Environmental Security in the Niger Delta, Nigeria: Evidence F Cases Between 1990 2005

Abstract

Oil has been an important part of the Nigerian economy since vast reserves of petroleum were discovered in the Niger Delta in the 1950s. In recent years the Niger Delta area has been engulfed in a crisis of instability caused by protesting oil producing communities agitating for environmental protection and a fair share of the oil wealth generated from their area. Adopting the U. S. National Security Strategy for classifying environmental security threats, the paper catalogued 31 cases of environmentally induced conflict within the past fifteen years (1990 — 2005). These crises threatened the corporate existence of the Nigerian state and had calculable effects on the global economy. To stem the trend of oil induced crisis the paper opined that environmental regulatory agencies should be strengthen to effectively monitor and enforce all law and regulating relating to oil and gas exploration and production activities.