INVESTIGATION OF THE NONVIOLENT RESISTANCE STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY OGONI PEOPLE IN RIVERS STATE AGAINST THE NIGERIAN STATE

The study empirically investigated the nonviolent resistance strategies adopted by Ogoni people against the Nigeria State during the uprising and also examined the factors that gave rise to the Ogoni nonviolent resistance movement. The research design adopted was cross sectional survey research design. A sample size of 400 was determined through the Taro Yamane statistical formula. The sampling technique adopted for this study was purposive sampling technique. The study used the questionnaire and interview instruments as primary methods of data collection. Data was analysed using mean. The study found that some factors that gave rise to Ogoni nonviolent resistance movement are environmental pollution and oil spills caused by petroleum operations which severely damaged farmlands, fishing waters, and the health of Ogoni communities (mean = 3.39 > 2.5), Ogoni people receiving little or none of the economic benefits from resources extracted from their land (mean = 3.36 > 2.50). Exclusion of the Ogoni from meaningful political representation and decision-making at both state and federal levels (mean =.3.41 > 2.5), perceived discrimination against the Ogoni as a minority ethnic group, including threats to their language, cultural identity, and traditional institutions and Oil companies (mean = 3.44 >2.5) and government authorities acquired Ogoni land and exploited its resources without the free, prior consent or adequate compensation of the local population (mean = 3.33> 2.5). The results also revealed that some of the nonviolent resistance strategies employed by the Ogoni people against the Nigerian state are nonviolent methods such as mass protests, sit-ins, and civil disobedience, (mean = 3.39> 2.5). creation of Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), through declaration of the Ogoni Bill of Rights (mean = 3.42 > 2.5). and formal appeals by the Ogoni people to international institutions, foreign governments, and human rights organizations (mean = 3.40 > 2.5). It was concluded that Ogoni people adopted suitable nonviolence strategies to express the grievances after being trigger by marginalization