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Don’t forget Nigeria’s devastating oil spills
photo by Socialistisk Ungdom – SU (Flickr CC)
The massive leak in the Gulf of Mexico may have been stopped, but oil still continues to spread and flow. Scientists, local communities and businesses wait for the true toll of damage to be revealed as the rest of the world turns its attentions elsewhere.
Environmentalists desperately try to prevent the fossil fuel industry from destroying another pristine environment in the icy Arctic, but the thirst for oil is strong and the geopolitics surrounding it complex.
Yet there is another place where a devastating spill is continually taking place, poisoning lush ecosystems while destroying livelihoods and lives.
In Nigeria’s Niger River delta, oil companies like Shell, Chevron and Agip pollute heavily and on a daily basis, a tragedy compounded by a lack or rule of law in the region, criminality and militant activity. A recent and ongoing United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) report has identified more than 300 oil spills in the Ogoniland region of the delta.
From an article in the Guardian:
[We] observed the oil slick floating on the lake. Destroyed fishing nets were also noticed in the polluted environment. The community is faced with incessant oil spills.
–Alagoa Morris, Friends of the Earth Nigeria
According to another report in the Guardian, a three-year UN investigation places 90% of the blame for the spills on criminal gangs, with the remaining 10% attributed to ‘equipment failures and company negligence’ on the part of Shell. For some, this news is understandably not so easy to swallow:
Tonight the investigation was accused of bias by Nigerians and environmental groups who said the study – paid for by Shell and commissioned by the Nigerian government, who both have massive oil interests in the region – was unbalanced.
To be fair to Shell and Nigeria, who else but the polluter(s) should pay for the study? The criminal gangs or militias who share the blame certainly won’t. Yet, in stark contrast to the UNEP’s findings, an Amnesty International report from last year – while acknowledging criminal contribution to the problem – placed the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of Shell.
Of course, there are sociopolitical forces relating to the oil industry and pollution in Ogoniland that are not cut and dry. The unequal distribution of wealth as well as the health and security of the Ogonis are the responsibility of the Nigerian government and plainly not the concern of Shell and other oil companies operating in the region, who take full advantage of the political and socioeconomic situation in Nigeria. Pollution and poverty are acceptable blowback, as long as long as it’s criminals who take the blame.
What is incontrovertible about the UN survey is the value of the amount information it is finding concerning the extent of contamination in the Niger delta. This data will at least be invaluable for future cleanup efforts.
Additional resources:
Radio Netherlands Worldwide – Nigeria oil spills: UNEP reading out a script written by Shell
Voice of America – Criminal Activity Behind Oil Spills in Ogoniland
Tags: criminal, delta, Niger, Nigeria, Nigerian, Ogoniland, oil, Pollution, Shell, spills, UNEP
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Fair points, Julius. Also kind of the point of writing about the ongoing spills in Nigeria, where there are ‘Gulf-sized oil spills every year’, but few outside of Africa know or care. This is a European environmental news commentary site, but we also should write about major situations around the world and encourage global solidarity and justice. Social justice and the environment are inseparable. G8 protests can seem like playgrounds for the young and rebellious, who will never have to face death squads like they would in some developing countries. I wouldn’t expect Europe’s youth to travel in order to riot in the streets of Abuja, for example. Yet at the same time, protesting one’s own (western) governments’ roles in the developing world is surely a legitimate start, as foreign governments and corporations – as well as the World Bank – have some influence there.
We’re tired of seeing thousands of people protest the “G8″ and trade summits and the like, but refuse to step foot in sub-Saharan Africa. What is this about? Protest of convenience? People physically went to the American South to fight discrimination. They went to South Africa to fight apartheid. But today? Fight the oppression in Nigeria? In Equatorial Guinea? We have some of the wealthiest leaders the world has EVER seen. And they will gladly run us over in their Hummers. Shoot us in broad daylight if we don’t clear the road for them. But ya’all would rather protest BP, Bush and Hummer. Must be nice to protest in Europe and America, then drive home to 24-hour electricity and police who don’t harass you. What about us?!
Thank you for your comment, Julius.
Nigerian National Petroleum Corp is the state firm that works in collaboration with those aforementioned multinationals. That is different from owning them and I imagine that they are working in comparable (albeit even less regulated) arrangements to how the US and other governments work when leasing or permitting BP, et al to drill in the US, Louisiana, Greenland, etc.
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I didn’t omit the NNPC due to lack of courage, but rather because it wasn’t specifically mentioned by any of the source articles I used. However, all mentioned the Nigerian government, which seems to be tantamount to the same thing according to your comment. I personally added that “the health and security of the Ogonis are the responsibility of the Nigerian government”.
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Perhaps, as you say, we will achieve nothing from our perch abroad. We are dependent on NGOs, activists, the UN and reputable sources of journalism for our information. We only ask that the world pays attention.
The “Shell”, “Agip” and “Chevron” that you refer to in the article are all majority-owned by the Nigerian government. Your readers deserve to know this fact. Get the courage to mention NNPC. Get the courage to bring the protests to the root cause, to NNPC and the Nigerian government. You will achieve nothing from your perch abroad.