Niger Delta Indigenes’ Perception of Community Participation in The Development Communication Strategies and Practices of Oil Companies in Nigeria (Published)
This study adopts the principles that underpin participatory development communication in order to highlight the ideology that guides oil corporations’ development communication practices and strategies in Nigeria. The study specifically examines the usage of Global Memorandums of Understanding (GMoUs) by oil firms to engage people in community-based development initiatives. Given Shell and Chevron’s stranglehold in onshore, shallow, and deep-water exploration and development in Nigeria, 16 oil-producing localities in their operational zones were chosen at random for the study. The study’s design was cross-sectional and drew from survey procedures. 400 respondents were selected through a multistage selection approach from the study’s population for the purposes of data collection and analysis. The study found that although indigenes of the Niger Delta are aware of the GMoUs programmes, they lack the knowledge to take part in them. Thus, the Niger Delta indigenous people claim that the GMoUs programmes are self-serving and need to be carefully adapted to satisfy the desire of the people for bottom-up induced development. The study suggests that development communication experts be involved in the conception and implementation of the ideas because the GMoU model, which oil companies adopted, was flawed in its conception due to a potential lack of sufficient literature review for development agents to gain the understanding needed to guide implementation.
Keywords: Community Participation, Development Communication, Niger-Delta, global memorandums of understanding
Niger Delta Indigenes’ Perception of Community Participation in The Development Communication Strategies and Practices of Oil Companies in Nigeria (Published)
This study adopts the principles that underpin participatory development communication in order to highlight the ideology that guides oil corporations’ development communication practices and strategies in Nigeria. The study specifically examines the usage of Global Memorandums of Understanding (GMoUs) by oil firms to engage people in community-based development initiatives. Given Shell and Chevron’s stranglehold in onshore, shallow, and deep-water exploration and development in Nigeria, 16 oil-producing localities in their operational zones were chosen at random for the study. The study’s design was cross-sectional and drew from survey procedures. 400 respondents were selected through a multistage selection approach from the study’s population for the purposes of data collection and analysis. The study found that although indigenes of the Niger Delta are aware of the GMoUs programmes, they lack the knowledge to take part in them. Thus, the Niger Delta indigenous people claim that the GMoUs programmes are self-serving and need to be carefully adapted to satisfy the desire of the people for bottom-up induced development. The study suggests that development communication experts be involved in the conception and implementation of the ideas because the GMoU model, which oil companies adopted, was flawed in its conception due to a potential lack of sufficient literature review for development agents to gain the understanding needed to guide implementation.
Keywords: Community Participation, Development Communication, Niger-Delta, global memorandums of understanding
Oil pipe line vandalization (Published)
Oil pipe line vandalization is illegal activity of some fellows in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria crudely obtaining, petroleum products for self-aggrandizement or for some form of protest irrespective of the consequences on themselves or others or even the environment. This has caused serious damages on lives in some agitators like the illustrious son of Niger Delta, Ken Saro Wiwa and on the land and seas of the Niger delta that the economic activities changed. What actually is the business of sculpture in oil pipe vandalization or what the relationship between oil pipe line vandals is and sculpture. Postulations and projections are that after some years when the crude oil activity would have ended how would humanity remember this devastating activity as they remembered Holodomor in hunger genocide in Russia. One cannot over emphasize the importance of visual documentation of contemporary history for posterity as we saw in the Nok sculptures. . Anchoring on the theories of bio mimicry popularized by Janine Benyus and questioned by Marshall and Lozena, this study attempts to sculpturally document the activities of these pipe line vandals in a naturalistic rendition of a large sized fibre glass and artistically removing some areas after the fashion of Bruno Catalano. Qualitative mode of research coupled with major studio practices of modelling casting and finishing were employed in this study. The issue of oil pipe line vandalization in the Niger Delta region is devastating enough that it is presently one of the front burner problem within the region that in the years to come when oil would have gone extinct visual records of sculpture would be the only reminder of this era.
Keywords: Niger-Delta, Sculpture, bio mimicry, pipe line, vandalization
Attitude of Host Communities towards Deploying Corporate Social Responsibility to Manage Conflicts in the Niger Delta, Nigeria (Published)
Conflict is multi-faceted and as it is inevitable in human interaction. It could be productive or counter-productive, depending on how effectively it is managed. The perennial conflicts in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria have arguably yielded unproductive outcomes to the host communities, the oil producing companies and the country’s economy. To the host communities, violent and non-violent reactions have resulted to incidents of ecological devastation, poverty and low level of development, which oil exploration activities have created in the region. The oil companies have been victims of destruction of oil facilities, kidnapping and killing of oil expatriates, all negatively affecting their business. Considering the fact that attitudes of host communities is very important to the success of CSR programmes, this study examined the attitudes of host communities towards deploying CSR programmes to manage conflict in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The descriptive survey research design was adopted and structured questionnaire was utilized to gather data from 527 respondents selected through the multi-staged sampling technique. Findings showed that CSR programmes executed by oil companies towards conflict management significantly influenced attitudes of members of the host community. And that they were to a large extent satisfied with the CSR programmes executed in their areas. The study therefore recommended among other things that oil companies should carry out regular consultations to find out the needs of their host communities.
Keywords: CSR, Conflict, Niger-Delta, conflict management strategies
Political Economy of Small Arms Proliferation in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria (Published)
The paper examines the proliferation of small arms in the Niger Delta and is of the opinion that the proliferation of small arms in the Niger Delta is a consequence of the existential realities of the people of Niger Delta. This opinion is made more concrete with the adoption of political economy approach with takes a holistic analysis of the subject matter. It took into consideration the inherent contradictions of a capitalist mode of production which finds expression in economic determinism as the underlying factor in determining the material existence of the people of Niger Delta as occasioned by the actors of the state.
Keywords: Actors of the State, Niger-Delta, Political Economy, Proliferate, Small Arms
READING YOUTH-: VIOLENCE AND IDEOLOGICAL PROPAGANDA IN SELECTED SOUTHERN NIGERIAN PLAYS (Published)
The media’s capacity to manipulate information and create stereotypes can negatively affect young audiences who emulate its aggressive behavioral models. The rate of violence and aggression among Niger Delta youths, who form the core of the militant resistance in the area, can be attributed to the influence of socio-cultural factors of corruption, cultural ideologies and narrative myths created by the media. This essay examines the manner certain plays written by Southern Nigerian playwrights serve as media extensions by acting as if they are creative depictions of the marginalized Delta youth’s social reality while in actuality these works mediate personal objectives that further engender youth violence. The work analyzes the generative ability of the narrative as an action creating new identities and stereotypes. Youth violence, while being anti-social in nature, appears justified in the reference plays which have psychotic young heroes that glamorize violent agitation as an existentialist strategy. The essay surmises that propagandist literature can become operational when the author deliberately gives prominence to certain details while relegating other necessary facts that shape perception and identity
Keywords: Militancy, Niger-Delta, Priming, Propaganda, Violence, Youth
TEACHING STRATEGIES IN BUSINESS EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINING INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY LEARNING IN THE NIGER DELTA (Published)
The study investigated teaching strategies in business education for sustaining information and communication technology learning in the Niger Delta. Two research questions were posed to guide the study and one hypothesis was formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. A total of 245 lecturers were studied in the institutions that offers business education within the Niger Delta. There was no sample and sampling techniques for the study and so the study observed a purposive design, since the entire population was used for the study. Data for the study was collected through an instrument (questionnaire) named Teaching Strategies in Business Education for Sustaining Information and Communication Technology Learning in the Niger Delta Questionnaire (TSBESICTLNDQ). The TSBESICTLNDQ was a modified four point Likert scale, designed as very effective to not effective. Test-retest method was used to test the reliability of the items with face and content validity. The validity was done by twenty five (25) lecturers other than those used for the study and a reliability co-efficient of 0.78 was obtained. Mean rating and standard deviation was used to analyse the research questions and t-test for large group mean was used to test the hypothesis. Findings revealed that teaching strategies adopted by lecturers in Business Education Department are effective strategies for sustaining ICT learning. Not all lecturers teaching ICT adopts the strategies in business education for effective learning that is the reason why most lecturers do not build upon the strategies they already know to sustain information and communication technology learning in classroom as a result of their inability to adapt to the strategies that can assist them to be effective in classroom setting. Based on the findings, discussions and conclusions drawn, recommendations made amongst others were that university administrators in various institutions should organize workshops and seminars on teaching strategies in business education for sustaining ICT learning in their institutions. Heads of department who adopts the teaching strategies in business education for sustaining information and communication technology learning should sensitize others on the effectiveness of the strategies in teaching and learning
Keywords: Business Education, Information and Communication Technology, Learning, Niger-Delta, Strategies., Sustaining, Teaching