SUMMARY
The southern region of Nigeria, and especially the delta area, is where the crude oil that constitutes a substantial amount of the Nigerian revenues is located. The fact that the oil and the subsequent incomes that can be extracted from it are concentrated in this area has led to several violent episodes between ethnic groups contesting the ownership of land in and around the oil-rich delta area. The issue was further complicated since the inception of the civilian government in 1999. This led to several new actors and possibilities of organizing in order to enhance their political power. The fragile political system with weak institutions and a high level of corruption created a situation where political power became the easiest means of capital accumulation. Given these conditions, several groups mobilized and formed interest groups speaking on behalf of the ethnic group. This polarized the already fragile relations in the southern parts of Nigeria and led to a situation where contested ownership of land, taxation of land, or even number of employees at the oil facilities were all potential conflict issues.
The other dyads that belong to the same Southern land ownership cluster of non-state conflicts are; Adoni – Ogoni, Aguleri – Umuleri, Ijaw – Ilaje, Ogoni – Ndoki, Ijaw – Itsekiri, Okrika – Ogoni”, Urhobo, Ijaw – Itsekiri and NDPVF – NDV.
The conflict between the Eleme and Okrika (Ijaw) was fought against a backdrop of increased communal violence in all of Nigeria, especially the southern parts. The upsurge of violence was connected to the inauguration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, bringing to end a 15-year military dictatorship, during the summer of 1999. This led to changes in fragile power relations between different ethnic groups. In this setting of chaos and uncertainty, the Eleme and Okrika (Ijaw) engaged in violent conflict regarding the ownership of the Onne Port, a piece of land located in Port Harcourt which played an important role in the oil industry.
The land that was at the center of this dispute had been contested for several decades. It was only in the years leading up to the clashes that the land was used, when a federally owned petrochemical refinery was built. The installment of the refinery did not ease the tensions; it added an extra dimension to the conflict as the employment of labor became an important issue. The core issue was the percentage of employees from each ethnicity. In this particular case the Okrika (Ijaw) felt short-changed; arguing that the oil company was in fact employing too few Okrika (Ijaw) in relation to the demographics of the area. This led to violent demonstrations in which Okrika (Ijaw) youths set up roadblocks preventing anyone from getting to or from the refinery. It was in connection with this that the violence erupted. The clashes that reached their peak in October 1999 when approximately 30 people died in a single clash at Onne port did not resurface, although the underlying tensions were still present and there were reports of low scale violence between the groups in the early months of 2000.
The Eleme - Okrika (Ijaw) conflict must also be viewed in the broader spectrum of the ethnic and religious non-state conflicts that have ravaged Nigeria in the past and intensified with the end of military rule, from 1999 and onwards. The conflicts throughout Nigeria have ethnic, political, economic, and religious components, which have become inextricably linked over time, pitting various groups and alliances of groups against each other along different dividing lines.
The non-state conflict between the Eleme and Okrika (Ijaw) is first included in UCDP data in 1999. In October of that year, clashes between the two groups resulted in more than 25 battle-related deaths.
