Investigating and Addressing Oil Related Conflicts in Niger Delta: A Case Study of Warri

The Niger Delta area of Nigeria has the largest reserves of oil and gas in West Africa yet is the most polluted in the world. Sequel to oil exploration and development, the land, water and air environment used to be green. However, the increasing petroleum pollution of the Niger Delta environment since oil exploitation began in Oloibiri in 1956 has resulted into alarming rise in poverty levels birthing violent conflicts and fatalities among the major stakeholders including oil companies, government and the people of Niger Delta. The ongoing conflict in the Niger Delta started in the early 1990s with Warri becoming the epicenter of regional violence. Recent efforts towards ending conflict and insecurity such as declaration of amnesty and 13% derivation principle has not yielded much success. The objective of this study is to investigate the root cause of oil related conflicts and examine different traditional approaches such as elder’s intervention, inter-marriage, oath-taking in view of adopting the best method in proffering lasting solutions to the lingering crisis in Warri. The study area is Warri Township in Delta State, Nigeria. It is located on latitudes 50 27′ N and 50 36′ N and longitudes 50 40’E and 50 48′ E. It is one of the largest and oldest towns in Delta State and located on the banks of the lower Niger Delta. The study employed the tool of survey questionnaire to acquire data relating to conflict and conflict resolution methods in Warri Township. Two hundred (200) copies of questionnaire were administered to the residents of Warri community using random sampling technique in 5 selected communities among the Ijaw, Urhobo and Itsekiri tribes of Warri where conflict is preponderant which gives room for equal chance of any resident to be chosen in the study area. Descriptive statistics was used to explain the frequencies of the variables in terms of their percentage. Results of the analysis show that the management of conflict in this town must embrace the use of negotiation, mediation, public participation as well as the traditional methods of peaceful coexistence such as, intervention of elders, oath-taking and inter-tribal marriage. It is recommended that Stakeholders must ensure that conflicting parties understand each other’s culture, weaken stereotype they have of each other, ultimately to enhance effective intercultural communication.