Suchergebnisse

The events leading to the Nigeria Civil War marked the triumph of force and violence over dialogue and negotiation as a means of conflict resolution. The success of the Nigerian state in imposing a military solution on the preceding political crisis, and then suppressing the ensuing Biafran rebellion, has had a lasting effect on state–society relations. As a result, the state has not refrained from using violence at the slightest provocation against competing and con- flicting ethno-religious groups. The tendency of the state to exercise domina- tion through the deployment of violence implies an ongoing crisis of state he- gemony rather than a resolution of civil unrest. This article argues that state violence was more important than ethnic divisions in triggering the secessionist attempt of Biafra, and has continued to create rather than resolve ethnic divi- sions across the country. The emergence in post-Civil War Nigeria of regimes that perpetrated or permitted mass violence against restive social groups re- mains critical to understanding the contemporary rise of ethno-nationalist move- ments and waning allegiance to the Nigerian state, particularly among the Igbo. The aim of the article is to underscore the understated salience of state violence in the debates on identity and citizenship in multi-ethnic societies.

The recent escalation in the violent conflict in the Niger Delta has brought the region to the forefront of international energy and security concerns. This book analyses the causes, dynamics and politics underpinning oil-related violence in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. It focuses on the drivers of the conflict, as well as the ways the crises spawned by the political economy of oil and contradictions within Nigeria's ethnic politics have contributed to the morphing of initially poorly coordinated, largely non-violent protests into a pan-Delta insurgency. Approaching the issue from a number of perspectives, the book offers the most up-to-date and comprehensive analysis available of the varied dimensions of the conflict. Combining empirically-based and analytic chapters, it attempts to explain the causes of the escalation in violence, the various actors, levels and dynamics involved, and the policy challenges faced with regard to conflict management/resolution and the options for peace. It also examines the role of oil as a commodity of global strategic significance, addressing the relationship between oil, energy security and development in the Niger Delta.

AbstractThrough a comparative analysis of ethnic relations in two multi‐ethnic cities in southern Nigeria, this article seeks to isolate factors that might explain why some countries manage to avoid violence in the midst of longstanding ethnic conflicts while ethnic relations in other countries are characterised by periodic violence. The factors isolated include the persistence of horizontal inequalities, absence of mediating social capital, institutionalisation of politics of non‐inclusion and construction of indigeneity and homeland discourses. The article explores the interconnections between the different factors. Its main contribution lies in its specification of the contexts in which horizontal inequalities are likely to result in violent ethnic conflicts. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Les fortunes économique et politique du Nigéria, et la capacité du pays à jouer un rôle stabilisant dans la région africaine, dépendent de la résolution du conflit qui persiste dans la zone du delta du Niger. Le delta couvre neuf états, sur un total de 36, et 185 des 774 gouvernements locaux de la fédération nigériane. Il occupe une étendue totale de 75,000 mètres carrés et constitue la troisième plus grande zone humide de la terre. Le recensement Nigérien de 2006 montreque 30 million d'habitants, sur une population total de 185 million, résident dans la région du delta du Niger. La quasi-totalité des réseaux de gaz et de pétrole du Nigéria sont situés dans la région. Depuis 1990, le pétrole et le gaz représentent environ 40% du produit intérieur brut (PIB). Entre 2000 et 2004, ces deux industries ont engendré 75% des revenus totales du gouvernement, et ont généré 97% des échanges commerciaux. En plus d´être essentiel à la viabilité financière du Nigéria, le delta du Niger est important pour la sécurité énergétique mondiale.

Nigeria's political and economic fortunes and the country's ability to play a stabilizing role in the African region partly depend on the resolution of the lingering Niger Delta conflict. The Niger Delta covers nine out of 36 states and 185 out of 774 local government areas of the Nigerian federation. It occupies a total land area of 75,000 square kilometers and is the world's third largest wetlands. The 2006 Nigerian population census shows that 30 million out of the country's 140 million people reside in the Niger Delta region. Nearly all of Nigeria's oil and gas reserves are located in the region. Oil and gas have accounted for about 40 per cent of Nigeria's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) since 1990. Between 2000 and 2004, oil and gas accounted for 75 per cent of total government revenues and 97 per cent of foreign exchange. Apart from being vital to Nigeria's fiscal viability, the Niger Delta is important to global energy security.

This article attempts to explain the failure of the civilian administration inaugurated in 1999 to address the longstanding Niger Delta crisis. It suggests that the entrenchment of clientelist and patronage politics has led to a situation where resources that should have been used for development have been frittered away in the appeasement of vocal interest groups. The radical rhetoric of local elites championing the resource control agenda has been highly inflammatory. The counter-narrative of good governance, which has been associated with exposure of corrupt practices among local elites, has contributed to overmobilization and radicalization of the Niger Delta peoples. (Pol afr/GIGA)