ABSTRACT
In Chapter 7, I discuss the tensed issue of the Niger Delta crisis, and also point to the fact that differences between the major actors (the government, political leaders from the region, and the militant groups) in framing the real cause of the crisis has continued to make the possibility of finding lasting solutions more intractable. I make the argument that part of the reasons is due to the role of ideas and identity and their influence in the construction of meaning that shape understandings of history and emerging political realities. Based on a survey sample of Nigerians, there is a consensus that the crisis in the region arose as a result of the mistreatment and neglect of the indigenes of the region; and this opinion is attested to by a majority of the survey respondents across all demographic and socioeconomic categories.
