Women’s response to the question of development in the Niger Delta, Nigeria [Full text]
Michael Folami Olankunle [1]
| Abstract: Women are the champions for peace in any society because women are always at the receiving end of any out-break of disasters, especially war. Women lose virtually everything from property to life. Women have also been known to challenge repressive governments. Women, throughout history have led various social movements that brought change to the society. This paper examines the roles played by women to address exploitation in Nigeria’s Niger Delta. It also examines the modus operandi of women to address the question of under-development in the area. Social Exchange Theory is employed in this paper to explain the reason why women engage in protests in order to redress injustice in the Niger Delta. Qualitative method of In-depth Interviews was employed to collect data from women’s organizations in the randomly selected oil-producing States in the Niger Delta. The paper main finding is that women have been drastically affected by the activities of oil companies in the area. Also, the restiveness among women was found to be caused by injustice, neglect, deprivation, and unequal distribution of resources. The paper, therefore, recommends the creation of a special account to finance women development projects. And also, women rights must not only be recognized by government and oil companies, but must be upheld and respected.
Keywords: Women, development, crisis, empowerment |
[1] Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria, xtianfayol@yahoo.com