Abstract

Oil-host communities in the Niger Delta have for over two decades been enmeshed in violent conflicts. These conflicts have resulted in numerous deaths, destruction of properties and entire communities. The proliferation of violent conflicts in the Niger Delta is a departure from the history of social, political and economic relations in the region before and during colonial rule. The paper interrogates the trajectories of conflict in the Niger Delta and states that the vitriolic relation within and between oil-host communities is a product of the antics of the oil multinationals. It argues that the business ethics of the oil multinationals are premised only on profit maximisation. Thus, they have actively aided and abetted state repression in the Niger Delta, and anchored their relations in oil-host communities, on partnership with those with power to violently disrupt their activities. The ethics and practice of the oil multinationals in oil-host communities besides conducing conflicts, eroded and fragmented traditional authority; giving rise to intense struggles by contending groups with their attendant violent outcomes. Three case studies are used to show the conflict conducing policies and practices of the oil multinationals in oil-host communities.   

Key words: Oil multinationals, conflicts construction, Niger Delta.