Shell vs Nigeria

by Andrew Neerman, Free Press contributor

Recent events in Nigeria have brought renewed worldwide protest against multinational oil companies that have been stealing the natural resources, and destroying the livelihoods, of indigenous ethnic groups in the Niger Delta. Nigeria has been presented in the corporate press as being on some sort of fast track to 'democracy' while, almost off the radar screen, the Nigerian state, in collusion with companies like Shell and Chevron, has been massacring people engaging in acts of civil disobedience. Well over 2,000 people were killed, and thousands more made refugees, in the (continuing) struggle of the Ogoni people, which received a considerable amount of attention, particularly after poet and environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed with eight others in 1995. It is the Ijaw, however, who are currently under attack for defending their homeland.

Like the Ogoni, they have seen their lands destroyed and still live in crushing poverty while corporations and rulers make fortunes. Two thirds of Nigerian oil is extracted from Ijaw lands. Oil makes up around 90% of the Nigerian gross domestic product. Over the past year, many oil facilities have been occupied by youths protesting the plight of their people. There have also been spates of hostage takings. In several instances, these occupations have been dealt with severely by the military at the urging of the oil companies involved. Last December, Ijaw youths released the Kaiama Declaration, a statement of cultural and political autonomy which demanded the withdrawal of all occupying military forces and oil company operations by December 30th. They threatened a massive increased campaign of civil disobedience to, as they said, "reclaim control of our lives". Their demands were, of course, ignored, and since the beginning of this year, 40% of Shell's oil output has been cut off due to direct actions against their facilities, the military presence has been reinforced, and at least 270 people have been killed.

During the last week in January, 19 people were killed in clashes with the military near Shell's important Forcados oil exporting terminal. That terminal had only recently been closed due to "community problems". Days later, 3 young people were killed in a similar disturbance near an Agip oil facility. Reports like these have been continuous. Villages have also been attacked by military forces using equipment owned by Chevron and Shell. Chevron has acknowledged the use of company helicopters for such attacks, but declaims any responsibility, saying they have no control over the uses to which their property is put. The military has employed the usual terror tactics, burning villages, raping women, and singling out for death people of stature within targeted communities.

In an ironic development, U.S Congressman Dennis Kucinich has called for a federal investigation of Shell and Chevron in answer to charges that the corporations have been operating in Nigeria behind the shield of the military. In a strongly worded letter to Congressman Benjamin Gilman, Chair of the House International Relations Committee, he denounced efforts to "bomb villagers, massacre innocent civilians, and terrorize those protesting against the environmental degradation of the Niger Delta." Despite the farcical prospect of the U.S. government investigating state-corporate terror, Kucinich's initiative may well hinder the companies' stonewalling habits and lift the public relations debacle to a new level.

In the midst of this crisis, Shell has announced a restructuring of operations in Nigeria in conjunction with an 8.5 billion investment plan. Between 20 percent and 25 percent of the workforce is slated to be laid off, and there will be a new emphasis on offshore drilling, which is perceived as being a more secure investment in light of the onshore community resistance. However, Shell will not just abandon onshore operations, due to the cost of production per barrel of oil, a mere two dollars. A February 8^th Reuters article called the plan "a welcome vote of confidence in Nigeria for its military government and civilian rulers due to take over power in May." With the deceptively named People's Democratic Party, led by former military ruler and current presidential candidate Obasanjo, currently sweeping legislative elections, a continuing cozy relationship between the Nigerian state and the multinationals seems assured. The elections were halted in the Niger River Delta due to "security reasons" and they have, not surprisingly, featured a very low voter turnout nationwide.

The struggle in the Niger Delta is indicative of the plight of indigenous people everywhere and should be viewed through the prisms of global corporate domination, the economic colonialization of the so-called Third World by the industrialized nations, and the price of our own domestication in the claws of a civilization dependent upon earth and mind-destroying technologies. The price of oil dependence in particular has become gruesomely apparent, from pollution at the point of extraction, to increased automobile use worldwide and the associated detrimental environmental and social effects of paving and driving. Thus, at separate ends of the same chain and half a world apart, the people of the Niger Delta and western consumers find themselves dealing with the same issues of autonomy, exploitation, and pollution.

Actions in solidarity with the Ijaw have taken place in many locations. Shell corporate offices in London, England and Hamburg, Germany were occupied. In the past few weeks Chevron has been under siege by protesters at their headquarters in San Francisco. On January 25th, a rally and direct action took place in Olympia at a west side Shell station. In what the organizers hoped would be an inspiration to other groups planning similar demonstrations, four community members climbed onto the canopy above the gas pumps and draped banners over the sides while a streetside crowd of 50 passed out handbills to passing motorists. Media attention was garnered from the Gannett-owned Olympian, and the local independent press. Other solidarity protests have taken place worldwide, with many more planned. Stay tuned, and ride a bicycle!

Andrew Neerman lives and works in Olympia. Among other things, he is a member of the IWW, and is currently working with the coalition to support striking Kaiser steelworkers in Tacoma.