CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

The Niger Delta Region, henceforth to be referred to as NDR, is one of the most talked about regions in the world next to the Middle East‖ (Bassey 2011:5). The region is believed to be one of the most blessed regions in the world both in human and natural resources. Suffice to say that the unfavourable manner in which these resources have been harnessed over time has been the bane of the region‘s predicament. This has exposed the people of the region to divergent numbers of health and socio-economic hazards which for a long time has made the region volatile and slippery. Youth restiveness, kidnapping, oil bunkering and intercommunity-cum-multinational conflicts between youths and community leaders, youths and government agencies, youths and multinational companies are the major areas of conflict and stakeholders in the region in general. Efforts by government and multinational companies (operating in the area) to address the scenario of wanton destruction of lives and property as well as impingement on the exploration process of crude oil, refining and distribution of petroleum products have not yielded the desired result.

The issuance of press statement by multinational corporations, donors and government agencies, stating the number of developmental project to host communities, (where oil minerals are being tapped) could drive home the disposition that these corporations and agencies are doing a lot to address development challenges and needs of the region, however, what is on ground is indeed a far-cry from what is actually needed to ameliorate the plight of the people. Considering the amount of deprivation and damage the activities of the multinational corporations which are into crude oil exploration has caused the people in the region several levels of environmental degradation which has led to low agricultural yield, destruction of aquatic life, home displacement and migration. Though the extant multinational companies operating in the area has done enough to manage the environment, their efforts have not been transformed into improving the environment or the lives the people (Nkoro 2005).

Another factor that many observers have noted that may have fuelled the tension in the region is the failure of the multinational corporations to meet with their promises to the host communities. Some community representatives – community heads and youth leaders – who negotiate deals with the companies on behalf of their respective communities, are altruistic. They are more interested in selfish gains than to the common good of their respective communities (Nkoro 2005). Presently, some of the problems confronting the various communities in the NDR include: environmental degradation, poor health facilities, inadequate, and in some cases lack of transportation facilities, land and poor housing, polluted soil as a result of crude oil exploitation, insecurity, poor educational facilities, epileptic electricity supply where it exists, lack of portable drinkable water, lack of access to credit facilities, unemployment and corrupt practices. 

The amount of abandoned buildings in most of the rural communities in the region today is a testament that people are moving from the rural communities to urban centres for better living. This is due to government policies that are urban biased in terms of provision of social amenities. In addition to these, the people are faced with declining food crop yields from their farms, lack of accessible roads and facilities for the transportation of farm produce. This trend is also observed to be worsening the situation in the few urban centres where there is little or no economic fortune. 

1.1       Background of the Study

The Niger-Delta according to Osah (2013) is made up of States covered by delta basins of the Niger River in Nigeria. It is a region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil. The area was the British Oil Rivers Protectorate from 1885 until 1893, when it was expanded and became the Niger Coast Protectorate. The Niger Delta is located in Atlantic Coast of southern Nigeria where River Niger divides into numerous tributaries. It is the second largest delta in the world with a coastline spanning about 450 kilometres terminating at the Imo River entrance (Awosika, 1995). The region spans over 20,000 square kilometres and it has been described as the largest wetland in Africa and among the three largest in the world (CLO, 2002). About 2,370 square kilometres of the Niger Delta area consist of rivers, creeks and estuaries and while stagnant swamp covers about 8600 square kilometres. The delta, with mangrove swamps spanning about 1900 square kilometres has the largest mangrove swamps in Africa, (Awosika, 1995). The region consists of nine states in southern Nigeria and includes Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and River States.

The peoples of the Niger Delta are, like other Nigerians, highly diverse culturally. Historical differences in their political behaviour have been imposed by their peculiar riverine geography in which isolated settlements on the little available dry land, surrounded by mazes of an atomizing creeks, fostered small ancient city-states and kingdoms such as Bonny, Brass, Akassa, Kalahari, Okrika, Nembe, Ogoni, Opobo, Bassan, Andoni, Itsekiri and Urhobo, which were contemporaries to their much larger neighbouring Old Calabar, Arochukwu Trading political behaviour among the peoples of the Niger Delta, than among those Nigerians who were traditionally used to more centralized authority. Youth alienation, dissent and radicalism have bordered on open rebellion against unemployment, frustration and exclusion from the flourishing petroleum economy of the delta. In their more confrontational attitude towards constituted authority, it is not unusual for the youths of the Niger Delta to dethrone and desecrate traditional authority whenever they suspect that their chiefs and kings have colluded with oil companies to deprive them of what they consider their legitimate benefits from petroleum. 

Another backlash of youth unemployment and alienation in the Niger Delta is their atavistic recourse to organized resistance and tactics similar to that which their ancient kings employed in colonial days against the British. Just as King Jaja of Opobo (1821 - 1891) resisted British traders and missionaries, proclaimed the autonomy of Opobo, which he founded, and controlled the supply of palm oil to European merchants, through recourse to arms and African Traditional Religion, some youths in the Niger Delta have resorted to cultism in their quest for similar control of their natural resources. Ethnically, the people of the

Niger Delta comprise those in Rivers and Bayelsa States (Kalahari, lkwerre, ljo, Okrika, lbani,

Nembe, Ekpeye, Ogba, Engenni, Epie-Atissa); Akwalbom State (Ibibio, Anang, Oron); Delta State (Urhobo, lgbo, Isoko, Itsekiri, ljo); Ondo State (Yoruba, ljollaje); Edo State (Edo,

Etsakos, Yoruba, lgbirra, Okpameri); Cross River (Efik, Ejagham, Bekwarra), and the lgbo in Abia and Imo States. These are the indigenous peoples of the oil fields of the Niger Delta. Besides, since the great-grandfathers of today's Niger Delta youths were oil merchants, there is a perceived need for continuity and participation or control in the oil business.

The Niger Delta with an estimated population of about 41.5 million people is famous in Africa due to its geographical location and remarkable oil revenue, which accounts for about 96 percent of Nigeria‘s foreign earning (Agbu, 2005; Jike, 2005). The region has gained international limelight since the 15th century following the arrival of Portuguese explorers in its kingdoms, such as Bonny, Warri, and Benin in Rivers, Delta, and Edo States, respectively.

Community interaction with the explorers showed that collective action and social movements have been established in the region. The Niger Delta people were vocal in the resistance against colonialism and during the struggle for Nigeria‘s independence. For instance, in the affairs of the Igbo-led Eastern Region, the Ijaws challenged their marginalization and demanded for infrastructure, including roads, water, and electricity, schools, and health

institutions. 

Despite several demands, however, inadequate infrastructure remains a major problem in the Niger Delta. For example, the average number of health facilities and primary health centres in the Niger Delta were 296 and 271, respectively, which were far lower than the national averages of 395 and 370. Also while the average number of public primary school in the region was 956, that of the average national figure was 1,371 (National Bureau of Statistics-NBS, 2006). The logic of recurrent agitations, violence and militia movements derives from the lingering deprivation of people in the region. Major Isaac Adaka Boro, an Ijaw youth from Kaiama, led the foremost Niger Delta attempt to secede from Nigeria in 1966 (Omoweh, 2003; Akinwumi, 2004). The secession movement was driven by renewed interests in the negotiation for the development of Nigeria Delta as provided for in various documents.

During various constitutional conferences prior to 1960 when Britain officially granted Nigeria political independence, the Niger Delta was recognized as an area for special development. 

The 1960 Independence and 1963 Republican Constitution provided a special right for areas with oil/gas resources and spelt out that 50% of the royalty derived from oil/gas exploration should be paid to oil/gas producing areas. Subsequently, Nigerian governments modified the constitutional provisions, discontinued royalty payments, and adopted the derivation principle for revenue allocation to oil/gas producing areas (Rilwan, 2014). The 50% derivation principle adopted after the Nigerian civil war (1967-70) was dropped to 1.5%, 3%, until it was increased to its current rate of 13% after much debate (Dafinone, 2007). The motion for increasing the current rate of revenue allocation to the Niger Delta was a major factor that led to the abrogation of the Nigerian National Conference (Confab) of 2005. The

Confab-like existing state actions failed to address the fundamental issues of nation building in Nigeria where different development agencies, such as the Niger Delta Development Board

(NDDB) in 1961, the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority (NDBDA), the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC) in 1992, and the NDDC in 2000

have been established. 

The OMPADEC was expected to mediate between the oil companies and the communities, as well as receive and administer the monthly allocation from the federation account in accordance with confirmed oil–production ratio in each state of the Niger Delta (Osuntawa and Nwilo 2005; Okonta, 2006; Sanya, 2006). The OMPADEC performed

unsatisfactorily as it only provided electricity and pipe- borne water to some villages, while most of its funds were misappropriated. A major limitation of OMPADEC was corruption, which was so entrenched that in quick succession its first two sole administrators, Albert K. Horsfall and Professor Eric Opia, were removed.

The poor performance of OMPADEC could be attributed to insufficient regulatory mechanisms to monitor its activities. In the first three years of its establishment, OMPADEC commenced projects worth $500 million, but the bulk of the money was said to have been paid to contractors whose addresses could not be traced (Sanya, 2006). Other major problems that confronted the OMPADEC included the inadequate funds and its eventual politicization. The federal government reportedly withheld about N41 billion due to the commission. Politically, the federal government reorganized the commission three times and replaced its Director (Opia from Delta State) with an Assistant Inspector General of Police, AlhajiBukar Ali (Omotola, 2007). The failure of the OMPADEC to significantly contribute towards the development of the Niger Delta served as motivation in the search for alternative institutional measures resulting in the establishment of the Niger Delta Development Commission-NNDC. 

Similarly, some Niger Delta States established different development agencies such, as River Basin Development Authorities, Ondo State Oil-Producing Areas Development

Commission (OSOPADEC), and Delta State Oil-Producing Development Commission (DESOPADEC). Some Nigerian governments provided substantial financial resources for various development agencies to tackle underdevelopment in the Niger Delta (Frynas, 2001;

Agbu, 2005) but many of the agencies became moribund and socio-economic situations in the Niger Delta remain deplorable. The state of the Niger Delta infrastructure (roads, pipe-borne water, and health facilities) remains poor (Agbu, 2005; Jike, 2005). This situation depicts flaws in extant responses towards the development of the Niger Delta and provides

justification for the rising spate of agitations for resource control. 

The famous Ogoni uprising, spearheaded by Ken Saro- Wiwa‘s Movement for the Survival of Ogoni (MOSOP) people remains legendary. Agitations have become popular strategies in negotiating for state social welfare in the Niger Delta. Following the recommendations of key leaders from the Niger Delta, the former Nigerian President (Chief Olusegun Obasanjo) presented a Bill to the National Assembly for the establishment of NDDC to ensure peace and stability. The NDDC commenced operations from the offices of the defunct OMPADEC and launched a new master plan for the development of the Niger Delta. The master plan has been applauded yet it has not been achieved due to the mundane approaches of the NDDC. The NDDC attracts funds from various sources, such as the Federal

Government account, grants-in-aid from international agencies and statutory contributions from MOC and the Niger Delta states. However, some state governments and MOC have been reluctant to contribute towards meeting the level of funding needed for NDDC projects.

Though the NDDC had mapped out development projects and constructed new roads to remote communities, it has not been able to transform the region. Furthermore, the continuing uneven distribution of development interventions and projects, high headed of multinational corporations, the decision of the administration of President Muhammadu

Buhari to end the amnesty programme granted the militants in the region by Late President Umaru Musa Yar‘Adua as well as military operations in the area has led to new wave of militancy by Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) splinter groups.

These splinter groups are Niger Delta People‘s Volunteer Force; the Niger Delta Liberation

Front; Niger Delta Avengers; Biafra Avengers; Red Egbesu Water Lions; Asawana Deadly

Force of the Niger Delta, the Adaka Boro Marine Commandos; the Utorogon Liberation

Movement; Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force; and the Joint Revolutionary Council of the

Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force.  Also, the Red Scorpion; the Ultimate Warriors of the Niger Delta; the Niger Delta Red Squad; Niger Delta Vigilante; the Niger Delta Greenland

Justice Mandate; the Ijaw/Oduduwa Militant Movement (in Ogun and Lagos States) (Mayah, 2016)  

A Brief History of Bayelsa State

Bayelsa State was created on October 1, 1996 out of the old Rivers State. The name,

Bayelsa, is an acronym of three former Local Government areas – Brass,Yenagoa and Sagbama in the then Rivers State, which had earlier on comprised the entire area now constituting Bayelsa State. The then Brass LGA is what makes up the present Nembe, Brass and Ogbia Local Government Areas; the then Yenagoa LGA consist of the present Yenagoa,

Kolokuma/Opokuma and Southern Ijaw Local Government Areas and the then Sagbama LGA is what makes up the present Sagbama and Ekeremor Local Government Areas (Bayelsa State Government, 2016).

The tradition in the old Rivers State, which is still the norm in Bayelsa State now, is the use of acronyms for local government areas. People referred to Brass Local Government Area as BALGA, for short; Yenagoa was simply YELGA, while Sagbama was SALGA. Since personalities from BALGA, YELGA, and SALGA made up the State Creation Movement prior to the 1996 exercise, the proposed name agreed upon was BAYELSA.

According to Clever (2009), Bayelsa State is geographically located within Latitude 04o 15‘ North, 05 o 23‘ South and longitude 05 o 22‘ West and 06 o 45‘ East. It shares boundaries with Delta State on the North, Rivers State on the East and the Atlantic Ocean on the West and South. Bayelsa State is a picturesque tropical rain forest, with an area of about 21,110 square kilometres. More than three quarters of this area is covered by water, with a moderately low land stretching from Ekeremor to Nembe. The area lies almost entirely below sea level with a maze of meandering creeks and mangrove swamps. The network of several creeks and rivers in the South, all flow into the Atlantic Ocean via the major rivers such as San Bartholomew, Brass, Nun, Ramos, Santa Barbara, St. Nicholas, Sangana, Fishtown, Ikebiri Creek, Middleton, Digatoro Creek, Pennington and Dobo. The vegetation here is characterized by the mangrove forest. In the North, it has a thick forest with arable lands for cultivation of various food and cash crops ((Bayelsa State Government, 2016).

There are four main languages in Bayelsa State, which are Izon, Nembe, Ogbia and Epie-Atissa. The predominant religions in the State are Christianity and Traditional worship. Bayelsa State has 24 first class traditional rulers (and many second and third class traditional rulers) recognized by the State Government. The major occupations in the State are fishing, farming, palm oil milling, lumbering, palm wine tapping, and local gin making, trading, carving and weaving. Bayelsa State is a major oil and gas producing state and it contributes over 30% of Nigeria‘s oil production. These are hundreds of oil wells and flow stations across the state. Oloibiri in Ogbia Local Government Area of the state is where oil was first struck in Nigeria in commercial quantities in 1956. 

Gas production activities are currently being intensified in the State. The LNG Gas Supply Plant that supplies 53% of the gas feedstock to the LNG plant in Bonny is located in Oluasiri in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. There is a proposed network of associated gas gathering pipelines from the Nembe Creek oilfields to the LNG plant. The major oil exploration and production companies operating in the State are Shell, Agip and

ChevronTexaco. The Kolo Creek Gas Turbine Project owned by the Bayelsa State Government supplies electricity to Yenagoa, the State Capital, and surrounding towns and villages. In addition to oil and gas, the State has large reserves of clay, sand and gravel‘s of importance to the industrial sector. With all these resources‘, the state is faced with environmental problems (Niger Delta Budget Monitoring Group, 2014).

The State has contributed immensely to the development of the Country by virtue of the mineral resources tapped from the State by the companies based on licenses granted by the Federal Government of Nigeria. The State has very large deposits of crude oil and natural gas, amongst others. It is worthy of note that crude oil was first produced in commercial quantities in Nigeria at Oloibiri in the present day Bayelsa State almost sixty years ago. Crude oil and gas are being exploited in several other locations in Bayelsa State for several decades now. The major Oil Companies operating in Bayelsa State are The Shell Petroleum Development

Company of Nigeria Limited, Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited, Chevron/Texaco Nigeria

Limited and Con Oil Nigeria Limited (Wodu, 2014).

These Companies have their operational facilities dotted all over Bayelsa State from where they drill crude oil and gas. But quite regrettably none of these multinational oil companies has operational offices in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. Rather they have their operational offices in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri and in other States of the Country. It is from these locations that their operations are co – ordinated and managed. Management decisions, employments and contracts are made from these operational offices. In these locations, they have very large state of the art modern office and residential complexes. Some of these estates are comparable to those available in the developed world, if not better. Some of these structures are skyscrapers and some of these estates are built on tens of hectares of land.

Several thousands of persons are employed in these operational offices outside Bayelsa State (Wodu, 2014).

Several other big multi – national and indigenous oil industry service Companies are also located where the operational offices of the Oil Companies are located. This is because they must relate with these oil companies in their operational offices where the managers and Executives are, in order to secure businesses, which are dependent on the oil companies. These service companies in turn have big operational offices in these locations with several thousands of employees and residential and office premises. The plight of the people of Bayelsa State has been aggravated by the fact that it is the State and its people that bear the brunt of the oil and gas operations in the Country due to the consistent degradation of the environment by incessant crude oil spillages across the State. Our environment is in a grave state of devastation and despoliation (Wodu, 2014). The Companies do not carry out appropriate remediation of the degraded environment and neither is adequate compensation paid for the damage occasioned by the frequent spillages. The foregoing situation legally amounts to discrimination against the people of Bayelsa State, contrary to the provisions of Section 42(1) of the Constitution (Wodu, 2014).

1.2       Statement of the Research Problem

Since the discovery of crude oil in the 1952/53 in Nigeria, the NDR, more than any other region, has affected the socio-cultural and economic development of the region. The growth of the country‘s oil industry, combined with a population explosion and a lack of enforcement of environmental regulations, has led to substantial damage to NDR‘s environment. These damages have found expression in oil-spillages, conflicts, kidnapping, intercommunity violence, bunkering and many immodest activities which have affected both the human and environmental mind of the NDR. Worse, the identity of the NDR has been formed by the activities of crude oil exploration and extractive industries rather than the innate cultural forms of the people. One of the salient problems of the region is the fact that their existences are controlled by the activities multinational extractive companies which have emerged to be the new god. Nonetheless, conflicts in Bayelsa State did not arise directly as a result of oil spillage as many scholars believed. The poor responses of the extractive industries to oil spillage constitute the major problems. 

Crises in Bayelsa state occur when oil spillages are poorly managed and the means of livelihood of the host communities are destroyed. In most of the cases, conflicts are fuelled, not because of the spillage itself but because of the poor communication strategy employed by both the government agencies and extractive industries. Gas flaring, poor health facilities, environmental degradation, mistrust between communities hosting extractive industries and ecological annihilation are some of the seen problems facing communities in Bayelsa State.

However, these are only on the facade. The root problem lies on the inability of both government agencies and extractive industries to agglutinate the needs of host communities into their communication plan. The needs of communities are usually a matter of assumptions, guesses or a-one-man speakabiltiy for all rather than a participatory sampling of the needs of the people. Efforts such as schools, pipe borne water, monetary settlements, roads, have been put in place to reduce conflicts in the state yet the conditions of the peoples have not been improved. Thus, poor communication strategy or protracted communication constitutes the major problem facing the communities in Bayelsa State.

1.4       Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of this study is to appraise the current strategies used by the stakeholders in the Niger

Delta conflicts and suggest an alternative approach to managing the Niger-Delta conflict.

The study objectives seek to:

1.     Identify the communication strategies use by the government and the multinational companies in solving the Niger Delta crises especially in Bayelsa State.

2.     Find out the effectiveness of the communication strategies used Suggest an alternative communication strategy in resolving the Niger Delta conflict especially in Bayelsa

State.

3.     Compare the current strategies being used with the new one been suggested.

4.     Suggest alternative communication strategy in resolving the Niger Delta conflict especially in Bayelsa State

1.5       Research Questions

Based on the research objective, the following research questions were drawn to guide the study.

1.     What are the communication strategies used in resolving the Niger Delta conflict especially in Bayelsa State?

2.     Are the communication strategies effective in resolving the Niger Delta conflict especially in Bayelsa State?

3.     Are the people benefiting from of communication strategies in resolving the Niger

Delta conflict especially in Bayelsa State?

4.     What other communication approach could be used in resolving the Niger Delta conflict especially in Bayelsa State?

1.6       Significance of the Study

The study would suggest an approach that will be beneficial to all the stakeholders involved in the Niger Delta conflict, arising from oil spillage and other environmental hazards. The study will also show the need for government, the multinational oil and gas companies to embrace development communication strategies, in resolving conflicts. The findings from this study will assist government, multinational companies, organisations, communities, corporate bodies and individuals in resolving conflicts. The research intends to contribute to the large narratives or conversation about the NDR and more so from a communication perspective. The work will also serve as a reference for other researchers on similar topic.

1.7     Scope of the Study

The scope of this study was limited to appraising the use of the communication strategies adopted and used in addressing the lingering conflict in the Niger Delta. The study was further limited to Bayelsa State out of the seven states that make up the Niger Delta namely Akwa

Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and River State. The study was based on the theoretical framework of Environmental communication. The research was carried out using the quantitative with the objectives of assessing the communication strategies used in resolving the Niger Delta conflict as well as its effectiveness. The outcome of the assessment would provide the research with the opportunity to advance other alternative conflict resolution communication approaches that would bring about sustainable armistice, growth and development of the state in particular and the region in general.    

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