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The Niger Delta, Oil Politics and the Nigerian State

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Nigerian Politics

Abstract

Regardless of the perspectives from which it is looked at, national or international, ecology or geopolitics, Nigeria’s Niger Delta is a unique region. Though an important biodiversity hotspot, the geostrategic significance of the region within Nigeria and at the international stage has much to do with its abundant reserves of proven oil and gas deposit. Hardly could anything be written about the political economy of Nigeria outside of the oil discourse and the way it has impacted the nation’s politics, economic development, governance process, foreign policy and ethnic relations.

This chapter gives a background discussion on oil, agitational politics and the Nigerian state oil-impacted governance crisis. It assesses the contribution of the oil industry to the Nigerian economy and analyses the place of oil and revenue from it on the political economy of Nigeria from the humble beginning of the nation’s oil production history in 1958 till date. It looks at the nature of oil-induced protests, agitations and conflicts in the Niger Delta and assesses the responses of the Nigerian state and oil multinational companies to mounting grievances in the region.

A substantial part of this essay was reproduced from a chapter in one of the authors’ Doctoral Thesis submitted to the School of International Studies, the Northern University of Malaysia in July, 2011.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria

    Luqman Saka & Adedoyin J. Omede

  2. School of International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok, Malaysia

    Moh’d Azizuddin Moh’d Sani

Authors
  1. Luqman Saka
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  2. Moh’d Azizuddin Moh’d Sani
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  3. Adedoyin J. Omede
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Correspondence to Luqman Saka .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Political Science, Federal University Lokoja, Ido - Ekiti, Nigeria

    Rotimi Ajayi

  2. Department of Political Science, Federal University Lokoja, Lokoja, Nigeria

    Joseph Yinka Fashagba

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Saka, L., Moh’d Sani, M., Omede, A. (2021). The Niger Delta, Oil Politics and the Nigerian State. In: Ajayi, R., Fashagba, J.Y. (eds) Nigerian Politics. Advances in African Economic, Social and Political Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50509-7_17

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