Although ethnic pluralism, ethnicity and ethno-nationalism are pervasive characteristics of the contemporary
international system, the upsurge of violent ethno-nationalism in Nigeria at the commencement of the current
civilian dispensation in 1999 was unprecedented. Several groups from hitherto marginalized parts of the country,
capitalized on the statutory regime of human rights and rule of law provided by the democratic space to
articulate their discontentment. Similarly, due to the enveloping underdevelopment and poverty resulting from
decades of obvious environmental pollution, political marginalization and disregard of the Niger Deltans by the
Nigerian state and the Multinational oil companies (MNOCs), youths resorted to the formation of belligerent
ethno-nationalist groups. Consequently, insurgent ethno-nationalism worsened insecurity, de-legitimized the
status of the state and threatened its continued existence as a corporate entity; with dire consequences, until late
President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua granted general amnesty to those involved in violent ethno-nationalism in the
Niger Delta on 25 June 2009. Against this backdrop, this study derived from a doctoral thesis submitted to the
University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, re-examines the achievements and prospects of ethno-nationalism
in the Niger Delta. It argues that members of the political elite and few leaders and members of the insurgent
ethno-nationalist groups are the major beneficiaries of the struggle. Furthermore, with the use of Gramsci's
theory of hegemony, it posits that if the causal factors that gave rise to ethno-nationalism are not tackled,
counter-hegemonic forces will soon re-emerge in the region.