"The Niger delta region of Nigeria which is at the heart of the country's oil industry, has a long history of struggles for self-determination dating back to the early years of the 20[superscript th] century. In the 1980s and 1990s, these struggles, unfolding as they did within the context of military authoritarianism and structural adjustment, took the form of widespread agitation for greater control by local communities of the revenues accruing to the Nigerian state from exploration and extraction of oil." "This study attempts to capture the transformations in ethnic minority identity politics in the oil-producing areas of the Niger delta. In doing this, attention is simultaneously drawn to the factors informing the shift from peaceful agitation to violent protest as well as the dynamic of decay and renewal in the various ethnic minority movements that are active in the delta. It is suggested that part of the solution to the crisis in the delta will involve not only a thorough-going restructuring of the Nigerian state but also the re-orientation of the mode of operation of the giant oil multinationals in order to make them both more sensitive and accountable to the local communities."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Fidelis Allen situates violent conflict in the Niger Delta in the context of failure by government to effectively implement relevant oil-related environmental policies intended to achieve sustainable development, arguing that oil and environment-related conflicts in the region are reflections of this failure. This failure is premised on the notion that the goal of sustainable development, as clearly outlined in Nigeria’s National Environmental Policy and implied in various other policies, can be pursued through the activities of government, individuals and business organisations that are capable of engendering economic and social progress for communities that depend on the environment for their survival. In fact, available evidence shows that government and oil company activities (or failures to act) actually contribute to the despoliation of the environment in the Niger Delta. Despite existing environmental legislations and guidelines, unsafe waste disposal, flaring of gas and oil spillage remain key features of oil industry operations in the Niger Delta. Not surprisingly, the book highlights a lack of synergy between government and oil company activities, and the attainment of sustainable development as a key goal of the environmental policy of the government. In other words, the activities of the government and oil companies do not sufficiently promote sustainable development. The net consequence is reflected in the frustrations of local justice and environmental movement groups about the political processes which deter (rather than enable) their agitation for improvements in local living conditions and development in the Niger Delta. Over time, those frustrations begin to manifest at different levels, including aggressive and violent behaviours against oil companies and government security agencies for their contributory roles.

Suitable for professionals, students, and lay readers alike, this book provides an immensely informative, profoundly moving, and remarkably comprehensive look at the range and nature of violence and abuse by and of humans today. Angela Browne-Miller, PhD, is editor of this comprehensive and unique set of four volumes containing over 110 chapters from over 130 international experts with backgrounds in behavioral science, social science, law, and medicine, as well as researchers, practitioners, and lay persons with varied specialties. These volumes cover the following areas reflected by their titles: Volume One: Fundamentals, Effects, and Extremes; Volume Two: Setting, Age, Gender, and Other Key Elements; Volume Three: Psychological, Ritual, Sexual, and Trafficking Issues; and Volume Four: Faces on Intimate Partner Violence. This collection looks at the range of violence and abuse we see today, conducting a detailed examination against the backdrop of a history of violence and abuse around the globe. The works within focus for the most part on violence and abuse taking place outside of war contexts, discussing road rage, child abuse, elder abuse, abuse of women and girls, sex slavery, violent rituals including female genital cutting, abuse within cults, domestic violence, gun violence, and modern problems fueled by technology, including cyberbullying and cyberstalking.

The Crises of Postcoloniality in Africa is an assemblage of transdisciplinary essays that offer a spirited reflection on the debate and phenomenon of postcoloniality in Africa, including the changing patterns and ramifications of problems, challenges and opportunities associated with it. A key conceptual rhythm that runs through the various chapters of the book is that, far from being demised, postcoloniality is still firmly embedded in Africa, manifesting itself in both blatant and insidious forms. Among the important themes covered in the book include the concepts of postcolonialism, postcoloniality, and neocolonialism; Africa’s precolonial formations and the impact of colonialism; the enduring patterns of colonial legacies in Africa; the persistent contradictions between African indigenous institutions and western versions of modernity; the unravelling of the postcolonial state and issues of armed conflict, conflict intervention and peacebuilding; postcolonial imperialism in Africa and the US-led global war on terror, the historical and postcolonial contexts of gender relations in Africa, as well as pan-Africanism and regionalist approaches to redressing the crises of postcoloniality.

The 1990s heralded waves of spectacular forms of local resistance and globalized protest against oil exploitation and environmental pollution in oil-producing regions of the developing world. One of the most spectacular local uprisings against global oil multinationals was led by the Ogoni people who were protesting against the exploitation and marginalization of oil-producing ethnic minority communities in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. However, the hanging on November 10, 1995 of nine Ogoni ethnic minority and environmental justice activists, including Ken Saro-Wiwa, only served to exacerbate protests in later years. Within a decade, dozens of locally rooted insurgent groups emerged in the Niger Delta and construed themselves as part of the social movement for ethnic minority rights and environmental justice which dates back to colonial times. However, the trajectory of the revolutionary momentum has changed over time, reflecting a mix of progressive, opportunistic and retrogressive trends. This book provides a critical study of the trajectory of struggles in the Niger Delta since 1995, paying attention to continuities and changes, including recent developments linked to the shift from local resistance, to the rupturing of the Presidential Amnesty peace deal (largely to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) and the resurgence low-intensity sporadic armed militancy—led by the Niger Delta Avengers militia among others. The contributors critically interrogate the nature of the region’s political economy, socio-economic trends and trajectories over the past two decades. This collection also accentuates the lessons learnt, prospects for self-determination, socio-economic and environmental justice and peace in the aftermath of the hanging.

'Security' has become a buzzword in political discourses in Africa and elsewhere, especially since the terrorist attacks on America on 9/11 2001, and America's global responses to threat of terrorism. Yet, there persists a fundamental 'conflict of securities' in Africa - the security of the state and its governing elites versus the security of the people from a human and societal security point of view. African elites and the general populace appear to have divergent notions of security. For the governing elites, security seems to be mainly about territorial sovereignty, protection and patrimonialization of the state largesse while for the majority of the under-privileged and middle class Africans, security appears to be more about access to basic livelihood and farmland, human capital improvement, employment and wage matters, protection from violence, functional development infrastructures (transport networks, electricity, clean water, education, etc), as well as availability and affordability of essential services and amenities. Africa's security contradictions and dilemma raise a number of urgent and compelling questions: whose security matters most? How has security been historically constructed and provided in Africa? How have those who are alienated from the dominant security agendas responded to their conditions of insecurity? What nexus of factors and interests influence security governance and politics in various African states and why? And what are the domestic, regional and international implications of the politics of security for Africa?

Considers the challenges that Nigeria's leadership now faces, offering rich-and-sobering-analyses of the current political and economic systems.

Examines what it means to be African and American through the stories of recent West African immigrants African & American tells the story of the much overlooked experience of first and second generation West African immigrants and refugees in the United States during the last forty years. Interrogating the complex role of post-colonialism in the recent history of black America, Marilyn Halter and Violet Showers Johnson highlight the intricate patterns of emigrant work and family adaptation, the evolving global ties with Africa and Europe, and the translocal connections among the West African enclaves in the United States. Drawing on a rich variety of sources, including original interviews, personal narratives, cultural and historical analysis, and documentary and demographic evidence, African & American explores issues of cultural identity formation and socioeconomic incorporation among this new West African diaspora. Bringing the experiences of those of recent African ancestry from the periphery to the center of current debates in the fields of immigration, ethnic, and African American studies, Halter and Johnson examine the impact this community has had on the changing meaning of “African Americanness” and address the provocative question of whether West African immigrants are, indeed, becoming the newest African Americans.

Four other themes will addressed: politics, economics, the environment and the history of land investments in sub-Saharan Africa.

In this book, Impact of Culture on the Transfer of Management Practices in a Former British Colonies: Cadbury, Nigeria, Dr. Olusoji George deals with a number of these issues head on. In particular, he has highlighted two elements largely ignored in the international management literature: first, colonial (political and economic forms) and their encounters with pre-existing employment management practices and secondly, emergent, post-colonial influences on modern management. The hybrid systems that emerge in many postcolonial, developing economies, Dr. George argues, are best investigated by delving deep into the historical antecedents of management practices. It is at the intersection between colonised and coloniser, and attempts to reconcile the injustices created within colonial systems (as well as attempts to create specific ethnic and tribal balance within colonial systems) that the legacy that independent, but postcolonial nations may struggle to reconcile may be found. Through an in-depth analysis based on a major corporation in West Africa, specifically Cadbury Nigeria, evolving practices, grounded in colonial and commercial objectives bring into sharp focus the veracity of the central historical features of the proposition made by Dr. George.