The Geo-strategy of Oil in the Gulf of Guinea: Implications for Regional Stability

Abstract

This study highlights the security implications of the rising geo-strategic prominence of West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea (GG) oil, deriving from the security calculus of the major oil-consuming countries. It argues that the extension of the traditional militaristic approach to energy security by major oil-consuming countries, particularly the US, to energy affairs in the GG will reignite the global arms race involving other major oil consumers including China. The logic being that energy-hungry China and others are also likely to respond with their own militaristic strategies to safeguard their own supplies in the GG. All of that will flood the sub-region with arms and weapons and further destabilize weak or fragile states in the sub-region. To avoid that situation and forestall the attendant consequences to states and inhabitants of the sub-region, the paper recommends that efforts must be made to entrench consistent dialogue, good governance and investment in human capital development.