The Niger Delta: The Curse Of The Black Gold

Militants from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) patrol the creeks of Bonny river near the LNG plant in the oil rich Niger delta region of Southern Nigeria

From The Independent:

Nigeria is one of the world's biggest oil producers. But the scramble for riches has brought ruin to the region and its people. Report by Steve Bloomfield

This should be paradise. A land of plenty. The finest schools and hospitals, gleaming infrastructure that shames the West, a place where wealth literally oozes out of the marshy undergrowth.

This was the dream, anyhow. To say it has turned into a nightmare doesn't do justice to the horror that the Niger Delta has become; it doesn't even begin to describe just how disastrous the discovery of oil more than 50 years ago has been for the people who live here.

A sweaty, heaving melting pot of 30 million people from 40-odd ethnic groups speaking more than 200 different languages, the Niger Delta lies on the southern banks of Nigeria, Africa's most populous country.

Read more ....

My Comment: 30 million people broken into 40 odd ethnic groups, speaking 200 different dialects and languages .... and they all are hostile to each other. Talk about ethnic tension.

Oil is not the cause for their misery .... it is the people in the Delta region who cannot get their act together that is the cause of their misery. If it was not for their oil and deposits and pressure from international forces to keep the peace .... this part of Nigeria would have fallen into the typical African "fail state" status a long time ago.

Unfortunately for Nigeria, their culture is too corrupt and their political class is even worse.

Brown Blunders In Pledge to Secure Nigeria Oil

Militant groups in the Niger Delta have targeted multinational oil firms

From The Independent:

PM's offer of military aid to Nigeria provokes collapse of ceasefire amid angry claims that UK has 'declared war' on rebel army

Gordon Brown is being accused of preparing for a military adventure in Africa after he pledged to provide backing to the Nigerian security forces. His announcement prompted the collapse of a ceasefire in the oil-rich Niger Delta and helped to drive up crude oil prices on world markets.

The Prime Minister's offer to help "tackle lawlessness" in the world's eighth largest oil producer was immediately condemned by the main militant group in the Delta, which abandoned a two-week-old ceasefire and accused Britain of backing what it calls Nigeria's "illegal government". The group issued a "stern warning" to Mr Brown in an emailed statement: "Should Gordon Brown make good his threat to support this criminality for the sake of oil, UK citizens and interests in Nigeria will suffer the consequences."

Read more ....

More News On Nigeria

Nigerian group 'to end ceasefire' -- BBC News
Brown promises to aid Nigerian government -- UPI
Britain to train army in Nigeria to combat delta rebels -- Independent
Britain considers options on Niger Delta -- The Punch
British government confirms talks with Nigeria on oil supplies -- Monsters And Critics
Vandalism rampant Niger delta region of Nigeria -- China View
Nigeria navy arrests Filipinos on ship of stolen oil -- Reuters South Africa

My Comment: Expect the price of oil to shoot over $150 this week. If Nigeria's oil output is compromised, this will be disastrous for everyone. For the rebels in Nigeria, their altitude is that they have nothing to lose .... and they are right

Nigeria's First Oil Well Is Still A Source Of Woe

Surveyor Robert Nadioni gestures near Oil Well No.ƒ|1, which two villages are feuding over.
The most they can hope for is ¡§community outreach¡¨ money from Royal Dutch Shell.

From The L.A. Times:

Two villages feud over who owns the land, hoping that soaring prices will lead to a little money from petroleum companies.

OIL WELL NO. 1, NIGERIA -- Three decades after pumping its last drop, the first oil well in Nigeria is marked by a decrepit signboard bearing what would seem an uncontroversial statement:

Oloibiri Well No. 1, drilled June 1956, 12,008 feet.

But this well, its wellhead furred with rust, is at the center of an increasingly vitriolic feud between two villages over who owns the land it's on. The conflict is fed by hope that soaring prices will tempt big business to squeeze more oil from the well and give a pittance to the village that owns the land.

Read More ....

More News On Nigeria

Nigeria president seeks global help to end oil theft -- Reuters South Africa
Brown to hold Nigerian oil summit -- The Guardian
Leaders in Nigeria’s Restive Niger Delta Reject Government-Proposed Summit -- Voice Of America
The Great Nigeria Oil Robbery -- American Spectator

My Comment: This L.A. article provides one more reason why we in the West must develop our own resources and alternative energy products. To be reliant for our energy from unstable countries like Nigeria will only hurt us in the end.