THE EFFECTS OF NIGER DELTA CRISIS ON SOCIO, ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA

Abstract

Just as physicians have been searching for the appropriate and enduring cure for AIDS, the Nigeria government has also been searching for solutions to the crisis in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. The crisis has been of great concern not only to the people of the area but to all Nigerians, the international communities and other genuine stakeholders. The Region is where the bulk of the nation’s wealth is generated. The focal point of this paper is the impact of Niger Delta crisis on Nigeria’s social, political and economic development. The primary essence of government is to ensure the security of lives and properties of its citizens.  In the light of this, governments, the world over have always in one form or the other been actively involved in addressing security issues in their respective countries.  This is hinged on the relevance of security and peace to the growth and development of a nation. It is cardinal and central to sustainable development of a nation, socially, politically and economically. Since the return of democratic governance in 1999 there have been spontaneous protests and agitations by the Niger Delta people to draw successive government’s attention to the unsolved developmental problems in their area. Efforts aimed at maintaining peace and stability in the area have been of major concerns for successive administrations in the country. However, despite several institutional frame work and approaches adopted by government aim at addressing the problems in the Niger Delta Region such as the establishment of Willinks Commission, the Niger Delta Development Board (NDDB), The Oil Minerals Producing Area Development Commission (OMPADEC), the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Niger Delta Master Plan, and Niger Delta Ministry and lately the amnesty programme, did not seem to meet the wishes, needs and aspirations of the Niger Delta people due to continuous agitations and violence in the area. The author relied on secondary data such as textbooks, journals, magazines and the internet etc.  The study recommends that for peace and stability to be sustained in the region, the government needs to demonstrate the necessary political will by massively investing in human, infrastructural and capital development, job creation and confidence building measures among other things. Moreover, since programmes put in place in the past to address the problems in the region were bedeviled with shortcomings and defective implementation, such programmes and others that may be initiated henceforth must be effectively monitored and evaluated. This latter step must form an integral part of the implementation strategy.