In the midst of so much injustice, can there be a seat for energy justice at the Nigerian table?

Abstract

Abstract The end of the 20th century and the start of the 21st century recorded an increase in demands for accountability and justice on a plethora of levels. Social justice was a broad theme which was followed by environmental justice and climate justice. Energy justice is a relatively new phenomenon that advocates for the equitable sharing of both the benefits and burdens of energy sources and services. Nigeria, the largest producer of oil and gas on the African continent, has for decades been beset by issues of corruption, mismanagement of resources and wealth, a lack of accountability and a lopsided discriminatory distribution of the benefits, proceeds and profits from the Nigerian oil industry. The people of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, which is the area responsible for Nigeria’s oil, feel impoverished by the exploitation of their land and left out of the profits, end products and projects which result from resources on their land. The regulation of the Nigerian energy industry is one facet of the industry that has come against heavy complaints and criticisms. The management of the country’s natural resources and the sources, generation, provision and distribution of energy (both domestic and industrial) within its geographical territory is an area that requires substantial work and overhaul. This work examines the tenets of energy justice and recommends the adoption of the restorative justice tenet as a path to improving the Nigerian energy system and correspondingly improving the environment and the lives and human rights of the people who live in the Niger Delta region.