Ethical Issues in Nigeria

Ethical issues develop when environmental regulations in a host nation are less than the home nation. Developed nations have established many regulations regarding pollution, where as developing nations often lack regulations. Lack of regulations often causes developing country’s to experience higher levels of pollution. Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, is a country whose people have experienced environmental problems because foreign multinationals are allowed to operate their businesses while committing human rights violations. In the case study, Shell and Nigerian Oil, by William Newberry and Thomas N Gladwin, Royal Dutch/Shell Group the largest foreign oil producer in Africa has been publically criticized for extracting oil from ethnic communities such the Ogoni people living near the Nigerian River Delta. The once fertile land served as a major source of food for the highly populated region, but was turned into a waste land full of pollution and land degradation caused by the company’s production of oil. In his paper I will discuss role that the people of Nigeria faced and will discuss how a relativist, universalist, Donaldson, Smith, Friedman, Marx and Bowie would view ethical or unethical role that the Shell Oil Company’s played in the situation.

In the early 1990’s several ethnic groups in Nigeria peacefully protested against big oil companies who caused pollution in their communities. The country’s military dictatorship took action against them and killed 80 people. A few years later when the people living in the Ogoni region protested to stop contactors from laying a new pipeline for Shell, Nigeria’s Mobile Police Force killed over 2000 people. Critics argued that Shell was partly to blame for the kil...

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...iple of power. The principle of power suggests that if a business has the power that allows them the resources to not act in an unethical manner, then they should do so. In the case of Shell Oil, Bowie would argue had the resources to avoid the environmental probes they caused, but instead they chose to continue operating placing the people is harm’s way and causing damaging effects to the environment.. Bowie would consider that Shell Oil business practices were unethical because the multimillion dollar business had no reason to behave unfairly, since they did not lack the power.

After considering all of the views discussed above; I have to agree with Friedman. I also believe that it is a company’s primary responsibility to maximize profits for its shareholders but if a company uses unethical behavior then it is wrong to continue to operate in that manner.