government inertia and conflict in the niger delta fidelis allen

335 Pages·2010·2.89 MB·English

IMPLEMENTATION OF OIL-RELATED ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY IN
NIGERIA: GOVERNMENT INERTIA AND CONFLICT IN THE NIGER
DELTA

by

FIDELIS ALLEN

Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

in the subject of

POLITICAL SCIENCE

at the

UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL

SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR UFO OKEKE-UZODIKE

March 2010
DECLARATION
This dissertation titled, “Implementation of Oil-Related Environmental Policy in Nigeria:
Government Inertia and Conflict in the Niger Delta”, is submitted in fulfilment of the
requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, in the School of Politics, University of
KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

I declare that this dissertation is my own unaided work. All citations, references and
borrowed ideas have been duly acknowledged. It is being submitted for the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities, Development and Social Sciences, University of
KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. None of the present work has been
submitted previously for any degree or examination in any other university.

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Student name

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Signature and date

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TABLE OF CONTENT
Title page........................................................................................................................i
Declaration.....................................................................................................................ii
Table of Content……………………………………………………………………….iii
Dedication......................................................................................................................vi
Acknowledgements........................................................................................................vii
List of acronyms ............................................................................................................viii
List of tables...................................................................................................................x
List of graphs and maps..................................................................................................xi
Abstract..........................................................................................................................xii

CHAPTER 1: Introduction
1.1. Historical background.............................................................................................1
1.2. Background to the study.........................................................................................2
1.3. Research problems and hypothesis.........................................................................18
1.4. Research objectives.................................................................................................18
1.5. Key questions..........................................................................................................19

CHAPTER 2: Theoretical Framework and Methodology
2.1. Introduction............................................................................................................20
2.2. Theoretical framework...........................................................................................20
2.3. Methodology .........................................................................................................23
2.4. Conclusion .................. ...........................................................................................33

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CHAPTER 3: Literature Review
3.1. Introduction...........................................................................................................35
3.2. Sustainable development.......................................................................................36
3.3. Implementation of oil-related environmental policy in Nigeria.............................51
3.4. Conflict in the Niger Delta.....................................................................................80
3.5. Conclusion ...........................................................................................................119

CHAPTER 4: Niger Delta Violence in Perspective: Case Studies
4.1. Introduction ..........................................................................................................122
4.2. Government and implementation of environmental policies.................................122
4.3. Compliance of oil companies.................................................................................132
4.4. Political opportunity structures.................. ...........................................................141
4.5. Oil companies and justice and environmental movement organisations...............151
4.6. Government and justice and environmental movement organisations..................158

CHAPTER 5: Environmental Politics in Nigeria
5.1. Introduction............................................................................................................171
5.2 The political process and the environment...............................................................172
5.3. Oil companies and environmental politics..............................................................198
5.4. Environmental practices in the Niger Delta............................................................204
5.5. The government and implementation of its environmental policy ........................209
5.6. Oil companies and implementation of environmental policy..................................220
5.7. Justice and environmental movement organisations and mobilisation of support...236
5.8. Conclusion................................................................................................................248

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CHAPTER 6: Conclusion and Recommendations
6.1. Overview..................................................................................................................250
6.2. Violence....................................................................................................................251
6.3. Implementation of environmental policy..................................................................255
6.4. Political opportunity structures.................................................................................256
6.5. Environmental policies..............................................................................................258
6.6. Concluding remarks..................................................................................................258
6.7. Recommendations….................................................................................................260

Bibliography.....................................................................................................................263
Appendix A: An Informed Consent Letter......................................................................283
Appendix B: Interview and Focus Group Discussion Questions....................................285
Appendix C: Map of Niger Delta Showing Oil Fields and Pipelines..............................316
Appendix D: Niger Delta: Rivers, States, Vegetation.....................................................317
Appendix E: Data Matrix Table.......................................................................................318

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DEDICATION
To God

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First, I am grateful to God for his help. As the Bible says, His mercies endure forever. I am
also thankful to my supervisor, Professor Ufo Okeke Uzodike for the painful task of
supervising this work. His patience and benevolence provided the required atmosphere for
my success.

I am deeply grateful to my wife, Grace, and my kids, Onisobuana and Bileoniso, for sharing,
in a way, the cost of my studying for a PhD by their support and understanding regarding key
family matters that would have affected the pace of this work. I thank my elder brother,
Daniel Allen, for his advice and moral support.

I am profoundly grateful to the University of KwaZulu-Natal for its support; and the
University for Peace (UPEACE) and International Development Research Centre, Canada,
for giving me a doctoral research award which facilitated the completion of this work. I am
also grateful to the Graduate Institute of Development and International Studies in Geneva
where I presented preliminary findings of my doctoral research to the Global-South
Workshop on October 19-24, 2009.

Finally, I thank my friend, Pastor Lysias Gilbert and his dear wife for being so kind.
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LIST OF ACRONYMS
AR Annual Report
DPR Department of Petroleum Resources
CD Computerised Database
EIA Environmental Impact Assessment
JEMOs Justice and Environmental Movement Organisations
ERA/FoEN Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria
FEPA Federal Environmental Protection Agency
FGD Focus Group Discussion
FME Federal Ministry of Environment
IN Interviews
IOD International Oil Company Documents
LGs Local Governments
MEND Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta
MOSOP Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People
MS Mission Statement
NNPC Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
NPE National Policy on Environment
NOSDRA National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency
OMPADEC Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission
OQ Open-ended Questions
SJ Scholarly Journals
SCT Structural Conflict Theory
TRT Transcribed Recorded Tapes
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SPDC Shell Petroleum Development Company
UNDP United Nations Development Programme

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1. Data, target population, themes and samples..................................................32
Table 3.1. Relevant environmental laws and regulations in Nigeria ..............................72
Table 4.1. Response from officials of oil companies.....................................................126

Table 4.2. Responses from officials of the government................................................127
Table 4.3. Unemployment and underemployment rate in the Niger Delta....................140
Table 4.4. If the political system becomes more democratic (free and fair),
would you be willing to use the arena in lieu of violence..............................................146

Table 4.5. Views of members of JEMOs in focus group discussions.............................147
Table 4.6. Pattern of relationship between oil companies and local environmental
groups..............................................................................................................................151

Table 4.7. Profile of some local justice and environmental movement organisations
in the Niger Delta............................................................................................................153

Table 4.8. Reasons for pattern of relationship between local justice and environmental
groups and oil companies …………………....................................................................156

Table 4.9. JEMO attacks on Nigerian oil industry between January 10, 2006 and
September 15, 2008..........................................................................................................159

Table 4.10. Grievances.....................................................................................................166

Table 5.1. JEMO leaders with distrust for the political process and system in Nigeria...176
Table 5.2. Perception of oil company officials on issues of democratic means of
addressing grievances in the Niger Delta.........................................................................183

Table 5.3. Perception of members of local justice and environmental groups on
issues of democratic means of addressing grievances in the Niger Delta.......................184

Table 5.4. Implementation of NPE and sustainable development ..................................208
Table 5.5. Elements of ISO 140001................................................................................224
Table 5.6. Some severely oil polluted areas in the Niger Delta......................................232

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