NIGER DELTA CRISES; ITS IMPACT ON NIGERIA NATIONAL SECURITY 1960 TO 2009

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

One of the primary responsibilities of the state is to work tooth and nail to make sure the security of the life and property of its citizens is well taken care of. Another responsibility of the state is to protect its territoriality and sovereignty and also the guarantee of its socio-economic and political stability. The protective function of the state has therefore been threatened by local and international terrorism and other terrorism-related activities. This threat to either inflict damage or other form of evil has been illustrated by the September 11, 2001 bombing of the World Trade Centre (WTC) in the United States by the Al-Qaeda terrorist network, other attacks in Spain and Great Britain (Duru and Ogbonnaya, 2010). In Nigeria today, occurrences of kidnapping, hostage-taking and militancy in the Niger Delta region and the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northern states are vital issues to be tackled by the Nigerian government.

Overtime, national security has been one of the major interests in the studies of international relations and strategic studies. In most cases, definitions of national security have primarily been about the protection of states and their citizens from dangers and the ability to preserve central values. In Nigeria, national security is mostly concerned with protection of lives and property of Nigerians, safe guarding her unlimited power, territoriality and its economy, and improving socio-cultural and political unity. To implement these objectives, the idea of total security was embraced and welcomed for Nigeria’s defense and security by the Federal Government. Total security eclipses three elements – Total Defence, Diplomacy and Internal Security. Total Defense is the backbone of Nigeria’s prevention strategy. It provides the framework for a comprehensive and integrated response to deal with all kinds of threats and challenges including global terrorism, national security crisis like Boko Haram and the Niger Delta militancy, and economic crisis (agbu, 2004). It has been argued that total defense, diplomacy and deterrence, as national defense and security policies, are not sufficient to make sure the security of Nigerian state and unproductive in achieving the national security goals. Other analysts on security have also argued that the current security issue encountered by the Nigeria state is capable of making the country penetrable for internal and external subversion and insurrection.

Over the years of disregard and deprivation, together with none responsiveness of succeeding governments and the oil companies, had by the late 1990s created an atmosphere likely to change and characterized by protests, agitations and crises. According to Azigbo (2008:18), the restiveness which started on a mild not as pockets of peaceful demonstrations to the offices of multinational oil companies by community development committees of various host communities, soon degenerated into lock-ins and seizures of oil installations. By 1998, the Niger Delta region had become “an unruly zone, where youths broke apart oil production activities and communities often engaged with little provocation, in destructive inter-and intra-community strife (NDDC, 2004).” The crises in the Niger Delta is visible in numerous ways which are; militancy, hostage taking and kidnapping of oil workers and frequent rupture of oil production activities through the act of destruction of oil and gas installations and facilities. The most important and well-known among the militant groups functioning in the region are the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) which is being led by Henry Okah, the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force (NDPVF) led by Alhaji Asari Dokubo, the Niger Delta Vigilante force (NDVF) led by Ateke Tom, the Bush Boys, the Martyrs Brigade among others. These militant groups have carried out dangerous and dirty attacks on oil and gas facilities with their dangerous weapons. For instance, on March 16, 2003, Shell Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC), Nigeria’s biggest oil producing company, ejected non-essential staff from its facilities in Warri, Delta State, and shut down oil production, the next was a mouth of mounting protest by ethnic Ijaw militant groups that reached the final result in an attack on the Nigerian Navy on the Escravos River that rendered seven people dead, several soldiers wounded, and destroyed riverine travel. The succeeding attacks by militants also killed one Chevron contract worker and five TotalFinalElf (IFE) personnel, while gunfire badly damaged a shell helicopter trying to eject employees. On July 12, 2006, the Movement for the liberation of the Niger Delta (MEND) combatants killed four naval personnel and wounded three soldiers who were escorting a Chevron oil tanker along Chomoni creeks in the Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State. The day before the Governorship and House of Assembly elections on April 14, 2007, well-armed militants attacked the Mini-Okoro, Elelenwo Police Stations, rendering many police officers dead. On Tuesday, January 1, 2008, the Niger Delta Vigilante Force (NDVF) led by Ateke Tom attacked two Police Stations and a five star hotel in Port Harcourt. The list of attacks is long and seemingly endless. The latest was the bomb blast on Eagle Square in Abuja on October 1, 2010 caused by MEND. Capturing and kidnapping people are other operational activities of militant groups in the Niger Delta region. A recent statistics released by Niger Delta Development Monitoring and Corporate Watch (NIDDEMCOW), a non-governmental organization, indicates that between 1999 and 2007, a total of 308 hostage taking incidents happened in the region. Furthermore, the 2003, 18 record shows that oil workers were captured and taken hostage in Bayelsa, in 2004, 5 hostages, 39 in 2006 while between January and June, 2007 69 people were also taken hostage, out of which 50 were soldiers. Within this period stated above, Rivers State recorded 2 incidents in 1999, one in 2005, 55 in 2006 and 60 as at June, 2007, with 26 soldiers, 1 woman and a three year-old child involved. The situation has since then become worse and the spate of militancy, capturing and hostage taking and kidnapping incidents have kept on increasing in scope and tempo eclipsing almost all the oil producing states of Nigeria. The cleverness of the militants operate together  with the highly developed nature of their weapons have rendered all curbing measures useless and also raised questions such as the source of the militants’ weapons and where and how they receive the military experience and training.

Using Nigeria as a focus, this research seeks to examine the security challenge posed by the crises in the Niger Delta region from 1960 to 2009.

1.2. STATEMENT OF THE GENERAL PROBLEM

it is no longer news that Nigeria as a country has had its fair share of crises, ranging from the Nigeria civil war to inter religious crises down to the most recent book haram insurgency and the Niger delta crises. All these over the years has contributed to the deteriorating security of the country which has led to the slow socio economic growth and development as no country can grow or improve without either politically or economically in the mist of crises. Nigeria being a country run by majorly proceeds from crude oil has been seriously hit since the discovery of oil as a result of the Niger delta crises especially in 2009 prior to the administration of late ex-president umaru musa yar’adua who subsequently introduced the amnesty program to forestall further crises in the region. Nothing threatens the unity of a country like crises and wars and this as been evident in the Nigerian history.

1.3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The major aim of the study is to examine the Niger delta crises and its impact on the Nigerian national security from 1960 – 2009. Other specific objectives of the study include;

1. To examine the major causes of Niger delta militancy in the Nigeria.
2. To assess the level of economical damage caused by Niger delta militancy from 2009.
3. To examine the place of crude oil in the escalation and in the reduction of the Niger Delta crisis.
4. To see how regional based crisis affect the survival of the entire country.
5. To recommend ways of improving the security level in the Niger delta in particular and in Nigeria in general

1.4. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study is restricted to the impact of Niger delta crises on Nigeria national crises from 1960-2009.

Limitation of the study

Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.5. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study would be of immense importance to the Nigerian government and other relevant stakeholders as it would reveal the impact of Niger crises and ways of improving the security situation of the country. The study would also be beneficial to students, researchers and scholars who are interested in developing further studies on the Niger delta crises or relevant subject matter.

1.6. RESEARCH METHODS

1.6.1. Research Questions

1. What is the impact of Niger delta crises on the Nigerian national security from 1960-2009?
2. What are the major causes of Niger delta militancy in the Nigeria?
3. What is the level of economical damage caused by Niger delta militancy from 2009?
4. What is the place of crude oil in the escalation and in the reduction of the Niger Delta crisis?
5. How does regional based crisis affect the survival of the entire country?
6. What are the ways of improving the security level in the Niger delta in particular and in Nigeria in general?

1.6.2. Research Hypothesis

H0: Niger delta crises have no impact on the Nigerian national security.

H1: Niger delta crises have a significant impact on the Nigerian national security.

1.7. LITERATURE

The Niger Delta struggle is motivated by the demand for resource control and equitable wealth distribution and protest against the flagrant and damaging (ecological) activities of oil multinational companies (MNCs) operating in the region (Ikelegbe, 2005; Obi, 2010; Oluwaniyi, 2011; Sampson, 2013). According to Ikelegbe (2005) “decades of oil exploitation, environmental degradation and state neglect has created an impoverished, marginalized and exploited citizenry (leading to) a resistance of which the youth has been a vanguard.  The Niger Delta struggle predates the discovery of oil and political independence (Sampson, 2013;Oluwaniyi, 2011). However, its non-violent protest has transformed into what Ikelegbe (2005) describes asa region of intense hostilities, violent confrontations and criminal violence…pervaded by a proliferation of arms and institutions and agencies of violence ranging from the Nigerian Armed Forces to community, ethnic and youth militias, armed gangs and networks, pirates, cultists and robbers (pp.208-209).In response, the Nigerian government has largely favoured the use of force, as carried out mostly by the nation’s Joint Task Force (JTF) (Ojakorotu& Gilbert, 2010; Tessier, 2009). There is evidence also of nonviolent counterterrorism (CT) approaches as would be represented by several government development policies. The Niger Delta Development Board (NDDB) established in 1961 by the Niger Delta Development Act, the Oil and Mineral Producing Area Development Commission (OMPADEC) created by Decree 23 of 1992, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) set up in 2000, and the Ministry of Niger Deltaformed in 2008, are some examples of the development approach adopted by the Nigerian government in countering the insurgency. The 2009 amnesty is the latest of such development strategy.