Development Securitisation in Nigeria's Niger Delta: An Appraisal of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)

The management of popular protests by various Niger Delta social groups and local communities against the negative externalities of oil operation, and their perceived marginalisation in the Nigerian federation has been a thorny issue for various Nigerian governments, especially since the early 1990s. To contain the protests and the correlated security threats, successive governments have simultaneously adopted both hard and soft control measures, principally military reprisal, and the securitisation of development. Whilst extensive international publicity and opprobrium generally go with the former, a paucity of information and critical studies characterise the latter. This study attempts to fill the gap by critically examining the performance of President Obasanjo's administration in the area of the securitisation of development in Niger Delta.