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HIGH COST OF NIGER DELTA CRISIS TO NIGERIAN PEOPLE & ECONOMY

Nigeria is not benefiting from the booming price of Oil which is now well over $130.00 a Barrel, the profits and infrastructure implementations that can be made from Oil and Oil related businesses. Other Oil producing countries are booming, Saudi Arabia is producing 9.7 million barrels a day, which means more than $1.26 Billion a day in revenue and other Oil Producing countries are doubling their annual GDP, Gulf Oil States and the Middle Eastern Countries are set to earn over half a Trillion US Dollars this year and even countries like Angola are powering ahead in Oil production. Nigeria is lagging behind every major Oil producing country, due to the mismanagement, corruption and crisis in the Niger Delta.

The Government of the military dictator, Sunny Abacha made this problem worse by executing Ken Saro-Wiwa, the Nigerian author, television producer, and environmentalist, son of Chief Jim Wiwa, Ken Saro-Wiwa was the President, of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Saro-Wiwa led a campaign against environmental damage associated with the operations of multinational oil companies, especially Shell. The military dictator Sunny Abacha instead of addressing this problem, by working with the local community to address their grievances, which are legitimate; he added fuel to the fire and made the problem even worse, instead of forcing the Oil Companies, in this case the biggest Culprit, Shell, to clean up the environment in the Niger Delta, and compensate the local community, which would have at that time only amounted to very small percentage of their profits, compared to what Nigeria is now loosing daily, due to sabotage. The successive Government of Olusegun Obasanjo equally exacerbated the problem, by not addressing the problems of the Niger Delta Community.

The Multi National Oil Companies like Shell are responsible for most of the great injustice done to the Niger Delta Region and the entire Nigerian Nation. Shell Oil Company is not working in the interests of Nigeria, the destruction of Niger Delta, affects every Nigerian, this is why this is a great injustice to peace loving Niger Deltans and Nigerian people.

The problem, that was once, of people looking for rights and trying to correct injustice, that has been done to them, since Oil was discovered in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria, decades ago. People in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria, which is supposed to be the richest part of Nigeria, have suffered tremendously, from lack of infrastructure, pollution, of their once fertile lands and rivers, and lack of education.

This problem and cause has now been hijacked, by criminals who are kidnapping Nigerians and foreigners. Their actions have stopped many worth while infrastructure projects that would have helped the Nigerian Economy, like new roads, new Oil and gas pipe lines, Telecom infrastructure and other projects.

This week alone an explosion in the Niger Delta, by militants attacking the offshore Bonga Oil-fields facility, caused the reduction of 225,000 barrels of Oil a day, and led Shell to halt production at the facility. Shell Oil Companies production of oil in Nigeria has reduced to a small percentage of the true production capacity that is possible in Nigeria. The reduction of the 225,000 barrels of crude per day by Shell is equivalent to about 10% of Nigeria’s current crude export amount.

The Militants in the Niger Delta and Nigerian government’s lack of will to resolve this problem, is now contributing to the Global Oil Crisis.

The cost to Nigerian Economy has amounted to Billions of US Dollars and has contributed to the hardship of the ordinary Nigerians; it also contributing to the Gas and fuel shortage and the ability to generate Electricity, due to the sabotage of Gas Pipe lines, there has been a shortage of gas supplied to Electricity Power stations, causing huge power shortage in Nigeria. Nigeria is already years behind from being self sufficient in refining capacity and energy generation, that is estimated to cost over $40 Billion to correct. All these things have lead to a lot of hardship for the ordinary Nigerian.

No matter what natural resources Nigeria has, if the Government of Umaru Musa Yar’adua does not take responsibility and take control of the situation in the Niger Delta, the Country and therefore the Nigerian People will not benefit at all, from the financial gain that will come from the Oil Revenue and infrastructural benefits. The actions of militants in the Niger Delta is costing the nation 700,000 barrels of crude a day, about $84 million in lost oil revenue daily and the country’s expected revenue has reduced from $336 million daily to the present earning of $252 million at the rate of $130 per barrel.

Instead of loosing capacity in crude production, Nigeria by now should be exporting in excess of 4-5 Million barrels a day. Nigeria needs to get off the list of poor countries and hopeless economy and move to the list of the fastest growing economies in the World.

Nigeria by rights should be the richest country in Africa and one of the top 20 economies in the World, with a modern infrastructure and an educated work force, second to none, anywhere in the continent of Africa.

Xenophobic behaviour, that has erupted into violence, brutality, hatred and deaths in South Africa, of Nigerians, Somalis and other black Africans.

For years I have been talking to my African friends about the unusual xenophobic attitude against Nigerians from other Africans.

Every time I site examples and reasons, why I think most Africans have some kind of hatred or bias against Nigerians, they always say No it’s not true, or I’m imagining it.

I have had a lot of these discussions with Ghanaians, how some Ghanaians easily blame anything and everything on Nigerians, even when Nigerians have nothing to do with it, I’m not saying that some Nigerians are without blame.

I have had occasions, where I have had a conversation with a Ghanaian, for them to turn around and say, be careful of Nigerians, even when the conversation has nothing to do with Nigerians.

This Xenophobia against Nigerians is also evident, when you have a conversation with Sierra Leonian, Angolans, Cameroonians and even Liberians, that were recently liberated by Nigerians at high cost to Nigerians.

I was recently told by a Sierra Leonian girl, that she never trusts any Nigerian Man, I asked her how many Nigerian men had she had dealings with, she said none, except one Nigerian she went to college with and she never really spoke to him. She said, Nigerians are arrogant and she doesn’t like them. I replied to her, how, does she have, such a strong opinion about Nigerians, if she never had any direct dealings with them, she replied, all her friends thinks the same way.

I have also had these discussions with South Africans, and I sited many examples, of where things are blamed on other migrant Africans in South Africa, especially Nigerians. There have been stories about how Nigerians are picked on in South Africa, by Immigration, Police Officers and other South Africans, but again I was told that this was not true.

The recent brutal violence and thuggery, against Nigerians and other black African immigrants in South Africa, has proved this point beyond doubt and has left over 50 people dead and over 40,000 people displaced.

The intensively of the South African Government and police against the injured and displaced is incomprehensible to the rest of the world.

Violence, thuggery, Anger and hatred against immigrants in South Africa has not just appeared over night, it has been present in South Africa since the end of apartheid, and it only now because of the enormous impact and amount of brutal violence and thuggery, that whole world is beginning to realize this xenophobic behavior, and the international news media is finally broadcasting the injustice that has been taking place in South Africa for many years. This thuggery and xenophobia against other black Africans, is perpetrated by a minority of South Africans that are very vocal, violent and blood thirsty.

It is a tragedy that it is only because so many people have been killed, brutalized and displaced that now this xenophobic behaviour by some South Africans towards, Nigerians, Somalia’s and other Africans is even being shown on the South African news. This problem has been in existence for years, but it is the insensitivity of the South African Authorities that is beyond wickedness, in their mind this black Africans that have been killed and maimed are not worth the time of the day, or important enough to be saved.

Some South Africans only hate their fellow black Africans because they have been conditioned to think that way, that people of European origin are superior to them, and this is why their hatred is always centered on other black Africans.

What is unbelievable and unforgivable is, some South Africans, have this xenophobic attitude only towards other Black Africans, and they make no apologies for it. They forget that even their current president, Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki, was living in Nigeria, Botswana, Swaziland and Lusaka, Zambia during the apartheid, Thabo Mbeki’s government was slow in reacting to this problem and this is very sad. Many of South Africa’s leaders, and successful Business men and women sort sanctuary in other African countries, without the help of fellow Africans, South Africa Today would still be in the dark days of apartheid.

Xenophobia is a disease against humanity, Everyone will be a foreigner at some point in there life, if you have ever been on holiday, or hoped to traveled to any country, outside your own country, you have been or will be a foreigner. Most South Africans have been a foreigner at some point in their life and I didn’t see anybody brutalizing or maiming them, outside South Africa.

In my Conclusion, Some South Africans are people without Memories and this is a disease.