Sangana — Waibite Amazi, 42, says life was much easier when he was a boy growing up in the 70,000 sq km labyrinth of marshes and mangrove forests in Nigeria's southern delta.
"My father taught me how to fish - at first in the creeks where we'd catch crayfish and crabs, then we'd go into the sea to catch bigger fish. Sometimes we'd catch young sharks," he said. "We were free to go about our business with nobody to trouble us."
That was before oil began pumping from deep below this watery terrain, most of which is accesible only by boat. Now at night, bright lights flood the high-tech oil facilities that dot the delta's creeks and byways but the surrounding villages remain without electricity and basic social services.
"The first problem we faced were oil spills," Amazi said. "They killed our fish and ruined our nets."
Many fishermen have since abandoned traditional fishing areas to go to deeper waters offshore where they can still yield sizable catches.
But naval patrols soon began blocking the fishermen. "They drive us back, firing in the air and sometimes directly at us if we are slow to turn back," Amazi said. "People have been killed and injured."
With few benefits from the oil, local resentment has grown. Protests have metamorphosed into unrest and bloodshed.
Today, naval boats patrol around Amazi's village constantly and there are growing fears that the violence will escalate ahead of elections scheduled for next April. Historically, oil and politics have been a potent mix in Nigeria.
Oil and militarisation
The military says its aim is to curb the violence but analysts and human rights groups argue that such actions have backfired.
"Instead of solving the problem of youth violence [the military are] exacerbating it," said Akanimo Sampson of the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD). "What is required now is a political solution."
Navy spokesman Capt. Obiora Medani defended the navy patrols: "The Nigerian Navy is the statutory organ of government charged with the mandate of protecting these assets," Medani said.
He said the navy has succeeded in curbing theft of the oil from pipelines, which authorities say is the main source of funding for militia activities in the delta.
"Those who were involved in stealing the crude oil had found out that they could no longer do so and have resorted to hostage-taking to extort money," said Medani. "This is a new development and we will soon be on top of it."
More than 60 foreign oil workers have been taken hostage in the delta in 2006. Most were freed after oil companies paid ransoms, oil industry sources say.
The navy now often blocks local residents from moving between the creeks and waterways that criss-cross the region.
"The soldiers are always hostile to us, accusing us of supporting our armed boys," said Thankgod Angadega, another Sangana fisherman.
Some of the "armed boys" are fighting the army, Angadega said, "but many who carry guns are criminals who rob and kill us on the waterways."
Vicious circles
Both the oil spills and the restricted freedom of movement make it harder for people to earn a living, so more young men have joined militia and criminal gangs, Angadega said.
Scores of armed groups, many clad in black with red headbands, have divided up control of the delta and are terrorising the local population, according to Ibiba Don Pedro, author of the book, "Oil in the Water: crude power and militancy in the Niger Delta"
"They have undeniably established a suffocating grip on (delta) communities," Don Pedro told IRIN.
On the other side is the army. She said soldiers had destroyed whole communities, killing youths and community members, raping women and looting property. The army's action is often in retaliation for militants who have killed soldiers.
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In September militants raided a bar frequented by foreign oil workers near Aker Base, a slum in Port Harcourt, Nigeria's oil capital. During the attack, in which an Italian oil worker was abducted, a local commander for a nearby military base was also killed.
Enraged soldiers then poured petrol on buildings in the Aker Base slum and set the shanties on fire, witnesses said. The Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development estimated that 1,500 shacks housing more than 3,000 people were razed.
"The soldiers pushed us out of the houses and set them on fire," said Caroline Mathias, a 29-year-old mother and resident of Aker Base. Other witnesses said that when the fire brigade arrived, the soldiers stopped them from dousing the flames.
Military authorities deny the allegations, saying it was the attackers who set the fire before fleeing.
[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]
