Relative Deprivation and Armed Conflict in Rentier States: an Overview of the Niger Delta Avengers

Authors:
Yahaya Yakubu
DOI Number:
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Abstract:
Like most rentier states, Nigeria has witnessed a series of incessant armed conflicts bordering around the redistribution and appropriation of revenue generated from crude exploration. Particularly, the oil rich Niger Delta region has been in and out of armed conflict. The issue of revenue sharing formula has resulted in armed confrontation between social movements such as the Niger Delta Avengers and the federal government. Upon evaluating the social movement theory, the study posits relative deprivation as sufficient cause but not necessary for the emergence of social movements that take up arms. It argues resource mobilization and political process theories as complimentary determinants of the armed confrontations in the Niger Delta. In response to failed attempts at curtailing armed agitations in the region, the study argue the solution to the conflict lies in diversification of revenue sources on the side of the government and exploration of conventional methods for addressing grievances on the side of resource rich communities.
Keywords:
Social Movement, Relative Deprivation, Resource Mobilization, Political Process, Armed Conflict and Niger Delta Avengers.

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