26.01.2015 Views

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

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

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

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS
  • No tags were found...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

Egbadju Obukohwo Abraham<br />

challenges to <strong>the</strong> <strong>Niger</strong>ian state. The issues <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> unend<strong>in</strong>g<br />

crisis <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Niger</strong> <strong>Delta</strong> are critical; and <strong>the</strong>ir effects, as events have<br />

shown, usually reverberate beyond <strong>the</strong> territorial boundaries <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

oil-belt, with destabiliz<strong>in</strong>g consequences for <strong>Niger</strong>ia’s political<br />

economy. What <strong>the</strong>n constitute <strong>the</strong> critical issues and why have <strong>the</strong><br />

issues defied last<strong>in</strong>g solutions Security <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Niger</strong> <strong>Delta</strong> region is<br />

fragile. What is <strong>the</strong> manner <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Niger</strong>ian state’s response to <strong>the</strong><br />

issue <strong>of</strong> security <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Niger</strong> <strong>Delta</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> face <strong>of</strong> emerg<strong>in</strong>g trends <strong>in</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> struggle by irate youths (militias) <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> oil communities<br />

There have been attempts to trace <strong>the</strong> genesis <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Niger</strong> <strong>Delta</strong><br />

crisis, <strong>the</strong> activities <strong>of</strong> oil mult<strong>in</strong>ational companies and how <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

activities have constituted pa<strong>in</strong>s and agony to <strong>the</strong> oil produc<strong>in</strong>g<br />

communities. The struggle and agitation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> people <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> region<br />

have been volum<strong>in</strong>ously treated <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> literature.<br />

However, <strong>the</strong>re has not been much attempt to l<strong>in</strong>k <strong>the</strong> element<br />

<strong>of</strong> security contradiction as one serious factor that has aroused and<br />

<strong>in</strong>creased <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>tensity to resort to approaches <strong>of</strong> violence <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

struggle by <strong>the</strong> oil community irate youths as occasioned by <strong>the</strong> role<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Niger</strong>ian state <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> matter. It is this gap that this paper<br />

attempts to fill. This is essentially important <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> context <strong>of</strong><br />

discussions on ways to f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g a workable framework for restor<strong>in</strong>g<br />

peace and security to <strong>the</strong> oil-related and crisis ravaged <strong>Niger</strong> <strong>Delta</strong>.<br />

The place called <strong>the</strong> <strong>Niger</strong> <strong>Delta</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Niger</strong>ia<br />

281

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!