Indigenous people (IP) and minorities (IM)have similar problems of political, economic, and social marginalisation. The Nigerian government (hiding behind the veil of the African Union) does not recognise the indigenous status of deserving ethnic groups. This has left indigenous minorieties unprotected. Considering the situation in Africa generally, and in Nigeria specifically, this research work is aimed at answering the following questions: (1) Will the protection and promotion of the rights of IP in Africa not be effective if they are considered as IM; thereby giving the dominant majority a place in the ‘indigeneity’ of the country? (2) How can the IP of the minority tribes in the Niger Delta be entitled to legal protection from non-recognition of their status by the government? (3) Assuming, but not conceding, that everyone in Nigeria is indigenous to the country and to every region of the country, does this deprive IM in an age-long marginalised region a special attention by means of affirmative action? (4) What legal protection is accorded to minorities among IP? (5) Are there negative implications for ethnic minorities in the different regions of a country by the blanket recognition of all natives of that country as IP? (6) How can the available legal framework under the United Nations and the African Union for the protection of IP and minorities be effectively utilised to the advantage of IP despite the current position of the African Union on IP? / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2008. / A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Mr. Angelo Matusse, of the faculty of law, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

This study employs ethnographic research to investigate the extent to which local governance affects both poverty and natural resources management in the Delta region. The research develops a framework for governance of natural resources to understand the daily practices of different actors within the local context using informal observation and interviews. In applying the framework, the study places emphasis on resources for governance, actors¿ agency, arrangements of access to resources and governance outcomes in the Delta region. Evidence from the study shows that while the state and corporate actors only contextualise resources in terms of economic value, local actors interprete resources beyond economic value to incorporate symbolic and socio-culturally constructed values linked with historic values. The study also identified relational, routine practices and structural factors which differently shape actors¿ agency for resources management. The context which shapes different arrangements of access to local resources by actors varies. These arrangements are subject to negotiation, power differences and socio-cultural factors. The findings related to governance outcomes reveal both positive (favourable) and negative (unfavourable) outcomes for the livelihood of different actors. The study concludes by exploring implications for local governance in order to address poverty and enhance optimal resource management in the Delta region.

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Oil producing communities of Nigeria known as Niger Delta region has been a region characterized with fierce violent conflict for more than a decade. The conflict is between successive Nigerian Governments and their collaborating oil companies, and militant groups from the region. And the core issues in the conflict are the socio-economic deprivations and denial of resource control which were occasioned by corporate malfeasance and indifference of successive Nigerian Governments to the plight, demands and aspirations of the people of the region. The Nigerian Government who first aggravated the violent conflict in the region through the use of violent repression as an anti-protest measure however proposed an amnesty policy in June 2009 as a non-violent measure to address the crisis in the region. The policy aimed solely at disarming, rehabilitating and reintegrating the militants into the Nigerian state. The implementation of the policy brought a relative peace to the long troubled region for the first time, with the seeming compliance of the militants. This study however argues that the policy has no feasibility of ensuring a genuine and lasting peace in the long troubled region because its focus is not on the root cause of the crisis. Thus it argues that addressing the issue of human rights whose lack is the root cause of the crisis and whose provision has always been demands and the aspirations of the people will instead engender a genuine and lasting peace in the region.

The economic activities of multinational corporations (MNCs) in the extractive industries of developing countries produce a myriad of immediate negative social, economic and environmental impacts on communities hosting their operations. Consequently, stakeholders have increasingly called for (greater) accountability of these corporations for the impacts of their operations on stakeholders and the wider society. The extent to which these MNCs are accountable for their operations' negative environmental impacts in the developing countries is underexplored as prior studies have primarily focused on corporate social responsibility rather than accountability of these corporations. However, accountability apparently means different things to different parties, and especially in a non-Western context. This thesis primarily seeks to explore the concept of accountability in a developing country context and how it is understood and practised within the Nigerian oil industry. More specifically, it seeks to understand the extent to which oil MNCs in Nigeria discharge accountability in the context of gas flaring and oil spills environmental pollution emanating from their operations. The study utilises a mixed methods approach to generate data to provide understanding on stakeholders' conceptions of accountability, the nature of accounts constructed by the MNCs on gas flaring and oil spills environmental incidents, and the plausible corporate sense-making embedded within those accounts. The empirical data produce both general and nuanced conceptions of accountability between the MNCs and stakeholders. An account-giving heuristic highlights four broad and further nuanced accounts the corporations provide on these negative environmental incidents which are largely in conflict with stakeholders' narratives. Moreover, the sense-making analysis of the MNCs' accounts suggests that those accounts apparently serve corporate self-interest rather than the discharge of accountability. However, organisational, institutional, relational, and national contextual factors apparently encourage the un-accountability of the MNCs. Accountability in the Nigerian oil industry will remain elusive without critical institutional and regulatory reforms.

The discovery of oil in commercial quantities in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria in the 1950s has brought with it both benefits and consequences, with the latter purported to have resulted in violence as well as the loss of lives and properties (Hummels, 1998; Eweje, 2007). This study examines the nature of the relationships existing between stakeholders in the industry and the understanding of the connections between these relationships and CSR in the industry. This resulted in the choice of Social Contract and Resource Dependence theories to be used in harmony as part of the theoretical base for this study, as a further expansion of Stakeholder theory. The Social Contract theory helps to bring out the place of agreement in the maintenance of these relationships between stakeholders, with the resources being crucial in the determination of the power balance. The study was a qualitative one that involved interviews and surveys amongst the different stakeholders that make up the industry (oil companies, host communities, NGOs, Experts). The data gathered was analysed using Thematic Discourse Analysis, with the aim of finding out how the words and phrases used by respondents gave an indication of their perceptions and actions in these relationships. This thesis results in the proposition of a Micro-System Perspective Model which asserts that different stakeholders start their relationships with each other with varying objectives that can only be achieved as outcomes, only if certain mechanisms are properly applied to these relationships. These mechanisms are resources, licences and agreements impact these relationships as reflected by the different features of these relationships. This model also emphasizes the separation of the government from the relationship between the oil companies and the host communities and as a result can carry out its roles in the industry without bias. Also, the relationships between stakeholders in the industry are deemed to be dynamic in nature, as influenced by the use of these mechanisms by the different stakeholders in their interaction with each other. The findings show that such dynamism is also caused by the management of these relationships through the CSR activities undertaken by the oil companies operating in the various parts of the region. As a result, CSR is viewed in the region as being a social obligation owed to the host communities by the oil companies. It is asserted that the definition and identification of stakeholders should not be based on their relationships with the firm (Freeman, 1984), but on their relationships with the industry and its resource which should be deemed the focal point. In line with this, the findings show that the salience of a stakeholder group is not just dependent upon their power, urgency and legitimacy alone as earlier purported by Mitchell et al (1997). On the contrary, these attributes together with the resources held by such stakeholders are crucial in deciding who controls these relationships between stakeholders. This study makes significant contributions to knowledge, especially in relation to the advancement of stakeholder debate and theory. It proposes that stakeholders should be identified not just based on their relationships with the firm but a consideration of their control of the resources deemed crucial by other stakeholders. Such a relationship with the industry and its resource is deemed crucial in determining stakeholder salience, thereby leading to the call for resources to be regarded as a stakeholder attribute in addition to urgency, power, legitimacy and proximity which is another contribution. The study also shows the different challenges and complexities of managing stakeholder relationships in the region that cause these relationships to be dynamic in nature. The proposal of a Micro System Perspective is another contribution as this has a direct implication for the Nigerian Oil industry and its impact on the different stakeholders involved in its operations.

This thesis makes a new contribution to the field of corporate social responsibility in the area of corporate community engagement (CCE) and public relations in the area of organization-public relationships (OPRs). The thesis focuses on the Nigerian oil and gas industry community relationship in the Niger Delta region. This study provides valuable insights into how CCE works for enhancing stakeholder relationship and other desirable outcomes and thereby contributes to the growing body of knowledge on CSR in public relations. For the practice of CCE, this study reinforces the importance of relationship management as a viable and robust strategy that can bring long-term benefits both to organizations and society in general. A qualitative approach was adopted as it is considered appropriate for the research, which focuses on assessing stakeholders’ views regarding the relationship between oil and gas company and their host community in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Also, exploring how the stakeholders juxtapose their understanding of the relationship determinants between the oil and gas company and their host community. Semi-structured interviews served as the primary source of data collection from various stakeholders during fieldwork in Nigeria. Secondary methods served a crucial but minor role and were used primarily for the purpose of the researcher as a tool to double check the interview findings. Thirty-five respondents provided their views and opinions concerning the relationship between the oil and gas companies and communities in the region. The study uncovered the importance of culture, social awareness, social identity, corruption, insecurity, mediation and weak institutional structures as crucial predictors of relationship determinants for the oil and gas companies during engagement with their host communities. Moreover, this study explored the research on relationship success determinants key constructs (i.e. control mutuality, trust, commitment and satisfaction) to a qualitative assessment. Also, the developed framework emphasised the need for using these factors for assessing and building a successful long term relationship. Another key finding was that there is a significant difference between how multinational oil companies (MNOCs) and indigenous oil companies (INOCs) engage with the community. This finding suggests that the INOCs have a better approach in the engagement of host communities.

The perception by any group of ineffectiveness in the dispensation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to major stakeholders may result in friction, reduction in productivity, and an overall loss of social and economic capital. The problem addressed in this study, which represented the gap in knowledge and practice, was that CSR initiatives in the Niger Delta region lack a community-centric framework to ensure optimal and sustainable returns on CSR investments for multinational corporations and local Nigerian landowners. The purpose of the study was to develop a deeper understanding of what it means to experience CSR for Nigerian landowners in the Niger Delta, using Freeman's stakeholder theory and Grice's causal theory of perception. Data were obtained through interviews regarding the lived experiences of a sample of 15 participants selected through a purposeful nonrandom sampling from a variety of backgrounds. The data analysis using content and inductive techniques with NVivo illustrated the factors leading to a deeper understanding of what it means to experience CSR for landowners. The results include expectations from operators, activities of the operators in the Niger Delta, operators' relationship with land owners, and operators' need to take environmental responsibility. The study has the potential to enhance the CSR managerial capacity of operators, resulting in peace and equity for all. The findings may lead to peaceful coexistence between the operators in the area and landowners with increased mutual benefits. The findings may also result in a stable global supply of energy, oil, and gas, as well as a healthier environment for landowners, ultimately resulting in local and global positive social change.

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Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been a subject of increasing interest among academics and business practitioners globally. This thesis contributes to the discourse on CSR in the context of the Nigerian oil industry with regard to corporate-community relations. Specifically, the thesis constitutes a critique of CSR initiatives by multinational oil companies (MOC) operating in the Niger Delta region and their impact on the traditional livelihoods of local communities. The research attempts to understand the link between CSR and Psychological contract from the perspective of both the host communities and the MOCs. This thesis examines community perceptions, expectations and seeks to interpret the relationship between the host communities and the MOCs. The study provides empirical data through the use of twenty-eight semi-structured interviews and three focus groups. This is significant given that most of the research conducted into CSR in this region has been limited to descriptive and extensive theoretical explanations. Findings from the research suggest that the relationship between the host communities and the MOC is a very complex one and that the impact of the MOCs activities can be interpreted from the host communities’ negative actions. The thesis makes an important contribution to the emerging literature on social license to operate (SLO) and in what manner the local communities seek to enforce it. It also offers an alternative approach to CSR based on need assessment and stakeholder involvement rather than corporate obligations and expectations from society in general.