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Delimma: How water and oil create a complex conflict in the Niger Delta

by HASSAN ABUBAKAR MUHAMMAD | 01-04-2022 03:24 recommendations 0

After nearly seven decades of oil exploration in the Niger Delta, the Nigerian oil industry now makes up 65% of government revenue and 88% of foreign exchange earnings. But this oil wealth has come at a terrible cost to the local people and their environment.

Decades of oil spills and gas flaring have transformed the Niger Delta into one of the most polluted places on Earth. About 300 oil spills occur in the region each year and in 2011, a spill at Shell¡¯s Bonga oil fields released 40,000 barrels. Over 350 farming communities were affected, and 30,000 fishermen were forced to abandon their livelihoods.

Although local people are supposed to be compensated for oil spills caused by technical failures, this rarely happens because of a flawed process for determining the cause of spills. The 6.5 million local people whose livelihoods depend on fishing, and many others who survive on farming, have watched their futures drain away with the oil


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This has led to a complex pattern of conflicts in the region since the late 1990s.

Environmentalist and scientists have provided varying estimates of the magnitude and frequency of oil spills in the region. But, unfortunately, the government has failed to compel multinationals to adhere to local environmental regulations.

This is not surprising since the government benefits from oil revenue, the mainstay of the Nigerian economy.

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But, damage to the natural, pristine environment has exposed the region's people to extreme poverty. This has fuelled conflict over the available limited resources.

The problem calls for a joint approach to the solution: broad consultation, collaboration, and effective dialog.

The stakeholders are not just the oil companies and the government, but also the local fishers, farmers, traders, youth: both men and women.


Credits: Nigeria Ministry of Agriculture, IUCN, and UNEP.

 

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3 Comments

  • Nayoung Kim says :
    Very interesting
    Posted 02-08-2022 03:05

  • Joon Mentor says :
    Hello Hassan, this is your mentor Joon.

    It is a dilemma either to give up the sustainable source of benefit or the sustainable nature. The former affects the nation, but the latter affects the whole world as such pollution has no border and shared all along the world. It is best if the government could find sustainable method to extract resources, however, in the perspective of company operators, it would only cost them. However, in wider perspective, it would be less than the price that we have to pay in future. Hope advanced, and state of art technology to be implemented on the region.

    Well read your article, and let's keep up!

    Best,

    Joon
    Posted 04-04-2022 22:40

  • Chelwoon Mentor says :
    Hello Hassan, this is your mentor Chelwoon.

    Thanks for sharing stories from your local region. It is lucky to have a lot of resources such as oil and natural gas underground. I am acutely aware of its economical benefits, because my country, South Korea, has no underground resources. Oil and gas still play an important role in our lives, even though these kind of resources cause long-term adverse effects on the environment. However, we cannot let them destroy our environment anymore. I hope local people in your country will be compensated for the problems related to oil spills.

    Thank you for the article!

    Regards,
    Chelwoon
    Posted 04-04-2022 03:05

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