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

Chapter XI: Between the Politics of Oil Exploration and Exploitation, Oil
Producing Communities’ Reactions and Security Contradictions in the Niger Delta
The Niger Delta of Nigeria is situated in the central part of
Southern Nigeria. It is located between Midwest and Eastern parts of
Nigeria. The region is a heterogeneous, multi-culturally diverse area of
70,000 square kilometers (Saro-Wiwa, 1995:165; Tamuno 1999:51)
with over 20 different ethnic groups including those of Ijaw, Itsekiri,
Urhobo, Bini, Ukwuani, Ibibio, Efik, Anang, Ogoni, Igbo, Yoruba and
Ogba (Dike, 1965:25, Ikime 1972; Onosode 2003). The Niger Delta is
one of the largest wetland in the world comparable to the Mekong, the
Amazon and Ganges (Manby 1999a:53, Onosode 2003:8). It is home
of the most of the oil-producing communities in Nigeria.
Apart from being richly endowed with oil and gas deposits, the
region is blessed with fertile agricultural land, abundant rivers as well
as creeks, fish, forest and human resources. The Niger Delta is also
supported by a complex bio-diversity and other biological and
ecological features. Three distinct ecological zones predominate in the
Niger Delta region. These are thick mangrove forests bordering the
sandy coastal areas that in turn border the Atlantic coast. There are
fresh-water swamps and lastly, the dry land (Owolabi and Okwechime
2007). The forests support most of the farming (CRP 1999:12).
The Niger Delta is spread across six states namely Bayelsa,
Rivers, Delta, Edo, Akwa Ibom and Ondo. Over time, the region has
enlisted Cross-River, Abia and Imo states (for political reason). Of the
major ethnic groups in the region, namely the Ogoni, Urhuobo, and
Itsekiri, the Ijaw (Izon) constitutes by far the Delta’s largest ethnic
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