crises

management oriented topics.

The research will equally serve the task of filling a gap in existing

literature and ultimately add to knowledge because the work is not devoid of

the academic tradition of knowledge built on existing knowledge. Therefore,

researchers/scholars in this era of western capitalist economy with its major

tenets of globalization, market forces and liberalization of trade, the MNCs

are on the offensive in both the extractive and manufacturing sectors all over

the world. The agents and the states propagating these ideas refer to it as

social relations.

This research work will reveal the hidden character which is causing

instability in a region which is poverty stricken in the midst of plenty, the

Niger Delta Region of Nigeria, an environment responsible for the

economic boom which the Nigerian government has enjoyed for decades but

nothing to show in the region.

Finally, for practicality, the research will serve as a means to understanding

the intrigues in oil production that metamorphosed to underdevelopment and

crises in the Niger Delta Region. Hence, the tasks of solving the crises and

8

possible enhancement of socio-economic development and unity of the

Niger Delta and Nigeria as a whole is achievable via application of moral

standard to oil exploitation as cited in this study.

1.5 LITERATURE REVIEW

The core variables of the research which are oil exploitation and

challenges of development in the Niger Delta region will be the basis for our

literature review.

The issue of oil exploitation and challenges of development in the Niger

Delta region of Nigeria has created a lot of devastating effect on the oil

bearing communities otherwise referred to as the (HOST COMMUNITIES).

The socio-economic malady has no doubt attracted the attention of many

scholars and social workers. However, the two major variables of the

research which are: Oil exploitation and Challenges of development in the

Niger Delta will be explored then a thorough review of literature will follow.

OIL EXPLORATION AND EXPLOITATION

The oil prospecting and exploitation in the Niger Delta has not only altered

people’s livelihoods, but continues to disrupt the natural balance of the

region’s earth crust. George (2000) recognizes the methods of oil

exploration, namely: Analysis of existing geological and other information;

seismic surveys; and exploration drilling; He mentioned that of particular

destructive impact of the earth’s make-up is the use of seismic survey.

This method involves the gathering of information through sound waves

into the earth’s crust to measure the depth of the rock layers and the use of

dynamites and other explosives. The explosives are either detonated in the

bowels of the earth through water bodies or dry land. In addition to its direct

impact on the aquatic stocks in the area, the after effects or shocks are known

to sometimes cover as much a radius of 10 kilometers (Bassey, 2001). The

implication of this is that, the more oil is explored in the Niger Delta region

9

using this method, the more the region’s natural environment witness shocks

and rifts in its crust.

DEVELOPMENT

Development means different thing to different people, depending on their

intellectual, ideological beliefs and the issues in question (Obinozie,

1999:157). Thus, it is seen as the process by which people, based on their

choices and value create and recreate themselves and their life circumstances

to realize higher levels of civilization (1996:125). It also means reduction in

the level of poverty, unemployment and inequality (Secre,1975) Another

definition of development is that: it is the liquidation of poverty,

employment generation and satisfaction of basic needs. (South commission

report, 1993:13-14). Development also refers to the efforts and results of

transforming the physical and social environments within which human

beings operate for the purpose of enhancing their standard of living. (Anikpo

1996:6); another definitions says development means an increase in per-

capital income, reduction of absolute poverty and equal distribution of

income (Meieir, 1970).

Development efforts are connected and it includes those directed at

deliberately eliminating obstacles that militate against the desire of

individuals and corporate groups to free themselves from all natural and

artificial obstacles. They also include the advancement of human capacity to

exploit, annex, and utilize the historical, cultural and environmental based

resources in order for man to achieve a more fulfilling life. However,

resources and capabilities for development are usually not only complex but

also in short supply. A high degree of collaboration is always needed. Thus,

development partnership is a mechanism for ensuring that the comparative

advantages of different actors, share and stakeholders are harmonized in a

mutually supportive manner for the benefit of all.

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It is an obvious fact that the concept of development is a man – centred

process that leads to qualitative improvements in the standard of living. The

measurement of development include, advanced infrastructures, enhanced

education, training and greater employment opportunities, affordable cost of

living, probity and accountability in governance, greater self-reliance

especially, stability, affordable food, production, development of technology,

improved productivity, sustained political stability, and a healthy population

(Onuoha, 1999:71-72).

Therefore, there is no doubt that development addresses a number of

objective factors that include conflicts and insecurity. Poverty,

unemployment, uneven distribution of income and resources and political

instability etc. which are causal factors of conflict, but with development

these are tackled.

THE NIGERIAN STATE AND CURSE OF OIL PRODUCTION

Yakubu Gowon former Head of State of Nigeria (July 29th 1966 – July 29th 1970) delivered a key note address at the opening session of the international conference of the Nigeria state, oil industry and the Niger Delta on the 11th March, 2008 in his words: Specific regulations were not put in place to remedy the Niger Delta and such regulations were to be reviewed from time to time. Efforts were made to develop the oil producing areas. Both Federal and state governments consider such efforts and plans in their government development plans. Niger Delta is overdue for development. The plans earlier put in place during my administration which would have addressed the problems were not only implemented but totally abandoned to the detriment of the region and nation (Yakubu Gowon, 2008).

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Nigeria is the largest exporter of oil in the Sub-Saharan Africa with a

production figure of 2.3 million barrels per day (bpd) hence, Nigeria is

ranked behind the world’s oil giants: Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Iran, and the

United Arab Emirates. Nigeria’s petroleum revenue averagely accounts for

over 85% of the Federal Government’s income and more than 95% of export

earning. However, Nigeria at large in the midst of this wealth records an

overwhelming high level poverty (with 70% living on less than one dollar a

day), 40% lack sanitation and safe water, 82% lack access to regular power

supply and 46% predominant infant mortality rate (Okaba, 2005).

Oil exploitation and exploration which recorded its boom in the early 1970s

in Nigeria’s Niger Delta Region which was a rare opportunity to develop the

Niger Delta and Nigeria at large turned to a breeding ground for official

squandemenia. For instance, Nigeria hosted the FESTAC 77 so lavishly that

Nigeria’s bid to host the next edition declined the offer. This was because the

degree of profligacy and portrayed acts of corruption and was after many

years ranked amongst the most corrupt four nations of the world

(Transparency International 2001:16).

Presently, infrastructure decay is experienced in all sectors of the Nigerian

nation – state, education, health, energy, water, road, sports, transport,

housing etc. (Tell 2008a: Tell 2008b). Okaba, (2005) states that it is in the

midst of this general deterioration of living conditions is the prevalence of a

complex circle of state oppression, repression and militarization within and

around the oil industry as oil spills and other forms of human environmental

abuses result in further accentuation of mass poverty and general insecurity

in the Niger Delta Region. It suffices to state that the revolutionary struggles

in the Niger Delta region against state led economic exploitation, social

exclusion and political marginalization of the Niger Delta which span over

five centuries spreading from the era of pre-colonialism.

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The Niger Delta region is the lowest ranking region compared to her

counterparts in other oil producing regions in the world. Recent analysis of

poverty and Human Development Index (HDI), a standard measure of well

being encompassing the longevity age, knowledge and decent standard of

living qualified in terms of access safe and clean drinking water, quality

health and educational services, electricity, roads, gainful employment,

political participation etc, painted a very sordid picture of the Niger Delta as

the area’s HDI is as low as 0.564 this ranking compared to oil and gas

producing regions in Saudi Arabia (0.800), United Arab Emirate (0.846),

Kuwait (0.844), Libya (0.67), Venezuela (0.772), and Indonesia (0.670

(Human Development Index Report 2005)

In the same line of argument, Okowa (2005) stated that the long years of oil

exploration in the Niger Delta region resulted to long years of resource

conflicts, poor local service delivery, economic exploration, social

marginalization, infrastructural neglect and worst of all, environmental

degradation have transformed the Niger Delta into a zone of frustrated

expectations, dashed ambitions and unprecedented restiveness.

In fact, oil exploitation in the Niger Delta is an emergent phenomenon of

environmental refugesm resulting from land degradation and decreasing

agricultural profitability, oil induced inter/intra communal crisis has driven

60% of youths from the comfort of their traditional homes into the hell of

urban shanty settlements in Warri, Port-Harcourt, Yanagoa, Calabar, Eket,

etc. leading to unwanted rural – urban migration thereby creating crisis of

population explosion in the Urban centres making it unsafe for both the rich

and poor.

Destructive and ravaging changes evaded the agrarian lands of the Niger

Delta as a result of the oil and gas exploitation activities. Particularly the

natural resources base crucial to sustaining independent indigenous

livelihood. In most parts of the Niger Delta, lands that were very fertile are

13

no longer productive. The peasants have lost the fertility of their lands to oil

exploration. The resultant alienation of the people from their home lands

local substance base has intensified effective and inequitable land use

practices (Okaba, 2005). As a matter of fact, various attempts by the local

people to avenge this economic disarticulation perpetrated by the state and

oil companies have always compounded their environmental crisis leading to

more devastating pollution and frequent los of valuable lives and property.

Similarly, Alowei, (2000) stated that, the economic tragedies of these local

oil bearing communities in the Niger Delta are heightened by the non

diversification of the rural economy which was predominated by oil,

subsistence farming been destroyed by oil exploitation then the local people

are also excluded from the oil business or the benefits of the oil business;

such as contracts awareness, employment, inadequate or no compensation

(Alowei, 2000).

The era of oil exploitation in the Niger Delta has turned the region into

reckless human and environment rights abuses and other forms of social

injustice and atrocities chiefly perpetuated by the state and oil companies. In

addition to the development of armed troops and the use of uncivilized

conflicts resolution techniques by those agencies, municipal environmental

protection laws and statutes particularly those concerning compensations,

reparation and remediation principles are not respected in the Niger Delta.

Rather the Petroleum Act and Land use Act, inland water ways Act and other

obnoxious legislations have turned the region into a virtual imperial

chiefdom only good enough for plunders.

Okaba, (2005a) equally stipulated some social resultant effects of the oil

evils to include the emergency of war lords and myriad of armed youth

groups, pirates and cult fraternity encouraged by the divide and rule tactics

of the oil companies and sustained by the need to gain local control and

privilege from the oil companies.

14

Issues of developmental challenges that culminate to underdevelopment in

the Niger Delta also had inputs by key stakeholders selfish pursuits over the

years. The key stakeholders in the region have propelled and pursued selfish

and almost parallel economic development and social goals. These pursuits

are characterized by mutual dispute and disrespect for one another. The

emergent rancour and acrimony between the states, trans-National oil

companies and oil Host communities have brought negative repercussions to

all the parties. Rather than design and implement a mutually profitable and

unanimous development plan or agenda, they have by their actions,

demonstrated envy and precipitated violent conflicts within themselves.

These situations, benefits the state and the oil companies including the chief

stakeholders but the oil bearing rural communities are the most venerable

victims as every action or inaction taken by the other parties involved in oil

exploitation impact negatively on their lives and habitat (Alowei, 2000).

Okaba and Alowei both splendidly articulated why oil production in

Nigeria is a mirage; however, they failed to identify or profer valuable

remedy to the ugly situation. Not realizing that oil production is core to the

oil Host communities and the oil companies operate with the policy of

sectionalization of the Host communities. Hence, an holistic inclusion of the

Host communities in the oil business would breed a more positive

development oriented ideas harnessing of the people of the Niger Delta oil

Host communities and the region at large.

Therefore, Host communities participation in oil companies especially

forming part of the decision making channel will alleviate the developmental

challenges of the Niger Delta people cum address the social maladies that

always leads to crippling of the oil production capacity of the Nation.

The above proffered gap entails that oil Host communities which are key to

oil exploitation should be considered first amongst equals in the oil

exploitation business since our land tenure system for now does not allow

15

proper principle of derivation which would have curbed a lot of the issue of

underdevelopment and forestalling of oil production and insurgency in the

Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

THE WRONG NOTION SURRENDERING THE NIGER DELTA OIL

PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA

Agbosei, (1999) opined that Nigerian State has demonstrated over the

decades that the people and environment of the Niger Delta Region is

relevant to the nation as a viable economic reservoir, as she pays lip services

to the frequent ecological disasters threatening the people on a seasonal

basis. Successive governments in Nigeria termed the Niger Delta region

“Difficult terrain” for development as a result of its “Deltaic” nature. This

difficult terrain clamour by the Nigerian government encouraged successive

leaders to create the challenges of development in the Niger Delta. Imagine,

social infrastructures in this region are near absent. In fact, the East/West

road that links the three major oil producing states (Bayelsa, Delta and

Rivers) is still in a mess. The Nigerian states gets agitated only when oil

production is threatened. When cases such as oil blow-out, Hostage taking of

foreign oil expatriates, vandalization of pipe lines etc. are reassuredly

resolved, then anything else can happen to the people God blessed with the

resources but oppressed.

The Trans-National oil and gas prospecting conglomerate have over the

years as part of their social responsibility embarked on several programmes

of social and economic development in their host communities. This efforts

too, have never in reality gone beyond addressing the immediate demands

expressed in the people’s agitation for the employment of their youths in the

company, provision of pipe-borne water, electricity generation, renovation of

schools, hospitals, post office and bridges etc the oil companies justify their

below average performance in transforming the fortunes of their host

communities by referring to the insincerity of the state that gets the lion

16

share of the oil proceeds. The oil multinationals take advantage of the

naivety, lack of political will and corruption of the Nigerian State to breach

with impunity most memoranda of understanding (MOU) signed with oil

bearing communities. They also violate municipal and international

environmental protection laws. Over 82% of crisis between the oil

companies and host communities between the years 2003-2005, are traceable

to disrespect for MOU by the oil company officials (Okowa, 2005).

The story of developmental challenges in the Niger Delta region within have

been heard of the Nigerian State is not only interested in social-economic

formation and control of State power. Given the obvious and wide social and

economic inequality that prevails, “Section II No, 17(1) of the 1999

Constitution which states that, “The State social order is founded on ideals of

freedom, equality and justice, and 17(2) which provides that “The

independence, impartiality and integrity of courts of law, and easy

accessibility, thereto shall be secured and maintained” are noble but

essentially not practicable. They are mere constitutional fictions. Hence,

developmental challenges in the Niger Delta region had not been addressed

with a moral question considering its input to the development of the Nigeria

nation.

It is in the light of the above acts of the Nigerian leaders and the MNOCs

toward the Niger Delta that Ake (1981) vehemently demonstrated the

manner in which control rather than ownership has become a significant

variable in a peripheral capital State such as Nigeria. Following a critical

performance evaluation of the Nigerian State, particularly after the oil boom

(Orugbani, 2002; Efemini, 2002; Okaba, 2003) all described the situation as

exploitative, and irresponsible.

The Nigerian State is fundamentally a feudal system. It is true that the

British introduced capitalism and liberal democracy in the course of their

imperialism. However, the fundamental values remain feudal, social

17

orientation remain feudal and liberal democratic values yet to develop fully.

The institution of liberal democracy is therefore, to the extent that it appears

to exist, no more than a fraudulent pretence and a defensive front. This is the

crux of the matter (Okowa, 1977:56).

Off course, in a feudal system, the feudal lords own “everything”. The oil

wealth of the Niger Delta belongs to the feudal lords. This is why Nigerian

leaders have the impetuous to loot our resources for their private use. The

looting starts at the National level and percolates to the State, Local

government and communities. Therefore, in a political system impregnated

with feudal orientation, it is normal for our leaders to personalize

“everything”, power is personalized and societal resources are also

personalized. Those who criticize the personalization of the commonwealth

are seen as criminals and deviants. That is why the security agents most

harass, not the looters but those who criticize the looting for the latter are

obviously social deviants. It is vital to understand the fundamentally feudal

orientation of our people in order to appreciate the difficulties involved in

the challenges of development in the oil rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

Oil ordinarily should be a blessing to Nigeria in general and the Niger Delta

in particular. However, the fundamentally feudal character of the Nigerian

State and systemic corruption have ensured that the oil wealth derived

largely from the Niger Delta has become a mixed blessing to the country as a

whole but an outright curse to the region.

The oil industry had indeed destroyed the fundamental bases for the

development of the Niger Delta region. Systemic corruption which is largely

funded by oil has damaged the culture of hard work and in general the work

ethics of many of the people in the region coupled with the devastated

environment.

18

Governance has more or less lost focus as the key development institution

and is now largely seen as an instrument for primitive accumulation by the

privileged few (Okowa, 2007).

Nigeria is regarded as a rentier State. One major fall – out of the State

rentierism has been that the nation has earned and earns huge oil revenues

without production, control and responsibility. Since there has been no

relationship between revenues and expenditures on one hand and citizens

based taxes, the State has not been liable or responsible to the citizen and has

been absolved from the citizenry. Oil has created a large system of

patronage, clientelism and corruption. The consequence has been enormous

oil based leakages and frittering, which with over N400 billion earned, has

kept the nation tottering as one of the most endowed, one of the most corrupt

and one of the poorest countries of the world.

The exploitation of oil resources in the Niger Delta by the multinational oil

companies (MNOCs) supposed to maintain an equitable relation, sustainable

environmental management, respect for human rights, responsive and

corporate responsibilities, local participation and promotion of good

governance should have ordinarily been the underline trans-national

corporate objectives.

Multinational oil companies and host communities relations should also be

that of mutual collaboration and support but available literature all points to

the constrains; hence making the situation unfriendly and hazardous for host

inhabitants.

The scholars Agbose and Okowa did not bring to the fore the force of the

contemporary liberal democratic practices which are inevitable; especially

today in the Nigerian setting. The liberal democratic practice in line with

International Human Rights and parts also cited in our constitution guarantee

some inalienable rights to the Nigerian oil Host region to agitate for fair

treatment of the oil proceeds in other to develop the region.

19

Therefore, the era of man attached to the concept of feudalism (as Nigeria in

the oil case) is no longer practicable hence, the opt for moral consideration

of the oil rich region with special analysis to the oil Host communities who

supposed to be the primary focal population in terms of developmental

strides with the oil money but denied should be inevitably corrected.

Also significant to note is the fact that oil Host communities lack the

basic indices of development such as Roads, water, light, health facilities,

employment, educational infrastructures etc. The absence of the aforestated

facilities in Host communities contributes enormously to the disruption of oil

exploitation activities in the Niger Delta region and when corrected, it will

earn the Nigerian State increased productivity in her oil earnings.

Kodjo, 1981, and Akinsinya Obi, 2001 stated that thorough examination of

power relations between MNOCs with their host communities and State

reveals a heavy slope in favour of the MNOCs. The huge technological and

economic resources of the MNOCs is reinforced by political power situated

in the joint or syndicate businesses with States that are heavily reliant on

resources exploitation and rents. The MNOCs are so asymmetrically

powerful and superior that even host States and particularly African oil

producing States have been profoundly incapable of effectively regulating

and domesticating them.

The power relation of the MNOCs and their host States (Countries) is said to

be sophisticated, ruthless, hegemonical, secretive, violent, corrupt,

unorthodox, criminalized, opportunistic, greedy, treacherous and exploitative

(Watts, 1999; Obi, 2001; Turner 1081). Kodjo 1981 also stated that the

MNOCs are said to be less altruistic and humanitarian, egocentric and self-

interested. Similarly, Akinsanya 1984, reiterated that the MNOCs in their

exploitative activities, are insensitive and poorly responsive to local and

regional dimensions of environmental issues. The MNOCs are said to be

hostile to civil society (Warpner, 1996; Makumbe, 1998).

20

In extreme cases, MNOCs have sometimes forged partnerships with dictorial

regimes, compromise State officials and institutions, reinforced and

sometimes funded State repression and short-changed States (Ake, 1996).

Relations at the level of the indigenous people or local host, MNOCs are

claimed to people or local hosts, MNOCs are claimed to sometimes erect a

dislocate, represses, factionalizes, subverts, and orchestrates tensions

protests and conflicts (Saro-Wiwa, 1992; Robinson, 1997; Raji and

Akinsola, 2000; Human Rights Watch 1999; Frynas 2000; Crow 1995). Obi

2001, claims that MNOCs relations with host communities (HC) is

underlined by corruption, divisiveness, co-optation, exploitation, betrayal

and subversion which is the case of the Niger Delta, fuel tensions, conflicts

and crisis.

Talking about power relations of oil multinationals and Host communities,

all the authors attempted to unveil the evil and uncompromising policies of

the MNOCs towards the communities and the region at large. But the issue

here is that the oil companies feel that the evil syndicate of the MNOCs and

the state apparatus as the only partners of the oil business is making them

succeed leaving the oil Host region/communities out.

This situation is rather barbaric and it has been one of the reasons why

Nigeria could not get to the zenith of oil production because the non

inclusion of the Host people rather holistically has caused a lot of uproars,

rancour, upheavals, acrimony and destruction of oil installations; thereby

cutting short the Nigerian oil production capacity; meaning the lost is been

shared by all. That is the MNOCs, the Nigerian states and the Host

communities/Niger Delta region. This is because when moral consideration

of developing the Niger Delta region and oil Host communities is taking as

priority, it will create a mutual co-existence and the propensity for the

MNOCs to harness more oil exploration will be guaranteed, then gathering

of more profit will be for all that is the MNOCs and Nigeria at large.

21

OIL EXPLOITATION AND THE ANTAGONISTIC FORCE OF THE

MULTINATIONAL OIL COMPANIES

Gidado (1999:21) stated that MNOCs while carrying out the oil exploitation

activities, undermine development and real economic growth and cause

socio-cultural disarticulation. The MNOCs invest capital, for instance, it is

associated with huge out flow of capital through expropriation of profit and

is operated in such ways as the creation of enclaves, un-integration into the

economy, pillage of natural resources and exploitation of labour that is

“antithetical to the host country’s development. The MNOCs have exploited

the cheap labour, unequal agreements on resources and cheap raw materials

to realize huge profits from developing countries. Hence, the rates of return

to multinational company’s investment in the third world are said to be

higher (US Department of Commerce, 1981: 27). In this respect, the MNOCs

are regarded as “antagonistic or ambivalent force” (Green 1975:100).

MNOCs are focussedly concerned with the control, certainty, stability and

profit from their investment rather than the local economic welfare and

interest; Host communities development or national objective. MNOCs are

interested in the monopoly of the lucrative sectors of any economy through

huge capital investments and exclusive production agreements. Through this

type of investment, indigenous production and control are sole buyers and

determine prices of commodities, dominate marketing and determine prices

of finished goods across the globe.

The behaviour of multinational companies is notorious and are accused of

“overcharging for specific services, inputing un-needed services and

personnel into joint venture and production sharing agreements (Green,

1975:109). This type of situation will help to deny the Host communities,

region and country the opportunity for developmental strides with social

amenities via the production of such multinationals. This is exactly the case

with oil exploitation in the Niger Delta.

22

Multinationals are associated with flouting Host communities, regions and

states rules and policies, tax evasion, illicit payments, over-invoicing, abuse

transfer pricing, poor records of receipts and exports and expatriate quota

abuses. In Chad for example, the government in August 2006, asked

Cheveron/Texaco (USA) and Patronas (Malaysia) to quit the country, while

also sacking three ministers over allegations of tax defaults and improper tax

exemptions (Daily Independent 29/08/2006;3,5). The MNCs, oil companies

inclusive, operations and behaviour is said to be predacious, plundering and

self-seeking. The attitude of operation and conducts undermine and negate

environmental sustainability, health, structural development and nutrition of

Hosts states (Irogbe 2005:45). Their sustainable business practices are poor

(Moser, 2001:291). That is why oil companies in the Niger Delta region

undermine their contributions to sustainable development and socially

equitable growth.

Oil companies have played a significant and dominant roles in shaping and

reshaping the landscape, economy, politics and socio-cultural life of the oil

Host (OH) communities of the Niger Delta (Scoth Pegg, 1999:473-484). He

also believes that Trans-national companies have pose security threats to

Host local populations and indigenous and minority people in Nigeria, Peru

and Colombia. The Trans-Nationals have being involved creating and

exacerbating violence against local populations through fundings, supporting

and inviting repressive security agencies and operating behind security

shields in the face of local resistance. More specifically, in Nigeria. Pegg

(1999:479-484) asserts that the multi-national oil companies are

“instruments to the Nigerian states violent response to peaceful protests”

while their actions have catalytic effects in bringing local populations into

confrontation with state security agencies. Beside they, the oil companies

have shown “a distinct lack of concern over the violence directed at the oil

producing communities. The Niger Delta region after witnessing all these

23

flares of harassments from the MNOCs and Nigerian government, coupled

with the embedded developmental challenges, an increasing number of oil

Host communities (HC) began to clamour for their rights often through

violence (Olukoya, 1995:9). This was as a result of the insensitive and

alienating state and the devastation of the environment with no development.

The result has been the large scale disruptions; violence and insurrection in

the region since the 1990s.

LACK OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND ETHICAL PUBLIC/COMMUNITY RELATIONS IN MNOCS AND OIL EXPLORATION

Oil exploitation in the Niger Delta suppose to undergo the actual tenets of

corporate governance because oil companies are corporate outfits. Corporate

governance here refers to the ways and means by which a company relates to

its staffs, shareholders and stakeholders. It denotes the guiding principles,

policies and actual behaviour and practices that underpin the relations within

and between the company, its stakeholders and environment. It essentially

consist of stakeholders of two capacities. The first group is shareholders,

management staff, customers and contractors. The second group is external

stakeholders made up of the economic operators, Host communities, other

communities and society at large.

The attributes that associate with good corporate governance which the oil

companies in the Niger Delta region lack are: growth and development of

individuals and groups; observance and compliance with professional

standard, rules and regulations; observance of the rule of law; right to

sustainable livelihood; undermines national and international conventions;

undermines legal and constitutional frameworks, no maintenance of

standards and expectations in relation with environment, Host communities

and citizens. Further, good corporate governance seeks to institute and

24

further corporate responsibility to the legal, regulatory and ethical

frameworks, the economy, environment, stakeholders and the larger society.

Iyayi (2000:167-171) has placed the nature of MNOCs relations and

strategies as dependent on the nature of the state framework if rules and

regulations, the beliefs and assumptions of the MNOCs, the forms of

exploitation utilized by the MNOCs and the nature of response by the Host

communities (HC). Iyayi stipulates that the corrupt and weak Nigerian state

facilitates the compromise and ineffectiveness of legal and regulatory

frameworks in the oil industry. The corporate beliefs and assumptions of the

MNOCs emphasize profit through efficient production of hydrocarbons and

cost reduction. More so, the MNOCs emphasize government at all times and

not the people.

Thus, agreement and deals are made with government and once obtained; it

becomes a legitimate cover for all sorts of actions and behaviours. In

essence, the local people in the Host communities (HCs) interest, livelihood,

environment and needs are regarded immaterial and their thoughts and

decisions are rendered null and void thereby making them turn frustrated in

every endeavour to succeed in the pursuit of their part of the oil wealth

located in their backyards. Consequently, MNOCs actions and behaviours

are often antagonistic to Host communities (HCs) interests. For instance, the

form of MNOC oil exploitation in Nigeria has tended to emphasize

extraction and profit rather than environmental protection and minimum

damage of the ecosystem.

Iyayi (2000:159-178) depicted strategies of community relations applied by

the MNOCs in the Niger Delta that are always crisis driven. These strategies

of community relation includes: denial, divide and rule, payment of money

to selected few community leaders, silence to requests from HCs, defiance,

blaming the victims, promotion of fictitious consciousness and violence,

involvement in community projects etc. He also asserts that every form of

25

Host community’s (HCs) response has envoked strategic community

relations designed to suit all deceitful targets of the MNOCs at the expense

of their Host.

In the modus-operandi of the MNOCs, petitions attract silence, financial

gratifications and co-operation. More active community protest evoked

defiance, divide and rule and violence. These are deceitful strategies

employed by the oil multinational giants to always ferment trouble in the

Niger Delta oil Host communities.

Silence was chosen as the dominant strategy in the early days of oil

exploration and exploitation. It means ignoring community complaints,

pretending there is no problem, hiding the issues, creating a picture of

normalcy to the outside world and trying to create the impression that the

expressed problems were imaginary creations of their detractors. Denial

became a strategy as local, national and international awareness and concern

and community agitation escalated since in the 1990s which together put

considerable pressures on the corporate governance systems of the MNOCs.

Defiance here connotes a situation of flaunting its powers, influence and

importance and as a consequence becoming flagrantly unyielding to

community pressures, protests and other actions. Co-optation involves

selected payment of cash, gifts, contracts, employment, sponsorship of

holiday trips, scholarships to identified persons and payment of medical bills

in other to buy their support. The aim is to compromise them and use them

as agents of pacification and division in the Host communities (HCs). This

selection usually favours the strongest at a particular time. That is, the group

or individual that wields more power, influence and control in the

community is always more favoured especially when such group, groups or

individual is interested in the dealings of the oil companies. These type of

condition makes conflict, violence and rivalry among the people inevitable;

26

hence the crisis become the conditions of “who gets what, how and when” is

glaring here.

Blaming the victim is a strategy that was resorted to against the backdrop of

pervasive community restiveness and conflicts and growing national and

international concern. It involves holding the Host communities (HCs)

responsible (Iyayi 2000:164).

Frynas (2001:44) identified public relation as a strategy of MNOCs whose

purpose is to counter community protest and to improve on their image. This

process of image laundering is undertaken through public relations,

advertisement, sponsored radio and television productions and consultancy,

which disputes, claims by protesters combat adverse publicity and pain the

MNOCs as socially responsible and reputable corporate organizations

whereas the reverse is the case in the Niger Delta region via the experience

in the oil exploration and exploitation business of the MNOCs. The MNOCs

most a times claims to be deaf and dumb is endemic Host communities

predicaments. They prefer a complain to result to crisis before pretending to

be aware of what is going on in Host communities.

However, Fleshman; (2000:188) stipulates that the strategy for community

development adopted by MNOCs is to project a high sense of corporate

social responsibility. It is claimed that for most of the MNOCs, actual

community development expenditures represents only a fraction of a cent for

every dollar they extract from Nigeria. According to (Iyayi 2000:164-165),

violence represent by far the most important community relations strategy

and also Human Rights Watch (1999:11) stipulates that encounters with the

mobile police, regular police, army, Navy and now the joint task force (JTF)

and the accompanying beating, arrests, detentions and worse of all, killings

and destruction have been experienced by virtually all oil Host communities

in the Niger Delta region, particularly those community whose groupings

have protested peacefully of otherwise against the oil multinationals.

27

The MNOCs operated without restraints in relation to the environment for

almost 30 years without serious concern about the environmental effects of

their operations. The MNOCs did not pay serious or no attention to

environmental degradation and health hazards attendant to their operation

until these concerns became challenged largely in the early 1990s

(Sumerekin & Obadare 1998:43-47). The MNOCs disregarded existing

environment regulations and laws and capitalized on their weak and

ineffective enforcement and implementation of the environmental laws.

Oil exploration and exploitation in the Niger Delta region is evidently

creating numerous trends to conflicts generation and conflicts are endemic

and pervasive and recurring especially in the Host communities; hence

making the region rancorous and not convenient for peaceable

developmental strides thereby creating the challenges of development in the

Niger Delta region.

As a matter of facts, conflicts situations are so pervasive, that it is quite

difficult to see a oil Host community that have been permanently peaceful

and devoid of rancour. Even if such Host communities (HCs) were found,

there may have been low intensity conflict which did not rise to the level of

violence and production disruption.

There are sources of conflicts generation between MNOCs and HCs ranging

from violation of MOUs, unemployment, lack of social amenities etc but the

most targeted source of conflict generation in the HCs is the issue of oil

spillage over the environment. The dimensions that usually led to a conflict

includes (1) Often times, MNOCs attributes spillages to sabotage and HCs

usually resist this claim of sabotage by the oil companies.

(2) The extend to which the oil spillage devastates and cause damages in the

environment leads to conflicts. (3) The problem of clean-up of the spilled

oils. (4) The fourth thing that generates conflicts and tension between HCs

and MNOCs, is the issue of determination of the rate and size of

28

compensation and the payment of the compensation. Actually, conflicts over

sustained environmental degradation of land and water by communities have

also increased since the 1990s, starting from Ogoni land.

Compensation stories in MNOCs is another pathetic side of oil exploration

and exploitation. The Host communities are always in a weak position in the

entire compensation process and oftentimes are compelled to accept what is

no often. Therefore, the people do not receive compensation to “the value of

the benefit lost” (Human Rights Watch, 1999).

Just to sight a few instances, SHELL was sued by four communities viz:

Obatoba, Sekebolou, Ofongbere and Ekeaomo – Zion on issues of pollution

of their land and water by SPDC oil spill. The legal battle lasted for 14 years.

In 1997, the High court in Ugheli found Shell guilty and awarded the

communities a mere N30, 298, 681 (about 318.9 USD), Shell refused to pay

the fine and instead chose to appeal (Peredeke, 1999). Another, in Ejamah –

Ebutu village in Rivers state, a Shell pipe-line burst in the 1960s and

polluted their land and waters. After protracted unsuccessful efforts at

compensation, the community took shell to court in 1983 but shell chose to

settle out of court but as at 1992, there was still no settlement. The

community went back to court. By 1991, there was yet no compensation or

remediation of the land (Strudsholm, 1999:37-39).

The scholars Gidado, Iyayi, Frynas and Fleshmen after stipulating lack of

corporate responsibility and public and community relations as indices that

culminate to crisis and conflict situations among MNOCs and oil host

communities in the course of oil exploitation, thereby creating under-

development of the oil Host communities, however, did not put it straight

that corporate social responsibility once employed will also embrace good

social public relation. That is to say the tenets of moral social and public

relations of humanity will come to play and without been said or agitated for,

the developmental requirements of the oil Host communities/region will

29

form part of the operational plans of the MNOCs. This is because before an

oil company as a corporate body come to operate, the negative

environmental effects on the inhabitants are already envisaged and

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) are always considered and

enshrined in operational plans of corporate bodies but the situation is

different in the relation of MNOCs oil exploitation activities and Host

communities in the Niger Delta region. This situation in antiquity, created

the sour relationship between the parties in the Nigerian oil industry and the

quest for mutuality in the oil exploration activities is still in a situation of

dilemma whereby the MNOCs are seen as the victors and the oil Host

communities as the vanquish.

1.6 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The theoretical frame work for this research adopts “Dialectical

Materialism” approach.

The paradigm, dialectical materialism derives its theoretical foundation from

the Marxian Analysis which deals with a wide range of social phenomena

ranging from past, present and the future. Dialectical materialism, according

to Borisov and Libman (1985:10) is the theoretical sum up by Marx and

Engels of the achievements of all previous philosophies of natural science of

their time whereby they effectively combined the materialistic doctrine with

the dialectical method (a method scientific cognition that regards reality in

its development and contradictions) to create an absolutely new philosophy

that reveals the universal laws of the development of nature, society and

human thought.

The Marxian dialectics sees history as a cumulative activity of human

beings, the complex producer of the deliberate effort of individuals to satisfy

their needs; the consequences of such activities is otherwise the pursuit of

man’s economic necessity (Orugbani Opcit).

30

The theory, furthermore postulates that the conflict between classes which is

essential dependent on the economic structure of society is the driving force

of history and development/underdevelopment because of the dialectical

transformation it heralds (Anikpo, 1986, Ake 1981).

Marxist analysis starts with a distinction of sub and the super structures. He

stipulates that the economic structure of society which is referred as the

super structure and the base is responsible for creating and transforming its

social economic, political, legal, religion and moral structures which

represents the super structure. Marx dialects explicitly analyze the forgoing

central idea in Marxian analysis which is the root of our theoretical

framework of analysis, dialectical materialism in his preface to a

contribution to the critique of political economy (1859) as here under:

In the social production of their life, men enter into definite relations that are indispensable and independent of their will, relations of production which correspond to a definite stage of development of their material production constitute the economic structure of society, the real foundation, on which rises a legal and political superstructure and to which correspond definite forms of social consciousness. This model of production of material life conditions the social, political and intellectual life process in general.

Analysis of the economic structure of society, historical stages of its

development and the corresponding class structure prevailing at each of

these stages (which are reflected in ‘relations of production’) are central in

Marxian analysis, in other to understand the character of the political system.

Marxist’s analysis also contends that since the end of primitive

communalism society has been divided into two antagonistic classes viz. the

‘Dominant class’ (owners of the means of production, private property

31

owing class) and the ‘Dominated class’ (those non owners of the means of

production living solely on the sale of their labour on the terms dictated by

the former).

Marx and Engels (1848:56) observed that political power, is merely the

organized power of one class for oppressing another. Guaba (2003:102), also

remarked that since politics arises from class struggles, it is historically a

transient phenomenon. Further he said, as long as the major means of

production continue to be privately owned the division of society can never

cease. He concludes that politics must always be traced back to its “Hidden

Basis” in the class struggle.

Precisely, Marxism saw five stages of historical development as shown in

table I

Table 1.1: Historical Stages of Development

S/NO Historical stage Mode of production Class structure 1 Primitive

communalism Hunting, fishing, & fruit / food gathering

Class not yet emerged

2

Slave system

Animal husbandry, domestic agriculture & crafts

Master & slaves

3 Feudal system Agriculture & crafts Land-lords & serfs 4

Capitalism

Crafts, large scale agriculture & large scale industry

Capitalist & workers

5 Socialist system Large scale agriculture and large scale industry

Workers in power & the former capitalists

(culled from Gauba, 2003:102: An introduction to political theory)

Some exponents of Marxian dialectical theory include, Marx himself,

Engels, Lenin, Gramsci, Mao, Ake etc.

Thus, the characteristics of “dialectical materialism identified by Claude Ake

(1981:1) in his work “political economy of Africa” directly informed our

choice of dialectical materialism as the theoretical framework for this work.

Ake identified three major characteristics as the contours or outlines of

dialectic materialism, viz:

i. The primacy of material conditions

32

ii. The dynamic character of reality, and

iii. The relatedness of different elements of society.

Ake refers to the theory as “method which gives primacy to material

conditions, particularly economic factors, in the explanation of social life.

He further explains that economic need is man’s most fundamental need, and

unless man is able to meet this need. He cannot exist in the first place. He

argued that man must eat before he can do anything else such as worship,

pursue culture or become an economist etc. He contends that it is by man’s

productivity that he is able to obtain the economic means which he needs to

sustain life.

In his words Ake stipulated:

Once we understand what the material assets and constraints of a society are, how the society produces goods to meet its material needs, how the goods are distributed and what type of social relations arise from the organization of production, we have come a long way to understanding the culture of that society, it laws, its religious system, its political system and even its mode of thought.

The second characteristic of the dialectic materialism as identified by Claude

Ake (1981:3), is the ‘dynamic character of reality’. This portray the theory’s

refusal to look at aspects of the world as simple identities, or discrete

elements, or as been static. According to Ake (1981:3), this approach

encourages us to think of the world in terms of continuity and relatedness as

well as with keen awareness that this continuity is essentially very complex

and also problematic. The theory treats the world as something which is full

of movement and dynamism, the movement and dynamism being provided

by the contradictions which pervade existence.

33

The paradigm also assumes that the world cannot be understood by thinking

in terms of simple harmonies and irreconcilable contrasts. Ake (1981:3),

further argues that the construct of dialectical materialism encourages us to

recognize that the seemingly united and harmonies relations are more to

contradictions, that there is a striving for unity or at least synthesis among

the diverse.

The third feature of dialectic materialism approach is the cognizance of the

interactions of the different elements of social life, especially economic

structure, social structure, political structure and the belief system. The

theory assumes that the relationship between all these social structures must

be taken into account systematically before a better explanation of society

can be made.

Ake (1981:4), argues that dialectic materialism is an implicit theory of the

relationship of these and of aspects of social life. The theory contends that

the economic factor which is the decision of all these elements of society and

which largely determines the character of the others.

Ake (1981: 4) concludes that the connectedness of the economic structure,

social structures, life system and political system demands an

interdisciplinary approach to the study of society.

Thus, he posits that the dialectical method and our attention to material

conditions allow us to move in an orderly manner between the elements of

the social system, to delineate the relations between them and the logic of

their metamorphosis.

The foregoing highpoints of the theory of dialectical materialism with

reference to material conditions best explains the Niger Delta conditions of

under-development of social amenities and human development as Forlov,

(1981:4) opined, that dialectical materialism is considered the most

appropriate theoretical approach for an objective study of the dynamics of oil

exploitation, challenges of development the petro-dollars, dependency,

34

internal contradictions of the capitalist state formation and the agitations

against under-development in the Niger Delta region despite the huge oil

revenue from the area.

This theoretical framework therefore underpins the different stages of

development and corresponding modes of production that prevailed in the

Niger Delta region and the attendant class struggles between the antagonistic

classes – the Dominant class and the Dominated class, which graduated from

mere agitations/protest and demonstrations to kidnapping/hostage taking, to

oil installations vandalism/sabotage and finally to militancy/insurgency.

These conditions can further be located in our study as follows:-

First, was the pre-colonial period which can be likened to the stage of

primitive communalism when the Niger Deltans were self-sufficient and

living peaceably and happily through fishing/hunting, farming/food and fruit

gathering. In this stage, there was no discovery of crude oil, hence, there was

no state and attendant state power/violence, and there were no classes in the

Niger Delta.

Second, was the era when domestic agriculture was predominant in the Niger

Delta and classes started to emerge since the element of communalism has

been overtaken by the element of competition amongst the aborigines as a

result of the introduction of trade by imperialist motive. Classes started to

emerge in form of Have and Have-nots (Masters and Slaves), which explains

the relationship between the whites and the blacks as the former controlled

the means of production while the later survived by the sale of their labour as

dictated by the former. Yet the condition did not culminate to agitations

against underdevelopment in the Niger Delta due to the absence of

awareness.

Third, was the era of large scale agriculture introduced by the colonial

masters that depends largely on land/labour, and as such, restructured the

emerging class structure to be that of land-lords and serfs which also

35

explains the emergency of an indigenous dominant class (petty bourgeoisies)

against the dominated class (the proletariat). Yet the class struggle did not

raise issues against under-development nor culminate to militancy, hostage

taking, extortions among other social vices in the Niger Delta.

Forth, was the era of industrialization when oil was also discovered in

commercial quantity in Oloibiri community in Ogbia LGA of Bayelsa state

in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria; this era witnessed the emergence of a

capitalist system with attendant capitalist mode of production and the

existing class structure also changed to capitalist versus workers. This can be

located in the Niger Delta region as the beginning of awareness as minorities

in the Nigerian colonial state started the agitation for states of their own to

tackle developmental challenges in their areas. Though, the situation still did

not graduate to the myriad of social vices in the Niger Delta region as it is

now, although the prompt setting of the minority commission otherwise

known as the ‘Willinks Commission’ to look into the demands rather than

application of force as it is in the Niger Delta region today, created some

hope.

It is from the foregoing context therefore, the dynamics of dialectical

materialism can be located in the Niger Delta oil exploitation and challenges

of development as occasioned by the MNOCS and the Nigerian government

as here under:

1. The theory emphasizes the primacy of material conditions which

summarizes the fundamental needs of man- food, clothing, shelter, etc and

how they shape the moral values and the mind-set of man. This situation also

captures the material driving force of the two contending classes in the Niger

Delta i.e. The MNOCS/government on the one hand and the oil Host

communities/the Niger Delta region on the other hand. The material

conditions of vast majority of Niger Deltans are deplorable couple with the

enormous degradation of the physical environment and the entire biosphere

36

as a result of petroleum exploration activities. There are no social

infrastructural facilities such as drinking water, housing facilities, health

facilities, road, educational facilities, electricity, micro-credit facilities, and

recreational facilities etc in the oil host communities. In spite of the absence

of all the aforementioned facilities despite the wealth of oil, a few well-

placed Niger-Deltans are privileged and favoured economically in the name

of oil exploration dividends against the interest of the unprivileged Niger

Deltans generally.

2. The dynamic character of reality in the theory of dialectical

materialism can be traced in the changing condition of things in the Niger

Delta. Awareness is taking place and the basic truths alongside morality to

the oil exploration business is known to the inhabitants. The Niger Deltans

are aware that development can take place in their terrain seen the

availability of all socio-modern infrastructural facilities in the MNOC’S flow

station operating at their back yards.

3. Finally, the relatedness of different elements of society as postulated

in Claude Ake’s theory of dialectical materialism exhibits the growing

profile of the Niger Deltans clamours/agitations that had resulted to the

labeling of the region as crisis prone in the Nigerian context. The struggles

for human/social amenities by the Niger Deltans is just a struggle to protect

their economic interest which Marxian analysis referred to as the “Base” for

all other ‘Structures’.

The dialectical materialism approach therefore, will realiably present a

better chance of genuine and holistic view of the developmental challenges

in the Niger Delta both in its historical and present assessments.

37

1.7 HYPOTHESES

Below are the hypotheses:

1. The activities of oil prospecting companies appear to improve the

incidence of inequality in the Niger Delta Region.

2. The oil exploitation in the Niger Delta has not translated to improvement

in infrastructural facilities.

3. The crises situation in the Niger Delta has created an unstable oil

production capacity in Nigeria.

1.8 METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION / ANALYSIS

Knowledge exists with available knowledge; therefore, for this research to

be meaningful, data sources would be gathered through documentary sources

which includes; textbooks, journals, seminar papers, news papers and other

unpublished works.

The strategy of analysis to be used is content analysis. This method of

content analysis would be used to systematically analyse these

developments. Content analysis has been defined by (Antomia;- 1997), as

“the technique for making inferences by systematically and objectively

identifying specified characteristics of messages”.

The most frequent application of content analysis has been to quantitatively

measure the importance of certain opinion expressed by a person or

publication over a certain topic. Thus, the application of critique of the

contents of the aforetasted sources will be encountered.

In the process of doing this, and of course since no research method is

perfect on its ‘own’, problems of interpretation of opinion may arise.

However, data collected from these sources will be juxtaposed with our

theoretical framework for logical and empirical analysis.

35

38

CHAPTER TWO

OIL EXPLOITATION AND THE NIGER DELTA REGION

This chapter seek to explore the make of the Niger Delta environment in

terms of Human and natural resources and the attendant

depletion/degeneration of the natural endowments to affect the socio-

economic well being of the human resources in the region. It will serve as a

basis to empirically ascertain our first hypothesis in this study as we

progresses in this chapter.

2.1. THE COMPOSITE OF THE NIGER DELTA ENVIRONMENT:

The Niger Delta has been described as one of the worlds largest and Africa’s

third largest drainage area. This flood plain is home to over seven million

people, grouped into several nations or ethnic groups: the Ijaws, Urhorobo,

Itsekiri, Isoko, Efik, Etche, Ibibio, Andoni, Ikwere, Ogoni, Edo and Kwale-

Igbo. The bulk of these groups inhabits the core of the deltaic area which is

spread over three states in the present day Nigeria namely: Bayelsa, Delta

and Rivers States.

The inhabitants of these Niger Delta states of Nigeria has been a topic of

intense discourse since the 1990s to the local and international awareness

created by Ken Saro-Wiwa of the region (Okonta and Douglas; 2001:33).

The people of the Niger Delta occupies the vast wetlands lying below sea

level with several rivers, creeks, lakes, streams, high/low lands, seas and

confluences. Several rivers and creeks flow into one another in a web-like

formation in the extreme south of Nigeria. It is a large basin locked up in

land with several openings known as estuaries to the Atlantic ocean. These

estuaries act as funnels, as they bring ocean waters that are saline in nature

that mixes with the fresh waters from the hinterland. Both meet in several

large confluences where a natural change takes place, thereby resulting in the

39

formation of a “tidal” system. This tidal system occur in the areas close to

the Atlantic ocean in every six hours, resulting in low and high tides. The

land here is extremely fertile and the northern part of it are subject to

frequent flooding. In the Niger Delta, several rivers empty their waters into

the basin of the core Deltan stretching from Badagry – Lagos in the West

to Bakassi in the East, but the most prominent of these rivers is the River

Niger, which is 4183 kilometers (2600 miles) long (Prince I. C.; 2005: 20 –

21).

The Niger Delta posses the pre-conditions favourable to Delta formation as

acknowledged by Sparks (1972), that certain condition are inevitable in the

formation of deltaic regions which includes: -

a. A large load of river sediment and large drainage basin b. Offshore waters must be reasonably shallow though its

significance depends on the strength of marine erosion and sediments generated in the basin.

c. A coast on which the action of wave or wave energy is low, preferred is a sheltered coast.

d. Large tidal range where the proceeding conditions meet. (Hyginus, B. O; 2003: 3-4).

As earlier articulated, the core Delta possess all the above mentioned

characteristics that makes it the delta.

However, there had been some political tones as regards the administrative

mapping of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) put in place

by the Federal Government in the year 2000 for development of oil

producing states has included as part of the Niger Delta the following states

Imo, Ondo, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Edo States. Thus, their inclusion is

politically motivated. Environmental survey put the political Niger Delta at

70,000km2 (NDDC, 2003). Nevertheless, the geographical or actual Niger

Delta is 25,640km, which is approximately one –thirty sixth of the total area

of Nigeria (Asthon- Jones; 1998). The 2006 population census put the

40

population of the region at 31,224,577 million, thus accounting for almost a

quarter of Nigeria’s population.

Table 2.1.1: Population of The Niger Delta

S/NO STATE MALE (MILLION)

FEMALE TOTAL

1 Abia 1434193 1399806 2833999 2 Akwa Ibom 2044510 1875698 3920208 3 Bayelsa 902648 800710 1703358 4 Cross River 1492465 1396501 2888966 5 Delta 2074306 2024085 4098391 6 Edo 1640461 1577871 3218332 7 Imo 2032286 1902613 3934899 8 Ondo 2032286 1902613 3934899 9 Rivers 1761263 1679761 3441024 Total 2710665 2474735 5185400 31224577

Source: National Population Commission, 2006

CLIMATE

The climate in the core Delta is divided into two season like the rest of

Nigeria: dry season from October to March and the wet or rainy season from

April to September. The difference between the core Delta and other parts

of Nigeria is the excessiveness of the rains during the rainy season. The rain

here in the core persistently fall especially in the months of June, July and

September. In the months of August and September lightening and thunder

are excessively dangerous. There is also the acidic rains, storms and winds

traveling at over two hundred kilometers per hour and destroying anything

that stands on its path. During this period, those communities in the core

Delta that are accessible to numerous attributes of water channels get

submerged with water (flood) for three months, which is an annual

occurrence and is always a difficult period for the inhabitants as help did not

come from the rest of Nigeria. This season, witnesses lost of fish ponds,

41

crops and other properties to the floods. For people in the outer core of the

Delta – close to the Atlantic ocean; life is like hell during this period. The

waves from the over charged Atlantic ocean, because of the large volume of

water, are usually deadly. Sometimes, the wave get to a height of about

twenty – storey building before they hit the land. The wind too is so fast that

it takes out anything that disturbs its path. This period witnesses a period of

hunger especially the near sea areas because fishing activities are altered for

sometimes over a month.

The dry season of October to March brings along with it the Harmattan from

the North of Nigeria. The months of December to February usually bring lots

of haze and severe cold to these parts. Visibility is so limited in the ocean

and seas (Prince, I. C. 2005: 55-56).

VEGETATION:

In the core Delta different vegetations are found. Among are the sparse land

where you find mangroves and the densely rooted forest where you find oil

palms and other economic trees. It is in the Niger Delta that you find the

greatest number of logs in Nigeria. Also, you find a lot of Raffia palms

which are used for myriad of material craft work. The stringle-like substance

or the palm is used in broom making, baskets, hats, caskets, and mats. Also,

with a gourd fixed to an incised area of the raffia palm through tapping, the

flow of the sap is collected and it is a fine wine with nice flavour. When the

wine is distilled, without adding any chemical to it, it transforms to the

famous Izon gin “Tuowuru” commonly referred to as ogogoro or kaikai.

LAND AND AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES:

a. Crops: In the core Delta, one does not need to enrich the soil before

crops grow. From the beginning, the Izon people only needed and

cultivated food crops familiar to them. Hence, outsiders are not aware

42

that crops other than the ones cultivated too can thrive well in the Izon

land. Crops that can grow very well in the Niger Delta region are:

i. Root crops: Cassava, yam, cocoyam, and sweet potato.

ii. Cereals: Maize and rice.

iii. Oil plants: Oil palm, groundnut, shea butter tree, coconuts, beniseed,

etc.

iv. Vegetable: Beans, gourds, spinach, tomatoes, garden eggs, pepper,

okro, onions, cucumber, bread fruit, pumpkin (ogu) leaf, etc.

v. Soft fruits: Orange, mango, banana, pear, pawpaw, guava, pineapple,

water melon, sour-soup, apple, etc.

v. Spices: Ari gogo, sanie, apapa, etc.

vi. Others: cocoa, rubber, colanut, bitter cola, ogbono, cotton,

tobacco, sugarcane, etc.

FISHING: This is another valuable resource of the Niger Delta. In both

fresh and salt waters, there are assorted fish resource. The earliest

identification of this fish resource affected the settlement patterns in the

Niger Delta inhabitants of the Niger Delta prefer settling close to a river for

easy accessibility to the river for fishing and water for domestic usage.

WILDLIFE: Another attribute of the forest landscape of the Niger Delta

region is wildlife. History of hunting activities or games has traversed the

whole landscape. Animals such as antelopes, crocodiles, monkeys, birds,

hippopotamus, snakes, rabbits, turtle, tortoise, etc. are found in the bushes of

the Delta and are often times caught through hunting and traps by the

inhabitants for liverhood.

MINERAL RESOURCES: Diverse minerals are found at various points

within the Niger Delta which have made valuable contributions to the socio-

43

economic transformation of the region among those notable minerals are

iron, ore, crude oil, and gas. Iron ore has been the reason for the citing of the

Delta steel company at Aladja in Delta State. Iron rods which are the

products of this ore are found in Delta State (Hyginus, B. O. 2003: 44).

Oil and gas which are hydrocarbons because they are made up of hydrogen

and carbon molecules are found in large quantities in the Niger Delta region.

Natural petroleum or crude oil is a liquid ranging in colours from yellow to

black, including red, brown and dark greens. It is a mixture of hydrocarbon

compounds and its viscosity ranges from being very fluid to highly viscous

as in pitch. Gas on the other hand contains lighter hydrocarbon molecules

and is colourless. Hydrocarbons are stored solar energy organic matters are

synthesized by living plants using the suns energy converted by chlorophyll.

Swarms of tiny plants animals feeding on these plants lived in the sea and

their dead bodies fell to the bottom. Under normal conditions, ordinary

decay by bacteria – breathing oxygen would burn-up the organic matter,

producing carbon-dioxide and water. But because oxygen was absent, the

process of decay performed by bacteria was not complete and hydrocarbons

and other organic compounds are formed leading to the formation of

crude oil and gas in the Niger Delta environment (Prince, I. C. 80).

2.2 OIL EXPLORATION AND THE RESULTANT EFFECTS ON

THE ENVIRONMENT In broad sense, the Niger Delta environment has been exposed to

vulnerability as a result of oil exploration activities in the region.

Vulnerability is a set of conditions and processes resulting from physical,

social, economic and environmental factors, which determines the

susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazards (Schmidt–Thome and

Jarva, 2003). Environmental degradations leading to vulnerability

44

assessments forms on identification of all possible physical, social, economic

and environmental factors that are occupying the Niger Delta as a result of

both natural and anthropogenic transformations which include: exploitation

of natural resources (especially crude oil) urbanization, industrial

development, aforestation among others. These negative trends are not

just exposing the dedicate ecosystem of the Niger Delta to harsh climate

variability but are also deeping the regions vulnerability to natural

disasters. By disasters, we mean exceptional events that suddenly result in

large number of people killed or injured or large economic uses (Satter–

Thwaite, 2003:80).

Since the mid 1980’s, when oil overtly displayed traditional economic

activities in the Niger Delta, the region has witnessed phenomenal growth in

urbanization with attendant implications for the resilience of the

environment. The rise of oil cities and oil jobs in the region have generated

mass migration, urban sprawl, slum housing, traffic congestion and increased

human and industrial pressure on already tenuous situation. Moreso, natural

terrain and hydrology have exposed the region to constant threat from certain

environmental problems, especially flooding, siltation, occusion, erosion

and shortages of land for development (UNDP, 2006: 74). The local

inhabitants of the Niger Delta region have lived with these hazardous

conditions for several years and have evolved ways of dealing with them but

ineffective; hence, their frequency and intensity would be exacerbated by

global warming.

Oil exploration activities that mostly and overtly contribute to the environmental degradation of the Niger Delta includes:

45

GAS FLARING

Gas flaring and venting which represents a significant source of global

warming is one of the biggest environmental problems associated with oil

exploration and exploitation in the Niger Delta.

In the cause of oil production, gas is released as a bye-product. This is

known as associated gas. Approximately 75 percent of about 95 percent of

the associated gases are flared. This makes Nigeria to flare gas more than

any other country in the world (Tell Magazine, February 23, 1998: 15). The

Nigerian legislation of 1969 required oil companies to set-up facilities to use

the associated gas’ from their operations within five years of commencement

of production. The 1970 legislation set a time lag of October 1979 – April,

1980 for oil companies to develop gas utilization projects or face fines

(SPDC, 1993).

According to a November, 2007 report by the Department of Petroleum

Resources (DPR) fields in Nigeria still flare gas (Ugwuaren, 2008:11). Most

Oil Host Communities (OHCs) in the Niger Delta lives with gas stacks that

flare gas 24 hours a day at a temperature of 13 – 14, 000 degree Celsius.

These gas flares produce 35million tons of CO2 and 12million tons of

methane, more than the rest of the world (Bassey, 2001). This condition

makes the oil industry in Nigeria a significant contributor to global warming.

The hazardous health risks of gas flaring has been long acknowledged in

Nigeria, but not winding the environmental health risks against the people of

the Niger Delta, the gas flaring in oil exploitation continue to persist. The

most worrisome thing in Nigeria is the manner in which deadlines set to stop

the practice of gas flaring has been continuously shifted.

However, without any gas utilization projects of it own, the government

could not credibly enforce this legislation. Following lobbies by oil

companies, limited exemptions to this rule were granted in 1985 by an

amendment and regulations which allowed gas flaring in certain cases. But

46

in any event, the cost to operating companies of leasing gas flaring far

outweighed the fines imposed, hence they prefer flaring the gas at the

expense of the Niger Delta inhabitants and pay the fine to the Federal

Government. In January 1998, fines for gas flaring were increased from N0.5

to N10 (US 11) for every 1,000 standard cubic feet (scf) of gas (Human

Rights watch, July 1975: 70).

Agreements between oil companies and Federal Government fixed

December, 2007 as the deadline for end of gas flaring. The date was reached

after earlier deadlines in 2003 and 2004 failed to meet. However, gas flaring

has continued unabated in defiance of the Nigerian government’s warning

that the act would not be tolerated beyond the agreed deadline. Following

pressure from the oil conglomerate in Nigeria, amazingly the Federal

Government late 2008, shifted the deadline to end gas flaring from

December 31, 2007 to December 31, 2008. Yet is alleged that oil

multinationals are still lobbying for further extension to 2010. Today, the

fine for gas flaring is N20 for every 1,000 scf. According to CBN, gas

flaring has been reduced and about 65 percent is now flared and payment of

fines continue. CBN (1998: 141).

The purported lobby of the oil conglomerates in Nigeria had some truism

because as at the time of this research which is December, 2010 to early

parts of 2011, the ugly trend of gas flaring by oil companies is still

frequently cited at various oil fields in Baylesa State of the Niger Delta.

OIL SPILLAGE:

Oil spill is the accidental, natural or deliberate discharge of crude oil or oil

products on land, lakes, ponds, creeks, streams, rivers and sea during drilling

and transportation of crude oil by the multinational oil companies. The

problem of oil spill is another major devastating environmental hazard

associated with the oil industry in the Niger Delta.

47

The U S. Department of energy estimates that over 4,000 oil spills

discharging more than two million barrels of crude oil have occurred in the

Niger Delta since 1960. (Nwilo and Badejo, 2001). In specific records, there

were 1600 cases of oil spills resulting in the release of over 1.678 million

barrels of oil into the environment in 1970–88 periods. Also there were 45

cases of oil spills in 1993. Oil spills do occur both in onshore and offshore as

a result of:

1. Equipment failure: This has been the most common cause of oil

spills in the Niger Delta and is linked to overloading, manufacturing

defects, age of equipment and machinery permissive corrosion of oil

pipelines among others. Sometimes, pipelines and holding tanks leak

oil into the soil which may not be easily detected.

2. Accidents: At various stages of oil production accidents do occur

resulting in intermittent discharge of oil into the environment. Oil well

blow-outs which are associated with uncontrollable drilling into over

pressured zones far down in the borehole may lead to escape of crude

oil onto the land and water (rivers, ponds, lakes, sea, etc.).

3. Deliberate human action: This is the most publicized cause of oil

spills in the Niger Delta and is commonly called vandalization.

Vandalization is the deliberate tampering by inhabitants of oil bearing

communities and intruders with oil field facilities especially pipelines

for the purpose of causing oil spills due to anger, frustration,

disillusionment or inadequate decomposition to oil bearing

communities.

4. Natural hazards: Natural hazards that could cause oil spills include

flood, lightening, soil erosion and rupture.

48

5. Others: Other causes of oil spills includes; the loading and unloading

of petroleum products and cleaning of storage tanks.

Oil spills had over the years created the following negative effects on

the Niger Delta environment.

a. Biological effects

b. Pathological/ecological effects

c. Specific marine habitats

d. Open water and seabed effects

e. Shorelines effects

f. Wetlands effects

g. Mangrove/corals effects and

h. Air pollution effects. (Susu, A. A., Abowei M. F. N. & J. O.

Onyeme, 1997: 25 – 31).

The bad aspect of oil spill is that whatever natural habitat that comes to

contact with the spilled oil particles will receive a negative effect. Hence, oil

spills had exterminated a lot of the natural endowments in the Niger Delta

region of Nigeria. This was why Steven Tombofa (2005) opined that the

negative externalities of crude oil production are associated with primary

sources such as oil spills, oil blow-out and gas flaring.

Oil spills input data is below presented in a table for the years 1976 – 1986,

then a looming oil spills projection and prediction were also put in place as

an extrapolate from the available data of 1976 – 1986 using the moving

average for another table for the years 1987 – 2000. See Tables below.

49

Table 2.2.1 Oil Spill input data in Nigeria 1976 – 1986

YEAR NO. QUANTITY (BBLS)

QUANTITY RECOVERED

(BBLS)

NET QUANTITY

(BBLS) 1976 128 26,157 7,136 20,023

1977 104 32,879 1,703 31,144

1978 154 489,295 391,445 973

1979 157 694,295 63,417 41,271

1981, 238 42,723 5,470 37,371

1982 257 42,841 2,171 46,386

1983 173 48,351 6,356 33,853

1984 151 40,209 1,645 98,100

1985 187 11,877 1,719 10,157

1986 215 58,102 11,451 46,651

205 2,038,710 534,995 339,336

Net volume evaporated and others: 1,164, 382 bbls

Source: culled from (Susu A. A., Abowei M. F. N. & J. O. Onyeme in

Oil Spills in the Marine Environment).

Table 2.2.2: Predicted Oil Spill Data in Nigeria 1987 – 2000 (estimated

from table 2.2):

50

YEAR NUMBER OF OIL SPILL

QUANTITY SPILLED

(BBLS)

QUANTITY RECOVERED

(BBLS)

NET VOLUME TO THE AQUATIC

ENVIRONMENT (BBLS)

1987 182 185,337 48,636 30,848

1988 187 199,808 57,018 31,833

1989 194 214,984 26,616 31,895

1990 198 190,046 23,264 34,706

1991 202 144,222 21,523 32,097

1992 198 102,741 22,983 31,363

1993 195 108,197 22,602 30,708

1994 189 114,149 24,079 29,288

1995 191 120,131 26,118 28,868

1996 194 127,396 28,336 30,755

1997 195 137,898 29,871 32,628

1998 193 133,870 28,166 31,353

1999 194 129,191 25,542 31,399

2000 195 122,771 25,444 31,360

2707 1,901,679 410,199 439,003

Source: (Susu A. A., Abowei M. F. N. & J. O. Onyeme in Oil Spills in The Marine Environment).

DEFORESTATION:

Another destroying effect of oil exploration to the Niger Delta environment

is the deforestation of the environment’s bushes. “The Niger Delta region,

the oil industry is a very important factor of mangrove forest destruction. In

addition to illegal logging brought on by increased accessibility to forest, the

extraction of oil as well as increased investment in the gas sector has

accentuated the rate of deforestation in the Niger Delta region. Massive

exploration drilling and the construction of pipelines for the transportation

51

of oil and gas products within and beyond the Niger Delta region has led to

the clearing of forests to construct pipelines, flow stations, and other oil

facilities.

This further devastates the already delicate ecosystem of the region. The

destruction of forest and coral relief in the region contribute both to the

vulnerability of the region to natural disasters and global climate change. As

these forest ecosystems are being depleted, the rate at which CO2 is

withdraw is further reduced, hence adding to the poor environmental

conditions of the people of Oil Host Communities (OHCs) in the Niger

Delta.

OIL PROSPECTING AND THE ERA OF ARMS PROLIFERATION IN THE REGION.

The Militarization and proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the

Niger Delta have been causes and responses to the situation in the region.

Successive governments have sought to contain the impasse in the oil-

producing region through troops and weapons deployment. The aggrieved

communities have in turn, taken up arms against the security forces to

dislodge what they have long regarded as an unwarranted siege on their

communities. The militarization of the region by the government finds

expression in the several cases of military invasion of restive oil-producing

areas. Often, massive troops mobilization follows proven cases of

criminality, agitation by the people against environmental disasters and

perceived neglect. HIGH CRIME WAVE AND THE PROLIFERATION OF SMALL ARMS AND LIGHT WEAPONS In broad terms, the sources of small arms and light weapons in the Niger

Delta are International, regional and sub-regional. After the conclusion of the

Cold War, the deregulation of former state arms industries in Eastern and

52

Central Europe led to an aggressive search for new arms markets in the

developing world. Through the activities of States, arms brokers and

mercenaries, thousands of weapons have been transferred into the Niger

Delta region and used by state security forces, the security factions of oil

companies and insurgent groups. In the West African sub-region, Guinea-

Bissau, with a long history of being reservoirs for leftover Soviet-supplied

weapons, is a key source of illegal trafficking into conflict zones in the sub-

region.

In addition, smugglers from Gabon and Cameroon use high-boats to

transport arms and ammunitions from ships originating from Eastern Europe

and Asia that anchor off the coast of West Africa, Khakee in Human Rights

Watch Reports (2003). Moreover, weapons from the Great Lakes conflicts

are recycled into Niger Delta. Boats carrying arms are reported to offload at

Warri and Bonny, towns in the Delta and Rivers States of Nigeria, Human

Rights Watch Reports (2003). Those weapons that are traded include semi-

automatic rifles, shotguns, machine-guns, and shoulder fired rockets (known

as bazookas). These weapons are readily available for purchase in Warri at

prices that range from around US$570 for a short-gun, or US$850 for a

kalashnikov rifle, US$ 2,150 for a bazooka, Bisinia (2003). In 2002, the

Nigerian Customs Service reportedly intercepted small arms and ammunition

worth more than N4.3billion (US$30 million) at border posts during the first

six months of the year, Human Rights Watch Interviews, Human Rights

Watch Reports, (September, 2003).

Armed insurgents have been known to steal or purchase small arms from

government soldiers. Sometimes, state security personnel double-up as arms

dealers. However, other reasons that account for the leakages from official

sources include: the breakdown of state structures, lax controls over national

armories, and poor service conditions of security personnel. The industrial

zones in the south-east of Nigeria, like Aba and Awka, are also home to the

53

manufacture of arms. (Human Rights Watch Interviews and Human Rights

Watch Reports, November 2003 and September 2003).

The Emergence of Militia Movement in the Niger Delta The current conflict in the Niger Delta is driven by oil politics. Low

intensity, intra and inter-ethnic conflicts on a local scale have always been

part of life in the region. However, the vast wealth available to those who

control the power structures of the state has led to a significant shift in the

underlying conflict dynamic. Factors like rising global oil prices and the

growth of the criminal economy raise the risks for all stakeholders-both

business risks and to people’s basic human rights but, perversely, make the

criminality that raises the risks more profitable. Maintaining patronage

networks also creates a self replicating cycle: lieutenants, local facilitators of

access to corrupt or criminal revenue and political associates demand ever

greater rewards, making it necessary for patrons to secure more assets and so

on.

This struggle for political power and access to resources has often resulted in

communal violence. Oil companies have been charged with increasing

dynamic of conflict by favouring host communities over others, making

direct payments to the most troublesome elements in society to maintain a

short term peace. The failure by all stakeholders to address the underlying

causes of the conflict by opting for short term solutions has pushed the Niger

Delta to the brink of a sustained conflict which would have ramifications far

beyond Nigeria.

2.4 POVERTY PERPETUATED AMIDST OIL EXPLORATION IN

THE NIGER DELTA The Niger Delta produces the oil wealth that accounts for the bulk (about

97%) of the Nigeria foreign earnings (Etiosa, et al, 2007). Absurdly, this

enormous revenue barely impacted positively on the local women of the

54

Niger Delta where the oil-wells reside. In the same vein, Nigeria economy is

characterized by the paradox of economic growth without poverty reduction,

and the appalling increase in the number of the poor. Studies however shown

that about 75 percent of the Niger Delta people lives in the rural area without

pipe borne water, electricity and motorable roads. The lands are devastated

with oil exploitation, waters pollution, frequent oil spillage and the air that is

distorted daily with external gas flares (Ransome-Kuti, Undated).

The people in Niger Delta (like other residents in the other zones) depend

solely on their environment for their source of livelihood. They are

predominantly farmers, fishermen and hunters. These occupations make

them seemingly inseparable from the land such that any activity, policy or

arrangement that will take or snatch their lands or waters away from them

without alternatives is considered a ‘death sentenced or life-imprisonment’.

Poverty however is defined by the share of the population whose

consumption falls below the poverty however which is a combination of

income and value of consumption for a given individual as well as region

(Katepa-Kalala, 1999). A man is therefore defined as poor or rich based on

his income or the value of his consumption. Thus, based on the World Bank

report (1995) that indicated the GNP per capita in Niger Delta region as

below the national average of US$ 4,280, the region is therefore described as

poor. The incidence of poverty in the Niger Delta has drastically been

increasing since 1980 after the oil boom. table 2.4 shows that the increase

rate of poverty from 1980 to 2004 is over 200% in all the Niger Delta States.

55

Table 2.4.1: Incidence of poverty in the Niger Delta, 1980 - 2004

Year 1980 1985 1992 1996 2004

Nigeria 28.1 46.3 42.7 65.6 54.4

Edo/Delta 19.8 52.4 33.9 56.1 Delta 45.3 Edo 33.09

Cross River 10.2 41.9 45.5 66.9 41.61

Imo/Abia 14.4 33.1 49.9 56.2 Imo 27.39 Abia 22.27

Ondo 24.9 47.3 46.6 71.6 41.15

Rivers/Bayelsa 7.2 44.4 43.4 44.3 Rivers 29.09 Bayelsa 19.98

Source: National Bureau of Statistics, 2004

In the world all over, I billion people live in poverty and a great majority of

them are women. Women’s poverty results in widespread violations of their

human rights, a commonly visible situation in this part of world (i.e. the

Niger Delta). The present experience of women in Niger Delta where they

are exposed to lack of access to adequate housing, food, or health care, is

nothing but sheer existence of poverty among their folk. They live in an

unsafe and unhealthy environment, lack access to clean water, etc. that

results into her subjection to human indignity and inadequate standard of

living.

Today, the peculiar identity of Niger Delta crisis, amplified by incessant

communal classes and youth restiveness. According to UNDP report (2006),

Niger Delta is now a place of frustrated expectations and deep-rooted

mistrust. Though the long years of neglect could be adduced for this but it

has implanted in the community, a mentality and feeling of hopelessness and

eternal deprivation especially among the women and the youth. With this

impression, persistent violence has become the order of the day

notwithstanding several efforts of government and other stakeholders in

changing the tide.

56

However, despite the magnitude of oil and gas investment in these

communities, they are only noted to wantons and untold damages both

physically, mentally, and of course, economically. It is now very exigent to

assess the level of degradation prevailing now in order to prepare effective

and indivisible measures to raise the hope of Niger-Delta women and

annexing opportunities for the citizenry prosperity or economic

emancipation.

POVERTY PROFILE IN NIGER DELTA: Poverty is multi-faceted, multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary. It is a

vicious circle which keeps the poor in a state of destitution and

disillusionment. Poverty can be classified into structural, economic, social,

cultural, and political deprivation (CBN, 1999). According to World Bank

(1990), defines poverty as the inability of certain person to attain a minimum

standard of living. A reasonable notion of poverty implies that significant

numbers of people are living in intolerable circumstances in which starvation

remains a constant threat, sickness is a familiar companion and oppression

becomes a fact of life (Ravi and Squire, 2002). On the other hand, poverty

can be perceived as absolute and relative poverty. Absolute poverty is

characterized by low caloric intake, poor housing condition, inadequate

health facilities, poor quality of education, low life expectancy, etc. Relative

poverty however implies a situation where household possess per capital of

less 1/3 of the average per capital income of the country concerned

(Ozughala, et al, 2001). These conditions by observation could not be

described as inapplicable to Niger Delta States.

In the Southern part of Nigeria the South-South zone has the highest number

of the poor using the PPP approach. Poverty rate was 47.5 percent which is

the highest compared to other zones in the region. While the poverty rate in

57

the South-East and South-West were 31.2 and 42.2 percent respectively. The

situation is better when compared to the other three zones in the Northern

part of Nigeria.

The graph below indicates that the south-south are second highest after the

south-west. This shows a high level of inequality in that region, a

concomitant effect of deplorable conditions in these states.

Chart 2.1: Inequality measure by zone

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

southsouth

southeast

South west

NorthCentral

NorthEast

NorthWest

Source: Nigeria Living Standard Survey 2004

This is a clear attestation to the prevalence of acute inequality on the region.

In the presence of abject poverty, the limited resources available are not also

evenly distributed. One can therefore conclude that the poverty in the region

is caused by lack of even distribution of available resources.

58

CHAPTER THREE

OIL HOST COMMUNITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURAL NEGLECT:

The purpose of this chapter is to demonstrate the second hypothesis which

state; oil exploration in the Niger Delta Region as not translated to

improvement of infrastructural facilities. Infact, over 95% of the people live

in small rural settlements with less than 5000, in population. About 85% of

these rural population depends on informal enterprises such as fishing, canoe

carving, subsistence Agriculture, blacksmithing, etc. as their primary source

of livelihood. The oil industry has impacted negatively on them. Similarly

these rural communities lack basic infrastructural amenities. The social

services here are grossly deplorable, inadequate and absent in most cases,

hence, encouraging the drift of their youths to urban centers.

3.1 INFRASTRUCTURAL NEGLECT – THE OLOIBIRI

EXAMPLE:

Infrastructural neglect in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria could just be

examplied by the trend of the infrastructural lack of Oloibiri, a village in

Bayelsa State where crude oil was first found in Nigeria in the year 1956 in

commercial quantity. The first oil well located at Oloibiri is no longer

productive, that is, it is dried –up. The proceeds of this first oil well of

Oloibiri and others were not used to develop the community infrastructurally

and otherwise. Hence Oloibiri till date lacks social and infrastructural

development at the community. Oloibiri epitomizes a condition of political

oblivion, social obscurity and developmental neglect and decay because of

loss of economic pre-eminence as her (Oloibiri) oil wells dry-up. Indeed,

presently fertile oil wells communities in the Niger Delta had not received

anything significantly different in terms of developmental strides than the 51

years of oil exploration and exploitation in Oloibiri community.

59

According to a staff engineer of shell BP who summarized the injustice of

this village Oloibiri stated thus: “I have explored oil in Venezuela, Kuwait

and Nigeria, I have never seen any oil rich town as completely impoverished

as Oloibiri” (African Concord, 3rd December 1990:29).

Herein are photographic presentations made to empirically ascertain our

claims in this study.

Plate 1: A view of Oloibiri community (mother of crude oil production) in Nigeria from the River side.

60

Plate 2: A view of two rough and the only major roads in the

Oloibiri community

61

Plate 3 Half-way construction of one of the major roads by the

Bayelsa State Government in the year 2007.

62

Plate 4: A view of the extreme of the uncompleted concrete road construction with (BRC) dumped by the contractor, thereby leaving the community with the rough road.

63

Plate 5: Here is the sight view of the Oloibiri oil well (first oil well

in Nigeria) at the back is a narrow path road leading to Oloibiri

community.

64

Plate. 6: This was a monumental block laid by then president Olusegun Obasanjo in March, 2001 with the Inscriptions OLOIBIRI MILLENNIUM LANDMARK PROJECT (NIGERIA’S FIRST OIL WELL, 1956). LAYING OF FOUNDATION STONE OF OLOIBIRI OIL LAND GAS RESEARCH INSTITUTE

BY

CHIEF OLUSEGUN OBASANJO, PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMED FORCES FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA ON MARCH, 2001 TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND SERVICE TO THE NIGER DELTA PEOPLE OF NIGERIA.

65

Viewing the above pictures, it exhibits a clear-cut disgusting condition of

underdevelopment in the Niger Delta. The above information is based on

direct observation during a visit to Oloibiri Community as at the time of this

study.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BOARDS/COMMISSIONS FOR OIL HOST COMMUNITIES (OHCs) DEVELOPMENT – A MIRAGE

The Federal Government of Nigeria had at different times established

different boards/commissions aimed at ameliorating the developmental

plight of the Niger Delta region and oil Host Communities in particular.

These federal governments developmental programmes had rather served a

palliative purpose and never lived up to public expectation. The

administration of these interventionist schemes has deeply polarized the

region into insignificant and sometimes dangerously opposing camps and

has largely served the myopic interest of a privileged elite class and the

sharp practices of sectionalism, favoritism, ethnicism, tribalism, bribery,

embezzlement and outright corruption of the machinery of government in

such programmes at different times in the Niger Delta region had not help

significantly in attaining development rather it has helped to bring to fore the

level of impoverishment in the region.

Really, the Federal Government of Nigeria had taken bold steps in

establishing agencies for the development of the Niger Delta but not in

principle, hence the situation of the Niger Delta is always agitation for social

and infrastructural development. In accordance with confirmed oil

production ration in each state of the Niger Delta (Osuntawa and Nwilo

2005; Okonta, 2006; Sanya, 2006). The OMPADEC performed

unsatisfactorily as it only provided electricity and pipe-borne water to some

villages while most of its funds were misappropriated. A major limitation of

66

OMPADEC was corruption, which was so entrenched that in quick

succession its first two sole administrators, Albert K. Horsfall and Professor

Eric Opia, were dismissed. Opia was removed in September 1998 for his

inability to account for N6.7billion, then about US$ 80 million (Frynas

2001: 38). Opia allegedly embezzled $200million (Okonta, 2006; Sanya,

2006).

The poor performance of OMPADEC could be attributed to insufficient

regulatory mechanisms to monitor its activities. In the first three years of its

establishment, OMPADEC commenced projects worth $500 million but the

money was said to have been paid to contractors whose addresses could not

be traced (Sanya, 2006). Other major problems that confronted the

OMPADEC included the funds and its eventual politicization. The Federal

Government reportedly withheld about N41 billion due to the commission.

Politically, the federal government reorganized the commission three times

and replaced its Director (Opia from Delta State) with an Assistant Inspector

General of Police (Alhaji Bukar Ali from Northern Nigeria) (Omotola,

2007).

The failure of the OMPADEC to significantly contribute towards the

development of the Niger Delta served as motivation in the search for

alternatively institutional measures resulting in the establishment of the

NDDC. Similarly, some Niger Delta States established different

development agencies such as River Basin Development Authorities- Ondo

State, Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC) and

Delta State Oil Producing Development Commission (DESOPADEC). Some

Nigerian governments provided substantial financial resources for various

development agencies became moribund and socio-economic situations in

the Niger Delta remain deplorable.

The state of the Niger Delta infrastructure (roads, pipe-borne water and

health facilities) remains poor (Agbu, 2005; Jike, 2005). This situation

67

depicts flaws in extent responses towards the development of the Niger Delta

and Provides justification for the rising spate of agitation for resource

control. A recent study (Omotola. 2007:78) describes thus:

Often where peaceful means have failed, and at times as a response to government repression. Some of the people’s approaches have included outright seizure of oil wells, kidnapping of oil workers, violent demonstrations, and direct confrontation with the state and its agent, the oil multinationals. The famous Ogoni uprising, spearheaded by Ken Saro-Wiwa’s Movement for the Survival of Ogoni people remains legendary.

Agitations have become popular strategies in negotiating for state social

welfare in the Niger Delta. In 1958, the Colonial Office in London

inaugurated a Commission led by Sir Henry Willinks to study the monitory

(Niger Delta) grievances and make recommendations. However, the

commission hardly contemplated the centrality of oil to the Nigerian

economy. As the Niger Delta people witnessed the ascendancy of crude oil

to the centrality of the Nigerian economy they became more sensitive of

their deprivation and restless in their demands for resource control. For

instance, the Ijaw became more militant in the 1970s and 1980s due to

special circumstances such as economy of environmental degradation and

ethnic alliance with few powerful representatives in the higher echelons of

the Nigerian polity. In the late 1980s and 1990s, the tempo of the Niger

Delta crises spread as the youth in the area became increasingly displeased.

In 1994, the Ijaw National Congress (INC) was formed to rearticulate the

grievances of the Niger Delta people but the Nigerian government and

Multi-national Oil Corporation (MOC) frowned at such initiative. In 1998,

the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) was formed as an arm of INC through

“Kaiama Declaration”, which contains principles of equity and justice.

68

Kaiama is the birthplace of an Ijaw hero, Isaac Adaka Boro. A key

component of the Kaiama Declaration states thus:

All land and natural resources (including mineral resources) within the Ijaw territory belong to the Ijaw Communities and are the basis of our survival … We cease to recognize al undemocratic decrees that rob our communities of the right to ownership and control of our lives and resources, which were enacted without our participation and consent … it is our wish to remain part of the Nigerian family, but not in conditions that would undermine our survival and demean our humanity” (Barrett 2008:18).

The above statements show a collective determination to wrestle resources

control from the Nigerian state with calls for recognition and expression of

willingness to remain part of Nigeria. Following the declaration, the spate of

agitation and militancy increased in the Niger Delta. In 2001, the Nigerian

National Assembly deliberated on a petition demanding US$1.5billion as

compensation and reparation for the environmental damage arising from the

operations of Shell Petroleum Development Company IN Ijaw land. The

National Assembly ratified the Ijaw grievances and ordered Shell to pay the

compensation. However, Shell is yet to comply. Shell’s refusal to pay the

compensation and rejection of the Nigerian government adopted military

tactics are coterminous with rising spate of resistance in the Niger Delta.

Following the recommendations of key leaders from the Niger Delta, the

Nigerian President (Olusegun Obsanjo) presented a Bill to the National

Assembly for the establishment of NDDC to ensure peace and launched a

new master plan for the development of the Niger Delta. The master plan has

been applauded. NDDC attracts funds from various sources such as the

Federal Government account, grants-in-aid from international agencies and

statutory contributions from MOC and the Niger Delta States. However,

69

some state governments and MOC have been reluctant to contribute towards

meeting the level of funding needed for NDDC projects. Though the NDDC

had mapped out development projects and constructed new roads to remote

communities, it has not been able to transform the region. Thus, the NDDC

is yet to be the ultimate solution to the Niger Delta crises, which remain

relatively high and more volatile.

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)

NDDC was established in December 2000 following the federal government

initiation of a master planning process for physical and social development

to achieve speedy and global transformation of the Niger Delta into a zone of

equity, prosperity and tranquility (Emerhi, Kotschoubey, and Wolf, 2001).

The Federal Government demonstrated renewed interests in the development

of the region, which was made visible from President Obasanjo’s speech

earlier quoted at the very beginning (Okereke, 2007:2).

NDDC was constituted to serve the oil producing communities as a result of

the lingering crises and abysmal performance of extant commissions in the

region. In March 2001, NDDC requested for top development priorities of

the Niger Delta states, which generally cut across nine states. Abia, Akwa-

Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers (Barrett,

2008). These States can be grouped into the core and peripheral states of the

Niger Delta. The core states of the Niger Delta are Bayelsa, Delta and

Rivers, while others are referred to as peripheral. The oil and gas found in

these states had become the stronghold of the Nigerian economy. Nigeria’s

position as the 8th largest producer of crude oil and the 5th largest reserves of

natural gas is dependent on extraction of resources in the Niger Delta

(Barrett 2008). The NDDC Act states that:

The commission shall formulate policies and guidelines for the development of Niger Delta and conceive, plan, and implement projects capable of fostering sustainable development of the area in

70

line with set rules and regulations. In doing these things, it would have access to contributions of each of its member states, and it would submit to the direction, control, or supervision of the president in performing its functions” (NDDC Act 1999: Section 7).

A “top-bottom” development initiative is obvious in the NDDC Act. Section

14 of the Act provides that all stakeholders in the Niger Delta areas and oil

companies should help finance the NDDC. The Act mandates Federal

Government to contribute to NDDC 15 percent of the total monthly statutory

allocations due to the Niger Delta states from the federation account. The

Act also mandates MOC including gas-processing companies operating

onshore and offshore in the Niger Delta to pay 3 percent of their total annual

budget to the commission (NDDC Act 1999). These sources of fund give

NDDC a potentially strong capital base. However, without effective and

efficient regulatory mechanisms, the reemergence of corruption would be a

danger (NDDC, 2000). Section 18 of the Act states that the Nigerian

President should present the NDDC’s annual budget to the National

Assembly for approval and should keep a proper book of account, which

must be audited at specified intervals. The Act empowers the president to

appoint a monitoring committee to monitor the management of NDDC’s

funds and projects (NDDC Act 1999). The Act shows that NDDC could be

at the whims and caprices of the president.

NDDC executed 810 projects in the Niger Delta between 2000 and 2003, as

presented in table 1.0 Despite the statistics, the Niger Delta crises remain as

hinted below:

The NDDC may not have lived up to its high billings after all, despite the number of projects it boasts of having commissioned and completed. Some of these official claims may be fictitious,

71

exaggerated, or handled in manners inimical to the advancement of public interest – which is the amelioration of the people’s living conditions. The task of evaluating the performance and effectiveness of the NDDC presents us with a measurement dilemma. This is because there are no good independent studies of the effectiveness of NDDC projects and son we must for now rely on the opinion of interested parties. To complicate matters, opinions are sharply divided regarding the effectiveness of the NDDC in discharging its responsibilities and a large proportion of available views on the issue are negative. This explains why skepticism about project effectiveness is warranted” Omotola 2007:82)

Table 3.2.1: NDDC Projects in the Niger Delta (2000 – 2003)

Type 2002 2003 Completed Commissionable Commissioned Total

Building 402 15 316 275 138 417

Canalization 9 9 0 0 0 18

Electrification 130 24 125 106 46 154

Flood control 1 0 1 1 0 1

Jetty 41 6 32 31 11 47

Road/bridges 40 18 20 12 4 58

Water 91 24 76 70 21 115

Grand Total 714 96 570 495 220 810

Source: NDDC, (2004 b)

Unfortunately, like extant public policies, NDDC has not bequeathed

significant improvement in the welfare of the Niger Delta people. As

presently constituted, the NDDC gives room for financial misappropriation

given the allegations of corruption against it. If the situation continues

unabated, social tension in the Niger Delta will continue (Saliu and Omotola,

2007) with the exploitative tendencies of multinational oil companies, which

have partly orchestrated development enigma in the region and truncated the

72

sustainability of the indigenous environment (Dike, 2004). This development

issue is a strong factor fueling the continuity crisis of youth restiveness and

resistance against the Nigerian state.

The NDDC’s Master Plan

The Master Plan, which was designed by GTZ of Germany and patterned

after Alaska and Alberta, was scheduled for implementation in different

phases. The Master Plan, which is principally designed to develop rural

communities and reduce rural-urban migration, is based on three 5-year

phases, namely: the foundation phase (2006-2010); the expansion phase

(2011- 2015); and the consolidation phase (2016-2020) (Africa Research

Bulletin, 2007; Barrett, 2008). The targets of the master plan include:

transportation (building of roads, waterways, and jetties); provision of health

facilities; supply of electricity; education and employment opportunities;

industrialization; agriculture and fisheries; water supply and sanitation

systems; and telecommunications. In 2007, the Nigerian President (Umar

Yar’Aduas) endorsed the master plan as the policy framework for the Niger

Delta Development. This gesture seems to settle the question of continuity.

The master plan is believed to be the first integrated development plan

driven by stakeholders’ participation in Nigerian. The plan covers different

sectors including health, education, transportation and agriculture, while its

objectives embrace economic growth and infrastructural development. In

particular, its major goal is to reduce poverty, induce industrialization and

ensure social economic transformation of the area. Thus, it is aimed at

raising the people’s living standard in accordance with the nations Vision

2020’ and the Millennium Development Goals – MDGs (Agibokhan,

2007). Special road projects costing over N180 billion, new health facilities

and a full-fledged University of Petroleum Resources problems such as

73

unemployment and violence in the Niger Delta. It was estimated that $50

billion (N6.4 trillion) would be required for the implementation of the

Master Plan for 15 years (Babalola, 2008).

The effectiveness of the master plan depends on commitment from all

stakeholders especially the Federal Government, the Niger Delta states and

MOC. However, militia organizations like the Movement for Survival of the

Ogoni People (MOSOP) alleged that NDDC awarded contracts to cronies

contributing to abundance of ‘white elephant’ projects in the Niger Delta.

Studies (Aroh, 2000; Egborge, 2000) showed the development of a Master

Plan would require a comprehensive approach with strong considerations for

traffic, river hydrology and morphology, environmental assessment, socio-

economic impact and institutional strengthening (a re-engineering). The

capacity of the NDDC master plan in these areas has been disputed.

Problems and Prospects of the NDDC’s Master Plan

Regrettably, NDDC has achieved very little. The Master Plan for the

development of the Niger Delta was crafted by expatriate (GTZ of Germany)

with the collaboration of few political elites and imposed on the Niger Delta

people (Dafinone, 2007). Unlike the success stories of similar structures in

Canada and the United States of America where special funds were provided

from royalties for the development of Alberta and Alaska, respectively; the

Nigerian NDDC Master Plan is retarded because the Commission formulates

the policies decides the contracts and to whom they are awarded, monitors

their implementation and equally pays the contractors themselves without

any interference from any other party (Dafinone, 2007). Although the NDDC

has generated services with improved accessibility, the broad consensus in

the region favours empowerment, strengthened communal autonomy and

improvement in living standards (Barrett, 2008).

74

Unexpectedly, different militant gangs seem to have largely gained

credibility in their struggle for liberation of the Niger Delta. Obviously, the

NDDC has not shown capacities and strategies to address the lingering spate

of militancy in the region. The future of the Niger Delta is dicey in light of

current uncertainties. The outcomes of the rising militancy have attracted

attentions worldwide. Different identity based social movements including

youth associations, ‘area boys’, militants, vigilantes and cults draw on

repertoires of discourses and enter into hostile relations with state authorities

and agencies including NDDC. These groups mobilize members for resource

control and community development in response to the Nigerian ‘politics of

plunder’, endemic since the beginning of the oil boom, but locally perceived

as having intensified from the 1990s onwards (Gore and Pattern, 2003).

Insecurity arising from the activities of the social movements in the oil-rich

Niger Delta has been a major drawback to the execution of NDDC projects.

It remains an unavoidable risk and obvious hazard in the management of

NDDC projects in spite of the Federal Government’s efforts to ensure peace

in the region. For examples, a major oil company has purchased a high

technology solution supplied by Blue Sky Network (a company in

California) to help enhance the safety of its personnel and equipment

(Okereke, 2007). A major problem militating against successful operations

of NDDC is hostage taking. Cases of hostage taking are on the increase in

the Niger Delta where some kidnapped foreigners and indigenes were forced

to pay huge amount of money as ransom. The increase in hostage taking has

been attributed to government’s military attacks against militant groups in

the Niger Delta. A militant youth noted as follows: “our interest lies in how

to bring the attention of everybody to the issue of the Niger Delta … to see

physical development, both from the oil companies and the federal

government.” (Okereke, 2007:3).

75

Undesirable socio-economic situations in the Niger Delta have bred a

frustrated population, ethnic polarization, communal suspicion, anti-

establishment agitation and hostility, all of which create instability and

impede development. Basic amenities or infrastructure such as good roads,

safe drinking water, electricity, telecommunication, housing, transportation,

health and educational facilities are in short supply in the Niger Delta

(Dafinone, 2007). The Niger Delta communities have been excluded in the

management of the upstream and downstream operations of the oil industry

through the Petroleum Act promulgated in 1969.

3.3 EXPROPRIATORY LAWS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGAINST OIL HOST COMMUNITIES

The predominance of infrastructural neglect in the Niger Delta oil host

communities is largely due to the existing constitutional obvious frameworks

against the ownership of land in the Nigerian context. As a matter of fact, if

land resources proceeds were given priority percentage to the landlords as it

were practiced in the early years of Nigeria, the clamour of been

marginalized, neglected, alienated, exploited, despised, etc, by privileged

group would not have arise because the Niger Deltans would been left to

cater for their development needs with the percentage they would got. The

table below show how resources were shared in Nigeria from 1960 – 1999

with earlier figures shown the principles if derivation a true the fiscal

federalism.

76

Table 3.3.1

Federal –State percentage in petroleum proceeds, 1960 – 1999

Years Producing state Federal government

Distributable

pool

1960 – 1967 50 20 30

1967 – 1969 50 50 -

1970 - 100 -

1970 – 1971 45 55 -

1971 – 1975 45 minus offshore proceeds

55 plus offshore proceeds

-

1975 – 1979 20 minus offshore proceeds

60 plus offshore proceeds

20

1979 – 1981 - 100 -

1982 – 1992 1 and half 98 and half

1992 – 1999 3% 97 -

1999 13% 87 -

Source: See Prof. Itse Sagaya SAN – The Guardian Newspaper of 24th

March, 2002 page 8

As result of deliberate denial of the Niger Delta people the oil and gas

resources, various heads of government are different times had enacted the

following laws against resource control.

EXPROPRIATORY LAWS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT:

1. The Territorial waters Act, Cap 428 laws of the Federation of Nigeria,

1990 as amended by Act No. 1 of 1998.

2. Exclusive Economic Zone Act. Cap. 116 laws of the Federation of

Nigeria, 1990 as amended by Act No 42 of 1998.

3. Land Use Act, cap 202 laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990.

4. Interpretation Act, 1964 Cap 192 law of the Federation of Nigeria

1990.

5. Oil Pipelines Act, 338 laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990.

77

6. Petroleum Act, cap. 350 laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990, as

amended by Act No. 22 of 1998.

7. Minerals and Mining Act No. 34 of 1999.

8. National Inland Waterways Authority Act No. 13 of 1997.

9. Section 44(3) of the 1999 constitution. The above laws have been

reported in the 2004 laws of the Federation of Nigeria (National

Political Reform Conference, South-South Position, 2005: 25). These

laws barricade the Niger Delta Oil Host Communities from getting a

fair share of the oil proceeds to tackle developmental changes in their

area and these has been the contributory effects to underdevelopment

in Niger Delta.

78

CHAPTER FOUR

THE POLITICS OF OIL EXPLOITATION AND REACTIONS FROM NIGER DELTA OIL HOST COMMUNITIES This chapter addresses the issues of politicizing the oil industry in the Niger

Delta region of Nigeria which leads to underdevelopment of oil host

communities as we saw in the previous chapter. In discussing the above, our

third hypothesis will be confirmed in this chapter because the issues of crisis

in oil host communities and their impacts on oil production in the Niger

Delta will constitute part of the discourse.

Oil exploitation in the Niger Delta has been greeted with strangulating

influence of political exploitation over the years. The cardinal morals of due

process, transparency and accountability are despised in the extension of oil

production operations. Oil prospecting which is seismic, drilling, pipes

connection and the production – all undergoes a process of politicized

intrigues against the Host Communities. The politics of oil exploitation is

perfected by the multinational oil companies the Federal government of

Nigeria and the elites of the Niger Delta. These Collaborations usually

results at a neglect of the entirety of the Host Communities which eliminates

to a crisis condition that had bedeviled the communities over time. The

politics of oil had helped to create a condition of “the top cannot be stable

when the base is unstable” in the Nigerian oil industry.

It is against this back drop that any effort geared towards resolving the

teething problems of the Niger Delta region’s oil production that does not

foens directly on Host Communities amounts to scratching the itching boil

(OIL MINERAL PRODUCING AREAS LANDLORDS ASSOCIATION

OF NIGERIA – OMPALAN, 2010).

79

4.1 ELITES AND CONFLICTS GENERATION IN THE NIGER DELTA OIL HOST COMMUNITIES

Elites are a minority group of individuals within a society. Elites are socially

acknowledged as superior in some sense who influences or control other

segments of the society. Scholars such as V Parato, G, Mosca and R.

Michael see the elites group essentially as a ruling oligarchy. This view

amount to the grand distinction between those who rule and those who are

ruled (Mitchel, 1977:64). Therefore, public policy is decided by the ruling

elite and carried into effect by public officials and agencies. In line with the

above and for ease of presentation and analysis, elite roles in the Niger Delta

conflicts shall be analyzed.

Elites in the Niger Delta plan a kind of predatory role in the production of

the Black Gold” (oil) and saw themselves as unaccountable to the

communities that had crude oil. Under this scenario, oil wealth delivers little

benefits to the population at large and at the rools of development failure in

the Niger Delta. The elitist practice in the Niger Delta as assessed by Human

Rights Watch (2003) notes thus:

Little of the money paid by Federal Governments from the oil money is actually spent on genuine development projects; there appears to be virtually no control or proper audit over spending by state and local governments.

The role of the elites enabled and assisted the government in enacting the

obnoxious laws against the Niger Delta oil as we earlier observed in the

proceeding chapter. In spite of the about, the elites politically, militancy and

bureaucratically are involved in inciting the youths and militants. They are

also involved in animal activities in the region from kidnapping and hostage

taking, to negotiations for the release of victims of kidnapped activities and

ransoming to bombing of homes of well placed politicians and oil

80

installations/Nationals Standard, 15th November, 2007: 13- 20. The elitists

role in the Niger Delta

conflicts has been considered as an obstacle to progress political stability

and economic prosperity and over all socio-economic development because

of its destructive impacts. This situation has resulted to the in adequacies of

Nigerian governments hence, the structures and institutions of the state have

remained relatively undeveloped through the 1960. And as such, successive

government cannot be exonerated from the spate of commercial and ethnic

conflicts ravaging the nation largely because of the manner in which it

manages the nation’s resources (Ibeanu, 1998: 56).

This scenario has deepened the conflicts in the Niger Delta with proliferation

of ethno-regional organization and movements with pronounced political

agenda all over the country. These are associations formed largely to

promote the interest of ethnic or religious groups. For instance, The

Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) Ijaw National

Congress (INC), Uroboho National Assembly (UNA), among others. These

groups are aimed for self-determination and therefore more lethal (Alli,

2005: 334).

Conflicts in the Niger Delta ordinary may met always become bloody but the

elitist role in the Niger Delta has made conflicts in the region degenerate into

violence, quickly leading to the destruction of lives and property. Every little

misunderstanding is now recompanied by “violence.” This is further

undermining the possibility of economic progress. “Violence, provoked by

conflicts has turned people’s attention from production creation to creative

destruction” (Nnoli 2003:3).

In the Niger Delta region, communal classes and inter cut wars are said to be

the result of struggle for power and influence among the different political

factions of the ruling class for the control of the wealth of the area. (The

News, 14 September, 2004). Moreso. As a result of elitist role in the Niger

81

Delta conflicts, trans-border production, markets, monies and business

readily evade, political controls that are attempted through the state by the

forces of wild complicated and intensified conflicts in the Niger Delta. It is

being destructed both legally and illegally as part of super-power geopolitics

those involved in small arms trade are often militias that support or oppose

the government, criminal gangs, vigilantes and ordinary civilians who are

apprehensive of the increasing inability of the state to provide them with

security. Government and rebel movements in the region have increased

their military stock piles, recruited machineries or “private security

companies” and created their own militias to confront their rivals

(Nnoli2006:99).

In a nutshell, the crises in the Niger Delta region and Oil Host Communities

in particular has centralized and intensified external access to and

exploitation of oil resources while marginalizing and pauperizing the

inhabitants casual roots are in most cases traceable to elitist dirty dealings in

the oil exploitation business. The actions and inactions of elites in the Niger

Delta conflicts has equally prolonged the insurgency in the region and has in

evitably increased the number of people killed in the use of fire arms. Prior

to the granting of amnesty to the Niger Delta militants by the government of

president Umaru Yar’-Adua of blessed memory in August, 2009.

4.2 BRIEF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF CRISIS AND A CHRONOLOGY OF VIOLENCE FROM 2003 – 2006 IN THE NIGER DELTA REGION.

The history of the crisis in Niger Delta region could be traced to as far back

as the 1960s. In 1966, Isaac Adaka Boro and his Niger Delta Volunteer

Service (NDVS) sought to pull the Niger Delta region out of Nigeria. It was

a brief uprising that was terminated in 12 days.

82

In the 1980s, however violent conflicts have become an increasingly

pronounced feature of the region. In the 1990s, the Ogoni people led by Ken

Saro-Wiwa fired off the protest by the Niger Delta People. In response to

this, Saro-Wiwa was hanged by the FG. As noted by Beko Ransome-Kuti,

“rather than the hanging serving as a deterrent to the Niger Delta people,

they saw it as a challenge”. Thus, in December, 1998, Ijaw Youths met and

issued the KAIAMA DECLARATION in which they “agreed to remain

within Nigeria but demand and work for self-government and resource

control for the Ijaw people. Since then other nationalities in the Niger Delta

have adopted one form of declaration or Bill of Rights or another. These

include the Urhobo Declaration and the Oron people Bill of Rights.

The return to civil rule in 1999 tend to have aggravated the Niger Delta

Crisis with twists such as hostage –taking, destruction of oil installation and

emergence of armed militias such as the Niger Delta People Volunteer Force

(NDPVF) and Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND)

among others. It is inferred that the regime of agitation that was led by Boro

in the 1960s, was resuscitated by Saro-Wiwa in the 1990s and recently by

Asair Dokubo.

To further ascertain the crisis condition of the Niger Delta region, that

impacted negatively on the Oil Host Communities, MNO’S the federal

government and Nigeria at large, here is a catalogue of escalating violence in

the region fro a record period of 2003 – 2006.

VIOLENCE/CRISIS IN THE NIGER DELTA REGION FROM 2003 –

2006.

1. 2003: At Irri, Isoko South Local Council, a traditional ruler alleged to

have sold the rights of the community to Agip Oil. This sparked off

violence. At the end of the Imbroglio, no fewer the palace of the

traditional ruler who took to his heels in the heat of the crisis.

83

2. 15 January, 2003: Indigenes of Ohoro-Uwheru community in Ugbelli

North Local Council were attacked by a detachment of soldiers from

the Joint Security Task Force “Operation Restore Hope.”

3. 21 March 2003: While the Security Task Force as on patrol off 10

persons died and property worth millions of naira was vandalized,

including the Escravos Rivers, youths attacked the team with 17

speedboats at Oporosa on the Excravos Creek, killing three soldiers

and one naval rating.

4. 22 March 2003: Youths struck at the Total Final Elf tank farm in

Oponani Village and killed five soldiers and destroyed property worth

billions of naira.

5. 2 May 2003: Barely 24 hours after the State House of Assembly

election, youths brandishing AK-47 pump rifles and other light

weapons attacked the naval base, leaving two naval ratings severely

injured.

6. 6 November, 2003: Eight mobile policemen were reportedly killed by

youths between Otuan and Oporoma in Southern Ijaw Local

Government Area of Bayelsa State.

7. April 2004: Five persons including two Americans were killed by

militant youths. They were among nine people traveling in a boat

along Benin River, West of Warri, expatriates were the staff of

Chevron Texaco.

8. January 2004: Suspected Itsekiri militants invaded some

communities in Okpe Kingdom, killing 17 people and injuring three

others.

9. 14 April, 2004: Ijaw Youths attacked and killed four children

including a 90-year community leader, Madam Mejebi Ewueuwo, in

Koko headquarters of Warri North Local Council, Delta State.

84

10. 23 April 2004: About nine members of the Joint Security Task Force,

‘Operation Restore Hope’, in charge of security in Warri were killed

by militant Ijaw youths.

11. 2 November 2004: For several hours , youths of Igbudu and soldiers

of the Joint Task Force clashed in Igbudu area of Warri, Delta State.

12. 18 November 2004: Ijaw youths from Odioma community in Brass

Council in Bayelsa State, protesting an alleged violation of a

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by Shell Petroleum

Development Company (SPDC), shut down and occupied its 8,000

barrels a day flow station.

13. 22 November 2004:At least 17 youths of Ijaw extraction were

confirmed dead as soldiers deployed to guard a flow station belonging

to an oil-servicing firm shot sporadically into crowd.

14. 28 November 2004: Ijaw youths clashed with soldiers at Beneseide

flow station, near Ojobo in Bayelsa State over breach of Memorandum

of Understanding (MOU).

15. 23 December 2004: The youths in Ogbe-Osewa and Ogbe Ilo quarters

in Asaba clashed over a land dispute. Over 100 houses were

ransacked, with property running into millions of naira destroyed.

16. 23 December 2004: At Ekpan, Uvwie Local Council of Delta State,

youths clashed over the appointment of Unuevworo (traditional head)

of the community.

17. 24 December 2004: Militant youths kidnapped 16 oil workers

including a Yugoslav at Amatu Community in Ekeremor Local

Council of Bayelsa State. They were kidnapped from a vessel

identified as Seabulk, owned by an oil-servicing firm working with

shell.

18. 26 December 2004: Alleged similar breach of Memorandum of

Understanding (MOU) by shall petroleum Development Company led

85

to the abduction of a Croatian worker, Mr. Ivan Roso, at the

company’s Sea Eagle floating crude oil production facility.

19. 21 December 2005: Explosion rocked Shell pipeline in Niger Delta.

20. 22 December 2005: Fire raged in Shell installation causing 12 deaths.

21. 31 December 2005: Explosion rocked shell pipeline in Niger Delta.

22. 12 January 2006: Pirates took four expatriates hostage.

23. 16 January 2006: Militants attacked another Shell platform and

torched houseboats.

24. 16 January 2006: Fourteen soldiers killed in Niger Delta shoot out.

25. 18 January 2006: Soldiers, Bayelsa militants engaged in gun duel.

26. 18 January 2006: Shell cut oil output by 115 barrel per day.

27. 19 January 2006: Federal Government opened talks with militants

28. 29 January 2006: Oil workers threatened to pull out of Niger Delta.

Source: the United Nations Human Development Programme, 2006.

4.3 THE IMPACT OF CRISES ON OIL PRODUCTION IN THE NIGER DELTA

The crises in the region are usually generated via oil production related

causes. These conditions mostly carries a frustrated anger that results to oil

pipe vandilization that will lead to oil spills. Oil spills either man made or

equipment failure has resulted in the lost of lives and property. For instance,

the Jesse pipeline explosion fire that killed over 1000 people and the oil spill

fire in Kalabileama community in Nembe Local Government Area of

Bayelsa State on September 17th, 2003 among many others.

Pipeline vandalization a consequence of youth restiveness in the Niger Delta.

From seven cases in 1993 it rose to 33 cases in 1996 and 57 cases in 1998.

There was dramatic increase of 497 reported cases of pipeline vandalization

in 1999 and over 600 cases in 2000 (Okecha 2003:9) culminated to the shut

86

down of many oil wells and production of facilities at various times. For

instance, the Warri conflicts in Delta State, due to shut down of operations

the oil companies and the Federal Government counted their losses as stated

thus:

* Chevron Texaco = 140,000 barrels of crude oil per day

* Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) = 300,000

barrels of crude oil per day.

* Elf Petroleum = 7,500 barrels of crude oil produce. This lost in

production inted to 13,425,000 barrels per month and 120, 825,

000 over the months period that the conflict lasted, calculated at

the rate of $19 per barrel upon which the Federal Government

predicted as of the time, the nation lost about $2.3billion

(Ikelegbe 2005).

Further more, in 1993, the operations and activities of SPDC were disturbed

by about a hundred communal conflicts leading to the lost of over 12 million

barrels of crude oil worth about N369 billion. In the case of Ogoni conflict,

SPDC has been losing 8,000 barrels of Crude oil per day since the Ogoni

conflict of January 1993. In all, SPDC amegates that over 60% of spills and

leakages affecting its installations is caused by acts of sabotage by aggrieved

communities of the Niger Delta (Ikelegbe 2005).

As earlier posited, oil production is a direct linked to nature, it is inevitably

tied to a people and those are the Niger Delta inhabitants. Therefore, for

peaceful production to get to the Zenith of oil production, the inhabitants full

collaboration and incorporation is indispensable. Nigerian oil multinationals

are hereby obligated to follow such an encompassing trend of Host

Communities in their business.

87

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION:

5.1 SUMMARY:

Oil exploitation in the Niger Delta should have been concomitantly

addressing the developmental challenges of the Oil Host Communities and

the Niger Delta region when the resultant monetary value attached to oil

production is imagined.

However, the fundamentally feudal character of the Nigerian State and

systematic kleptomania have rendered the oil proceeds from the Niger Delta

a mixed blessing to the region and Nigeria at large. The oil exploitation

activities has indeed devastated the fundamental bases for the development

of the Niger Delta region. Corruption hugely funded by oil has damaged the

culture of hard work and in general the work ethics of many of the people in

the region. Governance has largely lost its focus as the key development

institution in society and now is mostly seen as an instrument for primitive

accumulation by the privileged few.

Oil exploitation by the MNOCs were expected to manage exploitation

activities responsibly, sensitively and effectively in such a way that

biodiversity, ecosystem, fauna, the soil system and the atmosphere were

preserved, clean, productive, stable, healthy and adequate for human

livelihood. Oil exploitation in the region for over 50years has not guaranteed

the positive externalities for the local economies to realize livelihood

sources, traditional occupations, employment, incomes and other socio-

economic development indices towards the Niger Delta.

In the absence of exemplary character in the issues of good governance,

human rights, civility and democracy in the oil exploitation activities in the

region, the region especially oil Host Communities has become a breeding

88

ground for crime, youth restiveness, state repression/violence, disarticulated

and divided communities, deaths, prostitution, heightened health

hazards/illness, destroyed communal tradition/social fabric and

aggressiveness all over the region.

These abnormal conditionalities surrendering the oil exploitation business

coupled with the developmental Challenges in the region creates a clear

condition of alienation of the people of Niger Delta and their oil and gas

resources.

5.2 CONCLUSION:

In a digest, exploration in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria avail the country

the opportunity of harnessing an important natural resource like oil and gas,

this has made Nigeria famous domestically, regionally, continentally and of

course internationally. But sarcastically, the region especially oil Host

Communities does not reflect that such an important natural resources

deposits are found and exploited in the area judging from there physical look

in terms of developmental strides.

After myriad of decades of wanton degradation of the natural environment

which is the associate syndrome of oil prospecting and the refusal of both the

oil companies and the Federal Government to accede to the wailings and

clamous for unjust exploitation with the accompanied challenges of

development in the Niger Delta region. The inhabitants of the Niger Delta

resorted for solace in a rancorous manner resulting in commotion,

convulsion, disturbances, turmoil, discomposure, distraction and violence in

the Niger Delta region. This situation of agitation was started by the Ogonis

then the Ijaws, Itsekiris and the Urhobos, etc. in the early 1990s.

Subsequently, the calmous for development in the region metamorphosed to

the present merger of pan Niger Delta struggle for a fair portion of the oil

89

resource to be used for the development of the region in all realms/spheres

of development.

The second chapter of the study attested to affirm the first hypothesis of the

study which states: the activities of oil prospecting companies appear to

improve the incidence of growing level of poverty in the Niger Delta

Region. As already postulated in the work, the Niger Delta which once had

friendly, inhabitable, fertile and receivable lands, topography, atmosphere,

climate, rivers, creeks, lakes, streams, seas, vegetation and wildlife are being

destroyed by the activities of oil exploration and exploitation in the region.

Hence, the people suffer the results of scarcity of the natural products that

makes life more meaningful.

Progressively, chapter three of the research proved the second hypothesis

reliable. Hypothesis two (2) stipulates that: oil exploitation in the Niger

Delta has not translated to improvement infrastructural facilities. The

conditions of under development were proven with the empirical lack of

infrastructural facilities at Oloibiri (the mother community of crude oil in

Nigeria). Equally demonstrated was the ill-fated developmental studies by

administrative boards put in place by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The non-inclusion of Host Communities as partners of the oil business is

being strengthened by the obnoxious laws of the Federal Government

thereby leaving the development challenges of the Niger Delta region also in

chapter three.

In chapter four, the last hypothesis was tested and proven. The third and last

hypothesis posits: The crisis situation in the Niger Delta has created an

unstable oil production rate in Nigeria. Here, the factors and contribution of

elites of the region to crisis was explored and incidents of conflicts in their

chronology also x-rayed. Then, the clear notion of dwindling oil revenues

was seen as a result of crisis that affects or truncate the production process

from time to time in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

90

Sequel to the above therefore, the series of persistent spontaneous, organized

actions against the oil firms and Nigerian state by Oil Host Community

members are a function of the feelings of aggravated frustration and

deprivation. The consistent failure of government policy instruments set up

to address the challenges of sustainable development in the region, over the

years, was worsened these feelings of resentment. Runaman (1992),opined

that a man who has been led to expect, shall we say promotion in his job will

be more aggrieved if he fails to achieve it, than a man whose ambition has

not been similarly heightened! Over the years, the intervention programmes

of government in addressing the issues of development of the Niger Delta

have led the people to expect that their conditions of underdevelopment will

soon be a thing of the past because of the attractiveness of such programmes.

However, the failure of these programmes did not just “leave this region

battered, desolate and ruined” (Odje 2000:63) but also heightened their

feelings of severe deprievation.

Runaman (1992), rightly asserted “the magnitude of a relative deprivation is

the extent of the difference between the desired situation and that of the

person desiring it.” This underscores that relative deprivation is a function of

the perception of the affected human actors. The degree to which this feeling

is expressed is based on the degree to which actors see their situation as far

away from their expectations. The empowerment of the Niger Delta is

hindered as a result of the expropriatory laws we earlier enunciated in this

work and as Okolie (1990:8) rightly stipulated that “oil companies benefit

from Federal Decrees that deprive local communities of rights in relation to

the land, they treat as theirs.” The use of oil proceeds to empower groups and

communities is very important to finding an enduring remedy to the issues of

dislocations and disharmonies in the Niger Delta region knowing that socio-

economic transformation of any society and the creation of a decent standard

91

of living for the people is tied in how well individuals have been empowered

to be able to contribute to the process of societal transformation.

In the case of the Niger Delta and oil exploitation, the above situation

suggests that identification of the most affected groups such as, farmers,

fishermen, women and youths with their heart-felt needs. This entails access

to capital for self-reliance. Moreso, while emphacy is placed on oil bearing

communities, community felt needs should be priotized if quick impact is to

be made.

To be able to achieve the above, the responsive agencies must be adequately

empowered and guided by the principles of accountability, probity and

service. Sustainable development of the Niger Delta can be realized when

the need for environmental protection is taking into cognizance. Stringent

environmental policies and the “will for enforcement must be made if the

gains of empowerment are to be sustained in the Niger Delta.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

In the intricacies, intrigues, power-play, misnormer, deprivation, acrimony

and crisis that surrounds the oil wealth of the Niger Delta which is

occasioned with development challenges in the region; we for purposes of

oil exploitation to strive with peace and sustainability, hereby recommend as

follows:

Oil companies should partner proactively with oil Host

Communities.

Land acquisition should be in a cost effective way.

Government and MNOCs should seek to improve the quality of

life in the areas of oil exploitation activities.

92

Government and MNOCs should always take steps to enhance,

resuscitate and improve on the environmental degradation

challenges of the people of the Niger Delta.

MNOCs should attach priority to payment of compensation for

damages that results from operations – without delay.

Development issues should not be politicized and Government

issues and MNOCs should contribute immensely towards the

development of the areas of operation.

MNOCs should imbibe the concepts of peace, mutality,

harmony, commitment, and progress towards Host

Communities’ development agenda.

Above all, moral laws favourable to the oil bearing

communities/region should be put in place to regulate; land

tenureship, derivation, compensation, development plans,

environmental hazards assessment, targets to meet emergency

situations and corporate governance with honesty and service to

Niger Delta people.

These proposed tenets, when explored and diligently practiced, will afford

the Federal Government, Multinational Oil Communities (MNOCs), Oil

Host Communities (OHCs) and the Niger Delta region the opportunity to

peaceful exploit the oil resources to the zenith at every given point in time in

the Niger Delta region.

98

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