The unsolved Niger Delta question

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3 May 2011

The unsolved Niger Delta question

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When, in April, the Independent National Electoral Commission declared Goodluck Jonathan the winner of the 2011 presidential election, some of those who praised the outcome cited the geographical origin of the president-elect for their exhilaration. President Jonathan’s upbringing as the son of a poor fisherman is a well-told story. But less emphasized in the narrative is the expectation of millions of Nigerians from the president’s home region of the delta, who saw his participation in the presidential race as a recognition of the region’s contribution to national unity and growth over the past years.

The Niger Delta is home to Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, but its peoples rank among the poorest in the country and its infrastructure is as dilapidated as those of the rest of the country, or worse, because of the terrain of the region. In addition, oil exploration activities have made living arduous for the peasant farmers and fishermen that abound in the area. There was little surprise then that the steadily unbearable situation degenerated into a disruptive militancy that almost crippled our nation’s oil industry and its finances.