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In the last days of 1998 and the first of 1999, more than 26 peaceful protestors were killed by the Nigerian military. This is only the latest example of the blood being shed to ensure a constant flow of oil, the commodity that funds over 80% of the Nigerian military regime’s budget. As more groups in Nigeria stand up to demand environmental justice and corporate accountability from Shell, Chevron, Mobil, Texaco and other oil companies in Nigeria, the military government continues to react with guns, not solutions. These latest attempts to forcefully silence the grievances of the Nigerian people raise serious questions about the military’s commitment to democracy transition plans.

The attacks in recent weeks are an attempt to end support for a three month blockade of one-third of Nigeria’s oil. The blockade is part of Operation Climate Change, organized by members of the Ijaw Youth Council (the Ijaw are Nigeria’s fourth largest ethnic group). The youths call for companies to chose between ending all oil operations and negotiating with indigenous communities about cleaning up oil spills and recognizing the right of indigenous peoples to control the use of their own land and resources. Since Operation Climate Change began, observers in Ijaw areas have reported arbitrary military violence, rape and other forms of torture, the use of oil industry helicopters by the military against entire villages, attacks from gunboats, extensive road blocks, and the cancellation of last week’s elections. On Sunday, January 10, a peaceful march of 1,000 women calling for the demilitarization of the region ended with tear gas and arrests.

Oil and oil companies, especially Shell as the extractor of most of Nigeria’s oil, are the financial backbone of the military dictatorship. The reason that the Ijaw activists have the full attention of both the military and the oil industry is clear: Ijaw areas provide two-thirds of Nigeria’s oil.

Since Nigeria’s Ogoni indigenous group drew international attention to the pollution caused by Shell and other oil companies in Nigeria’s oil rich Niger River Delta, environmental and human rights activists across the world have drawn together to make Shell, other oil companies, and the Nigerian military accountable for their environmental negligence and suppression of environmental activists. Attention has been focused on the plight of the Ogoni, yet their struggle is only a piece of the puzzle. Throughout the Delta region, oil companies continue to exploit, spill, destroy and pollute residents while the military government turns a blind eye.

The Nigerian government’s violent response to calls for dialogue are consistent with its history of dealing with indigenous communities in oil producing regions. The Nigerian military is notorious for its protest quelling military taskforces: the Movement for Survival of the Ogoni People blames the murder of 2,000 and the destruction of 27 villages on the Rivers State Internal Security Taskforce, established to suppress Ogoni protests. Now is the time for activists across the world to join together and spotlight the continuing threats to life in the Delta and prevent another massacre on the scale of Ogoni.

In the last year, two major oil related tragedies have struck the Niger River Delta. On October 17, 1998, over 1,000 people were killed when a leaking pipeline exploded three days after it began spilling crude across the fields and into the drinking water of the village of Jesse. Shell, the government’s major partner in the oil industry, knew about the leak before the explosion, failed to stop it, and then flew Dictator General Abdulsalami Abubakar to the scene following the inferno. The cause of the leak and explosion have yet to be determined, however the Nigerian military is once again blaming the victim by charging four local men with opening the pipeline. The government has refused to help with health care and emergency funds to the area. Earlier last year on January 12, a Mobil pipeline spilled 40,000 barrels of crude which lapped the shores of much of Nigeria’s coast. Fishing nets and marine life were among the victims of the spill, deeply scarring the local economy.

Since Nigeria’s first coup in 1966, the country has been ruled by the military for all but four years. Presidential elections are scheduled for February, with transition purported to be complete by May. Recently the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights cautiously approved of the present regime’s plans for transitioning towards democracy, but strongly urged an investigation into the environmental damage caused by oil companies in Nigeria.
The world reaction to these attacks is inspiring. In the UK and Germany, activists occupied the offices of national Shell headquarters demanding an end to reckless oil extraction in the Niger Delta. Numerous protests have been held, including at Nigeria’s Washington, D.C. embassy. Over 300 organizations, including Bishop S. Ruiz for the Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolome de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico signed a letter to the oil companies operating in Nigeria demanding a halt to all operations until they negotiate with local communities. Most importantly, Nigerian human rights, democracy and environment groups support the efforts of Ijaw and demand justice.

Contact Essential Action’s Boycott Shell campaign to get involved in local actions, to join the SHELL-NIGERIA-ACTION list serve, and for the latest updates. (202) 398-8030, email action@essential.org, or go to www.essentialaction.org/shell

Together we can urge the Nigerian government to resolve differences through dialogue, not violence. We can call on the United Nations Commission for Human Rights to follow up on its emissary’s call for an investigation into oil pollution and human rights violations in the oil-rich Niger River Delta. And, as residents of the United States, the primary buyer of oil from Nigeria, we have a unique strength when demanding that oil companies in Nigeria, especially Shell, cap their gas flares and sit down at the table with the people who must endure environmental atrocities everyday.

Monica Wilson is Campaign Coordinator for Essential Action’s Boycott Shell/Free Nigeria campaign.

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