THE STATE AND MANAGEMENT OF RESOURCE BASED CONFLICT IN NIGERIA’S NIGER DELTA

Abstract

The oil producing states in Nigeria have for a long time agitated for development and increased revenue from oil. The Federal Government on its part has used different antics and intrigues to pacify the people, ranging from Niger-Delta Development
Board 1958 to the Ministry of Niger-Delta in 2008. The principle of derivation as regard revenue allocation to these states has ranged between 1.5% (1984), nonexistent (1979), to 13% in Abacha’s 1999 Constitution. The devastations, neglect of the Oil Producing Communities through environmental degradation, pollution, lowering finance and finance that is not commensurate with pains and output from oil resulted in grievances of the people. The people’s continual agitations through protests, youth restiveness, reactive pacifism all these climaxed to outright military confrontation with the state. Using Ex-Post-Facto research design and anchoring analysis on, Frustration Aggression theory, this article aimed at ascertaining whether the mere continuous change of name of the agency of government charged with Niger Delta affairs in response to the yearnings of those who produce 82% of all Federal revenue in the country is sufficient or whether a paradigm shift is needed on the part
of the Nigerian State. The findings include dearth of infrastructures, underdevelopment, and widespread restiveness indicating that amnesty and mere change of name for developmental interventionist agencies are not enough. The study therefore recommends a paradigm shift through constitutional provisions in handling the Niger Delta crisis in the form of increasing derivation revenue to not less than 25%.