In this small region of Nigeria known as the "south-south," something huge is happening. The adverse effects of oil exploration have been unfolding in the Niger Delta for the past 50 years. Now, the people have had enough. From environmental activism to peaceful protest to stakeholder dialogs, nothing has worked. A new brand of militancy has emerged in a different kind of attempt to call attention to the desperate poverty and injustice.

Here, citizens of an oil-rich nation struggle to eat in a land that can no longer support them. The Delta’s water and soil have been fouled by the same oil production that accounts for more than 80 percent of the country’s revenue. Traditional fishing and farming livelihoods are all but gone. Potable drinking water is rare. So is electricity. With pitifully few clinics and schools, curable conditions go untreated and illiteracy is high. Families are broken up, as men die young or take off for the cities to find jobs.

The advent of militancy has brought both hope and fear to the region. People live with the constant threat of war, yet many feel that armed resistance is the only avenue left to make their voices heard.

Learn more about the Niger Delta.

As Sweet Crude moved into post-production, the Niger Delta became increasingly volatile. National elections that represented the first Nigerian civilian-to-civilian turnover of power were held in mid-April, 2007. They were widely condemned due to violence and flagrant manipulation by the ruling PDP party. In May, kidnappings by militants reached an all-time high. Oil exports from the Delta have been down an estimated 30 percent due to escalating unrest. Despite the election debacle, the country is moving forward with cautious optimism that the new administration will make good on its promise to engage in dialog to address the Niger Delta Crisis. The U.S. is actively establishing a new Africa Command, which many see as a commitment to a military approach to securing oil interests in the Gulf of Guinea. We urge Americans to voice their opposition to this agenda. There is a window of opportunity for preventive diplomacy – for U.S. legislators to spearhead pressure on the Nigerian government for third-party monitored talks that would bring accountability to any dialog with Niger Delta stakeholders.

Nigeria
Niger Delta
Nigeria Interactive Map
Niger Delta Satellite Image

Nigeria History Timeline
Kaiama Declaration – written at the end of the All Ijaw Youths Conference, December 1998