NIGERIA: Communities in the Niger Delta protest recent oil spills that have polluted their water and farms

Record ID: 235133

  • Title: NIGERIA: Communities in the Niger Delta protest recent oil spills that have polluted their water and farms
  • Date: 22nd August 2011
  • Summary: YOUNG BOY COVERED IN OIL
  • Embargoed: 6th September 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Nigeria, Nigeria
  • Country: Nigeria
  • Topics: Business,Industry,People
  • Reuters ID: LVAC78200YM56Y22CW12JRU6WT81
  • Story Text: Royal Dutch Shell host communities in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria protested against oil spillages that have destroyed their crops and rivers.
    Women from the Okorodia community in Bayelsa State prevented workers from Daewoo construction company from entering the site where another on-going pipeline project is being carried out on behalf of Shell.
    Oil spillages are a regular occurrence in the Niger Delta, and have led to environmental pollution where facilities owned by oil firms are situated.
    Shell and the Nigerian state-oil firm, NNPC, own most of the oil infrastructure in the Delta, although the Anglo-Dutch giant was forced out of operating in the Ogoniland region by communities in 1993 who said it caused pollution that destroyed their fishing environment.
    "Before, we came in our canoes from the farmlands, at that time the river was ok. But after Shell came to do their work here and everything changed and we could not move again. They moved mud and dumped it here and that is why you see everything is like that here -- and we still need this crossing," said Rose Luck, a farmer in Bayelsa.
    Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan, last week set up an oil spill report committee to review this month's United Nations report on oil spills in Ogoniland, a region in the oil-rich labyrinthine creeks, swamps and waterways of the Niger Delta.
    The United National Environment Programme (UNEP) analysed the damage caused by oil pollution in Ogoniland, which is the heartland of Africa's largest oil and gas industry.
    The report said the remediation needed in Ogoniland would be the biggest oil spill cleanup in history, costing an initial 1 billion US dollars and taking up to 30 years.
    Shell has been operating onshore in Africa's most populous nation longer than any other foreign energy major. It has also been the target of sabotage attacks and protests for decades from communities who feel foreign oil companies have grown rich from the oil reserves under their feet, while they continue to live in poverty.
    Community leader Amakiri Joseph who was recently arrested then released over protests against shell says peaceful resolution to the communities woes has not been successful.
    "We are out to make these communities good and in our struggle we don't want somebody to die. You see the way we discuss with shell without violence and Shell understands with us. After a while this group came in and oppressing us. They have already pushed us to the wall and if we now bounce back, there shall be blood. So we are now stepping out instead of blood to be dropped," said Joseph.
    Shell says the four main states in the Niger Delta receive around 1 billion US dollars of oil revenue a year from the Nigerian government. Corruption has been one of the barriers to turning that revenue into benefits for communities.
    Fire destroyed a Royal Dutch Shell facility in Okorodia, Bayelsa on wednesday (August 18) at the same place where an oil spillage occurred only two days earlier.
    The cause of the spillage and the fire are not known, but the people in the community believe it is the hand work of Royal Dutch Shell who are avoiding the clean-up process. The fire broke out while villagers were asleep.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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