In January 2006, insurgents in Nigeria’s Niger-Delta kidnapped four foreign oil workers working for Shell Petroleum. Since then, over 250 foreign oil workers have been kidnapped in the region. A proliferation of insurgent groups, led by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (MEND) and the Niger-Delta People’s Volunteer Force (NDPVF), have continued to claim responsibility. These groups frame their act as woven within the fabric of politics to protest the exploitation of the region by multinational oil corporations (MNOCs) and the Nigerian government.
Mainstream literature on the region has largely focused on the nature of violence while a few of the literature on kidnapping are descriptive and have not properly situated the act within the realm of domestic and international politics. I develop a conceptual framework for understanding kidnapping as a political act in the Niger-Delta drawing on empirical evidence. I operationalize this framework by focusing on a triad of actors: insurgents, MNOCs, and the Nigerian government.
Findings show that kidnapping in the region is intractable because, in a bid to nip the act in the bud, the Nigerian government has focused on symptoms rather than the causes of the act. More so, insurgents have become a useful tool to unleash mayhem on opposition parties during elections. Kidnapping in the region will only become history if fundamental economic, social, and political questions are addressed by the Nigerian government and MNOCs.
Table of Contents
1. The Niger-Delta and a Chequered History of Violence
2. What is Kidnapping?
3. The State, Multinational Corporations and Insurgents: A Triad of Uneasy Relationship.
4. Enter NDPVF and MEND: Towards Conceptualizing Kidnapping as a Political Instrument.
5. The Political Nature of Kidnapping
6. Conclusion
Objectives and Key Themes
This paper examines the political nature of kidnapping in the Niger Delta, seeking to distinguish between political motivation and criminal activity, and explores the implications of these actions for national security and strategic studies within the Nigerian state.
- Historical context of violence and resource struggle in the Niger Delta
- Conceptualization of kidnapping as a political instrument vs. criminal act
- The triad relationship between the state, multinational oil corporations, and insurgent groups
- Evaluation of militant organizations (NDPVF and MEND) as social movements or bandits
- Strategic implications for the Nigerian state and regional stability
Excerpt from the Book
The Niger-Delta and a Chequered History of Violence
The history of the Niger Delta in the twentieth century is a constellation of violence. Consequently, near identical reasons have been advanced by academic scholars as pivotal to understanding violence activities in the region. Michael Watts, whose research cuts across the political economy of Africa has been at the forefront of scholars that have attempted to explain violence in the Niger Delta focusing on endogenous and exogenous variables. Watts’, in one of his works on the Niger Delta with Ike Okonta and Von Kemedi, is concerned with why “oil producing communities in the Niger Delta… the site of intense conflict and violence”? Styled “petro-violence”, the authors attribute conflict in the Niger Delta to lack of concrete governance at the municipal level occasioned by the menacing activities oil corporations in the region. One recurrent theme in all of Watts’ works on the Niger Delta is that peace in the region was endangered by historic marginalization, lack of democratic rule at the municipal level, corporate irresponsibility, and institutionalized corruption by the Nigerian state. Without question, Watts provides a template for understanding violence in the Niger Delta. While his works are anchored on causality, he makes no genuine attempt to conceptualize kidnapping as a political act. Other works on the Niger Delta have often followed similar trajectories.
Summary of Chapters
The Niger-Delta and a Chequered History of Violence: Explores the historical roots of conflict in the region, focusing on the role of oil and the lack of governance.
What is Kidnapping?: Provides a theoretical framework for defining kidnapping by distinguishing between various motivations, including political and economic drivers.
The State, Multinational Corporations and Insurgents: A Triad of Uneasy Relationship.: Analyzes the colonial history and the exploitation of the region that led to contemporary resistance.
Enter NDPVF and MEND: Towards Conceptualizing Kidnapping as a Political Instrument.: Examines the rise of specific militant groups and debates whether they function as social movements or bandits.
The Political Nature of Kidnapping: Argues for viewing kidnapping in the Niger Delta through the lens of state functionality and political strategy.
Conclusion: Summarizes the intractability of the conflict and calls for a concerted effort to address human security and environmental grievances.
Keywords
Niger Delta, Kidnapping, Political Instrument, Nigeria, Multinational Corporations, Insurgency, MEND, NDPVF, Petro-violence, State Failure, Human Security, Oil Exploration, Conflict, Social Movements, Banditry
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The research explores the phenomenon of expatriate kidnapping in the Niger Delta, specifically analyzing it as a political instrument rather than mere criminality.
What are the central themes of the work?
The primary themes include the history of violence in the Niger Delta, the complex relationship between the state and oil companies, and the classification of militant groups.
What is the main research objective?
The objective is to examine the political nature of kidnapping and disaggregate it from criminal acts, while assessing the implications for national security.
Which methodology is employed in the study?
The study utilizes a theoretical and analytical approach, synthesizing existing literature on conflict, statehood, and social movements to provide a conceptual framework.
What is addressed in the main body of the paper?
The main body investigates the historical exploitation of the region, the emergence of militant groups like MEND and NDPVF, and the debate surrounding their status as social movements or bandits.
Which keywords best characterize the study?
Keywords include Niger Delta, Kidnapping, Political Instrument, Insurgency, State Failure, and Multinational Corporations.
How does the author categorize the groups MEND and NDPVF?
The author views them as a "Janus-faced" hybrid, displaying attributes of both social movements and bandits without fitting perfectly into either category.
What role does the "Amnesty Program" play in this conflict?
The author describes the Amnesty Program as a palliative measure that failed to achieve its goals of long-term stability, instead creating a new class of militant oligarchs.
Why does the international community ignore the Niger Delta conflict?
The text argues that western powers prioritize energy security and view the Niger Delta conflict differently than the war against global "Islamic terror," such as Boko Haram.
- Citar trabajo
- Ayo Peters (Autor), 2016, Understanding Kidnapping as a Political Act. A Case of the Niger Delta, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/339042
