ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the link between oil politics and environmental conflict in Nigeria, and focuses on the environmental conflict in the Niger Delta region from where the bulk of the country's oil is extracted. It provides general information on the area, the people and the strategic nature of oil exploratory activities in the Niger Delta. The chapter presents the various dimensions of environmental conflict in the Niger Delta and in the process indicate the main justifications under which the acts of violence are committed. It shows how the politics of oil in Nigeria leads to wide-scale environmental destruction and the inability of relevant authorities to successfully stem the damage. The chapter demonstrates that the environmental crisis in the Niger Delta is directly related to the quest for control of oil money in Nigeria both by internal and external forces.
