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
are predominantly engaged in agriculture, those in the coastal zone
are predominantly fishermen, with those in the mangrove swamp and
freshwater zones engaging in a little of agriculture alongside fishing.
This variation resulted in a good network of social and commercial
relationships among the people which were originally mutual and
peaceful as was the case between the predominantly agricultural
Urhobos and their Ijaw and Itsekiri fishing neighbours in Delta State
before European imperialism and colonialism brought about conflict
among them since the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
(Ikime, 1969)
The story of the region’s contact with Europeans which dates
back to the fifteenth century and which culminated in colonial rule in
the early twentieth century is beyond what could be repeated in this
chapter. Fortunately, it has been richly documented by scholars and
shown to have had a very profound impact on its political economy.
(Crowder, 1966; Dike, 1956; Ekundare, 1973; Igbafe, 1979; Ikime,
1980; Ryder, 1959, 1969; Ofonagoro, 1979). It suffices to mention
here however, some specific ways in which that contact affected
economic activities as well as social and political relations. First, it
engendered occupational change when, as a result of the Europeans’
demand for slaves, Niger Deltans were transformed into fishers and
hunters of men. Second, new crops like cassava and rubber were
introduced, which altered land use. Third, following the abolition of
slave trade and the commencement of legitimate trade essentially in
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