The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Bight of Biafra side of the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. [1] It is a very densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil . The area was the British Oil Rivers Protectorate from 1885 until 1893, when it was expanded and became the Niger Coast Protectorate . The delta is an oil-rich region, and has been the centre of international controversy over pollution, corruption (notably by the Abacha regime), and human rights violations . [citation needed ] Geography The Niger Delta, as now defined officially by the Nigerian government, extends over about 70,000 km 2 (27,000 sq mi) and makes up 7.5% of Nigeria's land mass. Historically and cartographically, it consists of present-day Bayelsa , Delta , and Rivers States . In 2000, however, Obasanjo's regime included Abia, Akwa-Ibom , Cross River State, Edo , Imo and Ondo States in the region. Some 31 million people [2] of more than 40 ethnic groups including the Bini , Efik , Esan , Ibibio, Igbo , Annang , Oron, Ijaw , Itsekiri , Isoko, Urhobo, Ukwuani , Kalabari and Ogoni , are among the inhabitants of the political Niger Delta, speaking about 250 different dialects. The Niger Delta, and the "South South Zone", which includes Akwa Ibom State, Bayelsa State, Cross River State, Delta State, Edo State and Rivers State are two different entities. While the Niger Delta is the oil- producing region the Nigerian South South is a geo-political zone. The Niger Delta separates the Bight of Benin from the Bight of Biafra within the larger Gulf of Guinea . History Colonial period The area was the British Oil Rivers Protectorate from 1885 until 1893, when it was expanded and became the Niger Coast Protectorate . The core Niger Delta later became a part of the eastern region of Nigeria, which came into being in 1951 (one of the three regions, and later one of the four regions). The majority of the people were those from the colonial Calabar and Ogoja divisions, the present-day Ogoja , Annang , Ibibio , Oron, Efik , Ijaw , and Igbo peoples. The National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon (NCNC) was the ruling political party of the region. The NCNC later became the National Convention of Nigerian Citizens, after western Cameroon decided to separate from Nigeria. The ruling party of eastern Nigeria did not seek to preclude the separation and even encouraged it. The then Eastern Region had the second, fourth and fifth largest ethnic groups in the country (the Igbo , the Ibibio and the Ijaw ) after the Hausa - Fulani and the Yoruba . In 1953, the old eastern region had a major crisis due to the expulsion of professor Eyo Ita from office by the majority Igbo tribe of the old eastern region. Ita, an Efik man from Calabar, was one of the pioneer nationalists for Nigerian independence. The minorities in the region, the Ibibio , Annang , Efik , Ijaw and Ogoja , were situated along the southeastern coast and in the delta region and demanded a state of their own, the Calabar-Ogoja-Rivers (COR) state. The struggle for the creation of the COR state continued and was a major issue concerning the status of minorities in Nigeria during debates in Europe on Nigerian independence. As a result of this crisis, Professor Eyo Ita left the NCNC to form a new political party called the National Independence Party (NIP) which was one of the five Nigerian political parties represented at the conferences on Nigerian Constitution and Independence. Post-colonial period In 1961, another major crisis occurred when the then eastern region of Nigeria allowed present-day Southwestern Cameroon to separate from Nigeria (from the region of what is now Akwa Ibom and Cross River states) through a plebiscite while the leadership of the then Northern Region took the necessary steps to keep Northwestern Cameroon in Nigeria, in present-day Adamawa and Taraba states. The aftermath of the 1961 plebiscite has led to a dispute between Cameroon and Nigeria over the small territory of Bakassi. A new phase of the struggle saw the declaration of an Independent Niger Delta Republic by Isaac Adaka Boro during Nigerian president Ironsi's administration, just before the Nigerian Civil War. Also just before the Nigerian civil war, Southeastern State of Nigeria was created (also known as Southeastern Nigeria or Coastal Southeastern Nigeria), which had the colonial Calabar division, and colonial Ogoja division. Rivers State was also created. Southeastern state and River state became two states for the minorities of the old eastern region, and the majority Igbo of the old eastern region had a state called East Central state. Southeastern state was renamed Cross River state and was later split into Cross River state and Akwa Ibom state. Rivers state was later divided into Rivers state and Bayelsa state. Nigerian Civil War The people of the Eastern reigion sustained heavy suffering and many deaths during the 1967-1970 Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War, in which the eastern region declared an independent state named Biafra in that was eventually not defeated but reemeged as one Nigeria as it was before the war. The loss of lives began when Nigerian soldiers invaded the now South South at the start of the war; majority of the South South community leaders were eliminated, as the region was mainly on the side of the Biafran Government. The entire South East and South South became a major war zone as the Nigerian Army fought with the help of hired foreign mercenaries and pushed the loyal and die-hard Biafran soldiers out of this Biafra region and deep into the Biafran Capital, leading to the end of the war. Over three million Biafrans died during the war, with present-day Akwa Ibom State, Bayelsa State, Abia State, Imo State, Anambra State, Enugu State, Ebonyi State and Delta State sustaining most of the heavy casualties, and Rivers State and Cross River State also severely affected. Many children and adults died due to starvation and disease, and as casualties of war.