Date of Conferral

2014

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

Victor A. Ferreros

Abstract

A state of conflict has existed in the Niger Delta for fifty years. The nature of the conflict, whether it is terrorism or civil insurrection, has not been resolved by the respective legislative entities. This qualitative case study was designed to explore the nature of the Niger Delta conflict from the perspective of several members of the Nigerian National Assembly and determine whether terrorism in Nigeria is related to the general conflict. Social conflict theory provided the basis for the exploration. An ancillary question explored whether antiterrorism legislation in 2006 alleviated the Niger Delta conflict. Interview data were collected from 1 senator and 5 representatives of the Nigerian National Assembly. These data were inductively coded and manually analyzed for major themes, and then triangulated with a review of internal and public documents pertaining to the relevant legislation. The study established that the root causes of the Niger Delta conflict were economic inequities. Three conclusions were drawn from the case study and data regarding legislative attempts to address the conflict: (1) the antiterrorism legislation of 2006 did not criminalize the Niger Delta conflict, (2) the legislation did not have an impact on fiscal resource allocations to the region, and (3) no link between the conflict and current terrorism activities in Nigeria was evident.

Recommendations are given for the Nigerian state to engage in fiscal federalism as a means of equitable allocations of resources to the region, thereby contributing to positive social change.

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