Niger Delta Conflict
Bam!
Thesis
Government and Corruption
Oil Company Influence
Economy
Oil and GDP
Environmental
Night Ride (1986) by Ken Saro-Wiwa
"He cursed the earth for spouting oil, black gold, they called it. And he cursed the gods for not drying the oil wells. What did it matter that millions of barrels of oil were mined and exported daily, so long as this poor woman wept those tears of despair?"
Environment
Since Shell introduced the oil economy into the Niger Delta, the environment has suffered detrimentally. The agricultural and fishing communities have lived through insufferable conditions, with oil from the frequent spills polluting the drinking water, fishing grounds, and farmlands ("Ogani"). Furthermore, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency ignored the environment, allowing the oil companies to continue production despite the devastation without any liability. The oil splattering the Delta even lacks attention from most governments, many failing to acknowledge the extensive environmental conflict and that “...the cumulative spills over the past 50 years at approximately 10 million barrels – twice the size of the BP spill” (Sachs).