Contending Issues in the Niger Delta Crisis of Nigeria - Journal of ...

Chapter IV: Fishers of Men: The Political Economy of Kidnapping in the
Niger Delta
Criminality or whatever else that could be the reason for hostagetaking
and kidnapping is in need of explanation. Why for instance has
criminality as a means of livelihood suddenly ceased to take well
known forms such as armed robbery or sea piracy and taken on the
character of occupational shift in which the youths have been
transformed from the age-long tradition of fishing in the numerous
rivers and creeks in the region into ‘fishers of men’ What are the
political, social and economic forces involved in this transformation
These are the central questions addressed in this chapter which relies
on the rich extant literature on the Niger Delta, numerous newspaper
reports and field work in the region during my one year sabbatical
leave in 2006 at the Niger Delta University (NDU), Wilberforce Island,
Bayelsa State.
The rest of the chapter is devoted to a brief historical review of
the political economy of the Niger Delta in the section which follows.
Section 3 deals with the oil economy, politics and kidnapping while
section 4 is the conclusion.
Location and Brief Review Of Political And Economic History Of
The Niger Delta
The Niger Delta has been defined as:
Comprising the area covered by the natural delta of the Niger River
and the areas to the east and west, which also produce oil, covering
approximately 25,900 square kilometres with a northern boundary
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