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

Chapter I: Understanding the Niger Delta Conflict: Matters Arising
Uwazomba (forthcoming; Human Right Watch, 2005), a kind of
analytical robot to all analysts at critical points in time, with a
Sisyphean-burden, thanks to planlessness, corruption, disunitedunity,
political thuggery and upheavals, injustice and other vices.
With reference to the problem in the Niger Delta, various analysts and
policy makers who have nothing really at stake have chosen to look at
this problem using in most cases distorting-analytical lenses. This, in
most cases, has further compounded the problem. Each analyst
seems to have his own conceptualization of the problem and proffered
solutions. While a whole lot of these analysts existed and still exist
within and outside Nigeria in nearly all strata of the society and, while
their predispositions are permitted by the eclecticism and infinite
nature of knowledge and its pursuit, Nigeria as a nation has
continuously been at the receiving end in terms of concrete and
painstaking identification of this problem and effective mechanisms
for solving it.
Why has this remained to be so after many years of escape from the
yoke of colonialism is deeply rooted in history. Since the country’s
fragile take-off on January 1, 1914, it has undergone series of political
upheavals both in the hands of the military and civilians. These are
identifiable in the experienced prolong military rule. Nigeria has had
eight military and six and a half civilian governments, (including the
current Yar’adua Government), if the aborted third Republic and
puppet ING (Interim National Government) could be counted. In
addition to this, the country has in its kitty an attempted secession; a
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