WHY THE CRISIS IN THE OIL-RICH NIGER DELTA MAY PERSIST: A STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE.
For over 5 decades of oil exploration, production and export by several international oil companies in partnership with the Federal Government of Nigeria, it is obvious that the relationships between the IOCs, the Federal Government, oil-producing communities and other relevant stakeholders have never being cordial, and may never be anytime soon, and hence the continuous crisis in the oil-rich Niger Delta. At the heart of the crisis is the challenge of bringing together the various relevant stakeholders in the region together in order to address the lingering problems amicably. Why is it difficult to bring the relevant stakeholders in the Niger Delta together? The simple reason is because of the poor stakeholder engagement approach being adopted and used by the government and IOCs. According to the International Council on Mining and Metal (2005: p116), this poor stakeholder engagement approach takes the following form and practice: Poorly conducted analysis that doe...