Delta in Distress

The controversial role of the petrodollar in modern socio-political relations within the local, national and international settings evokes serious concerns. Oil has become a paramount source of political power in our energy-driven world. Nigeria is increasingly assuming the center stage within the global community when viewed from the global energy perspective. The Niger Delta region of Nigeria is the treasure base of the country. The region is naturally endowed with oil and gas resources which happen to be the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, accounting for more than 50 per cent of the nation's revenue. However, the availability of the enormous oil and gas resources does not appear to reflect in the infrastructural development and the living standard of the local community populace within the region. There is a steady tussle over the control of oil and gas resources.

Fairly ingrained in the socio-political system in this part of the world, is an alleged desire to satisfy the unquenchable avarice of the privileged class. This development has exhumed the appalling realization that man has not truly become his brother's keeper. The excruciating experience of man's cruelty to man is a fact of life in most modern human societies. This reflects in the manner of distribution of national wealth. The Niger Delta region is on the trail with the vast majority of human societies marked by conflicts over natural resources distribution. The ethnic polarization of the delta region has not helped matters in this regard.

An intense form of fractionalization within a state often drags along social, cultural, political and economic deprivations with the attendant social inequalities in material well-being. The Niger Delta region of Nigeria typifies the fact that man has not been able to solve his problems and help himself whereas the nugget of truth is sometimes hidden in the coarse grains of paradox. Within the region, the local population appears to be perpetually at the receiving end of a socio-political suspense game. There is a firmly established and unrestrained yearning to acquire wealth, which leads to a constant process of struggle. In this struggle, the more able gain and the less able lose. The ensuing regional distress and the passion for its cure breathe through this book.