Shell Oil and the Exploitation of Nigeria
Nigeria has been a country in political turmoil for a long time. The country was created in 1914 under British colonial rule and at that time it was considered a protectorate. It was not until 1960 that Nigeria received independence from the United Kingdom. One of Nigeria's problems politically is that it has over three hundred different ethnic groups. The three largest of these are the Hausa-Fulani, Igbo, and Yoruba. At the time of the independence of Nigeria it was split up into three states with each state being under the control of one of the major ethnic groups. The natural resources of the other 297 ethnic groups were exploited for the major three groups, creating a situation of political unrest. This resulted in a military coup d'etat throwing out the Prime Minister and replacing him with a major Igbo General. The minorities wanted a political restructuring through states and they won. There was an Igbo secession from Nigeria forming Biafra in Eastern Nigeria including the Ogoni territory. A three-year civil war broke out after this over the natural resources held by the minorities especially the oil in the Ogoni territory. After this Nigeria went through several forms of Military governments and a public election in 1993 was considered null and void by Gen. Babangida, he was taken over by Gen. Abacha in 1993 who was to be by far the most horrid dictator of Nigeria yet.
The plight of the Ogoni people has been heard around the world, they number around 500,000 and live in an area very rich in crude oil. Shell and other companies have drilling operations in the Ogoni territory but Shell is by far the major extractor of oil in the region. Do to the drilling and spillage of massive amounts of oil the ecosystem of the Ogoni people has been devastated. It resembles a wasteland with little to no vegetation and wildlife being very scarce. Furthermore the Ogoni people have received almost nothing for the all the oil exported from their land. An estimated 10 billion dollars a year is earned for the Nigerian government most of which is embezzled by high ranking officials or put into the military to keep the population oppressed. One man led his people to stand out against the tyranny named Ken Saro-Wiwa a native Ogoni who had gone off and became educated and...
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...d live a decent life and the world would still receive oil from the Ogoni and Nigerian oilfields.
Three policies the company could have done to prevent or fix the situation in Nigeria are, have a much more efficient transportation system, better flow of cash back to the Ogoni region for the removal of their oil, and having a majority of workers being from the region the plants were in. 40% of all Shell oil spills were in Nigeria. Had they had a better system of moving the oil much of this could have been averted. Realistically how hard can it be to put a barrel on a truck and make sure it does not fall off. Gen. Abacha was a powerful dictator with no sympathy for the Ogoni people, it would be hard to convince him to help them out. But as most men like him they relate very well to money. Threatening him with the possible outcomes of continuing the situation as it was could possibly get him to divert some funds back to the Ogoni. The last policy of hiring more Ogoni to work at the plants would at least increase the flow of money back into their community. Had Shell done one or more of these policies this crisis might not have been as horrible as it was.
In addition, this type of negligence is also associated with the Niger Delta part of Nigeria where most of the petroleum Industries are performing there operations. Oil spillage is a major problem in this area causing environmental and ecological hazard for the people in this area but the Industries and the government fails to compensate them.
Gambrel, Jon. “Nigerian Rebels Seize Seven Oil Workers”. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved on 21 Nov, 2011 from
Niger, home of the free flowing Niger River, is a Sub-Saharan, western African nation. Sadly, it is an extremely poor country because part of the country is desert and less than 3% open for crop use. The present economic situation is bleak at best. Yet, the vibrant tradition and history of this country lives today in its tribes and its people even through all of its adversities. From severe droughts to military coups to a dysfunctional government to the culture has stayed strong.
oil in Nigeria. Nigeria’s large supply of high quality crude oil helped Shell climb to the top,
Not only does oil development pose a huge threat to the environment, but it also poses a huge threat to human development if it is not managed in a way that enriches the human development indicators of all people in the region. The USA is one of the key interventionist states in International Politics. Yet, when one considers the lack of positive intervention New Orleans in the wake of the storm, the rationale for interventionist role the United States becomes questionable. How can one country expect to help another if they cannot protect the rights and liberties of their own people? It is often argued that fact of interventionism is likely highly linked to oil and oil wealth. Coincidentally, Hurricane Katrina occurred at the peak of the Iraq war. This might suggest that the resources necessary for the correct investment in the preparation for the storm may have been tied up in the United States economic priority in oil extraction. Oil developments in the OCS began in the 20th century. The first offshore drilling on the OCS began in 1966, a period of time which was associated with huge Hurricane damage and serial accidents including blowouts, injuries to workers and helicopter crashes. This illustrates a need for the oversight of a stringent environmental policy. The 1978
To adapt one of Isichei's claims, Nigeria's “confrontation with an alien culture, its conquest, and the experience of an alien rule, created … [crises]” (180). There were many riots and conflicts between the Nigerians and the British, although most of the uprisings were eventually subdued by the military power of the British. Riots were common—from the culturally rooted Yoruba riots in the West and the religious skirmishes with the Muslims and Hausa in the North, to the confrontations with the naturally ‘rich,' yet stubborn Igbo and Delta states. Apart from encompassing all the major ethnic groupings and regions in Nigeria, amazingly these conflicts also covered the three most explicit British inculcations: cultural, religious, and economic.
finding new ways to drill for oil and also refine it more efficiently to ensure that
Despite the numerous wealth generated on a daily basis from oil exportation over the years and the vast amount of untapped resources laying in commercial quantity, the country does not have a single or recognize means of directly addressing the welfare of its citizenry. Only the present democratic administration has promised to execute out a compulsory cash transfer of N5,000 to the poorest 25 million Nigeria (based on some conditions), pay graduating corp members some stipends for a year and design a one-meal a day for public primary school
On October 1, 1960, the Federation of Nigeria achieved independence, initially as a constitutional monarchy. In June 1961, the northern part of the United Nations Trust Territory of British Cameroons was incorporated into Nigeria's Northern Region as the province of Sardauna, and in August 1963 a fourth region, the Mid-Western Region, was created. From the outset, Nigeria's ethnic, regional, and religious tensions were magnified by the disparities in economic and educational development. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was adopted on October 1, 1963. At the same time, Nigeria became a member of the Commonwealth and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe of the NCNC took office as first Nigerian's first President. On January 15, 1966, a group of officers overthrew the government. In May 1967, Lt. Col. Emeka Ojukwu, the military governor, declared the independence of the Eastern Region as the "Republic of Biafra." After General Muhammed was assassinated on February 13, 1976, Lt. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo became head of state. Seven new states were created in 1976, bringing the total to nineteen. Several military rulers followed, ending with the sudden death of General Sani Abacha in June, 1998. He was succeeded by General Abdulsalami Abubakar, who held elections in 1999 leading to the election of Olusegun Obasanjo, who took office in May, 1999.
Political instability and regime change in Nigeria will be observed in this paper. The resource curse has greatly weakened Nigeria as it has led to the numerous regime changes, the hindering of the nation’s democratization, corruption in the government, as well as, civil conflict. According to Samuels in Case Studies in Comparative Politics, Nigeria began as a group of states and empires, which were conquered by the British Empire who ruled Nigeria through indirect rule with varying degrees of rule in North and South Nigeria (Samuels, 323-326). Since they were granted independence in 1960, three republics have been created and each has ended by military rule, which led to the creation of the fourth, and current republic in Nigeria. In the current regime, Nigeria’s GDP is ranked 108 out of 156 and has been decreasing, lower than some of the non-oil-producing nations in Africa (“Nigeria”).
Nigeria is a developing country in West Africa that was colonized by the British in 1884 at the Berlin conference where Africa was divided by European powers (Graham 2009). The British wanted to expand their empire, which meant taking over other countries that had resources that they wanted, and would allow them to expand their trade market and economy. One of the colonies that British colonized was Colonial Nigeria, which was forced to participate in the slave trade in the past and was controlled by the British through the set up of trading posts and selling manufactured goods. The British split Nigeria into the north and the south regions (Temple 1912). The Southern and Northern Nigeria Protectorates controlled these two regions.
The Moral problem in the case we are facing is that BP oil company are exploited the people, polluting the ecology, diluting the government guidelines, cheating everyone for their profits is not acceptable on part of giant company like BP .Oil being a natural resource is being extracted by the company for their vested interests neglecting the society and the climate. The food pyramid is getting affected due to its short cuts and lapse in guidelines and total negligence resulting in gross cheating and mass killing of live stocks in sea as well polluting the air. The government intervention at crisis is an example of socialism. BP operations are in more than 100 countries with several reserves are creating chaos for the people working
In the end, what holds African countries such as Nigeria together is their shared pride. Modern, western influences can bring positive changes to society, but new cultures cannot completely eradicate the foundational cultures to which a society is founded on.
According to the book, A History of Nigeria (2008), Nigeria is historically unique for three different reasons. First, it was found that there had been a high level of migration from the Northern part of Nigeria to the Southern part due to the Savanna. Second, humans within the regi...
Corruption in the Niger delta region of Nigeria has led to abject poverty in the state. State governs in the Niger delta are making living unbearable for the indigenes of state by embezzling public funds for their own purposes. For example in the New York Amsterdam News Guthrie Gray mentioned that “Despite its new wealth, however, the money allocated to Niger delta states does not appear to be getting to most of its citizens” (Guthrie Gray). The means of lively hood in the states has been destroyed by corrupt oil companies and public officers. People in the state can no more farm and fish because their land and water has been destroyed by the oil companies in the area; however, some funds are released by oil companies and the federal government but the government of the Niger delta have refused to put the funds to good use because they are corrupt. They prefer to use the funds for their own benefits, buying houses overseas and having numerous foreign accounts. For about 35 years Oil Company in the Niger delta has refused to give to the community good infra...