Multi-national Companies in Nigeria


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Article published in the Hungerstrike newspaper, which was written by the refugees on hungerstrike in June 1999.

Multinational Companies and Human Rights in Nigeria

By Donny Ohia

Privatisation is cloaked in the ideology of the free market and laisse fair economics. In fact privatisation is the instrument of massive intervention in the affairs of the poor countries by multinational capital. Nigeria is among the countries that has the worst human right record in Africa with over 12 million people displaced and over 4 million killings from 1993. This is a result of the application of a totalitarian and oppressive economic model.

Shell, contracted a project of oil exploration and production in Nigeria, expected to earn its revenues, British government has used its influence to back Nigeria military to form death squads and is directly linked to the killing of many innocent Nigerians and the murder of Ken- Saro Wiwa and eight other Ogonis, this is now well known. This equation between the domination of the oil multinationals and repression by military and civilian regimes as the case happen in Nigeria today, with disastrous consequence in environmental destruction and human rights violation. Privatisation has brought forth criminality; Power in Nigeria is now share between the economic elite, the military high commands, and the Mafia who all together under U.S.A and European union guidance to spawn various forms of paramilitary death squads. This is the result of multinational with huge consequence of human rights.

Impact of Multinationals on the Environment

Ken-Sarowiwa, spokesperson for the Movement of the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), until he was hanged in Nove.1995,maintained that the environment in Ogoni and other Niger delta area has been completely devastated by decades of reckless oil exploration or ecological warfare by SHELL and other multinationals. An ecological war is highly lethal, the move so as it is unconventional. It is homicidal in effect. Human life, flora, fauna, the air, fall at its fact, and finally, the land itself dies. The environmental impact assessment concluded that, although some section of the reports were of high quality, there were serious defects. Overall, the environmental statements fell well short of what would be required in any developed country .The impact that oil production in Nigeria has had, problems identified includes, flooding and coastal erosion, sedimentation and siltation, degradation and depletion of water and coastal resources, land degradation, oil pollution, health problems and low agricultural production, as well as social economic problems, lack of community participation, .The method of clearing oil spills is not regarded as satisfactory by international standard, and in this case additionally appears to have been carried out in a negligent manner, allowing a serious fire to occur, confirmed by oil expert that Shell contractors set blaze on heap contaminated materials of oil spill that cause serious damage; the procedures used were not in compliance with their requirement. substantial loses are suffered as a result by several members of the community. Similarly, since in most areas of the Niger delta drinking water is drawn straight from streams and creeks, with no other option available to the local people, a spill can cause sever problems to the population dependent on water source affected, even if it disperses rapidly and the water soon returns to its previous condition ; crude oil contains thousands of different chemicals, many of them toxic and some known to be carcinogenic with no determined safe threshold for human exposure. following a Mobil spill, it was reported that several communities affected were been hospitalised as a result of drinking contaminated water, also death of children caused by drinking polluted water; Even local residents complains that fish taste of paraffin(kerosene), indicating hydrocarbon contamination. Sample of water taken from Ogoni land, where there was no oil production for 4yrs was taken to U.S for analyse, the water have 18ppm of hydrocarbon in the water,360 times the level allowed in drinking water in Europe and so many case of such exist in other part of the oil region of Nigeria. The bottom line is the oil companies have never tried to find out what the effect oil spill is.

Other affect of multinational are that, with the influx of comparatively rich, and almost all male workers from the well paid oil industries, has also increased prostitution in previously isolated and stable communities. In densely populated or environmentally sensitive areas, where explosions are not practical, vibration trucks are used rather than dynamite, which is used in remote areas; However, several villages in Nigeria where dynamite had taken place very close to human habitation, in some cases reportedly causing cracks in the walls of houses nearby. Road and canals built by the oil companies can also be destructive in more direct way than simply by promoting the mixed blessing of access. In number of cases, road are built on c a u s e w a y s across seasonally flooding plains, whose ecology depends on the changing hydrological conditions. The drainage of the area is affected, causing a permanent flooding on one side of the road and drying out of other. As a result, trees dies, fishing ponds are destroyed, and seasonal fishing completely disrupted, often destroying a significant percentage of the income derived by local communities from the entire livelihood of some families. Willbros west Africa Inc., a contractor to oil industry with head quarter in the U.S that have been involved in number of incidents where protesters at work they have been carrying out, were assaulted and killed by Nigerian security forces.

According to local people, the cause way initially had no passages for water to pass underneath, blocking the drainage channel. They were poorly constructed or designed, trees and other vegetation over a wide area dies from water logging and seasonal fishing grounds have been destroyed, causing substantial economic damage to those whose lands are affected. The culverts cut, young people drowned by the turbulence caused by the draining of lakes that develop. Farmers in Obite, Omoku, River State, in the Obagi/Omoku oil field operated by Elf/Agip, also complained of flooding.

Gas flaring in Nigeria, it is noted that Nigeria flares more gas than any country in the world: Due to the low efficiency of many of the flares much of the gas is released as methane(which has high warning potential),rather than carbon-dioxide. At the same time, the low-lying Niger delta is particularly vulnerable to the potential effects of sea level rising. Other problem of gas flaring are that air, leaf and soil temperatures are increasing up to over eight or hundred meters from the stack, and species composition of vegetation is also affected. The most noticeable generally unremarked effect of the oil producing region , the night sky is lit up by flares, that in the rainy season, reflect luridly from cloud, it is also noticed that nautical animals are disturbed by this light, and leave the area, making hunting difficult. All these are done without recognising Nigerian government on gas flaring since they can buy their way by imperialistic policies against 3rd world countries, without minding the environmental effect of the habitant of the area. The destruction of crops, artificial fishpond use for fish farming (Economically valuable trees, including those growing wild but owned by particular families),and other income generating assets. Even a small leak can thus wipe out a year food supply for a family, with it wiping out income from products sold for cash. The consequences of such loss of livelihood range from children missing their school fees, to virtual destitution. Above all, the multinational also falsely claim sabotage to most of the oil spill, to prosecution of local people who cried to the environmental degradation, and this people are charged of offence liable on conviction to be sentenced to imprisonment for life or death penalty.

Multinationals abuse human rights

Shell has engage in the use of paramilitary to attack the oil producing communities just to subdue them, and continue their environmental damages for their economic interest. Chevron Nigeria gave out its helicopters and boats to Nigeria military to crack down civil populace of the oil.

Peaceful demonstration against oil exploration in Nigeria, hundreds of people are being killed by soldiers. The multinationals have left their original purpose of earning income and are involved in human rights abuse. Dumez (Nigeria) Limited, a road construction company employs security forces to attack villagers and is destroying newly planted crops of local farmers without paying compensation for crops or carrying out any environment impact assessment (EIA). Julius Berger, a German construction company in Nigeria is not left out in this case. They left their original mission and are involved in sales of arms and money laundering and other illegal businesses, which run down the Nigerian economy.

The national states are the medium and guarantor for the implementation of the needs of the multinational concerns, the imperialist state of the multinationals. The influence exercised by the monopolist fractions of capital on the processes of the strategic decisions, as made by the political elites. And therefore undermine the development and security of citizens. The case of multinationals in Nigeria is full of sad stories. Instead of development, better life and economic growth, we saw underdevelopment, environmental degradation and human rights violations.

June 1999