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

Rubber plantations that
once covered thousands of
hectares of land in Edo
and Delta states were
cleared as the oil boom
took hold. Many palm oil
and cocoa plantations were
abandoned and allowed
torevert to bush.
Links between oil
companies’ operations
and human deprivation
in some areas of the
delta has raised local
expectations that the oil
companies should
contribute to physical
and human development
in affected communities.
Table 1.3: Sex Distribution of Population, 1991 (per cent)
State Male Female
Abia 48.2 51.8
Akwa Ibom 48.5 51.5
Bayelsa 52.1 47.9
Cross River 50.0 50.0
Delta 49.1 50.9
Edo 50.0 50.0
Imo 46.9 53.1
Ondo 49.9 48.1
Rivers 51.9 48.1
Niger Delta 49.5 50.5
Source: National Population Census 1991.
rubber plantations are being established;
cocoa and oil palm farms are being
rehabilitated. Also, there is increased activity
in arable crop cultivation, particularly of
cassava for commercial purposes.
The urban sector, with its concentration of
informal sector activities, plays a growing
role in the economy of the Niger Delta
region. Trading (17.4 per cent), services
(9.8 per cent) and miscellaneous activities
(11.1 per cent) are the most important areas
of employment, after agriculture, fishing
and forestry overall. But a strong informal
sector economic base is also growing in rural
areas.
One major contemporary challenge facing
the region's economy may be how to
revamp the rural economy by optimizing
and modernizing agriculture as well as
fishing. Oil wealth can be put to good use
in this regard. The people of the Niger
Delta Region would feel that they have
gained something substantial to make up
for all the miseries associated with past
neglect.
The Niger Delta Region has been
particularly attractive to major international
oil companies, including Shell, Chevron,
Mobil, Elf, Agip and Texaco, among others,
which have been involved in joint ventures
with the Federal Government in connection
with oil exploration, exploitation and
production. Links between their operations
and human deprivation in some areas of
the delta has local raised expectations that
the oil companies should contribute to
physical and human development in
affected communities. Other expectations
include the monitoring and promotion of
respect for human rights, compliance with
environmental standards for exploration
and exploitation, and, where necessary,
restitution for damages. For their part, oil
companies expect the provision of security
for the oil facilities, the prevention of
damage to their facilities and environment
and the protection of their personnel.
Oil company operations have included
some externalities. For example, oil
production has often damaged the
environment in the region. This dimension
is further elaborated in chapter three of
this report. The perennial conflicts between
the oil companies and the local
communities are discussed in chapter five.
It is also true that oil production and oilbased
industrial expansion by the
multinational oil companies have
transformed the local economy of the
region. Some communities have greatly
benefited from oil production, through
attractive wages for full-time employment
or specialized contractual services, although
underemployment and unemployment are
also rife. Development spending by the oil
companies has brought appreciable social
services, utilities and other infrastructure
26 NIGER DELTA HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT