Who
is Royal Dutch Shell? Shell Nigeria is the common name for Royal Dutch Shell’s
Nigerian operations carried out through four subsidiaries, primarily Shell
Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC). In 1958, Royal Dutch Shell began oil
production in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
Who
are The Ogoni? Ogoni is the name of a region in the Niger Delta of southern
Nigeria as well as the name of the ethnic group that lives in that region. For
the Ogoni and the people of Nigeria, oil and oil companies have bought poverty,
environmental devastation and widespread, severe human rights abuses. Oil
drilling by Shell and other oil companies has had a devastating impact on the region’s
environment. Oil spills, gas flaring and deforestation have stripped the land
of its environmental resources, destroying the subsistence farming and fishing
based economy of the Ogoni.
What
is MOSOP? The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) is a human
rights group founded in 1990 that is committed to using nonviolence to stop the
repression and exploitation of the Ogoni and their resources by Shell and the
Nigerian government. Ken Saro-Wiwa, founding member and president of MOSOP
brought worldwide attention to the human rights violations committed against
the Ogoni through international campaigning and his poignant writing.
As
the peaceful movement of the Ogoni grew, so did the government’s and Shell’s
brutal campaign against the Ogoni and MOSOP. In early 1993, Shell requested
military support to build a pipeline through Ogoni. When Karalolo Kogbara was
crying over the resulting bulldozing of her crops, she was shot by Nigerian
troops and lost an arm as a result. In a separate incident later that year, Uebari
N-nah was shot and killed by soldiers near a Shell flow station; the soldiers
were requested by and later compensated by Shell. In 1994, Owens Wiwa was
detained repeatedly under false charges to prevent him from protesting; he was
beaten and threatened throughout his detentions. Michael Vizor, was arrested
for his political activities and upon his arrest his daughter was raped. When
he would not confess to a false charge, he was beaten and tortured. Mr. Vizor’s
son was also beaten and detained when he attempted to bring his father food.
In
1994, Ken Saro-Wiwa and other Ogoni leaders were prevented by the military from
attending a gathering; at that very gathering, four Ogoni chiefs were killed.
The military governor promptly announced that Ken Saro-Wiwa caused the deaths,
and he and other leaders were taken into custody. Despite the lack of any
connection between MOSOP and the deaths, the military used the deaths as a
pretext to conduct raids on 60 towns in Ogoni and to detain and beat several
hundred men suspected of involvement with MOSOP.
A
three-man tribunal was created by the Nigerian government to try the Ogoni
leaders known as Ogoni Nine, for the murders of the four chiefs. The tribunal
denied the Ogoni Nine access to counsel, a fair trial, and the opportunity to
appeal their decision. During the course of the trial they were tortured and
mistreated. On November 10, 1995, the Ogoni nine were convicted and were
executed by hanging.
During
the 1990s, Shell continued its close relationship with the Nigerian military
regime. The oil company requested an increase in security and provided monetary
and logistical support to Nigerian police. Shell was involved in the
development of the strategy that resulted in the unlawful execution of the
Ogoni Nine.
Nigeria
is Africa’s biggest oil producer with about 2.2 million barrels being produced
a day yet the poorest country compared to other countries who have oil. Why is
Nigeria poor? I think, corruption in Nigeria remains the most important
obstacle to economic and social development.
What
can Shell do? I've learned that, as one of the six largest oil exploration and petroleum companies;
and also one of the multinational company; Shell should also have a framework
to protect the people. Below illustrate how the hazard is managed and tips to manage the risk.
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Image Credit: http://www.risktec.co.uk/knowledge-bank/technical-articles/lessons-learned-from-the-real-world-application-of-the-bow-tie-method.aspx
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Image Credit: http://www.risktec.co.uk/knowledge-bank/technical-articles/lessons-learned-from-the-real-world-application-of-the-bow-tie-method.aspx
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References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_Nigeria
https://ccrjustice.org/home/get-involved/tools-resources/fact-sheets-and-faqs/factsheet-case-against-shell
http://www.therichest.com/expensive-lifestyle/location/top-10-oil-producing-countries-in-africa-2013/
http://www.poverties.org/poverty-in-nigeria.html
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