Resource control: Starving the golden goose that lays the golden eggs raquo; The Guardian Nigeria

Niger Delta is the most oil-rich region in Nigeria whose resource generates about 70 percent of the Nigeria revenue, according to the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI). Ironically, the social-economic condition of the region is characterized by underdevelopment, poverty, environmental degradation and infrastructure gaps, a reality that has been the cause of perennial agitation in the delta region. bummyla.com The delta people believe that having a control over their resources will address some of the problems they have been facing since 1956 when the first oil was discovered in Oloibiri in Bayelsa State. In this report, AJIBOLA AMZAT (Features Editor) examines the pros and cons of this position. Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) declared on Thursday, May 12 on its website (www.nigerdeltaavengers.org) that they have reduced Nigeria’s crude oil production by 50 percent. The following week, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, announced that Nigeria’s crude oil production has declined from 2.2 million barrels per day to www.yohaig.ng/ updates every 1 hour.4 million barrels per day due to pipeline vandalism. This loss is translated to 800,000 barrel per day, representing 36 percent loss as against 50 percent loss claimed by the NDA. The difference in figure notwithstanding, the Avengers’ attack, together with the crash of the global price of crude oil, has distressed the Nigerian economy in a significant way. Yet the militants have promised to bring down the production to "zero" level through their engagement coded "Operation Red Economy."

Should that happen, that may also cause the failure of the 2016 budget which, though aims at diversifying the Nigeria economy, but still relies significantly on earnings from oil. Nigeria’s life expectancy at birth (years) is 52.29, according to the 2015 United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). If the Avengers make good their promise, the promises of Buhari administration to reduce the infant mortality rate to 3 percent by 2019, maternal mortality by more than 70 percent and to improve life expectancy by additional 10 years may also be frustrated. In other words, the human development index in Nigeria may further decline through the activities of the Avengers. This, perhaps, is the reason why some stakeholders are calling for dialogue. Dialogue is the "solution to the current crisis," former governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, was quoted in the press recently. fabmagazineonline.com The state has been receiving the highest monthly allocation from the federation account in the last 6 years.

Okonjo-Iweala once listed Nigeria’s 10 highest revenue receiving states based on the federal allocations in 2013. Akwa Ibom is number one followed by three other states from the Niger Delta. The allocations are as follows: Akwa Ibom N260 billion, Rivers N230 billion, Delta State N209 billion, Bayelsa N173 billion, Lagos N168 billion, Kano N140 billion, Katsina N103 billion, Oyo N100 billion, Kaduna N 97 billion and Borno N94 billion..This pattern subsists till date, yet many communities in the region continue to grapple with basic survival. This is the reason why some observers think throwing more money at the region may not activate development, rather it will only continue to enrich a few individuals in the power circle. But this also is not an argument that is popular in the region. The group also had blown up crude oil trunk line belonging to the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) also located in Delta State, as well as NNPC crude oil trunk line to Warri refinery.