Nigeria
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The Rape Of Paradise
With five decades of oil and gas production bringing close to $500bn in revenue to the Nigerian exchequer, the constant stream of petrodollars ought to have provided the West African country with the financial muscle to transform itself into a global economic powerhouse, in which its citizens, especially those from the oil-producing regions of the Niger Delta, would have been guaranteed a high quality of life. But the ordinary citizens of that region, particularly those from Ogoniland in Rivers State, would find it hard, if not impossible, to do anything else other than to curse the day that oil production by Shell began in their homeland, as they are forced to live with the unending horrors of oil pollution.
Immersi nel petrolio
Akintunde Akinleye (Reuters/Contrasto) La Nigeria è l’ottavo esportatore di petrolio al mondo, e tre quarti del greggio che produce viene dalla regione del Delta del Niger, nel sud del paese. Ma il Delta del Niger è soprattutto una zona povera, inquinata e violenta, dove è in corso una guerra civile a bassa intensità. Per sopravvivere, molte persone si dedicano a un’attività illegale e pericolosa: rubare il petrolio dagli oleodotti delle compagnie petrolifere e rivenderlo al mercato nero. Le fuoriuscite di petrolio oltre a inquinare drammaticamente l’ambiente, spesso provocano esplosioni che hanno causato migliaia di vittime.Nigeria - reading...
Nigeria: Oil Exploitation, the Environment and Crimes Against Nature
Lagos — SINCE the first commercial production of oil in Nigeria in 1956, it has signalled the beginning of a profound transformation of Nigeria's political and economic landscape. Since the 1970s, oil has accounted for over 80 per cent of the Nigerian government's revenue and 95 per cent of the country's export earnings. All of Nigeria's oil and gas come from its Niger delta region which sustains the largest wetland in Africa and one of the largest wetlands in the world. Consisting of approximately 20,000 square kilometres of mangrove forest, fresh water swamp, coastal ridges and fertile dry land forest, seasonal flooding and sediment deposits over thousands of years have made the land in the region fertile.
Nigeria - curators...
On The Road With West Africa’s Fuel Smugglers
Lomé, Togo: The journey from the city of Lagos in Nigeria to the Benin-Togo border by boat takes 13 hours on a calm night. At daybreak, wooden boats drop anchor 100 metres off the coast.
The New Kings of Nigeria
TIME OUT - Pick of the Day "In the modern city, a prince is only as big as his wallet," reflects Walter, halfway through Storyville's intriguing documentary about Nigeria's 'new kings': the media-savvy, sharp-talking professionals of Nigeria's urban elite. Privately educated in England, Walter has returned to his homeland to reclaim his family's distinguished lineage: his great grandfather Jaja was a nineteenth-century slave who rose up to become a king before being kidnapped by the British. Walter leads us on an enjoyable romp through modern Lagos, where he is making his name as the voice of 'Big Brother Nigeria', and where his money and contacts open up a wealth of opportunities. Scenes of Champagne-quaffing, polo-playing, hard-partying media types juxtaposed with gritty street life speak for themselves... THE TELEGRAPH - Choice
Mobilisation of the Nigerian army against Boko Haram provides both a challenge and an opportunity... Nothing in Nigeria is what it seems. Beneath a confusing, disorderly surface lie networks of association and obligation of which outsiders, and sometimes insiders, are unaware.
Boko Haram – more complicated than you think – By Richard Dowden
Why Are You Here?
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on branding, charity, and class in Nigeria’s schools. Photograph courtesy of Adolphus Opara I came at the wrong time. It was mid-March 2011, a few weeks before general elections, and every surface in Lagos—compound walls, gates, even buses—was covered with political posters. “You came at injury time,” the senior teacher at the government junior high school told me. She was small and well-groomed, her blouse awash in ruffles.
Some Links on the Fuel Subsidy Protests in Nigeria
"Wagner’s absurd example of the slave compromise was an attempt to put a big smiley-face Band-Aid..." “Wagner’s absurd example of the slave compromise was an attempt to put a big smiley-face Band-Aid over what has become an oozing scab at Emory.
Resources - Reading / blogs...
The Nigerian Harmattan?
In the New York Times , Jeffrey Sachs thinks Nigeria has a historic opportunity… to do more or less what he has been telling countries like Nigeria to do for decades now: liberalize their economies, share the pain, and achieve prosperity.
naijablog: The Fuel Subsidy Removal Protests for Dummies
On the first day of the indefinite general strike organised by a coalition between two of the largest unions in Nigeria – the TUC and the NLC – and a cluster of smaller unions and social media-based activists and organisations, some external observers have expressed surprise at the intensity of resistance the “ Occupy Nigeria ” campaign has mounted against the removal of the fuel subsidy on January 1st and the size of the mass demonstrations taking place.Okey Ndibe
My Vote For Subsidy Removal By Okey Ndibe
In 2007, I had the honour of joining the Archbishop Desmond Tutu African Leadership Fellowship. The excellent Fellowship program is managed by the African Leadership Institute, and now boasts of Fellows who play key roles in various sectors of the African economy – including Nigeria.