The Enemy Within: Oil in the Niger Delta

Civil society needs to be more actively involved in checking the excesses of the government. In Nigeria, only a few non-governmental organizations like Environmental Rights Action are consistently taking on environmental issues and fighting for the survival of the Delta, and this must change. With more pressure by civil society, oil companies might be persuaded to reverse the trend. Already, companies including Shell and Chevron have seen that it is no longer business as usual in a few local communities, where adequate education and mobilization for environmental rights have begun to pay off. The Ogoni remain among the forefront of such groups, but their efforts must be encouraged and expanded if the Niger Delta is to remain a place where families can live healthy and productive lives. Here, Allen, from his perch in the Niger Delta, uncovers how oil extraction is destroying a region and its way of life--an environmental, cautionary tale with implications far beyond the oil fields of Nigeria.