Development Crises and Peasants Survival Mechanisms in the Niger Delta: the Effects of Illegal Oil Bunkering

Abstract

Despite the fact that the Niger Delta region contributes a significant amount to the nations GDP, its rural communities are still grossly underdeveloped and her inhabitants considered among the poorest in the country. With an official oil production figure of 2.4 million barrels per day, Nigeria ranks as Africa's biggest petro-state after South Africa; it ranks in billions of dollars in petroleum revenue. However, as noted by scholars, there is one indication that the nation may be producing more than the official figure while the rest is lost through the illegal activities and manipulations of criminal cartels who engage in oil theft. Using the queer ladder theory as a theoretical roadmap for the study, the research revealed those factors that have engendered the growing incidence of oil bunkering in the region. Based on the findings of the research, the research made recommendations which included that government should clean up the environment as a matter of urgency so that those that depend on it to survive can have a means of livelihood while also contributing to the nation's economy as the development crisis in the region has been linked to the production of crude..