ALL FOR OIL: THE UNITED STATES, CHINA AND NIGERIA'S NATIONAL SECURITY INTEREST IN THE GULF OF GUINEA
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Date
2015-12
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Publisher
Gregory University, Uturu
Abstract
The increasing volatility of the international energy market; the instability in the Middle East and the new discovery of major off-shore oil fields in the Gulf of Guinea have all contributed to amplifying the geo-strategic importance of the region in the perception threshold of major powers and their energy companies. The authorization of the United States' Africa Command, AFRICOM, signifies the increasing strategic importance of the Gulf of Guinea to the major powers. While the US and China have defined the GoG as of great strategic national interest, the resource area is also strategic to Nigeria for number of reasons. Nigeria has continued to discover new super oil fields of fits coast. There is also the fluid security situation in the Niger Delta and the diminishing contribution of onshore oil fields to the nation's annual oil production. There is also steady rise in incidence of piracy/terrorism in the waters off Nigeria coast, as well arms smuggling among others. The paper employs the theory of political realism, which places high premium on the struggle for and use of power in the pursuit of national interest. The paper argues that security threats against Nigeria's national interest are real in the GoG. Given the military dimension of the threats, Nigeria should strengthen its military presence as well as networking with key GoG states
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Keywords
Oil, Multinational Corporations, Major Powers, National Interest, Gulf of Guinea