Multinational oil companies' channels of communication and conflict resolution in the Niger Delta
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This empirical study explores the communication channels adopted by Shell, Chevron
and Agip for conflict resolution in five communities in the Niger Delta. The Niger Delta
is one of the volatile areas in Nigeria due to conflicts between various oil companies and
host communities, resulting in several cases of kidnapping, vandalism of pipel ines and
install ations, and insecurity of I ives and propetties. The oi I companies' direct operations
in the communities have directly exposed them to physical risks. Also, considering that
host communities hold oil companies responsible for violating their natural environment
and destroying their livelihood through the exploration process, oi l companies automatically
become a major target. The concer~f the study, therefore, is to investigate
the communication channels that the host communities identify as being used by the oil
companies for conflict resolution in the Niger Delta. The populati on for this study comprises
indigenes of Omoku and Obrikom in Rivers State and Eruemukohwarien, Tisun
and Kolokolo communities in Delta State. A quantitative method of data collection (survey)
was employed. The findings revealed that the respondents perceived Chevron as
the oil company that was least involved in conflicts in their communities, and this was
related to the balanced communication channels used by the company
Keywords
H Social Sciences (General), HE Transportation and Communications