Oil spillage and artisanal fishing: A socio-psychological analysis of frustration-aggression and relative deprivation in Gbaramatu Kingdom of Niger Delta Region

Abstract

This paper assessed oil spillage and artisanal fishing in Gbaramatu kingdom, Niger Delta Region. The study was geared to examine the socio-economic mainstay and characterization of the Gbaramatu community. To achieve this objective, the study relied on the use of content analysis technique for data collection and analysis. The frustration-aggression theory and
relative deprivation theory by Robert K. Merton were adopted as theoretical frame work for the study. Based on this, the paper established that Oil spillage in Gbaramatu, a littoral fishing community in Delta State is responsible for environmental degradation and loss of income among artisanal fishers whose livelihood depends on fishing from Escravos River.
The ensuing deprivation of livelihood increased frustration and communal aggression against Multinational Oil Corporations operating in the Niger Delta region. From the sequence of events in Gbaramatu community, the study concluded that there is the need for environmental cleanup of polluted areas, payment of reparations, adoption of oil spillage detecting technologies by MNCs, and implementation of effective corporate social responsibility strategies that will protect marine life and artisanal fishing in the oil rich Gbaramatu community.