Oil pollution has been a major environmental concern since commercial-scale oil extraction began in the Niger Delta in the 1990s 50 and will be as long as oil extraction continues. Since the 1950s, due to the growing demand for crude oil and the existence of large oil reserves, the Niger Delta has experienced what can be called an environmental disaster due to oil pollution, which has had serious consequences for the environment and for the indigenous people who depended on the region for their livelihood. A study on Ogoniland, located in the Niger Delta Rivers State, has revealed that soil, groundwater, vegetation, surface water and even the air have been contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbons, devastating aquatic and agricultural communities and causing serious health problems for many residents (Environmental Assessment 2011). Many historians, environmentalists, political theorists, and other parties have discussed and explored this disaster, leading to disagreement over who should be blamed. As a result, two general positions have emerged: the first position suggests that the Nigerian state has made the country ripe for such a disaster and that, although multinational oil companies (MNOCs) such as Shell may have played a role, the state which is the main responsible for the environmental disaster disaster in the Niger Delta because it has control of rules, regulations, policies and revenues. The second position argues that the MNOCs themselves, taking Shell as an example, are mainly responsible for the environmental disaster in the Niger Delta because they are in direct contact with the oil, equipment and local population. Ultimately, the examination of popular and secondary research and both positions outlined above l...... middle of the paper ......459-507. JSTOR. Network. March 21, 2014. .Steeves, Jeffrey. "The turn towards presidentialism". University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon. March 16, 2014. Lecture.Tonwe, Daniel. A., Godwin Uyi Ojo and Iro Aghedo. “Greed and Resentment: The Changing Contours of Environmentalism in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria.” Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria 20 (2011): 45-66. JSTOR. Network. March 13, 2014. .Uwem, Ite E. “Multinationals and Corporate Social Responsibility in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Nigeria.” Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 11 (2004): 1-11. Wiley InterScience. Network. February 25. 2014. .