The Nigerian Petroleum Sector : An Assessment of the Conflict Management and Sustainable Development Strategies in the Niger Delta

The perennial conflicts between the oil producing Niger-Delta region of Nigeria and the oil companies operating in the region and, by extension, the Federal Government of Nigeria, has significant implications on the development pattern and trends of the area. Engaging the qualitative methodology approach, this paper investigates the propriety, or otherwise, of the conflicts management approaches adopted in the Niger-Delta and their impact on the development of the region. The paper reveals that the development paradigm of the Nigerian state and the multinational oil companies have emphasized physical capital at the detriment of people oriented institutions, which would, much more, bring sustainable development. The situation is compounded by a myriad of circumstances: political and financial, which have rendered government’s promises of, and the oil companies’ efforts at, development of the area, unfulfilled. The paper recommends a paradigm change in the conflict management approach and, more particularly, the practice of true federalism, as panacea for the resolution of the conflict situations in the region