ABSTRACT
Introduction: Nigeria before oil Nigeria became independent from Great Britain on October 1, 1960. Before independence and immediately after, Nigeria’s economy survived on agriculture. The agricultural products of Nigeria had assured the Nigerian people of a bright future. From historical records, palm oil was an export commodity as far back as 1558 in what was later to become Nigeria.1 By 1830, the Niger Delta, which is now the centre of oil production in Nigeria, was famous for palm oil production, which dominated Nigeria’s export trade for more than fifty years.2 Cotton was another source of export trade for Nigeria by 1856 while cocoa joined the list in 1895.3 Similarly, rubber, groundnut, palm kernel and benniseed were introduced in the later years. These cash crops formed the sources of revenue for government to fund the provisions of social and infrastructural amenities for the people at the grassroots and for the development of the country. Before independence, the three regional governments in Nigeria specialized in different types of agricultural productions. For instance, palm oil for the east, cocoa for the west and groundnut for the north. There was also a system of resource control in which the regions had shares of 50 percent by derivation for the development of the area and running of government business.4 At independence in 1960, agriculture contributed over 66 percent of Nigeria’s fortune and more than 70 percent of the nation’s exports. In addition, agriculture also contributed over 95 percent of the country’s food needs, which were locally produced At this time, crude oil was insignificant and had contributed only 1.2 percent to the GDP.5 Similarly, there was less corruption and there was sanity in the polity, and the government paid much attention to agriculture and rural development. In 1966, the military intervened and sacked Nigeria’s First Republic. Agriculture, which had assured the nation of a blissful future, was abandoned in favour of oil. Nigerians had hoped that proceeds from oil would accelerate the development of the country. Sadly, oil came with conflicts that shook the very foundations of the nation and blew the whistle for corruption in the country. Crude oil came with the problems of rent seeking. This has left the oil-producing communities in Nigeria in conflict with the federal government and the oil
companies. At the centre of the conflicts are the youths who are challenging the rights of the government and the oil companies to extract crude oil from the Niger Delta. The government’s response to the insurgency has resulted in the proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW) in the Niger Delta. This chapter examines the issues that drive the conflicts in the Niger Delta and why both the government and the Niger Delta youth oil their guns and gun for oil in the region.
