SOURCE:

Faculty: Arts
Department: History & International Studies

CONTRIBUTORS:

Maekae, J;
Igwe, A.U;

ABSTRACT:

This study used two vectors of economic change namely oil exploration and Land Use Act of 1978 to examine the nature of economic changes registered on Ogoni economy from 1958 to 2012. These two vectors of economic change moved Ogoni communities from a relative simple economy to the forefront of Nigerian oil economy, which has made Ogoni very vital to national economic interest through state acquisition of the rich natural endowments of Ogoni communities. Despite this vital economic contribution of Ogoni to national economy, Ogoni had not gotten the needed scholarly attention and this study intends to cover this gap. The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of these vectors of economic change on Ogoni economy within the period under review. The methods of data analysis applied here were descriptive, comparative and multi-disciplinary approaches. Sources of data were the primary and secondary sources. Theories used to explain these vectors of change here are the Development Impossibility (for oil exploration) and Power Strand of the theory of political economy (for Land Use Act of 1978). This study considered oil exploration and Land Use Act of 1978 as vectors of negative economic change as they introduced resource alienation, state control of community resources, enthronement of the state and private capitalism, reduction in agricultural productivity, food scarcity, land hunger, marginalization in employment by Shell Petroleum Development Company, poverty, oil induced inflation, high mortality rate and environmental pollution and degradation within the period under review. This study concludes that the two vectors of economic change in Ogoni within the period under review are vectors of negative economic change. The study recommended that Ogoni people should be granted permit to control their resources and Shell Petroleum Development Company and Federal Government of Nigeria should clean Ogoni because of environmental pollution caused by oil exploration.