ABSTRACT
Man is a part of nature and depends on the uninterrupted functioning of the natural environment for survival. Human activities aggravate global climate with implications touching on the environmental, social, economic, and political aspects of life. This chapter considers whether the extraction of crude oil in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria complements the requirement of environmental sustainability, given the effect of gas flaring on water, soil, and air space. Environmental pollution compromises the right to life and the right to live in dignity. The government should protect lives and promote a friendly and sustainable environment. The chapter contemplates whether it is not a breach of the social contract and constitutional obligation of the government to protect the lives, properties, and well-being of its citizens, in particular, those that are based in oil-producing communities. It further interrogates if it is not discriminatory and a breach of the right to equality, to hold the right to life and property of Indigenous peoples of the Niger Delta in abeyance on account of having to sustain the flow of national income from oil. The chapter recommends the government’s sponsorship of Indigenous peoples in formal education and skills acquisition and for the promotion of the rule of law. The chapter engages both primary and secondary sources, which are explored from conceptual and historical perspectives.
