Group Opens Fire on Fed Govt, Oil Firms over Approach to Niger Delta Crisis

The approach of the government of Nigeria and the giant oil and gas corporations in tackling the persisting conflict in the Niger Delta, the country’s honey comb, has come under serious attack.

A civic group that is working in the oil region to support those affected by the extractives industry and weak governance, has started working backstage to persuade the Federal Government and oil companies to change their approach to tackling the crisis in the area.

The group, Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN) wants Abuja and big oil to reduce their relianceon short-term solutions and political settlements including militarised approaches to the crisis in the oil region.

Instead, SDN is pushing for increased long-term social and development interventions to tackle security and development challenges in the Niger Delta as well as address the underlying causes of the protracted conflict.

SDN is also working with communities and engaging with governments, companies and other stakeholders to ensure the promotion and protection of human rights, including the right to a healthy environment.

It seeks to increase dialogue, and the potential for mediation, between groups involved in conflict. SDN’s reports on what people living in the oil region consider to be the biggest security threats presents the results of a public perceptions survey it carried out in Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers states.

The report focuses on citizens’ perceptions of the current security situation in the Niger Delta, and views on the actors and interventions aiming to address the problem of instability and insecurity in the region.

Key Messages

Across the survey, men and women generally had a positive outlook for the seven-month period of the survey in 2018. Slightly more respondents felt that the security situation got worse rather than better.

35% of respondents felt that the situation got better, whilst 39% felt it got worse. Respondents that felt it got worse highlighted that the effect of insecurity led to people living in fear, businesses closing early due to fear, and loss of life.

The biggest perceived threats to security in the region were cults, criminal activities in the forms of armed robbery and kidnappings, and activities of politicians in and around elections.

Perceptions of these threats were notably high in Bayelsa, compared to the other states. Respondents across the states predicted that these threats will remain, and anticipate a further rise in political violence in the months following elections.

There was a growing concern of the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) that was renamed Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), becoming a significant source of violence and intimidation of citizens, especially in Delta state, during the period.

This survey indicated that SARS lost some of its credibility, and many respondents did not think SARS and the police were open to hear public complaints.

Women tended to have a more negative view on the security situation, highlighting clashes with herders as a major concern, with a higher percentage feeling that the situation had worsened over the period, compared with men.

Although it is common for the security services to be seen as a source of insecurity themselves, only a small number of respondents saw security services as a security threat during the period.

Respondents showed a higher optimism in their state government’s efforts to improve stabilisation and development in the region than that of the Federal Governments’.

Efforts of PANDEF and civil society groups were perceived to be the least effective in improving the security situation during the survey period.

58% of respondents reported they will vote in the 2019 elections. Of these, respondents aged 18–24 were the least likely age group to vote. Overall, male respondents were more likely to vote than female respondents.

Respondents that were not to vote stated their top reasons to be: a fear of their votes not counting, their lack of faith/belief in the candidates, and the fear of voter intimidation and outright violence against voters.

 

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