The historical background of the Niger Delta crisis

The Niger Delta is made up of nine states out of the thirty (36) that make up the Federal Republic of Nigeria. These states are Delta. The states of Edo, Rivers, Bayelsa, Cross-Rivers, Ondo, Imo, Abia and Akwa-Ibom are located in the southern part of the country. The Niger Delta covers an area of ​​about 70,000 square kilometers and with an estimated population of 25 million people. The region consists of more than forty different ethnic groups, speaking different languages. Furthermore, the dominant occupation of the people is agriculture and fishing.

The crisis in this region that has lasted for many decades and has caused a great loss of human and material resources is due to the following factors, as will be explained later.

(1) THE OBVIOUS DETERIORATION OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE VERY LOW LEVEL OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE AREA

The discovery of crude oil at Oloibiri and the rural community of Ijaw in the Niger Delta by Shell in May 1958 set the stage for a major change in a country’s economic fortunes. Many companies were contracted to explore the area and within a short time full exploration activities began and Nigeria became a major crude oil exporting country. Nigeria had been earning a large amount of foreign exchange from this lucrative oil business which represents a major infrastructure development in the country. Ironically, such infrastructure development is not visible in the Niger Delta, where this crude is extracted. The federal allocation that is being disbursed to the oil-producing states is in no way comparable to the amount of economic resources that leaves the Region annually. It is disheartening to see that many of the communities in the Niger Delta that had witnessed massive exploration and exploitation of crude oil still live in extreme poverty. These people do not have access to basic services such as good roads, schools, portable drinking water, housing, and other relevant social infrastructure. In addition, the level of visible infrastructure development in cities such as Lagos and Abuja, a former capital and current capital territory of Nigeria, respectively, which is made possible by the huge foreign exchange earned from exporting crude oil, compared to the that prevail in the Niger Delta, shows the level of marginalization suffered by communities in the Niger Delta. With the aforementioned situation, the coming crisis is inevitable.

(2) THE OPERATING STANDARD OF THE OIL COMPANIES AND BUSINESSES PRESENT IN THE AREA.

The Niger Delta region of Nigeria has witnessed massive oil exploration for many decades with major multinational companies such as Shell, Chevron, Texaco and many others spearheading these activities. It must be said that these oil companies operate well below the standard expected of them. The exploration and exploitation of oil companies in the Niger Delta has been more notorious over time. Oil producing areas suffer massive damage as a result of the activities of oil companies. Oil companies have operated for many decades in the Niger Delta without a standard environmental impact assessment. A situation that is unacceptable in developed countries. The people of the Niger Delta are subject to facing oil spills and environmental degradation as a result of the activities of oil companies.

The corporate responsibility of oil companies and other businesses in the area is below the international standard and this has been undermined by the Nigerian federal government.

(3) THE DEFICIENT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FEDERAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IN NIGERIA, THE DESIRE FOR CONTROL OF RESOURCES AND THE HIGH HAND OF THE GOVERNMENT.

The federal system of government that was operating in Nigeria, which should have been able to address the problem of resource control, did not, as the system is distorted. The federal government on many occasions over the steps it limits and this has been exposed to a great extent in oil exploration in Nigeria. Today, the Federal Government annually allocates a percentage of oil revenues to the country’s oil-producing states. This should not be the case in a functional federal system. Regional governments must manage the economic resources available in their areas and pay taxes to the federal government, since this is the norm in other countries where the federal system is the order of the day, with the United States of America as a typical example.

The craving for control of resources has led to several internal crises and demonstrations in the Niger Delta, especially with the government’s continued display of marginalization and insensitivity to the plight of the people. A practical example of this is the Ogoni community of Rivers State. On August 26, 1990, the Ogoni people issued a bill of rights that was sent to the federal government of Nigeria, demanding political freedom that would guarantee political control of the issue of their land and control of economic resources by the Ogoni people. This demand was rejected, but the Ogoni people, whose case was being spearheaded by MOSOP, did not stop. They intensified their fight, taking their case to various international agencies and organizations. This act eventually led to the execution of human rights activist Ken Saro Wiwa, who was a major figure in the struggle, in 1993 by the then military government headed by General Sani Abacha.

The struggle for control of resources and emancipation has never been solely an Ogoni affair. The Ogba, Itsekhiri, Ijaw, Urhobo and many other communities in the Niger Delta have engaged in ongoing struggle.

In addition, the regional state governments of the oil-producing states in Nigeria have also come together and made a case for increasing the allocation of at least 10% for the development of the Niger Delta, but the federal government only granted 3%. . The overbearing act and callousness of past and present federal governments have been a major contributor to the seemingly never-ending crisis in the region.

(4) THE FUNDAMENTAL ISSUE OF CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA

It has been argued that the Nigerian federal government for many decades did not allocate enough revenue to ensure rapid development in the Niger Delta, which is largely true. But the fundamental question is, what has become of the acclaimed ‘small’ income obtained so far?

It is worth mentioning that there has been no prudent management of resources in the Niger Delta. Agencies established by the federal and state governments to speed up development in the area are used as a means to divert large amounts of money into personal pockets. Personalities of dubious character are appointed to head these bodies, which makes the whole process meaningless. No one can be blamed but the government for failing to adequately control the activities of these agencies, to ensure that they fulfill the purpose for which they were created.

There is a provision in the 1999 Constitution that allocates 13% of total oil revenues to the country’s oil-producing states and also established the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), a federal government agency whose responsibility is to accelerate economic development and provide infrastructure in the area, but these have not served their intended purpose at all.

Some governors of the Niger Delta states are prosecuted for money laundering by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, a body created by the federal government to investigate and prosecute people involved in financial crimes. These governors have siphoned off billions of naira for their personal aggrandizement. Another question that will arise is “if a governor can steal public funds to the tune of billions of naira, won’t that same governor steal more if he is allowed to manage the economic resources in his area when a federal system is fully operational?”

The federal government must seriously address the issue of corruption, which is very present in the government and in the social life of Nigerians. Nothing significant will be achieved in the Niger Delta when corrupt officials are appointed to manage development programs and projects. Likewise, it should be noted that the issue of corruption is a national problem, with Nigeria being classified as one of the most corrupt in the world.