The changing forms of identity politics in Nigeria under economic adjustment : the case of the oil minorities movement of the Niger Delta

Abstract

This study attempts to capture the transformations in ethnic minority identity politics in the oil-producing areas of the Niger delta. In doing this, attention is simultaneously drawn to the factors informing the shift from peaceful agitation to violent protest as well as the dynamic of decay and renewal in the various ethnic minority movements that are active in the delta. It is suggested that part of the solution to the crisis in the delta will involve not only a thorough-going restructuring of the Nigerian state but also the re-orientation of the mode of operation of the giant oil multinationals in order to make them both more sensitive and accountable to the local communities. ; CONTENTS -- Contending Perspectives on Oil Minorities -- Ethnicity, Ethnic Identity and Ethnic Minorities in the Niger Delta: Some Conceptual Issues.-- Oil Minorities Identity Politics: A Historical Perspective -- From Independence to the Outbreak of the Civil War -- The Nigerian Civil War and the Aftermath: The Changing Fortunes of the Oil Minorities of the Niger Delta -- Economic Crisis, Structural Adjustment and the Changing Forms of Identity Politics of the Oil Minorities of the Niger Delta -- Structural Adjustment Programme in Nigeria: Theoretical Foundations -- The Impact of Structural Adjustment on Nigeria -- Ethnic Identity Politics under Structural Adjustment -- The Changing Global and Domestic Environment -- Oil Minorities Movements of the Niger Delta: Patterns of Continuity and Transformation -- New Trends, New Contradictions in the Delta: Identity as National LiberationThe Globalisation of Local Struggles in the Niger Delta (1991-1999)Decay and Renewal in the Oil Minorities Movements of the Niger DeltaTrajectories of Ethnic Minority Politics in the Niger Delta: Implications for the Nation-State Project in NigeriaConcluding Remarks: Niger Delta Oil Minorities Movement and the Future of Nigeria