Resource curse, elitism and the development of the oil-rich Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

Abstract

The concern of this research is that the political elites in the Niger Delta appears to be undermining the development of the region by utilizing the development funds in ways not appropriate. But the people of the Niger Delta claim that the underdevelopment ravaging the region is caused by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN). So, who should we hold responsible? We set out using existing literature to investigate the matter. We found that the FGN is making good efforts by providing development intervention funds that can be utilized for the development of the region. These funds are directly transferred to the states in the region and the FGN also created special development institutions for the same purpose. Both means are managed by the elites from the region. We also found that the elites who manage the funds are not doing so properly. We also found that the intellectuals, writers and scholars from the region are not telling the elites the truth about how the elites are badly managing the development of the region. We therefore conclude that it is the political elites from the Niger Delta that are squarely responsible for the underdevelopment of the region.