COUNTER TERRORISM IN THE NIGER DELTA AND THE DRAMATIST'S SOCIAL VISION: A CRITICAL READING OF AHMED YERIMA'S HARD GROUND

Abstract
Insurgency in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria, which threatens the peace of the masses and the activities of multinational corporations, and endangers the nation"s economy is terrorism. The persistent situation, which cannot be wished away, is a challenge that calls for urgent redress. Ahmed Yerima"s social vision in Hard Ground (2006) is a commitment towards positive change in the issues of terrorism in the Niger Delta region. This study aims to undertake textual content analysis of Hard Ground to examine the dramatist"s prescription for counterterrorism in the Niger Delta, while evaluating the present security measures deployed to combat terrorism in the region. The study anchors on Stakeholder Theory, which insists on the ethical obligation of corporations to stakeholders who may be affecting corporate activities. The paper submits that the corporate activities on the natural resources of the Niger Delta region are exploitative; endangering the region, and the insurgency is therefore a secular agitation, which can be nipped in the bud through dialogue in fairness, rather than combat and war. This paper recommends that Government and the multinational corporations should evaluate the danger of exploitations in the region and dialogue with all stakeholders for a framework for ethical obligation, which is fair and acceptable by all parties in the interest of peace in the region and the stability of the nation"s economy.