An investigation of oil and gas-induced displacement and resettlement policies in The south-south region of Nigeria (case studies: Finima community and Ogoniland)

Iheme, Magdalene

Abstract

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report in 2022, it is stated that there are more than 100 million people were forcible displaced in the year 2022, most of them within their own countries. Thus, the extraction of oil and gas which has been identified by many authors as a mixed blessing for oil producing countries and this is because of the many impacts of pollution, oil spills, gas flares and hazards on the environment and the people. And because it requires massive infrastructures, it demands extensive land acquisition from communities around the project locations, like the Finima Community and Ogoniland.
International acknowledgement that development-induced displacement has many of the same effects upon the displaced as other groups forcibly displaced by natural disasters, conflict and development is rising and the argument is that environmental degradation, inadequate planning for rapid growth and overall dissatisfaction of the resettlement process is likely to increase internal displacements. It is thus, a governments responsibility to enforce relevant laws and regulations to protect, develop and sustain the displaced and resettled communities.
This study is guided by the Impoverishment and Risk and Reconstruction (IRR) Model by Cernea (1997) which presented eight key risks associated with displacement. And adopted the interpretivist philosophical stance and abductive approach with multiple-embedded case study design. which applied various data collection techniques as it examined existing policy documents from relevant oil and gas agencies and conducted semi-structured interviews with all stakeholders involved in the oil and gas industry. All information were thematically analysed using Nvivo 12. Findings revealed that oil and gas-induced displacement and resettlement ought to be treated equally as other induced displacements.
This thesis acknowledges that oil and gas-induced projects directly or indirectly impact and displaces people and communities in many forms just like other forms of induced displacement. And according to the United Nations (UN), guiding principle Seven (7) (1998) on IDPs, it stated that ‘prior to the decision requiring the displacement of persons, the authorities shall ensure that all feasible alternatives are explored to avoid displacement altogether. Where no alternative exists, all measures shall be taken to minimize displacement and its adverse effects. It should ensure to the greatest practicable extent, proper accommodation is provided, and that satisfactory conditions of safety, health, and family separation is minimized’. This study suggests that existing regulatory policies that underpins the protection and development of displacement and involuntary resettlement induced by oil and gas needs to be upgraded and thus proposed a framework to guide policymakers to improve oil and gas-induced displacement and resettlement policies in Nigeria.

Citation

Iheme, M. (2023). An investigation of oil and gas-induced displacement and resettlement policies in The south-south region of Nigeria (case studies: Finima community and Ogoniland). (Thesis). University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Sep 6, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 30, 2023
• Award Date: Sep 29, 2023