from the 23 covered in the first phase were chosen for the second phase of the survey<sup>26</sup> . The questionnaires were administered only on males, with a bias towards those who by casual observation are above 15 years old. The focus on males was deliberate. While females (women) have been involved in oil protests in the Niger Delta in recent times, young males remain the best recruits for armed struggle (Collier, 2000; Elbadawi and Sambanis, 2000). At the end of the exercise, a total of 163 ill-conditioned questionnaires were rejected which left us with a functional sample size of 1337.

# **4.2 Sample Characteristics**

The sample of individuals and communities used in the study gives useful insights. Descriptive analyses (Table 3) show significant variation in the communities in terms of quantity of oil endowment, distance from state capital, social infrastructure and conflict history (this is reflected in the very high standard deviations for these variables). While 38.87 percent of the communities sampled had no oil, those that had oil varied significantly in terms of quantity of endowment. There is also significant variation in income and socio-economic access (personal inclusion) among individuals in the sample. In addition, while 67.14 percent of the people sampled have at least one form of asset, there is significant variation in the assets held.

Only 27.67 percent of the population sampled are unemployed, but income level is generally low. With a mean income class of 0.99, 69.36 percent of the sampled population earns below N7, 000 (about US $51.47) and 90.08 percent below N15, 000 (about US $110) a month. Formal educational attainment is also low with only 9.27 percent having completed tertiary education and 51.49 percent never going beyond primary educational level. A generally high level of personal grievance against the Nigerian State is also noticeable. 80.84 percent of sampled population residential houses/business premises to be visited using a simple formula j = N/n, where N is the number of residential houses/business premises in the street and n is the number of questionnaires to be administered in the street. For example, if j =5, we begin with the first premise (building), and thereafter, visit each successive fifth premise. In each of the places visited, a male of not less than 15 years old (by observation) was interviewed. Only, one individual is selected from each premise. In order to avoid any bias arising from group influence, selected individuals in the catchments areas were interviewed separately. For example, each field assistant picks one prospective respondent and interview the individual in some distance apart.

> 26 As a first step, the questionnaire was pre-tested on 25 respondents randomly selected from two communities in Delta state with a view to gauging its effectiveness, after which some slight changes were made. For example, questions 11 and 13 in the Questionnaire were introduced after the pre-testing. The 18 communities were selected in a way as to make the sample as representative as possible, based on observations in the first phase of the survey. In addition, two communities were dropped as a result of extreme difficulties and risk encountered in the first phase.

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