ISSN 1027-0353
African Journal of Political Science ISSN 3461-2165 Vol. 9 (7), pp. 001-011, July, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Resource governance and conflict in the Niger Delta: Implications for the Gulf of Guinea Region
Ezirim, Gerald Ekenedirichukwu
Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria. E-mail: [email protected].
Accepted 27 January, 2015
Abstract
Gaps between the definition of expectations, grants of power and verification of accruals from resources, especially oil and gas, tend to undergird the governance processes in most states that comprise the Gulf of Guinea. These gaps have been responsible for the various problems that have become part of, and which have engendered violence and conflict in the region. As a major stakeholder in the politics and economic strength of the Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria seems to be responsible for the continued crisis in the region. The study, using a coalescence of theoretical explications for understanding the resource-conflict thesis, notes that misgovernance by Nigeria as a major stakeholder and one of the most endowed countries in the region negatively affects the wider Gulf of Guinea region; this negativity is manifested in the now-seeming intractable conflict in the region, and thus makes a case for a thorough understanding of the implications for both Nigeria and the wider Gulf of Guinea region in order to resolve the conflict in the African continent.
Key words: Resources, governance, conflict, Gulf of Guinea, Niger Delta, Nigeria, oil and gas.