Abstract

Nigeria produces about 2.5 million barrels of crude oil per day which makes her the largest crude oil producer in Africa. This resource which accounts for over 80% of the country’s revenue is solely produced in the Niger Delta region. Determined to build a better relationship aimed at creating an enabling environment for business, the Nigerian government and multinational oil corporations embarked on a number of community development projects. Laudable as these projects appear to be, the oil producing host communities are largely unimpressed. Oil producing communities have continued to accuse oil multinational corporations and government of not doing enough to address environmental security concerns resulting from oil extraction. Between these three, there has been no consensus on who should be held responsible for the devastated environmental conditions and its consequences on the socioeconomic, political and cultural wellbeing of the region. This paper examines the implication of this blame-game while advocating a need for cooperation on the part of all the stakeholders to achieve sustainable development in the area.