Nigeria in the News

Recently there have been several excellent articles written about Nigeria in the mainstream Western media. If you have some time check these out:

MegaCity - Decoding the chaos of Lagos. This is a bit of a long read, but it is worth it if you have time. This was in the November edition of The New Yorker. Moms, remember we live in a nice house, not in the slums of Lagos, so take this with a grain of salt!

Blood Oil - Written by Sebastian Junger (wrote The Perfect Storm) it is an insight into the fight for the Niger Delta region. Locals have been largely ignored for 60years and tensions are now reaching a climax with groups such as MEND organizing to fight for what they believe to be theirs. There are some really good photos on the site too!

Nigerian Oil, Curse of the Black Gold - National Geographic. Again focusing on the Niger Delta region, but has a fantastic video clip which is a must see!

Now, keeping in mind that I am close to the oil industry in Nigeria - I really don't think it is wholly the oil companies who are at fault - what the Delta residents are fighting for is mostly money. The government makes the bulk of the income from the oil wealth and it is so poorly managed that the people who need it most, see it least. There are so many levels of local and traditional government that by the time the money reaches the villages, there is none left for schools, hospitals, roads, power, water etc etc etc. Right now, there is no incentive to change the political system because those who are benefiting financially from the oil, control the government. It becomes a financial caste system where the rich and powerful, living far away from the Delta region grow bigger on the backs of the poor fisherman and farmer-woman in Bayelsa State. Anyway - you get the picture.

The environmental damage is staggering, but keep in mind that the bulk of the spills are caused by vandals (organized crime syndicates) damaging pipelines in an attempt to bunker oil from the pipeline. That said, it is up to the oil co's (including the Nigerian National Petroleum Co) to route / bury / protect the pipelines such that they are not a target for vandals! I find it disturbing to see the people fighting for financial reward for the environmental damage - again, it seems they are looking to be rewarded for the damage done, rather than either preventing it or cleaning up the damage done. Anyway - that is my two cents.
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