Niger Delta Human Development Report - UNDP Nigeria - United ...

2
Analyses of poverty
and human development
paint a dismal
picture, particularly
when the delta is
compared with other
oil-producing regions
of the world.
Social instability,
poor local governance,
competition for
economic resources
and environmental
degradation have
taken a toll.
The delta today is a
place of frustrated
expectations and
deep-rooted mistrust.
offer very limited economic opportunities.
Infrastructure and social services are
generally deplorable, and vastly inadequate
for an estimated regional population of
nearly 30 million people.
While many development agencies and
private sector organizations, including oil
companies, have sought to transform the
region socially and economically, analyses
of poverty and human development paint
a dismal picture. The region’s human
development index (HDI) score, a
measure of well-being encompassing the
longevity of life, knowledge and a decent
standard of living, remains at a low value
of 0.564 (with 1 being the highest score).
While these ratings put the Niger Delta at
a slightly higher level than Nigeria’s overall
HDI of 0.453, the area rates far below
countries or regions with similar oil and
gas resources. For example, the HDI for
Saudi Arabia in 2000 stood at 0.800, while
in 2003 the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait,
Libya, Venezuela and Indonesia achieved
scores of 0.849, 0.844, 0.799, 0.772 and
0.697, respectively.
A further disaggregation of the HDI score
at the local government level in the Niger
Delta clearly shows that regional and state
scores mask inequalities in human development
among oil-producing communities.
In spite of the efforts of oil companies to
enhance the well-being of the communities
where they operate through several development
initiatives, particularly in social
infrastructure, there is still wide disparity
in the performances of local government
areas. The report discovers that most of
the best performing local government areas
on the HDI are the urban ones, while
the majority of the poorly performing
ones are those based in rural areas. The
local government areas without oil facilities
appear to fare better on the poverty
index than those with oil facilities; an indication
of unequal distribution of oil revenues.
The poor outcomes of development
interventions of oil companies are,
to some extent, due to lack of a systematic
link to government development plans.
The delta’s appalling human development
situation cannot be completely captured
by the HDI, as some essential issues in
the region are not reflected in the computation
of the index, such as the dire state
of infrastructure. The lack of data also
distorts the calculation of the index to
some extent. Nevertheless, available data
point to the fact that the region is not faring
well. The poor marks suggest the delta
may struggle to achieve the MDGs. It is
only close in one area—school enrolments—and
is not likely to meet the other
goals by the target date of 2015 or anytime
soon after.
Behind the delta’s poor performance on
human development is a complex brew
of economic, social, political and environmental
factors. Social instability, poor local
governance, competition for economic
resources and environmental degradation
have taken a toll. The general neglect of
infrastructure, often rationalized by the
difficulty of the delta’s terrain, has worsened
people’s access to fundamental services
such as electricity, safe drinking water,
roads and health facilities that are
taken for granted in many other parts of
Nigeria. Other elements include the negative
impacts of the oil industry, a constricted
land area, a delicately balanced environment
and extreme economic deprivation.
The delta today is a place of frustrated
expectations and deep-rooted mistrust.
Unprecedented restiveness at times erupts
in violence. Long years of neglect and
conflict have fostered a siege mentality,
especially among youths who feel they are
condemned to a future without hope, and
see conflict as a strategy to escape
deprivation. Persistent conflict, while in
part a response to poor human
development, has also entrenched it,
serving as a consistent drag on the region’s
economic performance and expectations
for advancement.
The sabotage of oil production hurts the
economy through the loss of sorely
needed foreign exchange to finance
national development. Blown pipelines
interrupt the supply of crude to refineries
and produce shortages that cause sudden
spikes in oil prices. Hostage-taking is not
only a stress on foreign captives, their
families and the companies they work for,
NIGER DELTA HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT