Resource Curse or Accumulation by Dispossession? Economic Displacement and the Challenges of HIV Infection in a Petroleum Economy

Abstract

This paper documents the deleterious effects of petroleum extractive activities in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, with a special focus on HIV infection. It argues against the hegemonizing claims of the “resource curse” thesis and deploys the framework of “accumulation by dispossession” to explain the crisis of development associated with the country’s petroleum economy. The paper couches the challenges of economic survival in the petroleum resource-rich region on a predatory alliance between the extractive transnational corporations (TNCs) and the domestic compradors. It highlights the implications of extractive activities in the region for HIV infection. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 13 June 2021 Revised 28 June 2021 Accepted 20 October 2021