DOES PERMANENT SOVEREIGNTY OF A STATE OVER NATURAL RESOURCES CLASH WITH CLAIMS OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES?
Abebe Abebayehu Chekol abebeabebayehu@yahoo.com ABSTRACT: The business of oil exploration and production in Sub-Saharan Africa is often marred by tensions and unrests. The woeful scenario of Darfur that unfolds in Sudan, the turmoil in the Niger Delta of Nigeria that has continued unabatedly, and clashes in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, to mention some, are mostly rooted within a natural resource dimension. Indeed, they apparently involve, inter alia, clashes between a group that claims to propagate the self-determination right of the indigenous peoples at whose environmental expense the oil is explored or produced, and the government. Amid this murky face of petroleum operations, it is imperative to critically examine the underlying and fuelling causes of such unrests and crises. It is the finding of this research that poor governance, non-equitable distribution of resources, non-participatory decision making processes, are instrumental to the ordeal that is manifest in these places.
