Nigeria’s political and economic fortunes and the
country’s ability to play a stabilizing role in the African
region partly depend on the resolution of the
lingering Niger Delta conflict. The Niger Delta covers
nine out of 36 states and 185 out of 774 local government
areas of the Nigerian federation. It occupies
a total land area of 75,000 square kilometers and is
the world’s third largest wetlands. The 2006 Nigerian
population census shows that 30 million out of the
country’s 140 million people reside in the Niger Delta
region. Nearly all of Nigeria’s oil and gas reserves are
located in the region. Oil and gas have accounted for
about 40 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) since 1990. Between 2000 and 2004, oil
and gas accounted for 75 per cent of total government
revenues and 97 per cent of foreign exchange.
Apart from being vital to Nigeria’s fiscal viability, the
Niger Delta is important to global energy security