From Aba to Ugborodo: gender identity and alternative discourse of social protest among women in the oil delta of Nigeria

From the outset of the 1990s, the Niger Delta became a hotbed of communal rivalries and violent protests by deprived oil communities against the alliance of the Nigerian State and multinational oil companies. Community grievances mostly revolved around issues such as ecological degradation, unemployment and dearth of basic social amenities. In 2002 a wave of protests by women from different ethnic groups led to the occupation of major oil platforms. This paper contextualizes the separate protests against the background of crude oil‐induced violent conflicts in the Niger Delta. It explores the various dimensions of the revolts, drawing on historical antecedents of gender‐specific social actions in Nigeria. Finally, it examines how the protests and occupation of oil platforms by women challenge orthodox wisdom about the autonomous agency of women in stimulating alternative social and political discourses and actions.