Standing firm against Big Oil in Nigeria

Even after the execution of members of their group (the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People) by the previous military government, the Ogoni people have stood firm and insisted that Shell Oil delivers to the local population what they promised in the first place. The Ogoni people were promised local development assistance but Shell failed to deliver locally and instead funneled support over to the government in Lagos.

The global petroleum players such as Shell, BP, Exxon and Total really need to be reigned in and we ought to support groups such as the Ogoni people who are standing firm in their demands. The Big Oil powers are dragging us into complicated and dangerous situations across Africa because their track record of lining the pockets of government officials and giving little beyond pollution and conflict with local populations is a recipe for disastor. It is simply not sustainable to have millions and billions flowing through poor countries while the local people live with so little.

We can stay the course and wait for the next Iraq in the future or we can demand change.