Using Integrate Approach to Improve the Security Crisis in Niger Delta Oil Region - Essay Example

?RESEARCH DESIGN USING INTERGRATED APPROACH TO IMPROVE THE SECURITY CRISIS IN NIGER DELTA OIL REGION Proposed research question How can the roles of all stakeholders in the Niger Delta Crisis be harnessed to ensure security in the oil-rich Niger Delta State? 2. Objective of the dissertation To analyze the roles of stakeholders such as government, the legislature, the military, civil society, private security companies and the international community and seeking ways of harnessing their individual roles into one common goal of helping improve the security situation in Niger Delta Oil Region. 3. Aims of the dissertation To carry out a thorough investigation into the degree of security outbreak in the Oil Region of Niger Delta To determine the extent of damage of the outbreak of security has caused the Oil Region of Niger Delta To identify the individual roles of stakeholders such as government, the legislature, the military, civil society, private security companies and the international community and how far these roles have been played in solving the security problem of Niger Delta Oil Region. To propound theories on how the individual roles of stakeholders can be brought together to facilitate the improvement of security in Niger Delta Oil Region 4. Dissertation’s position in the existing literature The issue of improving security in the oil-rich Niger Delta Region of Nigeria has been tackled from an individualist point of view over the years whereby stakeholders such as government, civil society and the international community have worked independently to improve security. The role of government in solving the problem is for instance seen in the presidential campaign of 2011 whereby candidates are making campaign promises to the effect that when voted into power, they will help curb the problem. The incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan is for instance quoted by Tribune (2011) as saying “his government has introduced a series of new anti-terrorism measures, including better control of explosive materials, inspections of police-licensed armouries and the installation of closed-circuit televisions to better monitor public places” to ensure security in the region. With regards to the international community, the BBC News (2008) reports of Gordon Brown saying the best way to tackle the problem is to "identify a training and advisory support package" and that Britain is ready to help Nigeria in that regard. Most researchers embrace the individual responsibilities of stakeholders in solving the problem. Whiles tracing the root of the security problem in Niger Delta to uneven distribution of oil wealth, Crane (2006) puts a lot of the responsibility on government alone saying once government ensures fairness, security would improve. The context of this research however refuses to single out one stakeholder in curtailing the situation. The basis of this research is rooted in the fact that no one stakeholder can handle the problem independently. Evidence of this claim is in the failure for the individual stakeholders to achieve security since efforts to ensure security started years back. In a Whitepaper released in the 2007 on Oil Transparency in the Niger Delta for instance, report is made of how individual stakeholders; especially government have put in place measures to curtail the problem of security to no avail. It is reported for instance that In January 2001, the government through an Act of the National Assembly established the Niger Delta Development Commission, ostensibly in response to lingering accusations of neglect of the Niger Delta. (Sofiri, 2007, p.20). It is pathetic therefore that the problem still persists. The research therefore seeks to agree with collaborative effort by all stakeholders as in the assertion made by Junger (2007) suggesting that to stop the war, there should be included restitution for the environmental damage wrought by the oil industry, greater control over oil revenues for local government, and development aid to improve living conditions in the delta (Omeje, 2008, 44). 5. Bibliography BCC News 2008, Brown outlines Niger Delta help. Accessed March 14 2011 Crane, M 2006, Security in Nigeria. accessed March 15 2011 Junger, S. 2007, Blood oil. Vanity Fair. Available online at http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/02/junger200702 Omeje, K. 2008, Report on Africa Population, Health, Environment, and Conflict. Oil Conflict and Accumulation Politics in Nigeria. ECSP REPORT • ISSUE 12 Sofiri, J.P. 2007, Oil Transparency in the Niger Delta: Improving Public Sector Oil Derived Resource Flows And Utilization in Abia State, Nigeria. Working Paper No. 20. Tribune, A. 2011, Nigerian Presidential Candidates Campaign on Improving Security. Accessed March 15 2011 6. Methodology In this research work, there shall be two major forms of data collection. The first form of data collection shall be secondary data, which will be collected from sources such as books, whitepapers, communiques, internet sources and journals. These materials must have direct bearing with the subject of discussion, which is improving security in the oil-rich region of Niger Delta in Nigeria. These materials shall be sort from university libraries and the internet. It must be emphasised that the data gathered from secondary sources would in the long run serve as the basis for carrying out qualitative analysis on data that will be gathered from respondents; hence the primary sources. The primary sources of data shall be collected from sampled respondents who would be made up of residence of the Niger Delta region and other representatives of stakeholders such as government, the legislature, the military, civil society, private security companies and the international community. Data shall be collected from respondents by the use of questionnaire and interview. Whereas questionnaires shall be distributed to the stakeholders, interview shall be used on inhabitants of the Niger Delta region. The researcher finds it useful to give questionnaires to stakeholders because most of them are office workers with busy schedules. To this effect, the questionnaire would offer them the opportunity to attend to the questions at a time that is most suitable for them. Regarding the inhabitants, it is assumed that some of the sampled respondents may be illiterates who may not be able to read and write. To this effect, oral question and answer would be more suitable for them than written questions. Looking at the fact that the researcher shall be involved in field work, gathering data from respondents, it can be concluded that the researcher shall use survey research design in his research. In the survey, the researcher shall seek from inhabitants, why they feel Niger Delta has continued to experience security unrest for such a long time without any clear headway in achieving peace. Since the inhabitants are the direct sufferers of the insecurity in the area, they shall be regarded as part of the stakeholders and asked how they have personally attempted solving the problem and what they feel the way forward should be. With regard to other stakeholders, the researcher shall seek from them their personal efforts so far and how they feel an integrated approach to tackling the security problem in Niger Delta can help solve the problem. There shall be two major types of sampling techniques in place. These shall be non-probability sampling technique and purposive sampling. With regards to the non-probability sampling, a random sampling shall be used. These shall be used in selecting 50 people among the inhabitants of the Niger Delta region to be part of the sample size. The researcher shall fall on the random sampling technique because it ensures fairness and eliminates bias of all sort. It also has the potential of giving a fair population of the total populace in the Niger Delta area. With regards to the stakeholders, a purposive sampling technique shall be used. The advantage of using a purposive sampling technique for the stakeholders is that it will give the researcher the opportunity to select specific people with intellectual knowhow to give their contributions to specific issues with the research. 7. Structure Introduction Review of related literature Research design Sample and sampling technique Research instruments Data collection process Presentation and analysis of data collected Data analysis Conclusion Recommendations 8. Research timetable Activity Date April May June July August September Obtaining literature Writing of literature review Plan research methods Complete first proposal Submit proposal Human subject approval Collect data Analyze data Start 1st draft Submit first draft Finish and submit 2nd draft Final oral exam Research project approval 9. Ethics ANSWER THESE THREE QUESTIONS YES NO 1 I have consulted the ethics documentation located on the university and module webs, and completed an ethics checklist v 2 I have presented this checklist to my potential supervisor, and discussed its contents. v 3 Only to be answered is your research is judged to be a medium or higher ethical risk: I have/will submit the checklist for further scrutiny, as indicated in the documentation. (If in doubt consult your potential supervisor). 10. How the supervisor will be utilised? I shall use the supervisor as a facilitator to get my work completed. I shall fall on him for guidelines with regards to the selection of sample size and with the construction of my research instruments, thus the questionnaire and interview guide. I shall fall on his inputs and advice to make the questionnaire and interview guide meet the required academic standard. Again, I shall fall on the supervisor as a guarantor for all activities that needs permission. For instance in a letter to stakeholders who will be used in the research work, I shall plead with the supervisor to write a cover letter assuring them that the research is only for an academic purpose and so they should give me any assistance and cooperation needed. Finally, the supervisor shall act as my assessor even before presenting the research work for defense. I shall rely on the supervisor for objective criticism and corrections so that the research write-up shall be free from mistakes and errors when I present it for the defense. Read More