by Qiu Jun
LAGOS, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's Niger Delta region, generating huge oil wealth, which is in contrast to the impoverished life of local people, has drawn worldwide attention in 2008 with rampant sabotage on oil facilities and kidnapping.
Three militants were feared killed on Friday in an attempt to blow up a Nigeria Agip Oil Company flow station at Tebidaba in Nigeria's southeastern Bayelsa State, the latest conflict between militant groups and Nigerian army in the region.
According to data provided by "oyibosonline," a Nigerian expatriate on-line community website, before the international oil price reached its peak at about 150 U.S. dollars a barrel in later July this year, Nigerian militants had kidnapped 34 foreigners in Niger Delta. The number had risen to about 81 by Dec. 20.
Constant bad news from Nigeria's oil-producing region has been partly attributed to the oil price upswing earlier this year.
By August this year, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the most prominent militant group in Niger Delta, had claimed responsibility through e-mail statements for about 15 attacks on various oil facilities in the region.
PAIN OF PEOPLE IN NIGER DELTA
Militants' publicity intends to lure world attention to oil industry's impact on average people's life in Niger Delta.
The consistent militancy makes people think over the root of the unrest. More and more newsmen have turned to average people's feeling on oil exploration and development in the region.
A clearer view of Niger Delta conflicts has been depicted by various media reports. People around the world have seen and learned serious pollution caused by oil spillage and gas flaring in the region through media reports.
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have reinforced their aid and infrastructure projects in the Niger Delta to help those heavily affected people, whose traditional way of farming and fishing was spoiled by pollution from oil and gas operations.
The Nigerian government also moved to establish a brand-new Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to streamline government's efforts on peace and development in the region.
OVER-DEPENDENCY ON OIL REVENUE
The consistent militancy in Niger Delta has caused considerable losses of Nigeria's oil wealth. It has been reported that Nigeria's oil output has dropped a fifth over the past three years to around 2 million barrels per day.
While the militancy headache remains unsolved, global credit crunch led to drastic crash of international prices.
The Nigerian government has been forced to put down its benchmark oil price of 65 U.S. dollars per barrel to 45 dollars.
This means a considerable shrink of the government revenue from oil sector, which accounts for more than 80 percent of its total revenue and more than 95 percent of export gain.
Some top Nigerian economists said that all the trouble of Nigerian economy could root out of its over-dependency on oil money.
Pat Okedinachi Utomi, former presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress and professor of Lagos University, in a local newspaper advised Nigeria to diversify its revenue sources to other areas such as mineral, agriculture.
In the meantime, Nigeria is also urged to establish integrated oil and gas industrial value chains, including petrochemical, refining and fertilizer sub-industries.
According to Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua's seven-point agenda, energy, agriculture and mineral sectors are among his priorities to develop Nigeria into the world's top 20 economies by2020.
Experts said that, to obtain the ambitious goal, Nigeria needs painful reform and political resolution to restore rule of law in its economic sectors, so as to lure more foreign and private investments into its strategic industries.
