Since the early 1970s when crude oil became Nigeria’s main source of foreign exchange, it soon joined the league table of rentier states. However, beginning from the second half of the 1990s to date, the Niger Delta, the heartbeat and the engine that drives Nigeria’s economy has being stormed by large scale tsunamis of unimaginable proportion due to militant activities. Consequently, Nigeria’s quest for unity, stability, national security and accelerated economic development are being undermined. This article explores the relevance of the rentier state theory and the resource-Curse thesis to explaining essence of the renewed violence in the Niger Delta. The article concludes that, although the basic assumptions of the rentier state theory and resource-curse thesis are relevant, there are other salient factors that are also paramount.

Since the early 1970s when crude oil became Nigeria’s main source of foreign exchange, it soon joined the league table of rentier states. However, beginning from the second half of the 1990s to date, the Niger Delta, the heartbeat and the engine that drives Nigeria’s economy has being stormed by large scale tsunamis of unimaginable proportion due to militant activities. Consequently, Nigeria’s quest for unity, stability, national security and accelerated economic development are being undermined. This article explores the relevance of the rentier state theory and the resource-Curse thesis to explaining essence of the renewed violence in the Niger Delta. The article concludes that, although the basic assumptions of the rentier state theory and resource-curse thesis are relevant, there are other salient factors that are also paramount.

The exploration and development of the Nigerian oil resource date back to the 1950s. However, it is obvious that such bourgeois activity has not tangibly reflected upon the wellbeing of the people of Niger Delta, who are the immediate host to these oil resources. ources. Hence, this paper evaluates the rising oil bunkering activities in Niger Delta and its effects upon the human environment. Methodologically, the qualitative method of data collection and analysis is adopted. The theoretical framework is based on the Frustration-aggression aggression analysis. We argue that the failure of the Nigerian state to enhance the living conditions of the impoverished region that yields the golden egg accounts for the rising oil bunkering activities in the region. Consequently, oil bunk bunkering ering has further led to rapid depredation of the Niger Delta agricultural land space. We recommend that the Federal Government should implement genuine poverty alleviation schemes and provide social security for the teeming jobless youths in the region.

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