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The crisis in the Niger Delta predates discovery of oil in large quantities at Oloibiri in 1956. Before independence in 1960, conflict in the region took the form of agitation for political representation and protection against marginalization by the dominant ethnic groups. However, this crisis took a new dimension in the early 1990s as oil became a major source of foreign exchange and the derivation formula was changed in favour of the federal government with negative consequences on the local people (the need to maintain constant flow of oil have resulted to gross violation of the local people's rights by the state and the oil multinationals) especially under the military regimes. The entrenchment of democracy in the late 1990s further escalated the tripartite conflict between the state, oil multinationals and host communities as the complex crisis drew global attention. The formation of Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) and Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) in the 1990s to challenge the abuse of human rights over four decades was overwhelmed applauded by the local people of the region. More importantly, MOSOP was the first social movement in the region to have internationalized the plight of the local people while IYC took over from the period when MOSOP had some internal crises that undermined its struggle.

Equally the achievements of MOSOP and IYC have instigated the formation of other social movements in the Niger Delta as a whole. The pressure from these social movements might have accounted for sudden change of policies by the state and the major oil multinationals in the mid-1990s. However, the fundamental question is to what extent the social movements (MOSOP/IYC) and International civil society have been successful with the issue of human rights abuse in the region.

The Niger Delta is a region in Nigeria endowed with enormous natural resources of which petroleum oil is the most exploited. This petroleum oil has been the engine of development in Nigeria since 1958, providing more than 90 percent of total exports (CBN, 1981) and over 80 percent of Federal Government revenue. Despite this, the Niger Delta people remain poor and underdeveloped. Youth restiveness and violence is the order of the day. As a product of two separate youth forums, this paper recommends good governance, youth impact assessments, youth inclusion in decision‐making, as well as capacity building as a way out of this discord.

To evaluate and examine human perception of causes, frequency, duration, impact, adjustment patterns and local attempts of control, protection and flood prediction in Niger Delta. This will enable rural dwellers to appreciate some local flood control measures.

Through questionnaires administered in reclaimed areas of urban centres and flood prone communities in the Niger Delta. The data abstracted from questionnaires were then analyzed through Kruskal‐Wallis Function. The Kruskal‐Wallis approach was used as it takes care of large data points, which consists of nominal or ordinal data.

Human perception of flooding as regards impact and local attempts at flood prediction differ among Niger Delta States. The study highlights the socio‐economic implications of flooding as regards to causes, effects, control and predictive measures.

Assist rural dwellers on cheaper local and emergency measures such as use of sand bars, opening up of creeks and assess, cleaning of drainages to allow free flow.

The paper suggests continuous enlightenment programs as a means to encourage local and emergency measures to be adopted when flooding occurs. The work is original as no such work or analysis had been carried out in the Niger Delta in the past. The paper has provided raw data and knowledge, and adds to the limited literature in the Niger Delta. On the flooding cycles of the Niger Delta. It should also raise the awareness of local dwellers on the requirements for flood emergency response and adjustment.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how and why international advocacy NGOs (iaNGOs) use counter accounting as part of their campaigns against oil companies operating in the Niger Delta to reform problematic regulatory systems and make visible corporate practices that exploit governance and accountability gaps in relation to human rights violations and environmental damage.

This arena study draws on different sources of evidence, including interviews with nine iaNGOs representatives involved in campaigns in the Niger Delta. The authors mapped out the history of the conflict in order to locate and make sense of the interviewees’ views on counter accounting, campaigning strategies, accountability and governance gaps as well as their motivations and aspirations for change.

The evidence revealed an inability of vulnerable communities to engage in relevant governance systems, due to unequal power relationships, corporate actions and ineffective governance practices. NGOs used counter accounts as part of their campaigns to change corporate practices, reform governance systems and address power imbalances. Counter accounts made visible problematic actions to those with power over those causing harm, gave voice to indigenous communities and pressured the Nigerian Government to reform their governance processes.

Understanding the intentions, desired outcomes and limitations of NGO’s use of counter accounting could influence human rights accountability and governance reforms in political institutions, public sector organisations, NGOs and corporations, especially in developing countries.

This paper seeks to contribute to accounting research that seeks to protect the wealth and natural endowments of indigenous communities to enhance their life experience.

By interviewing the preparers of counter accounts the authors uncover their reasons as to why they find accounting useful in their campaigns.

The purpose of this chapter is to critically examine the extent to which oil multinational corporations (MNCs) can be both money makers and peace makers in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria, and to consider its implication for the role of business in conflict mitigation in resource-rich African countries.

The chapter presents a theoretical analysis based on secondary data and empirical research.

There is now an emerging consensus that business can be peace makers and money makers in developing countries as part of their social responsibility. However, the tendency to explore business-conflict linkage largely from a business perspective and to see conflict as an “incidence” that business has to respond to, as opposed to a “dynamic process” that is a function of the breakdown of stakeholder relationship, limits our understanding of the relationship between business and conflict. Focusing on the Niger Delta in Nigeria, it is argued that the contradictory tension inherent in the peace making efforts of oil MNCs and the nature of their core business activities (i.e., oil extraction) limits the incentives and undermines the capacity of oil MNCs to be peace makers.

The chapter contributes a critical perspective to the literature on business and conflict informed by nearly two decades of empirical research undertaken by the author in Africa. It analyzes how contextual factors in resource-rich African countries, previously neglected in the literature, influence both the willingness and ability of business to contribute to peace. It concludes by discussing the theoretical and practical implications for the role of business in conflict zones.

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the multinational oil companies’ (MOCs’) corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in Nigeria. Its special focus is to investigate the impact of Global Memorandum of Understandings (GMOUs) on rural young people involved in non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for sustainable livelihood in Niger Delta, Nigeria.

Data for this study were collected from primary sources, using participatory rural appraisal technique of semi-structured interview questionnaire. The use of participatory research techniques in collecting CSR impact data especially as it concerns the rural young people is because it involves the people being studied, and their views on all the issues are paramount. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Inferential statistical tool – estimation of logit model was used to test the two research hypothesis.

The results indicate that GMoUs have not given adequate attention to young people as a special target sub-group who live in rural areas and depend mostly on NTFPs. Results also show that a number of factors hindering rural young people from the use and development of NTFPs include a policy vacuum, non-destructive harvesting, and destruction of natural habitats, bushfires, population growths and high demands.

The semi-structured interview questionnaire was directly administered by the researchers with the help of research assistants. The use of local research assistants was because of the inability of the researchers to speak the different local languages and dialects of the many ethnic groups of Ijaws, Ogonis, Ikweres, Etches, Ekpeyes, Ogbas, Engennes, Obolos, Isokos, Nembes, Okirikas, Kalabaris, Urhobos, Iteskiris, Igbos, Ika-Igbos, Ndonis, Orons, Ibenos, Yorubas, Ibibios, Anangs, Efiks, Bekwarras, Binis, Eshans, Etsakos, Owans, Itigidis, Epies, Akokoedos, Yakkurs, etc., in the sampled rural communities.

An appropriate GMoU-intervention framework for sustainable promotion of NTFPs, domestication of NFTPs, improving harvesting and processing techniques are necessary to facilitate good security, reduction of poverty and improved livelihoods, particularly for the economically-marginalized and forest-dependent rural young people is imperative.

Sustainable livelihoods of the forest-dependent rural young people in sub-Saharan Africa would require some focussed CSR interventions on the NTFPs for sustainable livelihood. Facilities pertaining to storage, grading, processing and value addition through the convergence of existing schemes and programmes should be promoted and created. MOCs are in a position to empower the rural young people with information about the market, policy and products to enable the rural people strategizing and accessing returns from NTFPs in sub-Saharan Africa.

This research adds to the literature on multinational enterprises’ CSR initiatives in developing countries and rationale for demands for social projects by host communities. It concludes that business has an obligation to help in solving problems of sustainable livelihood.

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the multinational oil companies' (MOCs) corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in Nigeria. Its special focus is to investigate the scepticism of stakeholders in the producing communities about the long‐term effect and the beneficiaries of the oil companies' CSR/community development initiatives.

This paper employs a qualitative methodology, drawing on semi‐structured interviews conducted in Nigeria and London. The field work was carried out in Nigeria (Abuja, Lagos and Port‐Harcourt) and in London, UK. Visits were made to the head offices of the MOCs; Ministry of Petroleum and the Nigeria National Petroleum Commission; and the office of The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People in the Niger Delta. In London, Shell International Office was visited.

The study found that expectations of host communities in the Niger Delta for CSR/community development initiatives are greater. The communities above all want social development projects that provide hope of a stable and prosperous future. The companies, on the other hand, have embraced development initiatives primarily in order to demonstrate that they are socially responsible.

If the host communities do not feel that the CSR projects will create a sustainable economic development, they will keep agitating for change and create an hostile environment for multinational enterprises (MNEs).

This research adds to the literature on MNEs' CSR initiatives in developing countries and rationale for demands for social projects by host communities. It concludes that business has an obligation to help in solving problems of public concern.

This study aims to develop a framework that enables the identification of sustainability factors from industry-specific environmental issues, and it proposes that these factors, in turn, can influence the corporate environmental performance (CEP) of firms in such an industry. It also validates the factor identification aspect of the framework.

The paper starts by reviewing relevant literature extensively and then developing an issue-based environmental sustainability framework to highlight the structural relationship of industry-specific sustainability factors with CEP. By involving 131 participants from academics in Niger Delta, the paper uses exploratory factor analysis techniques to reduce industry-specific sustainability factors from several environmental and socio-economic issues in the Nigerian oil and gas (O&G) industry.

Environmental risk originates from business environmental issues, and it triggers community reaction, which impacts negatively on corporate image. The nature of firm’s strategic responsiveness to these factors determines CEP.

The study draws from the perspectives of academics on environmental issues in Niger Delta to validate the factor identification aspect of the framework. The views of other stakeholders are not included, and hence, it should be applied with caution.

Useful in identifying and managing industry-specific environmental issues, and thus, achieving some sustainable development objectives.

Although most previous studies have focused on generic CEP drivers, this study proposes sustainability factors that can originate from industry-specific environmental issues as crucial drivers of CEP in such an industry. It provides empirical evidence of such credible sustainability factors emerging from the Nigerian O&G industry’s environmental issues.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the efficacy of Nigeria's oil and gas industry local content (LC) policy, with particular reference to how the policy has enhanced entrepreneurial activities and served as panacea to resolving some of the country's socio‐economic challenges within the oil‐producing Niger Delta region.

Survey data were randomly obtained from a questionnaire sample of 120 indigenes in Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states; and subjected to factor‐analysis using varimax rotation to identify the most crucial factors likely to influence the success of the policy. Cronbach's α was also applied to ascertain the reliability of the data and overall agreement amongst respondents.

The study reveals a general level of indifference amongst the respondents, and an insignificant level of entrepreneurial implication, regarding the LC policy. Notwithstanding, the need to create business prospects, jobs opportunities, and establish special quota arrangements to benefit indigenes of the oil producing host‐communities were found to be most crucial in their assessment of the policy's efficacy.

It is expected that the policy should stimulate and open up more channels for budding entrepreneurial activities, job opportunities and wealth generation. These would mitigate situations of unwarranted militant activities, social disorder and disguised criminalities such as kidnapping and destruction of oil installations, resulting from perceived marginalisation, massive unemployment and poor living standards experienced within the region.

The study provides insights into how the LC policy, if properly harnessed and judiciously implemented, can generate win‐win outcomes for the nation, multi‐national oil companies, host communities and indigenous entrepreneurs.