Causes and cures of oil-related Niger Delta conflicts

Abstract

Nigeria’s political and economic fortunes and the country’s ability to play a stabilizing role in the African region partly depend on the resolution of the lingering Niger Delta conflict. The Niger Delta covers nine out of 36 states and 185 out of 774 local government areas of the Nigerian federation. It occupies a total land area of 75,000 square kilometers and is the world’s third largest wetlands. The 2006 Nigerian population census shows that 30 million out of the country’s 140 million people reside in the Niger Delta region. Nearly all of Nigeria’s oil and gas reserves are located in the region. Oil and gas have accounted for about 40 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) since 1990. Between 2000 and 2004, oil and gas accounted for 75 per cent of total government revenues and 97 per cent of foreign exchange. Apart from being vital to Nigeria’s fiscal viability, the Niger Delta is important to global energy security.