Advances in Politics and Economics ISSN 2576-1382 (Print) ISSN 2576-1390 (Online) Vol. 5, No. 4, 2022 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ape 83 Original Paper Confronting the Constitutional Challenges to Realizing the Right to Development of the Niger Delta Communities in Nigeria O. OGECHUKWU AJOKU ESQ 1 1 Nigeria Received: October 10, 202 Accepted: November 22, 2022 Online Published: December 1, 2022 doi:10.22158/ape.v5n4p83 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/ape.v5n4p83 Abstract This chapter seeks to examine the role of law, legislative, regional and multilateral instruments towards confronting the challenges to realizing the right to development of the Niger Delta communities in Nigeria. Such enabling instrument as African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights creates legal obligations for African States to implement the right to development. In other words, legal and constitutional protection of the right to development is very important either directly through the inclusion of the right to development in the constitutional bill of rights, or indirectly by ensuring applicability and justiciability of the African Charter in domestic law. This is a cue for the Nigerian government to follow. Inspite of these enabling instruments, the potential of the right to development in Nigeria remains largely untapped. In Africa, and by extension Nigeria, the right to development enjoys a legal status equal to all other human rights (Note 1). This is due to its inclusion in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, though the practice of implementation remains hitherto unexplored, nor its potentials as an instrument to protect the well being of the population exhausted (Note 2). This chapter shall review domestic, regional and global instruments of the right to development, examining the case law of the African commission on Human and Peoples’ Right, as well as the duty of the Nigerian government to take into account the right to development of the Niger Delta in furtherance of their international obligations. The African Charter is an innovative and unique regional document that substantially departs from the narrow formulations of other regional and universal human rights instruments, particularly by the insertion of the group and peoples’ rights (Note 3). This work investigates the challenges and constraints to realizing the right to development of the Niger Delta communities of Nigeria amidst the regional, as well as international instruments that guarantee such a right. By constraints and challenges it is meant problem of constitutionalism that www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ape Advances in Politics and Economics Vol. 5, No. 4, 2022 84 Published by SCHOLINK INC. assails the opportunity for the involvement of the people of the Niger Delta in whatever decision that concerns their development and restoration of the environment and ecology. It seeks to situate human beings, rather than growth, at the centre of the development process. (Note 4) The right to development appeared in a number of important soft law instruments such as the World Conference on Human Rights Vienna Declaration, The Millennium Declaration, and the Rio+20 Outcome Document (Note 5). These documents were adopted by consensus, not by split vote, yet provided insufficient evidence of a genuine legal conviction supporting the right to development, nor a move towards law making on the right to development. They are therefore mere recommendations lacking in authentic legal force. 1. Introduction (The Niger Delta Overview) The Niger Delta region of Nigeria is comprised of nine (9) states in Nigeria. They are: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo, Rivers states. These states are peculiar amongst the rest of the states of the federation due to the oil and gas reserves (resources) embedded under their belly, yet they suffer much indignities, rights violations, environmental degradation, and criminal neglect both from governments and corporate organizations (in the extractive industry) operating in the region. The right to development discourse as envisaged in this research work seeks policies, programmes and concerted multilateral efforts to empower the community to fully play roles in exploiting or enjoy the benefits of exploiting the resources embedded in their land. This is what the provision of Article 22 of the African Charter has sought to guarantee through domestication and implementation by appropriate legislation. Nigeria is a signatory to the charter and has gone further to domesticate the provisions of the charter in the 1999 constitution, as amended. Nigeria is well endowed with mineral resources. Oil and gas forms part of the major part of the natural resources, most found in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. With 40billion barrels of proven oil reserves and daily production of about 2.4 million barrels of crude oil, Nigeria has become one of the major petroleum exporters in the world. The government and the oil multinational corporations earn huge revenues and profits from oil and gas exports. Ironically, amidst growing exports and increasing revenue to national, state, and local governments, poverty levels in the country, particularly the Niger Delta community, have escalated while social infrastructures have collapsed. Dependence on oil and gas revenues has been a major factor in the inability of the state to create an enabling environment for sustainable development with the result that citizens are disenchanted while violence has worsened in the entire country. The increasing violence in the Niger delta complicates a social situation characterized by massive poverty and environmental degradation occasioned by the exploitation of crude and natural gas in the area, as corruption has robbed the communities of potential benefits from the accrued federal, state and local government revenues from oil and gas sales. This scenario has necessitated the need for citizens and government to work towards promoting a new deal in democratic accountability in the Niger Delta region and Nigeria in general by improving participation and dialogue among communities, civil www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ape Advances in Politics and Economics Vol. 5, No. 4, 2022 85 Published by SCHOLINK INC. society and governments to ensure that government budgets work for the people. Despite over 50 years of increasing oil and gas production, the Niger Delta region of Nigeria remain impoverished communities and social infrastructure in the region are in various states of decay or completely collapsed. Nigeria is the 6 th largest exporter of crude oil in the world, yet it fares poorly in many development indices, particularly the Niger Delta region where the oil and gas production is most prevalent. In order to facilitate exploitation of oil and gas resources, the Land Use Decree of 1978, now the Land Use Act, by past military regimes vest ownership and control of all land and mineral resources in the state. Government, devoid of any reference to communities, grants away communal lands and forests to oil and gas companies for exploration and exploitation of crude oil and gas. In the resources bearing Niger Delta region, the oil industry creates conditions for social dislocation and communal violence, as land expropriation by state for oil activities creates scarcity of productive land (Note 6). All stages of oil activity including exploration, drilling and transportation result in the destruction of the natural environment and the livelihood of local people who depend on land for their survival. Forests and mangroves are cleared, community farmlands are destroyed, and wetlands, creeks and community fishponds are polluted, while the air and rainwater is contaminated with dangerous gases flared indiscriminately by oil and gas producing companies. The Niger Delta members are helpless due to their lands being acquired and expropriated through the instrumentality of the provisions of the Land Use Act 1978. The obnoxious provisions of the Act cannot be easily expunged or amended due to the insertion of the Act in the 1999 constitution. The said constitution further in sections 43 and 44 declared all lands and mineral resources as vested in the federal government of Nigeria. The process of constitutional amendment is very cumbersome, long and winding. Government’s reliance on oil export revenues has resulted in the neglect of other productive sectors of the national economy. Previously, vibrant agricultural sector and robust manufacturing sector have suffered under collapsing national infrastructures including energy and transportation, as successive governments, not being dependent on taxes from non-petroleum sectors of the national economy have diminished incentives to these sectors. It is pertinent to therefore examine the possibility of Article 22 of the African Charter of Human and People’s Rights (African Charter) being invoked in resolving the constitutional challenges to realizing Right to Development of the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. The African Charter is a regional instrument duly domesticated and inserted in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999. The problematic aspect of this domestication is implementation to address inequalities, criminal neglect, failure of governance, and widespread violations in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. 2. Concept and Emergence Agitation for Right to Development Absence of needs satisfaction leads to a feeling of relative deprivation, which builds up to grievance. There is a wide held view that the concepts, principle and attributes of Right To Development (RTD) www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ape Advances in Politics and Economics Vol. 5, No. 4, 2022 86 Published by SCHOLINK INC. are too vague (Note 7). It has been the observation that neither the core norm nor the recent case law comprehensively responds to all the preoccupations of keen observers when it comes to giving effect to the right to development. The concept of being vague is due to the fact that it has never been defined in a way that is coherent or capable of gaining consensus. This is traceable to the reason why it is not justiciable. Although not justiciable, it is humbly suggested that it should be a standard of achievement, reflecting what has been agreed as the essence of the right in the declaration and balancing the main concerns of various geopolitical groups, which are further fortified by attributes and criteria. The right to development does not entail increased resources in whatever guise (whether aid, loans, debt forgiveness, investment etc). This is the views of the task force on country ownership under the Accra Agenda for Action in consolidation of Findings of the High Level Task Force on the implementation of the Right to Development. (Note 8) The RTD is the right of peoples and individuals to the constant improvement of their well-being and to a national and global enabling environment conducive to just, equitable, participatory and human-centred development respectful of human rights (Note 9). The realization of RTD demands an enabling environment, along with comprehensive human-centred development, social justice and equity. For this to be accomplished there ought to be a government policy, process of implementation and positive outcome beneficial to the people of the Niger Delta. The government policy ought to engender a comprehensive participatory human rights process, and promotion of social justice in development. This research work reviewed some published texts and other scholarly works and other scholarly works and discovered that there are gaps in the conceptualization of RTD as it affects the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Thus, in examining the challenges of RTD in the Niger Delta, this work adopts the Marxist Political Economy Approach. The Marxist political economy approach is based on dialectical materialism and relative deprivation perspective which accords primacy on material or economic conditions of society (Note 10). It is premised on the belief that man is dominantly motivated by economic needs. Thus economic activity is man’s primary concern. To Karl Marx, every political system corresponds and reflects the kind of economic structure in the society. He places emphasis and premium on production base, being the substructure as this determines the politics, ideology and culture of the society being the superstructure. He further contends that these determine how a country organizes, manages and reproduces itself, especially as regards the causes of tension, conflicts or contradiction in any given society and the bearing or direction of social change. This further suggests that there occurs in the capitalist mode of production an economic surplus for which different interest groups in the society scramble. That scramble usually generates conflicts. Political conflict is being therefore regarded as an extension of economic conflicts into the realm of politics. The conflict takes place between classes which are also the products of the mode of economic production. Each class tends to dominate and exploit one another. In the case of the Niger Delta, the Marxist theory can be analogous. This is grounded on the capitalism www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ape Advances in Politics and Economics Vol. 5, No. 4, 2022 87 Published by SCHOLINK INC. that promotes over dependence on charity either from government or from oil multinationals. This portrays the uneven development, social inequalities, leading to a scenario where different modes of production co-exist. Under such conditions, what might be regarded as national progress tends to affect certain groups adversely (Note 11). In the Nigerian contexts, therefore, such uneven development with its adverse effect came to be perceived along regional lines. Thus, every ethnic nationality tends to seek a better share of the nations resources and wealth which in turn strengthens regional agitations. The feelings of relative deprivations are clearly translated into antagonistic regional rivalry. In this regard, a process which would have taken the form of interclass struggle is construed as an inter-regional struggle (Note 12). The above analogy describes the theory of relative deprivation as it affects oil wealth and the deepening poverty in the Niger Delta community. The Niger Delta is an oil rich region, yet enmeshed in conflicts and crisis of development. The legitimate means of livelihood of the teeming population has been eroded by the oil exploration embarked by the multinational oil companies enjoying the support of successive Nigeria government. In this regard, the theory of relative deprivation emphasizes the substances of people’s expectations and reality. The constitution and sundry legislation, as well as governmental policies, have hitherto continuously deprived the region of its life and space. 3. The Right to Development Discourse There’s abundant literature on the right to development discourse and also on the Niger Delta crisis of development. This work concentrates on a few that is pertinent to the clearer conceptualization of the right to development as it affects the Niger Delta. This brings us to the ‘causality thesis’, regarding youth militias, self-determination, and resources control in the Niger Delta, as developed by E.E Osaghae, A. Ikelegbe, O.O Olarinmoye, and S. I. Okhomina (Note 13). Their research finding addressed the themes of self-determination, resource control, the Niger Delta struggle including its methodology, the place of youths, the militias and the issues in the resolution of conflicts and the effects of the conflicts. Their study observed that the ensuing frustration, discontent and anger pushed the youths towards militant actions, especially when confronted with state and corporate insensitivity, abuse, intimidation, violence and militarization. The Marxist “Dialectical Materialism” is also a resource that will be apt in aiding the appreciation of this work in explaining the resulting effect of neglect of Niger Delta development. This is premised on the belief that man is largely motivated by economic needs. To Karl Marx, every political system corresponds and reflects the kind of economic structure in the society. The situation in the Niger Delta confirms Marx’s assertion that all “history is the history of class struggle between a ruling group and an opposing group”, from this came a new economic, political and social system. The Niger Delta communities have articulated their points, advancing reasons why they took arms against the Nigerian government which is the ruling group in this struggle. Among their key demands are constitutional review, resource control and true federalism. But how has successive governments responded to these www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ape Advances in Politics and Economics Vol. 5, No. 4, 2022 88 Published by SCHOLINK INC. demands? Rather than a proactive approach, the government resorted to hardliner constitutional stance that tends to uphold the sanctity of the constitution which has variously been criticized and vilified as a document of fraud and repression. These repressive legislations are those that fuel most of the conflicts and agitations for resource control and right to development. There is imbalance and unreasonableness in most of the sections of such laws which needs immediate legislative or judicial inspired review. The right to development requires the creation of opportunity for participation including social and economic rights. From the abundant literature on the right to development, there is no fixed model suggested for realizing the right to development as its meaning is regarded as contextual and therefore unclear (Note 14). This research paper contends that Article 22 African Charter is very clear on the guarantee of right to development, and the various agitations of the peoples of the Niger Delta is clear, devoid of ambiguity nor equivocation. 4. Perspectives to Realizing the Right to Development The right to development is a Global South, and particularly Africa, initiative, and perspective, to the global normative human rights framework (Note 15). Implementation in practice would demonstrate commitment, and show that the right to development has real added value. In other words, the right to development, when properly implemented, shall improve human dignity. The domestic dimension of the right to development entitles the peoples of the Niger Delta to meaningful participation and benefit-sharing in the development effort, while the global dimension of the right to development protects them against external adverse impact, by establishing a state duty to provide protection against abuses by third parties, including foreign states, intergovernmental organizations and multinational corporations (Note 16). The right to development and its effective realization, though controversial, is an aspect of human rights, enforceable under the African human rights system and also guaranteed in the United Nations Millennium Declaration. This research paper raises the issue of the lack of participation of the Niger Delta community of Nigeria in matters and decisions affecting their land and the resources embedded therein under the belly. There is therefore the need to vigorously pursue a development intervention in the Niger Delta by leveraging on this provision of the African Charter alongside the entire African human rights system widely viewed as comprehensive and direct. The constitutional structure of the federation and governmental functionality need to be urgently renegotiated to enable the people of the Niger Delta utilize their natural resources for their own development. The crisis of development in Niger Delta is derived from the legal, constitutional and structural defects inherent in the Nigerian state (Note 17). This is complicated by legislations that vest all land and resources in the federation to the federal government of Nigeria, with lands in the states vested in the state government. In other words the statutory basis of the Niger Delta crisis is traced to Nigeria’s defective federal structure that has been maintained by the military imposed unitary laws (Note 18). www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ape Advances in Politics and Economics Vol. 5, No. 4, 2022 89 Published by SCHOLINK INC. The realization of the right to development is a panacea to the poverty and neglect plaguing the Niger Delta of Nigeria. Legal and constitutional steps taken towards this realization are indispensable to prevention of conflicts because they touch on every fundamental of such conflicts. Thus, realizing the right to development of the Niger Delta belongs to the realm of economic and social rights which is germane and indispensable, not only because of the need to protect these rights as human rights but also because effective protection of these rights is inherently invaluable and fundamental for peace and stability (Note 19). The right to development is an inalienable right by virtue of which every human person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized (Note 20). A proper constitutional structure will be apt to provide the basis for the realization and enjoyment of this right to development (Note 21). It shall provide the foundations of a polity where a life in dignity and self-fulfilment becomes an actual opportunity for everyone (Note 22). In other words human rights and development are not to be viewed as separate domains. Both ought to complement each other (Note 23). The 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provided a launching pad for the 1986 UN Declaration of the Right to Development. The declaration became a milestone in the struggles by radical Third World countries within the UN to pass a package of reforms that resulted in a New World Order (NIEO) that are fair to the low income countries, even though the declaration is non-binding (Note 24). The concept of the right to development places human being, rather than growth, at the centre of the development process, and seeks social justice and respect for all human beings as part of the process and outcomes of national development policies (Note 25). In spite of the laudable efforts made in according the right to development as human rights, this right has been merely treated as a political claim that possess little impact on development practice. It is pertinent to note that the right to development demands that every human person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be realized. This is absent in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria where neglect, environmental degradation and inequality is widespread. The Nigerian government has paid less heed to the plights and suffering of the communities in the Niger Delta. There is need to explore a framework to make government and the international oil companies operating in the Niger Delta communities accountable and responsible. This shall be the significant contribution to assuaging the suffering of the members of the Niger Delta communities due extensively to the environmental degradation for their means of livelihood and sustainance. The UN General Assembly declaration of the right to development takes a holistic, human-centered approach to development (Note 26). It views development as a comprehensive process aiming at improving the well-being of the entire population and of all individuals on the basis of their active, free, and meaningful participation and in the fair distribution of the resulting benefits. According to Stephen www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ape Advances in Politics and Economics Vol. 5, No. 4, 2022 90 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Marks (Note 27), the right to development recognizes development as a human right which empowers all people to claim their active participation in decisions that affect them. The people of the Niger Delta should not be regarded as mere beneficiaries of charity. They are entitled to claim an equitable share of the benefits resulting from development gains. The Nigerian government has resorted to all manner of constitutional and legal frameworks to deny the people of the Niger Delta their fair and due entitlements. The Nigerian state owes the people of the Niger Delta the primary responsibility for human rights fulfillment and for the creation of an enabling environment for development, and application of the principles of equality, non-discrimination, participation, transparency, accountability, and prudence. Human aspirations for development and well-being can be realized in the atmosphere of a solid national accountability framework for development that respects equity, social justice, and all human rights. At the UN Millennium Summit in 2000, the heads of state and government committed themselves to the task of making the right to development a reality for everyone and freeing the entire human race from want (Note 28). Ten years later, at the 2010 Millennium Development Goals Review Summit, they reaffirmed the importance of freedom, peace and security, respect for all human rights, and the rule of law (Note 29). In spite of these global commitments, the right to development of the Niger Delta remains a distant reality. Obstacles to realizing the right to development in the Niger Delta have not been static, but evolved constantly. There is need to seek new insights into the most formidable challenges with a view to finding solution for addressing them. The right to development discourse guides in identifying the structural and systemic root causes of inequality and underdevelopment as well as attaining giant strides in finding equitable and sustainable solutions (Note 30). The right to development discourse demands that the Nigerian government should make explicit provision for the right to development in national policy and development plans. It demands that government ensures that multinational oil corporations operating in the oil rich region of the Niger Delta do not violate the means of livelihood and wellbeing of the members of the Niger Delta community, rather to ensure greater transparency in negotiations and agreements. (Note 31) Inspiration is drawn from the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Program of Action to the right to development that declares it a universal and an inalienable right that is an integral part of fundamental human rights (Note 32). Nigeria constitutional and sundry legal, frameworks have ignored this principle and practice of guaranteeing that the right to development of the Niger delta is realized. Elsewhere in Africa, (Note 33) the African Commission held the government of Kenya accountable for violations of the rights of an indigenous group linked to the denial of access to their traditional land. This decision is notable as the first time that the African Commission elaborates on the meaning of the right to development in Article 22 of the African Charter, the only international treaty to recognize and enforce this right (Note 34). The African Commission, in the Endoris Case, observed that there is a need to, protect ‘marginalized and vulnerable groups in Africa’ suffering from peculiar problems. These are groups that are not accommodated by dominant development paradigms, are victimized by mainstream www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ape Advances in Politics and Economics Vol. 5, No. 4, 2022 91 Published by SCHOLINK INC. development policies, and have their basic human rights violated. Thus, groups, such as the Niger Delta communities, within this category qualify as peoples in the context of the African Charter, and enjoy collective rights, including the right to development (Note 35). 5. What Should be the Paradigm Shift What is the most proactive means of implementing the Article 22 provision of the African Charter, particularly through appropriate policy framework, where it concerns the Niger Delta region and their vast oil and gas resources? How can we situate the right to development and the millennium development goals, the Nigerian federal government committed itself to achieving? Do they complement each other or mutually exclusive? As a corollary, what is the framework towards invoking Article 22 of the African Charter in resolving the constitutional challenges to realizing the right to development of the Niger Delta region in Nigeria? In what manner is it possible to address the inequalities and violations that tend to undermine the development process in the Niger Delta? This dissertation seeks a sustainable and environmental friendly exploitation of the mineral resources in the Niger delta, particularly for the development of the region. The right to development discourse is geared towards identifying the structural and systemic root causes of inequality and underdevelopment as well as seeking efforts to finding equitable and sustainable solutions. This research dissertation seeks to raise public awareness on the importance of this right for the many challenges the Niger Delta communities are currently facing despite numerous landmark safeguards provided by the African Charter. It is sincerely hoped that a proactive paradigm shift so far suggested in this work will contribute to constructive and inspiring approaches in making the right to development a reality for everyone, as envisaged in the UN declaration on the right to development, the Millennium Declaration, as well as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. There’s yet to be a genuine change, for the better, based on these landmark efforts (Note 36). This suggests the interrelation between human rights and development as envisaged the formulators of the declaration on the right to development (Note 37). There is need to create a criteria for assessment of progress in the realization of the right to development and implementing a program of development education reaching grassroots organizations, and also suggestion for civil society organizations to create appropriate indicators of progress made towards the realization of the right to development. It is pertinent to note that the Declaration on the Right to Development does not create any legal obligation, although it has the potential for carrying the weight of moral and political obligations (Note 38). It is suggested in this work that the Nigerian government should make explicit provisions for the right to development in national policy and development plans, ensure that the oil multinational corporations operating in the Niger Delta do not violate the right to development. It also suggests an environment conducive to the realization of the right to development, particularly through the democratization of decision-making in intergovernmental agencies and institutions that deal with monetary policy and development assistance (Note 39). www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ape Advances in Politics and Economics Vol. 5, No. 4, 2022 92 Published by SCHOLINK INC. There is need for a powerful legal framework to impose a moral duty to stop and redress human rights violations and prevent them from happening in the future. This legal framework shall facilitate the monitoring, coordination, and implementation of the right to development, and also provide for direct and indirect participation of representatives of the Niger Delta people at all levels of decision-making. A ministerial level commission should be established for the purpose of implementing the right to development as a human right and periodic reports on progress and challenges in this regard. The statutory basis of the Niger Delta conflict and crisis of development is traceable to Nigeria’s defective federal structure that has been maintained by the military imposed unitary laws that hitherto need to be expunged. Scholars in the development law, development economics and related social sciences have written and argued extensively on the issue of right to development of Africa’s vulnerable communities. Despite the large literature bordering on problem of development and rights violation in the Niger Delta of Nigeria, little attention has been paid on the constitutional constraints and implications thereof. The discussion of the multifarious legal instruments towards addressing the right to development of the Niger Delta communities have been rarely articulated nor merely mentioned in the manner envisaged to assuage the suffering and repression of members of the Niger Delta communities. In other words, there is limited literature that addresses the legal architecture and structural challenges to the right to development of the Niger Delta communities in the manner this research seeks to portray the issues arising from the discourse. This work seeks to fill the vacuum in this regard and explore a possibility of a speedy, and uninhibited, integrated development of the resources rich communities of the Niger Delta communities of Nigeria. The Niger Delta region covers 9 states, with 27 senatorial districts and 185 local governments. There is need to implement the master plan that provides for best practices across the Niger Delta region. There is need to explore the possibility of developing growth communities in the rural area that shall possibly create development hubs to drive development within the communities according to their cutting-edge competencies. A possible legal framework shall be explored for the easy takeoff of these growth communities to serve the purpose of stimulating industrial development of the communities where the mineral resources are located. 6. Lesson from Other African Counties African nations, particularly Malawi (article 30, 1994 constitution), Democratic Republic of Congo (article 58, 2005 constitution), Ethiopia (article 43, 1994 constitution), among others, have constitutionally guaranteed the right to development. Constitutionalization, therefore, of the right to development is sine qua non to its realization. The Niger Delta region of Nigeria has suffered, and still suffering, myriad of problems, conflicts, environmental devastation, and neglect. This has resulted to widespread poverty amidst oil and mineral resources being exploited in their lands. The many repressive laws and sections of the 1999 constitution need to be reviewed in a view to amending, repealing or expunging them. The right to development of the people of the Niger Delta ought to be www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ape Advances in Politics and Economics Vol. 5, No. 4, 2022 93 Published by SCHOLINK INC. guaranteed both by laws and policies of the government, as well as responsible, and sustainable, exploitation of the mineral resources abundant in their lands by multinational oil corporations. This research paper seeks to enlighten and create awareness that the concepts and principles of the right to development is not vague but practical and proactive approach to national developmental policies that will not disrupt the means of livelihood of the teeming population of the people of the Niger Delta. It also seeks to suggest that right to development does not require budgetary allocations or acts of charity, but rather promotion of fairness, justice, equal access to opportunities and responsible, as well as sustainable, investments in the abundant mineral resources in the nation. 7. Summary and Conclusion The plight of the people of the Niger Delta communities in Nigeria has been amplified by scholars, human rights crusaders, and case law. This has resulted to a significant literature on this matter. This research paper has so far explored published materials on right to development, international and regional instruments that touch directly on the right to development, and sundry local legislations, as well as federal government policies that address the issue of needed development initiatives that assuage the suffering of the most vulnerable population residing in the Niger Delta communities. The author visited selected communities to investigate whether ongoing as well as previous governmental development projects have so far positively impacted on the communities. Effort was made in this paper to weave all the assembled materials and findings to effectively address the right to development discourse. References Koen, D. F. (2013). 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Rule of Law, Justice sector Reforms and Development Cooperation. Concept paper for Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC 2008. Umeh, R. S. (2012). Oil Politics in Nigeria and the Niger Delta Crises. Solar Press Okigwe, 2012. Festus, I. (2007). The Niger Delta: Issues of Justice and Development Agenda. Centre for Democracy and Development, 2007. Okey, I., & Luckham, R. (2006). Niger Delta: Ploitical Violence, Governance and Corporate Responsibility in a Petro-State. Centre for Democacy and Development, 2006. National Human Rights Commission, The State of Human Rights in Nigeria 2009-2010. Edigin, L. U. (2014). Youth unrest in the Niger Delta Region: an insight into the causes and solutions. Covenant Journal of Business and Social Sciences, 5(1). Notes Note 1. koen De Feyter, ‘The Right to Development in Africa,’ Law and development, University of Antwerp, July 2013 p 3 Note 2. Article 22(1) African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Right Note 3. SERAC and Another v Nigeria(2001) p 68); the Endoris Case, Infa. Note 4. Marks P.S, ‘The Politics of the Possible: The way ahead for Right to Development’, International Policy Analysis(Dialogue on Globalization), Friedrich Ebert Stiftung , June 2011 Note 5. (A/Conf.216/L.1,19 June 2012) Note 6. Asume Isaac Osuoka, ‘Paper Presented at the Expert Group Meeting on the Use of Non-Renewable Resources Revenues for Sustainable Local Development’, Organized by UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Friday 21 September 2007, UN Headquarters, New York Note 7. http:/www.fes.de/GPOL/pdf/salomon_core_Norm.Pd Note 8. A/HRC/15/WG2/task force/2/Add.1, March 25, 2010 para 69 Note 9. Right to Development Criteria and Operational sub-criteria, A/HRC/15/WG2/task force/2/Add.2, February 2, 2010 Note 10. Proponents of Relative Deprivation Theory Are: B Chizea and Iyare, ‘Nigeria’s raying ethnic www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ape Advances in Politics and Economics Vol. 5, No. 4, 2022 96 Published by SCHOLINK INC. conflicts. The role of small arms and military companies’, the constitution, Vol. 6, no.1, 2006, pp 71-100; T.R. Gurr, why men Rebel, (Princeton, Nj: Princeton University Press 1970; D. Horowitz, Ethnic Groups in Conflict (Berkley CA: University of California Press 1985; Folarin, ‘Niger Delta Environment, Ogoni Crisis and the State’, The constitution, vol. 7 n. 1, 2007, p. 37-61 Note 11. Tyoyia A.G. and Terhenmen G.D., ‘Challenges of Democracy and Development in Nigeria’s Niger Delta Region’, An Appraisal’, European Scientific Journal, Vol. 8, No. 16 Note 12. Ibid p. 57 Note 13. Youth Militia, Self-Determination and Resource Control Struggle in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria(Dakar: CODESTRIA Research Reports 2011) No.5 Note 14. (Philip Alston, ‘Ships Passing in the Night: The Current State of the Human Rights and Development Debate seen through the Lens of Millennium Development Goals’ Human Rights Quaterly, vol. 27,no.3, August 2005 pp 755-829, published by John Hopskins Press.; Andrea Cornwall and Celestine Nyamu-Musembi, ‘Putting the Rights Based Aproach to Development in Perspective’, Third World Quaterly, Volume 25, no 8, 2004, pp 1415-1437.; Koen De Feyter, ‘The Right to development in Africa’, Law and Development, published by University of Antwerp, July 2013.; Stephen P. Marks, ‘The Politics of the Possible: The Way ahead for Right to development’, Dialogue on Globalization, International Policy Analysis, June 2011 Note 15. Koen Feyter, The Right to Development in Africa (Law and Development, University of Antwerp 2013, koen.defeyter@ua.ac.be Note 16. Ibid Note 17. Legislations such as the Petroleum Act, 1969, the Land Use Act 1978, and the Sections 43-44 of the 1999 constitution, have effectively deprived local residents of any ownership stake in the land and petroleum resources discovered in their community. Note 18. ( Adigbuo E. R., ‘Nigerian National Role Conception: The Case of Namibia 1975-1990’, Doctoral Thesis submitted to the University if Johannesburg, South Africa, 2005) Note 19. Agbakwa S, ’A Path Least Taken: Economic and Social Rights and Prospects of Conflict Prevention and Peace Building in Africa’, 2003 1 JAL, 47 Note 20. Article 1 of the UN Declaration of the Right to Development, UN General Assembly Resolution 41/128 of 4 December 1986 Note 21. J Donnelly,’Human Rights, Democracy, and development’(1999)21 HRQ 608 at 619-22 Note 22. ibid Note 23. M Robinson, ‘Bridging the gap between human rights and development: from normative principles to operational relevance’, World bank Presidential Fellows Lecture, 3 December 2001. Available at www.worldbank.org/wbi/B_SPAN/sub_mary_robinson.htm Note 24. Andrea Cornwall and Celestine Nyamu-Musembi, ‘Right Based Approach to Development into Perspective’, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 25, No.8(2004), pp.1415-1437, published by Taylor & Francis, Ltd www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/ape Advances in Politics and Economics Vol. 5, No. 4, 2022 97 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Note 25. Stephen P Marks, ‘The Politics of the Possible:The Way Ahead of Right to Development,’ International Policy Analysis, Dialogue on Development, Fredrich Ebert Stiftung June 2011 Note 26. adopted by the General Assembly on December 4, 1986 Note 27. Ibid Note 28. (www.un.org/milennium) Note 29. they also included the right to development, gender equality and an overall commitment to a just and democratic societies for even development Note 30. Marks S P, supra,n 11 Note 31. the Realization of the Right to Development: Global Consultation on the Right to Development as a Human Rights, HR/PUB/91?2, para 171 Note 32. Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, UN Doc.A/CONF.157/23,1993,para 10; GA Res 50/214 1995; GA Res. 48/141,1993 Note 33. Centre for Minority Rights Development(Kenya)and Minority Rights Group International on behalf of Endoris Welfare Council v Kenya(2009)AHRLR 75(ACHPR2009) Note 34. Compendium of Key Human Rights Documents of the African Union,Fifth Edition 2013, Hein and Killander Editors Note 35. Okafor, “Righting” the right to development: a social-legal analysis of Article 22 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Marks(ed), Implementing the Right to Development,The Role of International law (Geneva,Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 2008) 58. Note 36. (http://www.fes.de/GPol/en/RTD_conference.htm) Note 37. Keba M’Baye, ‘The Right to Development as a Human Right,’ Inaugural Address of the Third Teaching Session of the International Institute of Human Rights July 3, 1972 p.503) Note 38. (Stephen Marks, ‘Obligation to Implement the Right to Development: Political, Legal and Philosophical rationales’, in Bard Anders Andressen and Stephen p marks(eds),Development as Human Right: Legal, Political and Economic Dimensions, revised and updated in second edition, Brussels: Intersentia, 2010, pp 73-100) Note 39. (The Realization of the Right to Development: Global Consultation on the Right to Development as a Human Right, HR/PUB/91/2, para 171)