High Stakes and Stakeholders: Oil Conflict and Security in Nigeria by Kenneth Omeje

Author:Kenneth Omeje [Omeje, Kenneth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: International Relations, Security (National & International), Political Science, General
ISBN: 9781351930796
Google: hvZADgAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 34477643
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2006-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

4.6 Summary and Conclusion

From this chapter, it is apparent that despite being seriously embattled, Shell has continued to remain ahead of the game. This is mainly because of its ingenious adaptations to the imperatives and rhythm of domestic rentier politics. Shell’s cardinal security policy, which places emphasis on non-violent security in safeguarding its investments and staff seems to have a much shorter history in relation to the different threat management and response patterns adopted by its Nigerian operation over the years. The evolution of Shell’s responsiveness to threats has been markedly dynamic. From an early phase when it tended to rely more on the state’s security forces with its undue militarism, Shell has in recent years tried to distance itself from the state’s militaristic responses - an evidently counter-productive measure - and has been striving to develop less acrimonious relationships with the host communities using a variety of pro-development and high stake rentier incentives. Shell’s community development experiment has itself been revised and expanded over time in keeping with the enormous pressures mounted on the company to deliver development by grassroots populations. In a large sense, Shell and petrobusiness increasingly displace the state, especially with respect to development securitization and provisioning. With regards to threat management the TNOCs partly displace and partly complement the state.

Local violence against Shell seems to thrive unabated. Security vigilantism complemented by a network of development partnerships is explored with host communities but these packages do not seem to produce the desired result. Ostensibly, a nexus of more contemporary policy limitations, lapses, constraints and externalities, as well as the resonance of anti-corporate rentier politics tend to haunt Shell. All of these call to the fore the necessity for more comprehensive development and security reforms in the Niger Delta that transcend the emerging corporate developmentalism and ‘state displacement’ programmes of Shell and petrobusiness.

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