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INSIDE AFRICA
Inside the Niger Delta
Aired January 9, 2009 - 12:30:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ISHA SESAY, HOST: Hello, I'm Isha Sesay for INSIDE AFRICA. This week, we go inside the Niger Delta, a region rich in oil, but where most people live in extreme poverty. This disparity is fueling violence, including attacks on oil installations and kidnappings. And as our Christian Purefoy will show us over the next half hour, conditions remain ripe for the violence to continue. Here he is now, with our special presentation, "Hope and Anger in the Niger Delta."
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CHRISTIAN PUREFOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nigeria is one of Africa's largest oil producers. Most of that oil comes from this region. But many of the people here complain they haven't seen a cent of the profits. In fact, some of them argue the industry has robbed them of their way of life. Oil spills, for example, which occur routinely here, have poisoned drinking water, devastated vegetation, and destroyed a once-thriving fish population.
For years now, militants, most famously the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, have been wreaking havoc, by attacking oil facilities and their workers. They claim to be fighting for a greater share of oil wealth. Whether or not that's their motive, the violence is more emblematic of widespread anger. And at the root of it, some argue, lies a common practice by oil companies of paying one group in a community to the exclusion of other groups.
A small outpost of resistance against big oil. Guns, these angry young Nigerians say, are the only choice left to make oil companies and the government here on the oil-rich Niger Delta take notice of their demands for development.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No development, lack of work, no better education background. While we have for good measure multi-national oil in our community.
CHRISTIAN PUREFOY: Despite being a major oil hub, the community of Romawake (ph) Bay claims there have been no investment here, and that the people have been fenced out from decades of oil wealth.
And now Romawake Bay has collapsed into internecine conflict between local rival factions. They're fighting over the only source of profit from the oil industry here -- land ownership and the oil company rents paid to whoever owns the land. The deserted buildings, tombstones to the estimated 200 people who have died in the violence.
As the community fought over land ownership, they've destroyed their own homes. The very presence of oil flowing through this area has torn the fabric of this community apart.
The oil companies say they are paying land rents only to the rightful land owners. But local pastor Humphrey Nsirim, working to bring peace to conflict communities like Romawake Bay, says neglect by government and oil companies has caused similar problems across the region.
REV. HUMPHREY NSIRIM: The oil is moving (inaudible) the oil is going, from here it's going to wherever it's supposed to go. They're making their money, millions, they are making their money, but they don't care about the community. That's the problem in the Niger Delta.
CHRISTIAN PUREFOY: Humphrey took us to see another faction that had been violently forced out of Romawake Bay. They say they want peace.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are not meant to kill ourselves.
CHRISTIAN PUREFOY: But warn the oil companies against continuing to pay money to individual landlords rather than the community as a whole, accusing them of using the tactics of divide and rule.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These oil companies, these multinational companies, they should stop it immediately now, otherwise (inaudible). It's not going to be easy with that.
CHRISTIAN PUREFOY: As Nigeria's oil is shared with the world, these young men want to make sure the profits are shared at home.
From boomtown to dying cities. Port Harcourt has certainly seen better days. Coming up after the break, we'll take a look at the governor who's trying to turn things around for the regional capital of the Niger Delta, Port Harcourt. And still ahead, our look at the environmental impact of oil.
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CHRISTIAN PUREFOY: Welcome back to this special edition of INSIDE AFRICA. I'm Christian Purefoy, reporting from the Niger Delta. The regional capital Port Harcourt was once a bustling city, but for many years now has fallen into decline, overcome by crime and poverty. But now, a new governor wants to reverse that trend.
Charles Godpower (ph) has put down his guns and taken up wielding. Only 28 years old, he says he was part of a crime wave, holding Nigeria's Rivers State to ransom. The young men at this local rehabilitation center are here with the hope of finding a regular job, but they are the exception among the region's armed youth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While I take a job course, I have to feed myself. I have to take care of myself. I don't have anybody to take care of me. That's why I've still got to find my money.
CHRISTIAN PUREFOY: The region's youth have turned to kidnapping for large ransoms to support themselves, and oil companies say the crime has forced them to move some operations out of the region. On top of that, Human Rights Watch accused the previous government in Rivers State of wasting tens of millions of dollars on questionable priorities like gifts, new cars, and jets, rather than improving infrastructure.
Taking us on a tour of the region, the new governor explained the problems he inherited.
GOV. ROTIMI AMAECHI, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA: Before we came, I think (inaudible). But since we came, there's been -- since we came, there's been (inaudible).
CHRISTIAN PUREFOY: The new governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, says he has a plan to revitalize this oil-rich region. His idea includes more jobs through government investment in new roads, schools, and 150 new health care centers.
The challenge with any hospital is not building it. That's just bricks and mortar. But it's maintaining it and filling it with professional doctors and nurses, who can care for patients.
When oil prices were high last year, he says the state's annual budget exceeded $2 billion. But Amaechi warns oil money brings its own challenges.
AMAECHI: Look at (inaudible). Without it, the needs of people are far, far, far (inaudible). And we cannot just plan to pay when we don't have the money.
CHRISTIAN PUREFOY: Amaechi feels another challenge is to gain the trust of the people of Rivers State. Many people here we've talked to feel like Godpower and the other youths. They say they've heard government promises and excuses before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New government, we are not benefiting anything. We have not seen any changes. Everything is keeping (inaudible).
CHRISTIAN PUREFOY: Given a choice, Godpower chooses wielding for now. He only hopes the opportunity is available when he's finished his training.
Gas flares light up the sky throughout the Niger Delta. Coming up on INSIDE AFRICA, why oil companies use them, and what they do to the environment.
Also ahead, a Niger Delta community that uses nonviolence to keep the oil companies out.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Making business news in Africa -- South African mobile operator Vodacom is extending its reach beyond cell phones. It wrapped up a $700 million purchase of telecommunications firm Gateway, Africa's largest independent provider of satellite and land-based interconnection services.
And the Zimbabwean government says it has raised cash withdrawal limits at the country's banks through the 12th of January. The state-run "Herald" newspaper reports account holders who show December pay slips can withdraw an extra $10 billion. It says customers without pay slips can withdraw $5 billion. As of October, Zimbabwe reported an official annual inflation rate of 231 million percent.
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CHRISTIAN PUREFOY: You're watching a special edition of INSIDE AFRICA. Welcome back. I'm Christian Purefoy.
Gas flaring is a common practice throughout the Niger Delta. After Russia, Nigeria has more gas flares than anywhere else in the world. It is considered a safe way of burning off excess gas typically released during oil production. It leaves a terrible effect on the environment and is extremely wasteful.
A $1 billion fire. Gas flares here in the oil-rich Niger Delta are burning million of dollars worth of natural gas every day. And according to scientists and World Bank economists, causing terrible damage to the environment.
Local farmer Lucky Amobe (ph) complains the flares are causing toxic acid rain that strips the fertility of his land and pollutes the rivers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This farm, this land -- that flare has now had effect on the land. So the crops is not producing well (ph).
CHRISTIAN PUREFOY: The flares burn off natural gas, typically brought up as a byproduct of oil production. The gas can be sold for energy, reinjected into the ground for later use, or the easiest option, burned.
These gas flares are known locally as ecun Shell (ph), or Shell's fire. And the heat and noise is incredible, but the real damage are from the gases and toxins they've burned into the atmosphere.
It's estimated world gas flaring contributes about 1.5 percent of carbon dioxide emissions. Scientists say co2 is the greenhouse gas that contributes most to climate change. The Nigeria government has set a series of deadlines to end gas flaring. But so far, each one has expired without any flaring being stopped.
A 2007 report by U.S. government scientists found Nigeria has reduced flaring over the last decade. But still, after Russia, Nigeria has more gas flares than anywhere else in the world. Nigeria's Environmental Rights Actions says these oil companies are simply trying to save money, not the environment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The biggest beneficiaries of gas flaring are the oil companies. There's no debate about that. And they're just not accountable (ph) to our environment. They're just looking basically at their profits.
CHRISTIAN PUREFOY: The largest oil company in the region, Shell, says it's invested more than $3 billion since 2000 to capture gas that was previously flared. It says it's working with the government to eliminate gas flares over the next several years. But every day Amobe watches the flares burn. The daily market value of the gas being wasted worth more than he's ever earned in his life.
As he prepares for the new harvest, he warns his way of life is under threat. He complains he has received little help from the oil companies or the government.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No help. We are still suffering. Nothing, no help. We have complained to them, nothing. No assistance.
CHRISTIAN PUREFOY: A small region with a big impact on the global environment. And as the world focuses on climate change, people here are hoping someone will finally put out the fire.
Deforestation is another environmental problem here in the Niger Delta. People here say they're forced to chop down vast swaths of trees for cheap fuel, because, ironically, they can't afford petrol or kerosene.
A dying land being scavenged. Here in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta, Anthony Edo (ph) is looking for the cheapest available fuel for cooking -- wood. Like many others, he says he simply can't afford petrol or kerosene, so he cuts down mangroves, keeping some for himself and selling the rest.
"It's bad to exploit the young trees, but I must feed my family," he says. "A hungry man is a desperate man."
But environmentalists say the need for wood fuel is contributing to the rapid depletion of Nigeria's trees, wreaking havoc on the environment. The Niger Delta is the third largest wetland in the world, supporting many threatened species of primates and birds, as well as millions of people. It is a region that's been under attack by gas flares, oil spills, and now deforestation. In its last report, the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization estimated Nigeria's annual loss of forests was among the top 10 in the world.
The local community here has stripped the entire area bare of any mature wood, forcing people here to make a three-day journey deep into the creeks to find enough wood to make a profit.
While the people here struggle to find enough wood for fuel, the Niger Delta is exporting millions of barrels of oil. Nigeria is a key oil producer. The government here does subsidize local fuel, but these subsidies have been lowered, so the deforestation continues.
Widow and mother of five, Burra Angosa (ph), says she can't even afford to buy the wood, and must chop her own. Any extra is sold to buy her family food. Like many others here, she complains she has seen no financial benefit from the oil in her land.
"I would have expected fuel and kerosene to be cheap, because we produce crude oil," she says. "But it's so expensive, I can't afford it."
Local environmental activist Nana Basini Zarbai (ph) is trying to bring attention to the problem, because, he warns, deforestation can have other serious consequences.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The way it is going, there's the possibility of one community pushing into another community to exploit these resources, and there's bound to be communal conflicts, which is not in the best interests of the people.
CHRISTIAN PUREFOY: The Delta is providing support for its inhabitants now, but environmentalists warn, without any relief, the region is cutting down its own future.
The Niger Delta is notorious for rebel violence against the oil companies, but one community is providing an example of nonviolence for fighting the industry. Coming up, lessons from Ogoniland. You're watching INSIDE AFRICA.
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CHRISTIAN PUREFOY: Welcome back to this special edition of INSIDE AFRICA. I'm Christian Purefoy.
Gandhi showed the world that peaceful resistance gets results, and the Ogoni people of the Niger Delta applied that principle to their own community. Many years ago, they used nonviolent methods to kick out Shell, but their struggle isn't over yet.
Amid the ruins of its own facility, oil giant Shell is being symbolically buried by the Ogoni people of Nigeria. The makeshift cemetery their final stop in a 15-year struggle to remove Shell from working in their oil-rich land.
In 2008, the Nigerian president announced that Shell would be replaced as operator in Ogoniland.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We decided to put their spirit into that casket you saw, to bury them. And once someone is buried, that one no longer is, or that one is dead completely.
CHRISTIAN PUREFOY: The Ogonis feel they have something to celebrate. Mostly farmers and fishermen, the Ogonis claim strong spiritual ties to the land, through festivals like this, celebrating their cultural gods. But despite decades of oil production from the area, Ogonis complain there has been no investment here, only environmental degradation to their land from oil spills and gas flares. In 1993, a protest march by the Ogonis against Shell and the government was brutally put down by the military.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not just their gods, but their people and way of life. The Ogoni people under attack for kicking Shell and the other oil companies out of Ogoniland.
CHRISTIAN PUREFOY: Buried here is one of the martyrs of the Ogoni cause, Ken Saro-Wiwa. He was hanged in 1995 by the then military dictatorship after organizing the Ogoni protests. His death sparked a worldwide outcry and prompted the Ogonis to target Shell, as a way to force the government to listen to their demands.
Shell has now gone, but for activists brought up on his message, the struggle is not over yet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The main issue that (inaudible), the main issue that moved (ph) people, the main issue is the devastation of our environment. The main issue is the destruction of our livelihoods, and they should not pretend not to know.
CHRISTIAN PUREFOY: Shell declined to comment on its departure. This was a government decision, the company says. The government says it wants to resume pumping oil in Ogoniland, but no one knows yet what company will be brought in. But for Ledo Mitti (ph), president of the Ogonis' main activist groups, a new operator must be acceptable to the Ogonis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are not -- we did not fight, get killed, just to replace bad for worse. So if you're coming in, you need to meet some benchmarks which will be acceptable to our people.
CHRISTIAN PUREFOY: Their struggle may not be over yet, but as the Ogonis wave goodbye to their past, they are looking to the future with renewed confidence.
That's it for this special edition of INSIDE AFRICA from the Niger Delta. I'm Christian Purefoy. We leave you now with a performance by a talented young man who caught the attention of iReporter Stanley Omokoro (ph) in Port Harcourt. He's playing a drum kit made of old car parts, and its sound is decidedly upbeat. Thanks for watching.
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SESAY: A very talented drummer indeed. Many thanks for that, Christian. INSIDE AFRICA will continue to monitor developments in Port Harcourt and the Niger Delta region throughout this coming year. I'm Isha Sesay. Many thanks for watching our special presentation, "Hope and Anger in the Niger Delta."
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