Regulatory Capture and the Continuous Despoilment of the Niger-Delta Environment in Nigeria

Abstract

The commencement of oil exploration in commercial quantities in Oloibiri in the Niger Delta in
1956, came with great excitement and tall hopes for the rapid development and accelerated
civilization of the region. But little was known of the pains associated with the exploration of oil
such as oil spillages, gas flaring, deforestation, noise pollution, and other sundry ecological
effects. The activities of the oil companies have been implicated in this malaise. However, there
have been state laws to nip to the bud these untoward effects of oil exploration in the
environment. Nevertheless, the status quo remains to the detriment of national security and
survival. This paper espouses the idea that it was the inability of the state to effectively monitor
and sanction these oil companies that has led to the despoilment of the Niger Delta environment
by the activities of the later. We anchored our analysis on the regulatory capture theory. This will
aid an understanding of the nexus between the state and oil companies in the persistent
despoliation of the Niger Delta environment despite state laws to the contrary. We will be guided
by the following question: why has, despite state laws against oil spillages and gas flaring in
Nigeria, this activities has continued untrammeled in the Niger Delta environment