Thesis (M.A.) from the year 2018 in the subject Politics - Topic: Peace and Conflict, Security, grade: Austrian befriedigend (B- 7,6), University of Innsbruck, course: Peace, Development, Security and International Conflict Transformation, language: English, abstract: Thinking about security and safety evokes many memories about my family and the past. Growing up was bearable as long as I had my siblings and other family members around, despite having an almost-absent father. My father was always busy and we did not bother to ask why he spent most time away from home. As a child, I had little understanding of the insecurity that reined in the village and across the entire region. However, while growing up, I was exposed to many dangers that any other young person would never want to face in their life. From my personal perspective, the issue of insecurity has multiple dimensions. Many people would think about massive bloodshed and conflicts when the issue is mentioned. However, this does not reflect the entire story about insecurity. Insecurity could also include lack of appropriate shelter and food, human right abuses during times of violence, and inaccessibility of shelter. I have experienced all those dimensions of insecurity while growing. Safety and insecurity have an intrinsic connection; hence, the absence of safety contributes to insecurity.
ISSUES ADDRESSED BY THIS BOOK This book is the outcome of six years' research undertaken by the author during her PhD programme in the Department of Political Science, University of Abuja. The process of converting the thesis into a book began in December, 2015 and as a result, additional materials have been added to the original materials. The book is in four series comprising 'Conflict in the Niger Delta', 'Militancy in the Niger Delta', 'Conflict in the Niger Delta and Nigeria's External Relations'; and Conflict Resolution and Management in the Niger Delta.' Chapter One which is the introduction highlights the importance of the Niger Delta region to the Nigerian economy. It gives a detailed account of the dynamism witnessed by Nigeria's foreign policy following a boom in the economy in the 1970s as a result of crude oil. Chapter Two provides the conceptual and theoretical basis for the work. Using an eclectic method, a combination of theories (eco-violence, bourgeoisie political economy, frustration-aggression, Primordial-psychological/Ethnic Conflict Theory and linkage theories) is adopted to explain the phenomenon of crisis in the Niger Delta and its impact on Nigeria's international relations. The adoption of several theories is necessitated by the complex nature of crisis in the region. Chapter Three gives an overview of Nigeria from the precolonial, colonial to the post-colonial period. The chapter examines the change from an agrarian economy to an oil-dependent and its implication for the Nigerian economy and polity. The chapter concludes that dependence on oil has resulted in economic and political stability. Chapter Four gives a brief history of the Niger Delta beginning with an overview of the region, including the geographical location, population density, ethnic composition, and living conditions of the people in the region. The chapter will help the reader to appreciate the peculiar nature of the Niger Delta region and how this has contributed to conflict in the area. In Chapter Five, the condition of the Niger Delta region is discussed. The condition of the area to a large extent has been at the heart of the crises that have rocked the region for decades. Decades of oil exploration and negligence on the part of oil companies further compounded the problem of the region through severe environmental problems which have engendered conflict in recent times. Chapter Six gives the historical background to the discovery of oil, joint ventures in the Niger Delta and the switch from an agrarian economy to an oil-dependent economy. In chapter Seven, explorative activities and their impacts on the region and its inhabitants are discussed. The focus here is to show how oil-related activities are responsible for crisis in the Niger Delta. Chapter Eight discusses the causes of crisis in the region with some of the factors identified as resource control, activities of Multinational Oil Companies which cause environmental pollutions, and oppressive legal regimes. The chapter also identifies the role of corrupt Niger Delta in contributing to the crisis while examining the rise of militancy in the region as a consequence of the crisis. To get your copy, scroll up and click the buy button
Anatomy of the Niger Delta crisis: causes, consequences and opportunities for peace is a firm key work providing deep insights into the complex and varied interests that are at play in the Niger Delta of Africa's most populous nation, Nigeria. The nine treatises in this book, unequivocally, identify the primary motivations and major players in the imbroglio that is responsible for the quagmire which the international oil market is faced with today. The bold academic discourses, to a large extent, blame British imperialism, global capitalism and Nigeria's political elites for the situation in the Niger Delta, which has a far reaching global effect. Each of the essays, nonetheless, paints a picture of hope for the distraught communities in the Niger Delta in spite of the dark themes that are the preoccupations of the scholars. That is, if the Nigerian government would approach the Niger Delta crisis with the absolute sincerity that it deserves.
The recent escalation in the violent conflict in the Niger Delta has brought the region to the forefront of international energy and security concerns. This book analyses the causes, dynamics and politics underpinning oil-related violence in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. It focuses on the drivers of the conflict, as well as the ways the crises spawned by the political economy of oil and contradictions within Nigeria's ethnic politics have contributed to the morphing of initially poorly coordinated, largely non-violent protests into a pan-Delta insurgency. Approaching the issue from a number of perspectives, the book offers the most up-to-date and comprehensive analysis available of the varied dimensions of the conflict. Combining empirically-based and analytic chapters, it attempts to explain the causes of the escalation in violence, the various actors, levels and dynamics involved, and the policy challenges faced with regard to conflict management/resolution and the options for peace. It also examines the role of oil as a commodity of global strategic significance, addressing the relationship between oil, energy security and development in the Niger Delta.
The political economy problems of Nigeria, the root cause for ethnic, religious, political and economic strife, can be in part addressed indirectly through focused contributions by the U.S. military, especially if regionally aligned units are more thoroughly employed.
The Niger Delta Region has in the past two decades experienced protracted violent conflicts. At the roots of these violent conflicts are the genuine quests of the people for sustainable development that is based on social justice, equity, fairness and environmental protection. Although richly endowed, the region is hopelessly poor. This paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty has been attributed to a myriad of factors ranging from Nigeria’s centralized federalism, to ethno-regional domination, corruption, poor governance, and oil-related environmental degradation. Development in the Niger Delta is vital not only to the stability and prosperity of Nigeria, but also to global energy security. This book provides unique insights into the challenges of development and peace building in the Niger Delta, and insights into other resource-rich but poverty-stricken, conflict-prone regions of the world.
The constant drumbeat of headlines about Darfur, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Somalia, as well as the other states in Africa that are beleaguered by political instability have made the causes of failed states and intra-state political conflicts a major issue, both academic and practical. Using Harry Eckstein and Ted R. Gurr's congruence-consonance theoretical framework of regime classification, E.C. Ejiogu examines the internal variations of society evident in the Nigerian state to explain why the country experiences political conflict and instability. The first time this theoretical framework has been applied to an African country; E.C. Ejiogu offers a balanced and interdisciplinary analysis of the evolution in the Nigerian political system and the role played by evolved social traits in society. Exploring themes such as colonial rule and legacies, economic development, political authority and religion, Ejiogu insists that it is critical to examine Africa's diverse nationalities in terms of their geography, social, economic and authority patterns as critical elements that are disregarded in accounts of their political development. At a time when the question of state building in Africa is still unresolved, this timely book is a major contribution to the literature on transition processes in African politics and is particularly relevant to scholars and policy makers wanting to grapple with the issues associated with Africa's political disorder and the other social problems it spawns.
Master's Thesis from the year 2021 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Peace and Conflict Studies, Security, grade: 8.5, University of Port Harcourt, course: Master's in Conflict and Security Studies, language: English, abstract: The paper is about amnesty, the Niger delta conflict and the conceptual Framework like the concept of amnesty and the concept of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration. The research examined the impact of the Federal Government’s 2009 Amnesty programme for ex-militants in the Niger Delta. The focus was on security, and development in the region; it also focused on oil pipeline vandalism. The study made use of the Conflict Transformation theory. The central thesis of conflict transformation theory is that contemporary violent conflicts require interventions than transcend more than a mere change of position and the identification of win-win outcomes. The study utilized mainly qualitative methods – the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and In-Depth Interviews (IDI). Secondary sources of data collection such as journals, articles, books government publication, internet articles and newspapers were also utilized; the data were descriptively analysed. The sampling technique employed for the study was the purposive sampling to select the audience for the FGDs and IDIs. The findings revealed that the amnesty programme was able to address the security problem in the region to enable government to successfully carry out oil exploration and increase the nations earning from oil production. The findings also revealed that issues relating to governance and development in the region are still a fundamental problem in need of dire solutions. The research recommends the following: The federal government should push for restructured Nigeria. The federal government should look into ways to improving on the present programme on Niger Delta; oil cooperation’s must be made to participate in providing basic amenities in the Region; the federal government must prioritize the clean –up of the region due to continuous oil spill and pollution in the environment.
This paper attempts to explain the determinants of the propensity to armed struggle and the probability of participation by individuals in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria using primary (micro) data. While grievance appears to be pervasive among individuals and communities in the region and can be systematically explained, neither the grievance level nor its commonly cited causal factors appear to be strong enough to create a disposition toward armed rebellion. Rather, factors that reduce the opportunity cost and risk of participation or increase the perceived benefits appear to be more important. The study identifies three of these factors that are amenable to the policymaker's (government's) control as income level, educational attainment, and government presence.
