The Unfinished Revolution in Nigerias Niger Delta
The 1990s heralded waves of spectacular forms of local resistance and globalized protest against oil exploitation and environmental pollution in oil-producing regions of the developing world. One of the most spectacular local uprisings against global oil multinationals was led by the Ogoni people who were protesting against the exploitation and marginalization of oil-producing ethnic minority communities in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. However, the hanging on November 10, 1995 of nine Ogoni ethnic minority and environmental justice activists, including Ken Saro-Wiwa, only served to exacerbate protests in later years. Within a decade, dozens of locally rooted insurgent groups emerged in the Niger Delta and construed themselves as part of the social movement for ethnic minority rights and environmental justice which dates back to colonial times. However, the trajectory of the revolutionary momentum has changed over time, reflecting a mix of progressive, opportunistic and retrogressive trends.
This book provides a critical study of the trajectory of struggles in the Niger Delta since 1995, paying attention to continuities and changes, including recent developments linked to the shift from local resistance, to the rupturing of the Presidential Amnesty peace deal (largely to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) and the resurgence low-intensity sporadic armed militancy led by the Niger Delta Avengers militia among others. The contributors critically interrogate the nature of the regions political economy, socio-economic trends and trajectories over the past two decades. This collection also accentuates the lessons learnt, prospects for self-determination, socio-economic and environmental justice and peace in the aftermath of the hanging.
Cyril Obi, Social Science Research Council (SSRC), New York, USA.
Temitope B. Oriola, University of Alberta, Canada.
Routledge Studies in Peace, Conflict and Security in Africa
Edited by Cyril Obi
Social Science Research Council, New York, USA
1 The International Criminal Court and Peace Processes in Africa
Judicialising Peace
Line Engbo Gissel
2 The Unfinished Revolution in Nigerias Niger Delta
Prospects for Environmental Justice and Peace
Edited by Cyril Obi and Temitope B. Oriola
For more information about this series, please visit: http://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Studies-in-Peace-Conflict-and-Security-in-Africa/book-series/RSPCSA
The Unfinished Revolution in Nigerias Niger Delta
Prospects for Environmental Justice and Peace
Edited by Cyril Obi and Temitope B. Oriola
First published 2018
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Contents
Notes on contributors
CYRIL OBI AND TEMITOPE B. ORIOLA
KIALE NYIAYANA
SAMUEL OYEWOLE
DAMILOHUN D. AYOYO AND TEMITOPE B. ORIOLA
MITERAND M. OKORIE
ADEROJU OYEFUSI
ABOSEDE OMOWUMI BABATUNDE
CHIBUZOR CHILE NWOBUEZE AND JAMES OKOLIE-OSEMENE
TEMITOPE B. ORIOLA AND IBIKUNLE ADEAKIN
Contributors
Ibikunle Adeakin is a lecturer in the Department of History and International Studies, Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, Nigeria. His research interests include political economy of Nigeria, militant insurgency in the Niger Delta and Islamism and populism in Nigeria.
Damilohun D. Ayoyo is a doctoral student in criminology and socio-legal studies, Department of Sociology, University of Alberta, Canada. His research interest encompasses the differential impacts of policing, armed conflicts/insurgencies and terrorism, state-sponsored violence/crime and social movements. He has published articles in reputable journals such as Social Movement Studies and Sociology.
Abosede Omowumi Babatunde lectures at the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin, Nigeria. She holds a Ph.D. in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Dr. Babatunde is a member of the Society for Peace Studies and Practice (SPSP), Nigeria; International Peace Research Association (IPRA); and Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA). She has been awarded several distinguished academic fellowships such as the African Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow (2010) and the American Council of Learned Societies and the Research Fellowship in Peace Studies (2013) at the Consortium for Peace Studies, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She is a 2016 Individual Research Grantee of the African Peacebuilding Network of the Social Science Research Council (APN/SSRC). She is a 2017/2018 Fellow of the Rachel Carson Centre for Environment and Society, Ludwig-Maximillian University, Munich, Germany. Her research interests include conflict resolution with emphasis on traditional models of conflict resolution, resource governance, human rights and security, peacebuilding and gender.
Chibuzor Chile Nwobueze is a senior lecturer in the Department of History and Diplomatic Studies, Rivers State University of Education, Nigeria. He holds a Ph.D. in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. His research focuses on issues of human development and conflict transformation particularly in situations of complex conflict and intractable youth violence. He is involved in peacebuilding training programs, and with the development of peace and conflict studies curricula. He is a member of Society for Peace Studies and Practice (SPSP).
Kialee Nyiayaana is a senior lecturer in the Department of History and Diplomatic Studies, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. He was a 2013 Individual Research Grantee of the African Peacebuilding Network of the Social Science Research Council (APN/SSRC). He was also a research fellow at the Centre of Criminology, University of Cape Town between January 2015 and March 2015. He was an African Leadership Centres Peace, Security and Development Fellow at Kings College, London between September 2013 and October 2014. Dr. Nyiayaana was a 2008/2009 Junior Fulbright Scholar at the Department of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nova Southeastern University, Florida. His teaching, research interests and area of specialization include ethnic identity politics and conflicts in Nigeria; the United Nations in international peacebuilding; conflict resolution, peace and security; and small arms proliferation and conflicts. His publications appear in several international journals such as
