Resource Conflict as a Social Drama: Implications of Oil Wells Conflict for Development in Selected Communities in the Anambra River Basin, Nigeria

Land resource conflicts in Africa, often manifesting as social dramas driven by competing stakeholders, have been widely studied in contexts like Nigeria’s Niger Delta. However, the recent emergence of petroleum-related conflicts in the adjacent Anambra River Basin a region now grappling with oil politics, exclusionary governance, and resistance movements presents a critical yet underexplored case. This paper examines how land resource conflicts, framed as social dramas, shape the development trajectories of communities in the Anambra River Basin, addressing the research question: How do oil well conflicts and associated social dramas influence socioeconomic development in this region? Employing Victor Turner’s Social Drama and James C. Scott’s State Spatialization frameworks and analyzing published and gray literature through qualitative thematic analysis, the study reveals that conflicts are fueled by the politics of inclusion/exclusion, the pursuit of ‘Oil-Producing State Status,’ and evolving resistance strategies, all of which disrupt development. By shifting the focus from the Niger Delta to the Anambra Basin, this study uncovers novel dynamics of resource conflicts in Nigeria, demonstrating how they mutate in form and strategy, rendering conventional conflict resolution approaches ineffective. The findings contribute to international scholarship by highlighting the fluidity of resource-based conflicts in Africa and the need for adaptive, context-specific solutions to mitigate their developmental consequences.