ASSIGNMENT

Critique of Literature



Critique of Literature

There is a consensus among the scholars that, conflicts cannot be avoided among human beings (Burton 1987a:8 and 1987b:137-138, Weeks 1992: ix, Okoh & Ewhariemen 2001:3-4., Fraiser & Hipel 1984:3, Moore 1987: ix,). This literature critique relates to Niger Delta conflict amongst Oil Companies, Government Bodies and Village Communities. This requires a thorough critique on the early research work published and the possible gaps which can be filled in future studies. The critique basically studies four journal articles relevant to the topic at hand and identifies their findings and limitations. The literature is extracted from journal articles and international organizations. The articles taken are recent and the critique is based on the methods and limitations inherent in the study along with critical appraisal of the studies,

Niger Delta

The Niger Delta is the Delta Region of the Niger River in Nigeria. The Niger delta is considered one of the top ten Wetland and costal marine ecosystem in the world today (Amnesty International, 2009: n.d.). It is a cited by many authors that, international giants in petroleum industry act very recklessly in underdeveloped and third world countries. Mr. John Vidal writes in the Guardian that, Niger's Agony dwarfs the oil spill in Gulf. He sites in his article that, 'oil spilled from Delta Network of terminal, oil platforms, and pipes pumping stations each year has lost more oil than the oil spill in Gulf of Mexico, and BP's Deep water Horizon Rig combined' (Vidal, 2010: n.d.).

Journal Article: Explaining the Violent Conflicts in Nigeria's Niger Delta: Is the Rentier State Theory and the Resource-curse Thesis Relevant?

The article by Bagaj, Achegbulu, Maji, & Yakubu (2011) in Canadian Social Science has examined the two theories the renter state theory and thesis on resource-curse, in an attempt to explain to what happened in Niger delta that led to violence and destruction of peace. It is very important as to find the causes of conflicts to effectively solve the conflict, therefore, this article is relevant and of great importance to the research at hand, regarding conflict of Niger Delta. It was observed by the second half of 1990s that, countries with oil abundance were often plagued with violence corruption and armed struggle, while at the same time causing destruction to society and ecology.

This oil curse theory is especially relevant in the third world countries. As Robert bates indicated that, resource competition in Africa exacerbates or animates the ethnic conflict because ethno territorial constituencies are the key prospective beneficiaries of state allocation decisions, this also fires up the exploitation of poor communities by elite (Robert 1983: 219).

These effects are visible in Niger Delta, as the region is facing unemployment, poor infrastructure, lack of regulations/ implementation, and corruption. Rentier state theory is somewhat similar to resource curse theory and states that, "the two central effects of dependence on economic rents are economic inefficiency and, as a consequence, the obstruction of socioeconomic development" (Beck, 2007: 46). The theory also predicts from observations of other similar nations ...