The Politics of Resource Control Agitation and Its Effects on the Socio-Economic Development of the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the politics of resource control agitation and its effects on the socio-economic development of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The study was guided by two research objectives with two corresponding research questions. The paper was anchored on the Justice Theory propounded by John Rawls.The research design was based on a qualitative approach. To this end, the paper relied mainly on secondary sources of data collection. The secondary data collected were subjected to content analysis. The paper amongst others found out that the demand for resource control has been necessitated by the neglect and deprivation suffered by the people of the region. It is this neglect and deprivation that have crystallized and metamorphosed into the current resource control conflict that threatens to dismember the Nigerian State. Based on the research findings the paper recommended among other things that the Nigerian federation should be restructured along the ethno-linguistic line to allow each cultural group to exercise some degree of local autonomy within its territory. Finally, the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should be amended to enable the states to explore and manage their natural resources without any interference from the central government.