Pictures worth a lot of words
Bunmi Oloruntoba, a Nigerian living in the USA, writes a blog he calls, A Bombastic Element. He pointed out a photo essay in The Atlantic about Nigeria's relationship to oil. It's a powerful illustration of something that our textbooks vainly try to describe. Students out to see these pictures when learning about Nigerian politics. Notice how often Ogoniland is mentioned?Nigeria: The Cost of Oil
For over 50 years now, the extraction of crude oil and natural gas from Nigeria's Niger Delta has meant wealth for a privileged few but has exacted heavy costs on residents and the environment. Nigeria is the world's 8th largest producer of crude oil, yet remains one of its poorest nations -- an estimated 70 percent of its 150 million residents live below the poverty line. The environment is paying a steep price as well. An estimated 500 million gallons of oil have spilled into the delta -- the equivalent of roughly one Exxon Valdez disaster per year. A number of factors have contributed to these disasters: poor construction and maintenance, lax regulation, militant attacks, and petroleum thieves, not to mention government instability and abuse of power. According to cables released by WikiLeaks, Shell Oil claimed to have planted staff in all of Nigeria's main ministries, gaining access to key government decisions. Gathered here are some scenes from Nigeria's long, disastrous relationship with the crude oil industry.
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Labels: economics, environment, Nigeria
posted by Ken Wedding @ 7:45 AM
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