Post traumatic stress in the Niger Delta of Nigeria - a qualitative analysis of narrative of women
At a Glance
Section titled āAt a Glanceā| Metadata | Details |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2016-10-01 |
| Journal | Gender and Behaviour |
| Authors | Choja Oduaran |
Abstract
Section titled āAbstractāSocial scientists have commonly and severally argued that instead of becoming a catalyst for economic and human development, natural resources like oil and have turned out to be curses almost wherever they are found (Aiyetan 2008; Crow 1995; Frynas 2005; Idemudia nd; Ojakorotu 2011). Proponents of this resource-curse calamity in Africa have cast their gaze on the oil crisis, for example, in the Niger Delta of Nigeria and the Cabinda Region of Angola (Idemudia 2009; Ikelegbe 2001; Ojakorotu 2011). As it is with oil so it has been with what has been described as the international trade in diamonds.Indeed, diamonds (sometimes known as blood diamonds) have been identified as the major contributors to prolonged conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Angola and Sierra Leone (Idemudia nd; Arnson and Zartman 2005). The catastrophe visited upon communities living in natural resources extracting and processing geographical locations together with the mismanagement of revenues generated from mining plus the gross neglect of the people has become dominant in the relevant literature as the resource-curse phenomenon (Aunty and Gleb 2001; Ross 1999; Sach and Warner 2001). Arising therefrom is the resource-curse theory that is frequently used to describe the significant curse visited on natural resource rich local communities by virtue of negative extracting and processing activities and the weak role played by governance structure in terms of failing to ensure that the negative consequences are avoided completely or assuage in ways that are human and tolerable (Alao 2007).To better enhance the research and policy inputs geared towards addressing the issue of resource-curse, dissent and conflicts in the Niger Delta, this paper explores beyond the usual political and economic lenses with which the problem had been examined to the application of the psychosocial lens. Applying the psychosocial lens especially from the point of view of the post-traumatic nature of the crisis should give added advantage as it might be possible to learn much more from the oil communitiesā narratives. This paper is unique in the sense that it will greatly enrich the several political and economic analyses of the oil crisis. Hitherto, the psychological analysis of the crisis had been far too scarce or even dormant. Y et the psychosocial slant that actually reflects the wellness solution approach to resolving the oil crisis can be much more valuable since other approaches have not adequately solved the problem in the Niger Delta Region.Post-traumatic stress disorder as an apt characterization of the psychosocial perspective of the Niger Delta oil conflict must be a valid pursuit. For the most scholars are of the view that incidents associated with recurrent, involuntary, intrusive, and distressing memories must have enormous challenges that ought to be avoided (Shepherd and Wild 2014 and Slazmann-Erikson and Hicdurmaz 2016). Post-traumatic stress disorder (hereinafter PTSD) often manifests the nature of provoking or causing impairment in social, occupational or other important aspects of functioning on the part of the individual and the community (Slazmann-Erikson and Hicdurmaz 2016; American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Nietlisbach and Mercker 2009). This study therefore should help us in understanding the complex nature of the stress being experienced by oil-producing communities as expressed by their own narratives.BackgroundPTSD is known to have the capability to cause impairment in individualās social or occupational activities and in other important functional areas of living. Scholars have posited that PTSD can actually impede an individualās life conditions, regardless of the type of trauma (Breslau, Lucia and Davis 2004; Momartin, Silove, Manicavasagar and Steel 2004). When this occurs, scholars commonly agree that exposure to pharmacological therapy, group therapy, psychoeducation and supportive counseling can be helpful (Slazmann-Erikson and Hicdurmaz 2016; Rauch, Eftekhari and Ruzek, 2012; Bastein, 2010; Sloan, Bovin and Schnurr 2012). ā¦
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