Nigeria's Niger Delta is an inflamed troublespot that does not look to have any easy solutions. Rebel groups continually sabotage the oil industry there, sometimes attacking, kidnapping, and even killing people associated with the oil industry, locals and foreigners alike. Whatever their methods, the rebels’ grievances are real. Between corruption, inefficiency, misallocation of resources, and simple differences in priorities, the oil curse is alive and well in Nigeria where very little benefit has trickled down to the country's masses.
Nigerian President Yar-Adua has categorically rejected rumors that his government is going to look to the British military to intervene and crush rebellion in the Delta. Even granted that the West has always been a lot more willing to act to protect access to African resources than to protect African lives, the speculation about British intervention does not make a lot of sense logistically or politically. Nonetheless, the very existence of the rumors tells a great deal about the chaos that has enveloped the oil-rich yet otherwise impoverished Delta and the lengths to which some think the government will need to go to regain control.