Inept government in Africa and transnational corporations: a most sordid affair

Last year April when the BP oil spill occurred in the Gulf of Mexico, the media and public backlash cost the company more than the $20 billion dollar spill response fund agreed with the US president. As it should; after all the environmental, health, financial and other negative impacts on the affected areas has been immense.
The kind of relationship that big transnational corporations have had and continue to have with corrupt and weak governments in sub-Saharan Africa has been deplorable to say the least. In the case of Nigeria and Shell, this has been an ongoing sordid saga. The publication of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report has finally gone on record to acknowledge the damage caused to the people of Ogoniland region by years of oil spills. When a government has scant regard for the welfare and the fundamental human rights of its people, it leaves the door wide open for the kind of abuse of power that Shell has exercised in that region for decades. To read the BBC report, go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14398659?utm_source=social&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=dignity&utm_content=Shellnews040811
The assertion by the UNEP spokesman that “the study was not intended to blame any particular stakeholder operating in Ogoniland”, is an insult to a people who have paid such a heavy price for Shell’s abuse of human rights spanning decades. The extent of environmental damage alone should at least mean that corporations and even individuals in present and past governments who have colluded to blight the lives and livelihoods of these people should be called into account.
However, the government that is supposed to promote, respect and fulfil its obligations to its people has actually been at the forefront of trampling them underfoot. For as long as this remains the case, this report will change NOTHING. This brings back memories of the Ken Saro Wiwa debacle of 1995. (click http://archive.greenpeace.org/comms/ken/murder.html for a snapshot of this sordid and tragic event)
As far as employers go in Nigeria, oil companies are on top because of the competitive salaries and other benefits. This coupled with a government in cahoots with corporations as well as a most inefficient legal system; the concerns of the people in this community are not given due consideration. It is a shame that expecting any form of redress in Nigerian courts is a pipe dream.
The question though is: what will it take for the Nigerian government to accord basic human rights to its people? Inasmuch as we know that Shell and probably some other major oil corporations have done the Ogoni people a grave injustice, the greater injustice is that committed by the Nigerian government itself which has allowed this pollution and destruction of people’s livelihoods to go on unchallenged and without remediation for so long.
The unrest that has been a feature in the Ogoni region over the last decade whilst regrettable cannot be used as an excuse for the destruction of the environment. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to see the prospect for positive change anytime in the near future which looks bleak for a lot of Ogoni people.
There are no easy answers and it will be foolhardy of me to suggest otherwise. More than the environmental clean-up though; the Nigerian government and its institutions need a deep clean inside out.
Until next time…..