Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-13T21:57:14.049Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

12 - The Political Economy of Oil

from Part IV - Development Crises

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 June 2021

Toyin Falola
Affiliation:
University of Texas, Austin
Get access

Summary

“The Political Economy of Oil” examines the vital role petroleum oil plays in the sociopolitical and economic formation and sustenance of Nigeria, highlighting its paradoxical nuances. The oil produced in the Niger Delta contributes immensely to the nation’s GDP yet has caused so much underdevelopment and destruction. While the oil produced is a mechanism of state cohesion, it is also a cause of division; the Niger Delta society suffers the untoward extraction and exploitation of the petroleum resource. Therefore, individuals and groups in the Niger Delta states have consistently positioned themselves to be both a threat to stability and an asset for securing peace in a constantly shifting terrain. The dependency has created a rentier state in which all problems are resolved through a patronage network funded by crude oil. Maintaining this network and diversifying the country’s economy are opposing goals. A seismic shift is required in the state’s sociopolitical calibration to stem the tide that is drowning individual and collective efforts to change the economic realities and social narratives that are weighing down the region. As this undisputable issue continues to linger in Nigeria, it requires a careful observation and analysis of nuanced issues to be fully understood.

Type
Chapter
Information
Understanding Modern Nigeria
Ethnicity, Democracy, and Development
, pp. 285 - 313
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×