The Environmental Devastation the Oil Company has caused in the Niger Delta - Assignment Example

Lecturer Due Nigeria-oil war. The environmental devastation the oil company has caused to Ogoni lands in the Niger Delta 0 INTRODUCTION The oil industry in Nigeria is one of the biggest in the world1. The oil itself is a source of revenue and an increase of any country’s GDP. In Nigeria the same cannot be said about the oil industry. The oil industry in the Niger Delta of Nigeria has instead brought only suffering, poverty, human rights violations and in addition to the abuse of the environment. This has resulted in most of the people around the oil producing areas in Niger Delta to live in poverty and also despair solely by the virtue of the oil being produced in their lands. According to Frynas (158) the pollution of the environment through the extraction of oil in Nigeria has been the leading cause of the human rights abuses and environmental abuse in the Niger Delta. In this essay it is the aim of the research to examine and analyze how the oil industry in Nigeria has been the source of various conflicts and how the oil companies in Niger Delta have devastated the environment especially of the Ogoni lands. To achieve the goal of analyzing the environmental devastation of the Ogoni lands in the Niger Delta, I have organized this paper into five sections. The first section will be looking at the background and the history of the Ogoni land and their conflicts with the oil corporations operating within the contested area. Under this first section, further sub-sections will look at the background of the environmental resource that is being examined; the human rights issues that are the center of the conflict and the history of the inhabitants of the Ogoni land; and the location of the resource that is being evaluated will be explained. The second section will dwell in the analysis of the stakeholders in the conflict area, this will have additional sub-sections of identification of the main stakeholders that are critical in the conflict situation and their perspective of the conflict; and the motives of the stakeholders in giving the solution and offering remedy to the problems in question. Thereafter the paper will have another section that will be looking at the policies, governance and the legislations that have been put in place in relation to the conflicts around the Niger Delta. Under the international policies, governance and legislation several factors will be put into consideration including the specific policies and that are in place to regulate the resource around the Niger Delta and how the regime in the area was formed together with the structure put in place for the policies to work. Relevant international laws and treaties will be used in order to clarify the topic at hand in relation to the conflict area. Under this section the last sub-section will be how the implementation of the international enforcements is being done and whether there are challenges that are being faced when implementing the various rights and treaties and if not if there are cases whereby the country is not honoring the treaties that have been set. The fourth section is the challenges and barriers that are in place that makes it difficult in finding a remedy and a solution to the conflicts being experienced in the Niger Delta. This section will include the identification of the obstacles that are limits the problem solving and also whether there are theories that support these problems that hinder the remedy of the conflict. On top of the identification, an opinion concerning whether a shift in the consciousness of the public will be prudent or not will be discussed in this section. The last section which is the fifth section that the paper will analyze will be the policy recommendations that might be deemed best to help in reducing the conflict that is currently being experienced. In addition the opinions of the whether a new policy recommendation will be necessary during the implementation of the solutions to reduce the conflicts will be given in this section. After all the main sections the paper will have a small conclusion that will provide the summary of the whole paper and after that, a reference of all the cited works and materials used will be listed 2.0HISTORY AND THE BACKGROUND OF THE CONFLICT The conflict being experienced in the Niger Delta started as early as the 1990s. This was as a result of the disagreements and tensions between two parties namely the foreign oil corporations and the groups that called the Niger Delta their home (Falola and Mathew 232)2. Na’Allah (213) explains that this conflict has been necessitated by the need of the majority groups especially the Ogoni and the Ijaw ethnic groups to protest against the ethnic and the environmental pollution that is being perpetrated by the multinational corporations that specializes in oil extraction. 2.1 Background of the Environmental Resource The Niger Delta in Nigeria is one of the most critical wetland and also marine ecosystems in the world. In addition to that, the area is a habitat to close to 30 million people all living around the area. One of the most common aspects of the basin that has come to be known is the fact that, the Niger Delta Basin is a location to a colossal amount of oil3. These oil deposits have been extracted between the multinational oil corporations and the government of Nigeria. More than 60 percent of the population in the Niger delta depends on the region for their source of livelihood. The natural environment of the region makes it an attraction for the marine food like fish among other things for the population living around the delta (Okoh, Ojogwu and Aviomoh 69). Agricultural activities around the delta also depend on the good soil that the region can be attributed to. 2.2 Human rights issues around the Niger Delta. The Niger Delta is mostly occupied by a number of minority ethnic groups more so the Ogoni and the Ijaw. The population around the region has been on a steady increase and as such the poverty and urbanization has been on the increase coupled by the fact that corruption is rife within the area and the country as a whole. The Niger Delta is experiencing a scenario where there is a rapid urbanization but this does not come with the growth economically nor accompanied by jobs. As a result the population has resorted to help in destroying the marine ecosystem in order to sustain the populace. The fact that a number of foreign oil corporations has been extracting oil for quite sometime and not compensated the inhabitants has led to violence between the ethnic groups against the corporations as they feel they are being mistreated4. Pollution of oil in the environment has made it difficult for the population to practice fishing as the oil has poisoned most of the marine ecosystem around the Niger Delta in addition to making the agricultural land not viable fro any crop production this has practically made the ethnic groups living around the Niger Delta to be impoverished from the effects of the environmental pollution by the multinational oil corporation (Chazan). The ethnic and political unrest that has been experienced in the region has been as a result of these actions5. This conflict has been persistent throughout the early 1990s to as recent as 2011 despite the country having a democracy from the 1999 election of former president Olesagun Obasanjo’s government6. The struggle for the wealth that oil has, has led to various conflicts between various ethnic groups and as such has led to the ethnic militia groups militarizing the regions so does the official government military force. The crimes that the groups commit include abduction and kidnapping, violence among various other human rights abuses. In the early 1970s the government made promises to the Ogoni people concerning the Niger Delta and the promises failed to go through and as such they grew dissatisfied with the regime in addition to their environmental, social and also economical opportunities deteriorating. This led to the MOSOP (Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People) being formed to champion the Ogoni people. According to Ibeanu (168), the movement was led by the late Ken Saro Wiwa who was assassinated by the military7. MOSOP was meant to champion for the rights of the inhabitants of the Niger Delta on the southeastern side of the basin8. 2.3 Oil in Ogoni land Nigeria is considered as one of the biggest oil producing countries in the world. With the oil production in Nigeria has resulted in the country also being almost entirely dependant on oil. According to Rowell, James and Lorne (57), the GDP of Nigeria has a huge percentage depending on the oil extraction, at the moment the percentage of oil in terms of economic output to the country’s GDP stands at around 60 percent and thus the playing a major role in the country’s economy. Other contributors to the GDP like the cash crop and food crops have reduced significantly and as such making the country have the oil production as one of the core sectors that drive the Nigerian economy. This makes the Niger Delta basin an important region rich with oil deposits that is commercially viable thus driving the economy. One area that is rich with massive oil deposits is the Ogoni land in the Niger Delta. The land itself is a 400 square mile region that is located on the southeastern part of the Niger Delta. The oil in Nigeria was discovered in 1956 while the commercial viability of oil in the Ogoni-land was discovered in 1957. During the next years that followed many international oil corporations set up shop in the area. The Niger Delta basin has been evaluated and is assumed to be containing massive deposit of oil reserves. 3.0 ANALYSIS OF THE STAKEHOLDERS The stakeholders in the oil industry have played a major role in how the oil extraction in the Niger Delta is conducted and as such they execute important decisions in the region on how the extraction can be conducted. 3, 1 Stakeholders The Niger Delta oil industry is mostly involved with two major stakeholders that is the government of Nigeria and also the multinational oil corporation and more so the subsidiaries of these foreign multinational oil corporation. Although the inhabitants of the Ogoni land that is the Ogoni being expected to be the stakeholders in the resources around their land, this is very uncommon and as such has led to numerous conflicts in the areas as they feel they are being exploited while at the same time not being compensated for their lands that have been taken away from them in order to be included in the zones that are being extracted for oil. According to the Ogoni people (the minority ethnic group) feel that they have been marginalized by the government and the foreign corporations. The Ogoni want compensation for their lands that was taken away from them and at the same time want the corporations to be prosecuted and help in repairing the environment that they had devastated through the oil extraction. The government on the other hand; feels that the inhabitants are demanding for more than what they signed up for. This they argued is backed up by the 1979 constitutional inclusion in which the government was given mandate to acquire land and have the full ownership and also rights to all territories within Nigeria9. The foreign oil corporation has a conflict with the inhabitants solely on the basis that they have been accused of brutality in sending the military to attack the Ogoni ethnic group on the basis that they have rejected their presence. This is coupled with the violence that is meted out to the corporations themselves through arson and looting to cripple the industry (Chazan and Quinlan). Through the brutality that these foreign corporations vary out, they try to protect their interests. 3.2 Motivators to the Stakeholders remedy to the Conflict. The perception that the revenue the oil industry brings is one of the main component in the government that ensures that the Ogoni people are being looked after. Paki and Ebienfa explain that the Niger Delta and especially the Ogoni land is rich in the oil deposits and in order to present a perfect picture, the government tries to quell the disgruntled voices among the Ogoni people (20)10. The corporation motivators for the conflict resolution is the fact that their properties have been destroyed and this leads to a significant amount being spent on repairs alone and as such the main purpose of the business is to make profits and having to much expenses like repair of houses will impact negatively in cutting down the cost of operating in Nigeria. The main company operating in the Niger Delta is the Royal Dutch Shell which is the major player when it comes to oil transaction in the world. By the basis of being one of the largest multinational companies in the Niger Delta, they wield a lot of influence to the region and thus the resolution in their case is ensuring that every person around the Ogoni land is adequately compensated11. Also other companies that engage in the oil extraction include Chevron and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (Oil Spill Intelligence Report 35). The inhabitants of Ogoni land feel that the solution should be adequate compensation from time immemorial when the oil was first commercially exploited to the present time and with this they cite the scenarios whereby the marine and wetland ecosystems being polluted by the multinational oil corporations and also their lands being taken away from them by the federal government and also the land being rendered useless for agricultural productivity by the virtue of the soil being polluted from the oil extraction. 4.0 POLICIES GOVERNANCE AND LEGISLATION The Ogoni land has experienced most of the environmental devastation in the recent years with the culprit being the Shell oil operation in the country. Various human rights bodies and also environmental have stepped in to try and make Shell accountable on the atrocities committed on the environment around Niger Delta and also on the people through the collusion with the military. 4.1 The International Human Rights Regimes Amnesty International has been on the forefront in ensuring that the rights of the Ogoni people are catered for by both the oil corporations and the government. Amnesty argue that the oil companies that are in the Niger Delta have taken for granted the weak regulatory system that Nigeria has and as such they (corporations) do not take preventive measures on the environment to prevent pollution and address the bad practice that the corporations do. In addition during the 1994 military suppression against the Ogoni ethnic group and the assassination of the Ogoni nine, Amnesty international termed the activities of the military as terrorism indicating that the Ogoni people were being oppressed by both the government and the oil corporations with the biggest culprit being Shell. Other organizations that have stepped in during the conflicts include the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) , Earth Rights International (ERI). These organizations have sued Shell in a Federal Court in the United States for the human rights abuses that was meted against the Ogoni. 4.2 Policies on the Oil Extraction The policies and the laws that the Nigerian government uses to regulate the oil extraction in the Niger Delta is severely impeded. Frynas (28) asserts that this is mainly because there are no systematic ways that the laws can be enforced on the corporations since the government itself has conflict of interest with the foreign corporations thus rendering the policies in place very ineffective. 4.3 Challenges on the Policies One of the main challenges in the implementation of the policies set by the international organizations is enforcing the policies on the ground. The oil companies in Niger Delta have been known to enforce any laws that will encourage them to comply with the recognized standards internationally for the good practice on the oil fields and also the government importance in regulating and enforcing the laws to protect the environment are never effective since the same government is hindered by the fact that they are doing business with the foreign oil corporations that is responsible for the environmental pollution in Ogoni land thus creating a scenario of conflict of interest (Konadu, Kwadwo and Martin 240) 5.0 CHALLENGES & BARRIERS TO FINDING A SOLUTION One of the major barriers in finding a solution to the conflict is from the armed militia groups that are in constant attack of the oil corporations. The main purpose of the attacks is to gain a larger control of the oil resources within the Ogoni land. These actions are met with government reprisals on the militia through excessive force12. Through this; the community increases the resentment against the government and also the oil corporations and as such makes it difficult for the conflicts to be resolved amicably. The problem can be attributed to being cultural in the sense that the land in question belongs to the Ogoni people and thus they claim they have right to the land that is under the oil extraction. This in return has created a conflict between the government, the inhabitants, and the oil corporations. The land was initially taken by the government through the policies set by the federal government and as such most of the Ogoni were left landless. 5.1 Remedy The approach to the conflict between the Ogoni land and the concerned stakeholders should have a different perspective all together. I would advocate for the atrocities committed against the Ogoni during the 1994 reprisal o be compensated and the relevant culprits be prosecuted for the human rights abuses that were meted to the inhabitants of the Ogoni land. In addition to the compensation and prosecution of the culprits, the environmental devastation that was done to the Niger Delta region especially in the Ogoni land should be rehabilitated. This should be done in order to reclaim so me of the lands that have been polluted through the extraction of the oil in the region. By doing so, some of the Ogoni land inhabitants can manage to cultivate their crops and also the marine ecosystem can come to life and such they can practice farming and fishing instead of entirely depending on the returns from the oil extraction alone. 6.0 POLICY RECOMMENDATION Due to several cases of negative environmental impact on the Niger Delta region, several recommendations have been put in place in order to help provide remedy and solution to the conflict between the different actors that play a critical role in the oil industry around Ogoni land. 6.1 Relevant Recommendations on the oil industry The country should come up with a policy that will enable to manage the oil spills that occur during the extraction of the oil in addition to the management of oil spills, the policy will provide a response and also prevention of the oil spills incase it happens. Another policy that will be very helpful is the one that will manage the environment in conjunction with the various stakeholders involved. The rehabilitation of the land should be looked at keenly as most of the land will be renders un-agricultural incase the land around Niger Delta is not catered for in a proper way by the various stakeholders. The third recommendation is the previous atrocities by the various oil corporations and also by the government should be looked into and at the same time the various complainants who suffered in the hands of the government military officials should be compensated. 6.2 Policy Recommendation in Place One of the policies that has been in circulation is the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. The policy itself has been a major factor in the improvement on how the oil corporations respond to the oil spills and also prevent future spills incase if it ever happens13. The policy itself has been in place although it has not been effectively implemented by the government and therefore a lot of effort is required in order to make the policy workable. Another policy is the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency which helps in managing the environment during the oil extraction and also after the extraction. The main purpose of this policy is to keep in check the activities that the oil corporation do during the extraction and at in the same breath make them accountable for every action that is done within the Niger Delta specifically in an area like the Ogoni land (Alexandra Gas and Oil connections)14. CONCLUSION From the period oil was discovered in Nigeria in 1956, the country and the region around the Niger Delta basin has bore the brunt of negative environmental consequences in relation to the oil development. Human right abuses have been rampant to the natives of the Niger Delta region especially the minority ethnic groups like the Ogoni. The lands have been taken by the government without the compensation of the owners and this has been the reason for the inhabitants having a negative perception of the government and the oil corporations. The oil spills have also devastated the environment especially he coastal vegetation, pollution of drinking water; the result has been the various ethnic and regional crises that is synonymous with the Niger Delta. Several oil spill management policies and efforts should be put in place in order to help reduce and manage the oil industry spillages in the Work Cited Alexandra Gas and Oil Connections: Nigeria Forms Oil Spill Detection Agency. Web. 2006. Accessed 31 March, 2013. Chazan, Guy. "World News: Shell Faces Query on Nigeria --- Dutch Parliament Hearing Expected to Touch on Corruption in Oil-Rich Delta, as Spills Spur Concerns." Wall Street Journal: A.10. Jan 04 2011. ProQuest. Web. 1 Apr. 2013 . Falola, Toyin, and Matthew M. Heaton. A History of Nigeria. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Print. Frynas, Jedrzej G. Oil in Nigeria: Conflict and Litigation between Oil Companies and Village Communities. Mu?nster: Lit Verlag, 1999. Print Ibeanu, Okechukwu. Oil, Conflict, and Security in Rural Nigeria: Issues in the Ogoni Crisis. Harare: African Association of Political Science, 1997. Print. Konadu-Agyemang, Kwadwo, and Martin K. Panford. Africa's Development in the Twenty-First Century: Pertinent Socio-Economic and Development Issues. Aldershot [u.a.: Ashgate, 2006. Print. "Mobil and Shell Responding to Oil Spills in Nigeria." Oil Spill Intelligence Report 35.48 (2012): 1- 2. ProQuest. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. Na'Allah, Abdul-Rasheed. Ogoni's Agonies: Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Crisis in Nigeria. Trenton, NJ [u.a.: Africa World Press, 1998. Print. Okoh, Ebenezer, C. N. Ojogwu, and E. E. U. Aviomoh. "The Impact of Oil Spillage on Agricultural Production among Adult Farmers in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria." Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research In Business 1.6 (2009): 62- 74. ProQuest. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. Paki, Fidelis Ae, and Imomotimi Ebienfa Kimiebi. "Oil and Development Deficit in Africa: The Failure of Intervention Agencies in Nigeria's Niger Delta." International Journal of Business and Social Science 2.8 (2011): n/a. ProQuest. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. SPDC: People and the Environment. SPDC Annual Report. 1996. Print. Rowell, Andrew, James Marriott, and Lorne Stockman. The Next Gulf. London: Constable, 2005. Print. Quinlan, Martin. "Oil Firms Facing Claims for Past Spills in Nigeria." Petroleum Economist (2011): n/a. ProQuest. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. Read More