Doc 224899

Nigerian Militants in Delta: Bad for Nigeria, Good for Angola, Ghana

A useful review of the problem and the players, but it deletes one important point. Nigeria's militants are driven and motivated by fanatical Muslim elements. Nigeria sits astride the southern boundary of Islamist influence in that part of Africa, with northern Nigeria staunchly Islamist and southern Nigeria predeminantly Christian and polytheist/animist. "Control" is an issue for the militants, but more specifically it is about Islamists using "the oil weapon" against the USA, Israel, and the non-believing west. Right now OPEC is putting an oil squeeze on the free world, tearing down America's economy to weaken America, and the "militants" are preventing Nigeria from being useful to the west as a default energy source. Knowing this, it is easier to predict how things will go in Nigeria (i.e., down the crapper) as far as energy resources are concerned. There will be no intact, secure energy enterprise in Nigeria unless it is controlled by Muslims and benefits Muslims.