Oil Cuts As Delta Erupts

Africa Confidential

16 March 2012

Oil Cuts As Delta Erupts

analysis

As the government contends with a Boko Haram militia determined to make the north ungovernable, a new round of attacks has erupted in the oil-producing Niger Delta.

Apart from the financial damage of a new Delta crisis, it adds to the government's credibility problem. As a government led by Niger Deltans, it was expected to pacify and then start developing the region.

Addressing the ecological and socio-economic devastation in the Delta would realistically take decades; local communities expect their government to make palpable progress with investment and job programmes. There is little sign of that happening