The Concept of Niger Delta and Oil Politics in Nigeria from the Pre-colonial Era to the Recent Past

Abstract

Nigerian Niger Delta is known across the globe due to its economic importance related to oil exploration by multinational companies and the related massive coverage of news about the region by international press. A lot has therefore been written about the region, but scholarship is yet to systematically examine the history of the Niger Delta and oil politics in the area during the post-colonial era. This paper therefore critically examines how the concept of the Niger Delta developed and how it has been a factor in the Nigerian politics. The paper adopts an historical-analytical approach, relying on information obtained from primary and secondary sources from archives, newspapers, oral interviews, online sources, and different publications. The paper sheds light on various challenges in the region which over the years have heightened the discourse on the Niger Delta. It argues that the firm grip exacted on the concept of Niger Delta by many forces clearly demonstrates the resilience of multiple stakeholder interests over the region. Although the article focusses on Nigeria, the thrust of its analysis and argument is relevant to Africa in general, and specifically to countries such as Tanzania, Uganda, Southern Sudan and Kenya, where an extraction-based economy has been evolving in recent decades.