Conflict in the Niger Delta Simmers on and Flares Up

When President Umaru Yar’Adua came to power a year and a half ago in Nigeria, a country with 140m people speaking some 250 languages, he detailed a seven-point agenda (energy, security, wealth creation, education, land reform, mass transit, and the execution the Niger Delta plan) to propel development via good governance. Topping President Yar’Adua’s agenda was achieving progress in the Niger Delta Region, where 23 percent of Nigerians reside and where instability reigns, with frequent inter-ethnic clashes over the allocation of oil wealth and resources. The Delta has always been a source of conflict: since initial oil deposits were founded in 1956, residents have been paid pittances, lost their lands, and suffered environmental degradation. Though there have been a few encouraging signs of incremental decreases in tensions, the complexity of the problem means that there is still little hope of an imminent resolution.

Nigeria is the world’s eighth largest exporter of oil – a commodity that accounts for a majority of the government’s revenue – yet the Niger Delta that produces it is the least-developed area of the country and has seen little economic development in its 50 years of oil production. It is estimated that less than 5 percent of federal oil revenue is returned to Rivers State, which partly explains the region’s lack of infrastructure, potable water, good schools, and communication facilities, among other necessary citizen services. Moreover this inability to harness the area’s natural wealth has fueled the resentment that turned the issue violent within ten years of the initiation of oil production. Now, violent gangs flourish amid high unemployment caused by bad governance as well as damage to traditional livelihoods, such as fishing, by oil drilling. As a 2008 Human Rights Watch report entitled The Politics of War argues, the prevalence of violence, which is endemic to the Rivers State, fuels a vicious circle of mismanagement and corruption: “Ironically, the young men attracted into well funded gang activity because of poverty and unemployment are helping to fuel the same problems responsible for their lack of opportunities in the first place.”

Historically, the Delta has been fragile and fragmented, with the famous three-year Biafran civil war that started in 1967 only its most notorious episode. In 2008, terror and lawlessness by militants is rampant in Rivers State, with kidnappings, often of oil workers, a habitual practice used to generate income. Human Rights Watch’s 2008 report notes that in the first 10 weeks of 2008, armed gangs kidnapped more than a dozen people for ransom. Allegations have also surfaced that political kingmakers have used government funds to sponsor criminal gangs to do their dirty work. It is widely acknowledged that the criminal gangs operating in the Delta are partners in power, patronage, and impunity with the ruling politicians. To add insult to injury and to greatly exacerbate circumstances, IRIN/Plus News, in discussing the relationship between unemployment and rising HIV/AIDS  in the region, reports that “rape is prevalent: these militants do anything they like, and when there is conflict, the military move in, and they too will commit rape.” Dr C. Okeh, who chairs the State Action Committee on HIV/AIDS (SACA) notes that since Rivers State is dotted with oil and gas activities, and commercial sex workers follow the camps and we are finding a rising [HIV] prevalence in rural farming and fishing communities."

Not that the rest of Nigeria is a governance model. Freedom in the World 2008 ranks Nigeria as Partly Free and notes that it “received a downward trend arrow due to the 2007 national elections that international and domestic observers judged to be extremely flawed.” Therefore, it is not surprising that many Nigerians are lamenting that their soft-spoken president is failing to execute many of his inaugural promises. So far under President Yar’Adua, corruption reforms appear to be backsliding, especially since the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), an anticorruption body, has lost its credibility following the sacking of its head Nuhu Ribadu, who had won international praise for dealing with governmental corruption. Coupled with this, civil strife has worsened in the Delta region as an “oil war” has been declared by militants. To address the new wave of violence in the Rivers State and the lack of civil liberties enjoyed by citizens and minority groups, on September 11, 2008, President Yar’Adua announced the creation of a cabinet position dedicated exclusively to the Delta. The move sharply divided pundits, with the main militant coalition, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), opposed. The MEND is undeniably a key voice in the dispute. However, the Economist argues that while MEND portrays itself as political organization that is fighting for the allocation and redistribution of oil resources, it is more of an “umbrella organization for several armed groups, which it sometimes pays in cash or guns to launch attacks. This franchise approach has so far been successful.” In the past three years the group has orchestrated attacks across the Niger Delta that have reduced the country’s oil output by a fifth.

The new Niger Delta Ministry is seen by many as just “another bureaucracy”, a moribund ministry, rather than a new intermediary between the Niger Delta and the Federal government. This new ministry bears a notable resemblance to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) which was created in 2000 to relieve poverty in the region but has been hamstrung by corruption, insufficient funds, and poor management. In 2007, some 38 infrastructure projects were terminated by the NDDC. However, while some leaders have called for greater federalism in Rivers State in order to enable the “full components of resources control and devolution of power,” others welcomed the new ministry as a signal of commitment from President Yar’Adua to his seven-point agenda. In any event, the announcement of this new ministry united several armed gangs, which led to attacks on pipelines and the killing of innocent citizens, plunging the region into the worst violence in several years.

However, efforts to reach resolution remain active – and always will, given the critical importance of maintaining Nigeria’s oil production. Perhaps some light at the end of the tunnel actually comes from failed negotiations between the Ogoni region and the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) this past June, as reported on by the International Crisis Group. While the negotiations hit a standstill, the progress that was achieved shows that a non-violent approach could engender success in regaining the rights of local groups. The withdrawal of SPDC for the Delta region, according to the ICG, paves the way for President Yar’Adua’s government to demonstrate greater goodwill and sensitivity to ethnic minority groups of Rivers State. ICG further concludes that the peaceful transition in Ogoni can persuade other armed militant groups to disarm and deactivate the Delta insurgency. Like other seemingly intractable conflicts, then, achieving an accord with one group could unlock the door to a wider set of agreements. Only time will tell if the new ministry will promote peace. However, as oil prices spiral downward and lawlessness continues to enshroud the Niger Delta region, minority populations continue to suffer all the familiar repercussions of unending conflict.

Photo Credit: Flickr user ISN Security Watch

Comments

[a Duoist]

In 50 years, there has been no material improvement in the 'culture of corruption,' known as 'Nigeria.' The local word is, if I'm recollecting correctly, "baksheesh," which means a bribe is so common that no human activity takes place without paying. Isn't Nigeria the country with a steel mill donated by foreign aid that has never produced even one ton of steel in more than twenty years of operation? Corruption in Nigeria is endemic to the culture; without the oil, they quickly become a failed state.

[masduqi]

Oh my god............! peace man.

[Shazia]

Information of this blog is very lovely and useful. I like these information.

[Bass Fishing]

if at all they didn't have the oil, they would have gone long before.. even with that oil, they cause damage to fish and more than that :(

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The president of Nigeria admires me by his agenda..Sure he will be some kind of navigator to the right path of Nigeria..
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I would like to remember that in June, 2007, shop shutters stayed bolted and young men played soccer on roads that were usually choked with traffic as the first day of an indefinite general strike and fuel shortages brought cities across Nigeria.

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The President’s seven point agenda looks nice in papers. But the government’s imperative has to be the same and need support from the entire 140m people of Nigeria to make it happen successfully. Also focus on education has to be at the top of priorities, which eventually will fight against the terrorism.

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Why they can't stop fighting? Why can't we all live peacefuly? I think that a few years later they will be still fighting, but they will have forgotten why are they fighting

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Absolutely supers seven point agenda put forth by the president to bring situation in control. It is breathtakingly important to take acute actions against raising HIV prevalence in rural farming and fishing communities. Best wishes from the bottom of heart to get rid of this horrible situation.

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This West African country has encountered with serious of troubles. It is the high time for the people from all thirty six states of the country to stand together and fight against Terrorism and HIV. Hope President Umaru Yar’Adua will take necessary steps to tackle this.

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While we must remain determined to defeat terrorism, it isn't only terrorism we are fighting. It's the beliefs that motivate terrorists. I believe people whose primary aims are driving, shopping, and television are subject to terrorism at any time. Let us stand with President Umaru Yar Adua to fight against it and reconstruct the country.

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It is imperative and high time to work against terrorism and HIV in this West African country. It is clear that a large proportion of the increase in deaths was due to war and HIV. The biggest concern is that some political kingmakers have used government funds to sponsor criminal gangs to do their dirty work. Those people are subject to punishment and this should be a lesson to others who try attempting it again.

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It is worrisome fact that still this country suffers with lack of infrastructure, potable water, good schools, and communication facilities, among other necessary citizen services. I believe that No war on the face of the Earth is more destructive than the AIDS pandemic. Let us all be together and fight against it.

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The current conflict in the Niger Delta arose due to tensions between the foreign oil corporations and a number of the Niger Delta's minority ethnic groups who felt they were being exploited. This is both informative and academic. It is comprehensive enough in answering the key questions in the Niger Delta crisis.

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Conflicts are inevitable in human societies as long as there is existence. Their causes and effects are numerous and varies, their resolutions are more challenging than one could ever imagine.

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The good thing about your information is that it is explicit enough for students to grasp. Thanks for your efforts in spreading academic knowledge.

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The regional and ethnic conflicts are so numerous that fully detailing each is impossible and impractical. However, there have been a number of major confrontations that deserve elaboration.

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I think it's stupid to solve problems by means of weapon and death! All those who can't find a peaceful decision and choose to fight for their point of view sin against their people making them suffer!

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