Petro-Violence and the Geography of Conflict in Nigeria’s Niger Delta: A Literary and Socio-Political Analysis

This article examines petro-violence in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, analyzing how oil extraction has produced a complex geography of conflict among multinational corporations, the Nigerian state, and local communities. Drawing on literary representations—particularly the works of Ken Saro-Wiwa and contemporary Nigerian writers—alongside socio-political and empirical analyses, the study demonstrates how resource extraction has generated systemic violence manifested through environmental degradation, militarization, economic marginalization, and armed resistance. Situating petro-violence within Nigeria’s postcolonial context, the article reveals how colonial legal legacies intersect with neoliberal capitalism to produce “resource curse” dynamics. Through close textual analysis of literary works and engagement with data on conflicts, oil spills, and socio-economic indicators, the study argues that petro-violence constitutes a multidimensional crisis rooted in inequitable resource distribution, state complicity, and corporate impunity. The findings show that literary representations function as crucial counter-narratives to official discourse, documenting environmental racism and advancing claims for climate justice. The article concludes that addressing petro-violence requires structural transformation rather than technocratic fixes, including genuine fiscal federalism, comprehensive environmental remediation, economic diversification, and enforceable accountability mechanisms for both state and corporate actors.

Petro-violence; Niger Delta; resource conflict; environmental justice; Nigerian literature; oil extraction; militancy; Ken Saro-Wiwa

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