THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE NIGER DELTA CRISIS (1999-2015)

ABSTRACT

The Nigerian system should be made to encourage pro[1]per monitoring of the activities of oil companies. Nigeria is a signatory to the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights („ICCPR‟) and the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR‟).¹ The ICCPR guarantees the protection of civil rights and the ICESCR guarantees the right to health, an adequate standard of living including food and housing. The Nigerian government owes a duty to ensure that the basic elements of these covenants are respected and not contravening the covenants to which it is a party. Solidarity helps us grow in friendship, to be selfless and encourages team work. For this to happen there should be mass consciousness' i.e. mass mobilisation and mass participation. This is the only way to conscientise the masses at grassroots about their rights and to identify causes from which they do not benefit anything, whereas others do. In this regards, women organisations are the most active. In 1999, Culture of solidarity (COS) took an international form, one of the participants in the London protest told the press that they did that in order “to show real solidarity with people in the Niger Delta rebelling against Big Oil and its private security force.”