Paper long abstract:

The Niger-Delta region is one of the oil rich and the most volatile regions of the world. Prior to the September 11 attack on the US, the US Department of State in its annual briefings on global terrorism labeled the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria as the “ground zero of Nigerian oil production” as well as “a volatile breeding ground for militant impoverished ethnic groups” .The violent upsurge in the region is largely attributed to the peculiar nature of Nigeria’s political economy as an oil dependent neo-patrimonial state in which oil resources and oil rents are central in shaping national political discourse.

Furthermore, there are colossal research evidences on the role of the Nigerian state and oil companies on the current vicious cycle of petro-violence as well as peace-building and conflict management initiatives. Thus this paper aims at examining the major trajectories of the Niger-Delta conflicts. Emphasis will be laid on the glaring paradox between constant state orchestrated peace-building strategies in order to pacify the region vis-à-vis the intensification of anti-oil protest that rocked the oil producing communities of the region since the 1990s.

Specific Objectives-:

(a) Examine the nature of the petro-violence in the Niger-Delta region

(b) The role of the state and oil companies in peace-building and crisis management

(c) Failure of sustainable peace-building strategy