Topic Talks

Nigeria is integral in its exportation of crude oil for the United States and the EU. Despite this, the activities of large oil corporations such as Mobil, Chevron, Shell, Elf, Agip etc have raised many concerns and criticisms. Shell, in particular has a large base in Nigeria and some say is the root of all the problems in Niger Delta. Due to the many forms of oil-generated environmental pollution evident throughout the region, farming and fishing have become impossible or extremely difficult in oil-affected areas, and even drinking water has become scarce. Malnourishment and disease appear common. There have also been additional adverse effects on the local economy and society, including loss of property, and price inflation. A large part of the Igbo tribe, which I am a part of, is largely concentrated in the Niger Delta. Though my research paper, I want to explore the concerns and the various people who are involved in this tangle. I want to explore the multinational corporations such as Shell and Exxon, the government-which is known to be corrupt, the U.S. and other western parties and most importantly, the people of Niger Delta who are the victims. I want to understand who gains and looses and what should be done to tame the conflict that is threatening to consume Nigeria.

Murder in Amsterdam-Buruma

The centre of Ian Buruma's book is that of filmmaker Theo van Gogh who was murdered in November 2004 by Mohammed Bouyeri, the Dutch son of Moroccan immigrants, acting "out of faith" because he felt obliged to "cut off the heads of all those who insult Allah and his prophet".Buruma offers an interesting account of what led up to the crime and the parties involved in what is one of the most striking examples to date of the clash of cultures being played out especially in western Europe. Amsterdam for many years has been a tolerant society (Buruma even prophesies that in 2015, 50% of the population will be foreign born). Van Gogh is presented very much as a child of his times. He was ambitious with his movies and pressed issues that weren't widely believed and appreciated-such as in Submission. Mohammed Bouyeri, on the other hand, was portrayed as the  youth who for a time seemed to have some potential to become a productive member of society but instead became radicalized, embracing Islam fundamentalism, possibly because he saw no place for himself in the Dutch society. He violently reacted and becomes the guiding factor of Burumas mission to Amsterdam to learn about the tolerant society. Amsterdam for many years has prided itself for its pro-Enlightenment ideals and tolerance. However, in recent years, there have been issues with the integration of the Muslims-who constitute a large population.
Unlike the United States that has a melting pot of different cultures and religions, I think the problem with Amsterdam and the large concentration of Muslims is that unlike other religions-particularly Christianity, many Muslims live their daily lives through their religion. It is not secularized like it is in the United States. Education is also important in understanding the issues in Amsterdam. Through Global Scholars, I am fortunate to be aware of the issues and have an unbiased approach, but this is not the case for many people. We live in a tolerant society.

Human Rights Violations by Shell

Shell publicly apologized to Nigeria for all the human rights violations they have committed. They say that they have not succeed in doing good business- and that means being fair to the government. They believe that they have not done what is right. Peter Voser, the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell apologized to all the inhabitants of Niger Delta for the massive evidence of human rights violations that can only be attributed to its operations in the Niger Delta, Royal Dutch Shell is extremely proud to be the first international petrochemical company to publicly say, "We are sorry." Since finding oil in 1956, Shell has ravaged the lands of Nigeria and polluted the environment. We thought these people didn’t know what was good for them,” explains Bradford Houppe, Vice-President of Shell’s newly established Ethical Affairs Committee. “We never knew that we were bringing them impoverishment, conflict, abuse and deprivation. Now we know.” Shell acknowledges that it is responsible for large-scale oil spills, waste dumping and gas flaring. Each year, hundreds of oil spills occur, many of which are caused by corrosion of oil pipes and poor maintenance of infrastructure. “Our failure to deal with these spills swiftly and the lack of effective clean-up greatly exacerbate their human rights and environmental impact,” says Houppe. “And that is wrong. It’s just really wrong.”More than 60 percent of the inhabitants of Niger Delta depend on the natural environment for their lively hoods. They, in turn, drink the polluted water, wash and cook in it.
Shell paid a reported $35 Billion as retribution.

Shadows and Light in the Niger Delta

I am currently reading "Curse of the Black Gold: 50 Years of Oil in Niger Delta" by Michael Watts and Ed Kashi.Thins book is filled with a picture story format of the conflict in the Niger Delta and the people that it has affected. Michael Watts, a Berkeley-based scholar, was attracted to Nigeria from Iraq. For more than thirty years, Michael has been studying oil and the resulting conflicts of countries all around the world. In July of 2004, he took a trip to Nigeria and learned first hand about the problems it has been facing. He writes that Delta is "the pivotal point where all of Nigeria's plagues of political gangsterism, corruption, and poverty seems to converge". With a commission from National Geographic magazine, he was allowed to return to Nigeria, and this time, had the opportunity to make breakthroughs to areas and subjects that had been unattainable before. Of all the subjects he covered, he found that MEND, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta the most important. MEND are an armed military group based in the cities and creeks of Niger Delta., particularily around the Western area of Warri. MEND is a very corrupt military group and responsible for the attacks on facilities, taking of hostages, and creating an unsafe and inhospitable enviroment for the oil industry. Michael attempted to get in contact with this group. It was very hard as he had to communicate through an obscure figure named Jomo Gbomo who was able to communicate through e-mails and other forms of contact. In the end, Michael writes that it wasn't through Gbomo that he received most of information but through other contacts.

Further Research on Oil Spills in Nigeria

I have continued to gather sources and find books that pertain to the oil spills in Nigeria and enviromental effects on the population. I have also been looking into the Nigerian government's response to the violence anf the people of Nigeria who are all being affected by the problem. There have been many tools on the agricultural sector. With decreasing cash crops and devastation to the once-arable crops of Nigeria, the president has enacted different security measures for the population.

Shell evacuates Nigeria workers

The headline of this BBC News article is, “Shell Evacuates Nigeria workers”. This is a culmination of violence-most significantly, militants rupturing a major pipeline feeding an export terminal- and the kidnapping of four shell workers from another oil ring in the Delta area. Most recently, after Gunman fought Nigerian soldiers at a pumping station, Shell decided to evacuate over three hundred workers from the region. “The safety and security of our staff, contractors, and the community in which we operate is our main priority,” Shell said. This conflict has stemmed to other countries, most specifically London, whose price for a barrel of oil has risen over seventy cents. This is becoming a problem for both Nigeria and the rest of the world. Nigeria is integral in the exportation of oil, as they are the leading produces in Africa and the fifth biggest import of oil for the U.S. It’s obvious that the militants in Nigeria feel that they are being shorthanded by Shell and the other oil -producing giants. Shell is well aware of their exploits and the violence that is as a result. Yet, Shell refuses to leave despite the violence because so much capital would be lost.

Judt and Mahbubani

In “The Case Against the West” by Kishore Mahbubani and “What Have We Learned, If Anything?” by Tony Judt, the authors pessimistically criticize the Western presence on the global level. Mahbubani holds that the West, once the dominating power and the leader of the international affairs has become the main source of many of the world’s problems. The West is reluctant to accept that “the Asian century has come” and many countries that they controlled are gaining their own power. The West has clung to its strong presence in the global forums such as the UN Security Council and the World Bank and refused to adjust to the Asian century. Judt also has similar views, seeing the West as stridently insistent that the past has little to teach them about the future.  Judt believes that if the West were to take a more critical look at their past, they could understand their present more accurately.

    Mahbubani sees the West as an incompetent nation on handing the vast global problems. He sees the Bush administration and the occupation of Iraq as failures on the US’s part. He believes that they are mishandling the two immediate and pressing challenges of Afghanistan and Iraq and therefore, the war is not being successful. He sees the invasion as an error. He says, “the United States and the United Kingdom sought the Security Council’s authorization to invade Iraq, but the council denied it”(9). Therefore, this subsequent is illegal. Mahbubani sees the United States as paranoid of other countries especially during the Cold War when it began a military buildup dividing the worlds into two halves: those that had nuclear devices and those that did not. Mahbubani disagrees with the rational behind this as it increased spending and led to issues amongst countries who wanted to be in the core five countries that were allowed to have weapons. India and Pakistan already tested their first missiles in 1998 despite the condemning by the international community. In the end, despite all of the pressure by the councils to regulate the nuclear weapons, the United States and Russia have continued maintaining thousands of weapons. For this, Mahbubani believes that as long as the nuclear weapons exist, countries will be in a nonstop pursuit of them.

Mahbubani also focuses on the Global Warming crisis, which Al Gore has shed light on after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. An international consensus has been formed that global warming is a threat and while some countries have made strides in reducing their outputs the West has the highest output: the United States had 29% and western Europe has 27% clearly showing that they are not acknowledging their responsibilities.

 I agree with Mahbubani on how the West is putting China as their foremost obstacle and forgetting that they are flawed. The United States has enjoyed centuries of prosperity and domination over the world and it has hard for them to acknowledge that other countries are developing. The United States-who was once the champion of human rights- has become the violators. They have resorted to violence and become the barbaric killers who Judt alludes to. Judd goes describes the devastating effects the wars have had on other countries where their soldiers have lost many and the United States has lost so few, For this reason, they doesn’t believe that the U.S. understands fully loss. This relates back to China and the emergence of Asian countries as the leaders. The U.S. is afraid to loose their power.