11/07/2005
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After 30 years of oil exports and over 320 billion dollars in royalties, 75 percent
of the population still lives below the poverty line. Since 1970, the Niger delta
region has exported millions of barrels of petroleum and carved out an important
niche for itself in the oil market. Nigeria is the leading oil exporter on the
continent. This success has also generated enormous sums of money, most of which
has ended up in the pockets of military juntas and corrupt politicians.
Non-stop violence. “The government will do anything to keep the oil production going. Unfortunately,
when fighting the gangs, the police don’t distinguish between criminals and regular
civilians. They come into our villages, destroy or steal everything in sight,
and then move on.” This description given to PeaceReporter by a priest from Port
Harcourt was confirmed by a recent report from Amnesty International, which demands
that the Nigerian government investigate a string of violent incidents that took
place last February, only the latest in a long series. “We’ve pretty much reached
our limit. We don’t see any of the profits from the oil—all that’s left for us
is poverty. Local leaders have asked the federal government for a greater portion
of the oil profits for development programs and social assistance. But Abuja has
turned a deaf ear to our requests.”
Military mysteries. The mounting dissatisfaction and frustration have led inevitably to armed conflict.
The Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Forces (NDPVF) has been operating in this region
for years. Last year they managed to get President Obasanjo to sign an agreement
by threatening to attack the oil factories and the workers if their demands weren’t
met. The NDPVF leader Mujahid Dokubo-Asari had his moment in the spotlight before
being imprisoned in September on charges of treason for statements he made to
a local newspaper that hinted at the possibility of independence for the region
from the Nigerian federation. Asari is a controversial figure—part liberator,
part guerilla warrior—who uses the people’s suffering as an excuse to get rich—the
terms of his agreement with Obasanjo were never made public. He’s facing at least
ten years in prison. Whatever the NDPVF’s real intentions and regardless of the
trial’s outcome, the basic fact remains: ten years after Ken Saro Wiwa denounced
corruption and paid for it with his life, people are still dying for oil in the
Niger delta.
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People continue to die for oil in the Niger river delta
After 30 years of oil exports and over 320 billion dollars in royalties, 75 percent
of the population still lives below the poverty line. Since 1970, the Niger delta
region has exported millions of barrels of petroleum and carved out an important
niche for itself in the oil market. Nigeria is the leading oil exporter on the
continent. This success has also generated enormous sums of money, most of which
has ended up in the pockets of military juntas and corrupt politicians.
Widespread poverty. “For 30 years we’ve been getting the oil out of these wells and haven’t seen
a dollar. The only thing not in short supply around here is pollution and police
abuse.” Nwanko is a driver who lives in Port Harcourt not far from the oil wells.
His statement to PeaceReporter captures the frustration of an entire community—a
community that has seen only the dark side of the oil business: pollution that
has decimated marine life and plunged the fishing industry into crisis, and widespread
criminal violence between armed gangs that have divided up the territory for themselves.
The gangs make money by selling contraband oil (that “spills” out of the pipelines)
to ships waiting offshore. Not to mention abuses suffered at the hands of policemen
who have no qualms about using violence to maintain the security of the oil platforms
on which a significant portion of the Nigerian economy depends. Between 2003 and
2004, a number of the petroleum factories were closed on account of the frequent
kidnappings and murders of employees resulting in a 15 percent drop in production.
Non-stop violence. “The government will do anything to keep the oil production going. Unfortunately,
when fighting the gangs, the police don’t distinguish between criminals and regular
civilians. They come into our villages, destroy or steal everything in sight,
and then move on.” This description given to PeaceReporter by a priest from Port
Harcourt was confirmed by a recent report from Amnesty International, which demands
that the Nigerian government investigate a string of violent incidents that took
place last February, only the latest in a long series. “We’ve pretty much reached
our limit. We don’t see any of the profits from the oil—all that’s left for us
is poverty. Local leaders have asked the federal government for a greater portion
of the oil profits for development programs and social assistance. But Abuja has
turned a deaf ear to our requests.”Military mysteries. The mounting dissatisfaction and frustration have led inevitably to armed conflict.
The Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Forces (NDPVF) has been operating in this region
for years. Last year they managed to get President Obasanjo to sign an agreement
by threatening to attack the oil factories and the workers if their demands weren’t
met. The NDPVF leader Mujahid Dokubo-Asari had his moment in the spotlight before
being imprisoned in September on charges of treason for statements he made to
a local newspaper that hinted at the possibility of independence for the region
from the Nigerian federation. Asari is a controversial figure—part liberator,
part guerilla warrior—who uses the people’s suffering as an excuse to get rich—the
terms of his agreement with Obasanjo were never made public. He’s facing at least
ten years in prison. Whatever the NDPVF’s real intentions and regardless of the
trial’s outcome, the basic fact remains: ten years after Ken Saro Wiwa denounced
corruption and paid for it with his life, people are still dying for oil in the
Niger delta.Matteo Fagotto
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