Chronicle from Niger
I travelled to Nigeria, and based myself out of the Niger Delta for six months to document issues surrounding oil exploitation in the region.Chronicle from the Niger Delta aims to provide an in-depth account of what is happening in Nigeria’s volatile oil-extracting region. Plagued by corruption, environmental disasters and ethnic conflict, more recently it has witnessed waves of kidnappings and attacks on oil installations carried out by armed rebel groups and gangs of robbers.
All this against a background of widespread illiteracy, the absence of a middle class and. for the majority of people, incomes of less than a dollar per day.
On 29th May 2007 Nigeria witnessed the official end of Olusegum Obasanjo’s eight-year presidency and the inauguration of Alhaji UM Yar’Adua as its new leader, with Deltan Goodluck Jonathan as his Vice. This was watched with doubtful eyes by international community observers and journalists who had declared the recent democratic electoral process a farce. Yar’Adua’s speech went on to list the seven-point agenda from his election campaign: rebuilding physical infrastructure and human capital, accelerating economic reforms, strengthening the capacity of law enforcement agencies and especially police, reducing inflation. maintaining a stable exchange rate. rebuilding basic infrastructure. overcoming the energy challenge. He also pledged that his administration would give urgent attention to the crisis in the Niger Delta.
Although Nigeria is one of the moe.t populous countries in Africa. a major oil producer and rich in resources, its mismanagement, the succession of wars and leaders, inter-ethnic conflict, the corruption and greed of its governors have slowed down the process of development. After more than one year on from Nigeria Presidential election few steps have been taken toward establishing systems of healthcare and education, developing energy distribution, telecommunications, roads and basic infrastructure, or tackling poverty and unemployment. Once again the Niger Delta, the sensitive region that produces 80% of the Nigeria’s revenue. is the nation’s Achilles’ Heel.
If the situation with militias and rebels worsens, the nation will be brought to its knees. And this against a backdrop where the majority of the people are already struggling to survive.
