Rising populations of youth pose serious challenges for societies, economies, and governments in developing countries around the world. Nowhere is this more true than Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, where 14.2% of the population is under the age of 15 and the median age is 18.7 years. Young Nigerians affect everything from the balance of power inside the country to the price you pay for gas.
In the oil-rich Niger Delta, militant groups such as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) battle with government troops and foreign oil companies for control of resources in the world's eighth-largest oil exporter. Ordinary people participate in this struggle as well, and their small-scale attempts to divert oil from pipelines frequently result in fatal explosions.
Pervasive poverty, environmental damage to the agricultural sector, and the proliferation of small arms make roaming militias in the Delta an attractive source of income and security for youth.

Unlike most work in the Niger Delta, “running” with the militias is lucrative. Many of Nigeria’s oil pipelines are above ground, making them vulnerable to sabotage and bunkering.
On 29 January the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps handed over - to the country’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission - 118 suspects for having stolen an alleged 104 million naira (just over US$881,000) worth of crude oil since September 2007.
The groups are also behind the kidnap of countless expatriate oil workers over the past few years. Ransom payments, together with oil bunkering and political ties, have kept the militants flush with cash and arms.
In 2003 and again in 2007, politicians paid and armed the groups to rig elections, Human Rights Watch documented in an October 2007 report.
“The impunity enjoyed by politicians is so widespread that some residents of the state are not even aware that their sponsorship of armed gangs is in and of itself illegal,” the report reads.
“Fourteen-year-old boys are going to the camps as a summer job,” explains Ledum Mittee, the outgoing president of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, a Niger Delta ethnic group.
“They go there and earn money… you ask, what is the alternative? Say they earn N40,000 (about US$340) a month. For those young boys - for anyone else - imagine how much that is. Then they go back to class.”

The conflict has worsened in the past few years, largely because of the militias' increased access to weapons. In May 2007, after President Yar'Adua took over from his predecessor and mentor Obasanjo, the BBC made a grim prognosis of the situation:

From a group of angry young men fighting with sticks and machetes, they have evolved into disciplined groups carrying out precise attacks on foreign oil installations in the region. They kidnap foreign oil workers at will and keep them for as long as they want. They also blow up oil pipelines, burn down police stations and dare the government to go after them.
Under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the central government never quite figured how to effectively deal with the militants who have recorded huge successes in disrupting oil production and scaring foreign workers out of the region. Equally, Mr Yar'Adua does not appear to have a real plan for the region which produces about 90% of his budget. But he now speaks of coming up with one soon.

Since Yar'Adua took power, some progress has been made, including preliminary talks between rebels and government. But the crisis continues. In a gun battle between militants and soldiers Sunday, 11 Nigerians lost their lives. In addition to the local population, it is foreign companies - and consumers - who feel the effects of such attacks.

Shell is pumping about 400,000 barrels per day below its full capacity because of rebel attacks and kidnappings since 2006 that have contributed to a rise in world oil prices.

Rebels are demanding regional control over the Niger delta's oil wealth, as well as jobs, public services and compensation for pollution.

Even talking with the rebels may not help without attention to the factors listed above.

Clara Ngeribika, an evangelist who organised negotiations for peace between the various militant factions throughout 2007, told IRIN that many of the boys living in the bush are tired of the fight.
"If the government can be sincere with them, they are ready to disarm," she said.
But without any meaningful opportunities to offer the militia members other than carrying a gun, peace talks between the Nigerian government and militant leaders in September 2007 quickly broke down. Militants said one of the reasons they left the negotiating table was an incident in December when troops stormed the home of militant leader Ateke Tom, who had claimed he was ready for peace.
Ngeribika said the real reason there is no peace yet is the militia members do not really believe the government will let them have a future if they surrender.

The significance of the situation in Nigeria, and the deep economic and political conflict between the rebels and the government, extends to more than just violence and gas prices. In a time of changing demographics, crushing poverty, and widespread munitions, the oil conflict in Nigeria offers us a glimpse of future conflicts. Wars fought over land, oil, and even water may become increasingly common, and the desperate youth of the world will be ripe for recruitment. In these resource wars, targets will not only include local governments, but also neighboring countries and foreign corporations. Nigeria isn't the only African country to complain about the "curse of oil," and it won't be the last.
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