EFFECTS OF OIL EXPLOITATION ON FAMILIES IN OGULAGHA KINGDOM, DELTA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Oil exploitation has occasioned environmental degradation, conflicts, restiveness and insecurity in the Niger Delta region with resultant effects on family lives in particular and human security in general. Extant studies have focused more on environmental degradation, communal conflicts over land and violent agitations over allocation of oil revenues among members at communal level than on effects of oil exploitation particularly at family level in Ogulagha Kingdom. This study, therefore, was designed to examine the effects of oil exploitation on families in Ogulagha Kingdom, Delta State, Nigeria, with a view to determining how their livelihood, education and health were affected. The Radcliffe Brown’s Structural Functionalism was used as the framework, while the mixed methods design was adopted. Convenience sampling was used to select 230 respondents to whom a self-designed questionnaire was administered. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 20 family heads, 10 community chiefs, 10 community opinion leaders, 10 representatives of youth groups and eight representatives of women association, the Chairman of Burutu Local Government Area and the traditional ruler of Ogulagha Kingdom with whom in-depth interviews were conducted. Key informant interviews were conducted, four each, with members of staff of Shell Petroleum Development Company and Nigerian Agip Oil Company, Niger Delta Development Commission and Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission. They also included two officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, two medical doctors, four officials of federal and state agencies on environmental impact assessment in Delta State. Eight Focus Group Discussions were held, one each, among the largest associations of men, women, boys and girls. Relevant reports and publications on the activities of government agencies and multinational companies were used to generate secondary data. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data were contentanalysed. Prior to oil exploitation, families in Ogulagha Kingdom flourished economically through fishing, farming, salt making, trade by barter, canoe carving and gin distillation among others. Oil exploitation activities led to poor livelihood and abject poverty. Economically, fishing (63.3%), a major means of livelihood for families diminished to 3.4%, and only made possible with modern fishing boats, which an average fisherman could not afford. Farming (17.8%), another source of sustenance for families dwindled to 2.6% owing to severe gas pollution. Families were further affected by health-related challenges, such as body itching, skin rashes, chronic cough, catarrh, diarrhea and cancer. Other societal effects included high rate of school dropout, prostitution among young ladies and incessant conflicts between the youths and oil companies. Palliative measures from government and oil companies in form of financial largesse and social amenities were inadequate to address the situation. Oil exploitation in the Niger Delta depleted families in Ogulagha Kingdom, Nigeria socially, economically and health wise. Government agencies at all strata and multinational companies should develop well-targeted interventions at household level as well as resuscitate primary health care programme and provide social amenities to mitigate the negative effects of oil exploitation.