While it ranks tenth in the world for proven oil reserves, Nigeria has unfortunately remained one of the most poverty-stricken nations in Africa. While many Gulf states with small populations have benefited economically from oil production, African states with larger populations have not been as fortunate. Nigeria is one such example. While oil makes up approximately 87% of Nigerian export value and represents close to 65% of government revenue, the sector itself only makes up 10% of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product. This can be explained by the vast wealth gap that exists in the country, where an estimated 65% of its population live below the threshold for absolute poverty. The ongoing COVID19 pandemic has only exacerbated the situation as there are now expectations that an additional 10 million Nigerians will be pushed into poverty by the end of 2022.

Poverty and COVID19 are only two of Nigeria’s ongoing challenges. Separatism throughout the South-East, terrorism by groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa, piracy off the Nigerian coast, corruption and the lack of basic infrastructure throughout much of the country have all stretched successive Nigerian Governments’ management capacity beyond its limits.

While these issues have plagued most of the country for years, there has also been an environmental crisis unfolding in the Niger Delta for decades as well.

The largest wetland in Africa, the third largest mangrove in the world and having three Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance make the Niger Delta one the world’s most unique natural habitats. It has also played host to some of the worst oil spills and environmental catastrophes Africa has ever experienced. Oil spills throughout the decades since the 1950s have contaminated soils and water, led to carcinogenic contamination, the eradication of marine life, the loss of mangrove forests, natural gas flarings and led to the development of acidic rain in some instances.

Various measures at combatting the aftereffects of oil spills have been implemented, such as the 2017 introduction of a $1 billion clean up and restoration of the Ogoniland region – one of the most devasted regions in the Niger Delta. While this was a positive step forward, the response came after a 2011 UN report into oil extraction in the region some six years later. An oil spill took also place approximately 25 miles off Nigerian shores in May 2010. However, it received little attention at the time as the Gulf of Mexico spill received more international attention. While some oil companies have been called to account for their involvement in oil spills in the Niger Delta, the effects of these spills have had a flow on effect into those living in these communities around the Niger Delta.

Perhaps the most concerning effect of oil spills in the Niger Delta is the absence of a water supply for clean drinking water, the harvesting of marine life for food, bathing water and other necessities of life that the Delta waterways provide. This is deeply concerning as many in these Delta communities are pushed into crime as a way of attaining what they need to survive. These pathways have also become quite lucrative in the wake of increased poverty
and lack of economic opportunity in recent years. Only very recently the World Bank indicated that GDP growth in Nigeria (at 1.9% in 2021) was below average for Sub-Saharan  Africa (at 3.4% in 2021) and that inflation (at 16.5%) was sharply increasing the cost of food.

The combination of high inflation and ecological devastation have essentially made crime a lucrative option for so many throughout the Niger Delta community. Specifically, the criminality in the Niger Delta involves maritime piracy – the subject of a UNODC report. Various forms of maritime crime have included kidnap and ransom piracy and stealing and oil bunkering (illegally refining oil into petrol). Seeing as the region itself is underdeveloped and those living throughout the Niger Delta are acting out of desperation, the Federal government should ideally be responding to this issue.

However, the security environment in Nigeria is so heavily plagued with issues, that the risks of maritime crime throughout the Delta has simply not been a priority. Nigeria, simply put, prioritises threats that affect its own people directly. For example, terrorist groups like Boko Haram or armed separatist groups clamouring for independence pose a greater risk to Nigerians than maritime piracy – an issue that effects an international industry more so than
the wider Nigerian community. That said, the environmental devastation throughout the Nigerian Delta should be a concern for Nigeria.

These issues plaguing Nigeria have no simple solution. Indeed, this is the case for many African nations that are close failed state status. While it could be said that Nigeria is a failed state in some regards, the country’s pathway out of its current predicament has not disappeared entirely. Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Obadiah Mailafia stated that if a country generates wealth through rent collection from multinationals,
there is “little to no incentive to build strong governance”. Ultimately, stronger institutions and the incentive structures in solidifying them are the answer.
Specifically, institutions that respect the rule of law and the democratic processes are what Nigeria need.

In time, as the issues plaguing the nation feature heavily in international media, the concerns – including those of an environmental nature – should be addressed.