Petroleum Mining, Ecological Damage, and Civil Unrest in the Niger–Delta Area of Nigeria: Implications for Sustainable Agricultural Development

摘要

The Niger-Delta region of Nigeria covers a geographical area of about 70,000 square kilometers,rnand has over 12 million people spread across nine of Nigeria’s thirty-six States. Endowed withrnimmense natural resources, the area produces 97 percent of the country’s crude oil from which thernnation earns 95 to 98 percent of her foreign exchange. However, because of visible neglect byrnsuccessive government administrations of the country, the area has become one of the most volatilernregions characterized by excessive violence and low agricultural output. Arson, armed conflicts,rnabduction of oil company workers, and destruction of life and property are common features in thernsocial upheavals of this region of Nigeria. These have resulted in a confluence of instabilities – social,rneconomic and political. Reasons for the unrest differ from one locale to another: some are caused byrnage-old feuds, while others are directly due to local inhabitants’ reaction to the outright neglect ofrntheir communities and destruction of their environment by activities of companies engaged in oilrnexploration in the area. The consequences have included difficulty in governing the area, poorrninfrastructures, stunted economic progress, low agricultural and piscicultural productivity, and lowrnprivate-sector investment. In fact, the total imbroglio in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria provides arnclassic study in government inaction at a critical time.