Rebels in the Pipeline

I like how the rebel leader dons an Arsenal hat.

After this watching this video I understand that the Nigerian people are being abused. Also the oil companies are just going into Nigeria to make a profit. And in the process of this they are causing more harm to people than good. This is an ongoing issue that can only be stopped if other countries help. Many foreign workers are being kidnapped. Shell was the first to set up refineries in nigeria. Even though there are a group of rebels fighting against the government that is not enough. My question is what will happen if the oil is depleted? Will the situation improve or just get worse?

The Nigerian people should get a share of the wealth. The government and corporations would not have anything if not for Nigerian lands rich in oil, so the people deserve some compensation for having riches taken out of their homeland. The government and oil companies can provide jobs for them related to oil. For example, if they were involved in oil cleanup the environment and the Nigerians will both benefit from it.

Although Nigeria is the largest supplier of oil and minerals in the world, it will not last. All the money made does not help the country reduce its corruption, as well as killing rest of the Nigerians, and putting them suffering in environmental and health problems. Nigerians use violence against otheres as a way to stand up for themselves in order to protect their basic human rights. It causes a vicious cycle between the government,the citizen,and the oil producers. Corruption in this country is very difficult to overcome.

Although the kidnappings themselves are wrong, I agree that it's the corporation's fault for pushing them to resort to such methods. If only they had acted ethically beforehand, none of this violence would be happening. Serves the companies right for treating the people so badly.

Yes I have heard of the kidnappers contacting the hostages after they have been released. They will let you use their cell phone to call home and keep the number. I or the rest of the hostages that were with me were not contacted by any of them.
Let them come for me! They will be on my turf! I will show them how it feels to be held hostage! There will be no release for them, only revenge for what they have done to me!!!!!!!!!

The country itself has made billions of dollars on oil however, the citizens of Nigeria has not been benefited from its country's natural resources, resulting the people to stand up for themselves in a negative way. The government of Nigeria is very corrupted. The leaders of the country does not care at all about the citizens of its own country. The more poverty the country experiences, the more violence will be present in its community. The police of Nigeria on their job is put in a very dangerous position.The media has done its job in exploiting the issue. It is now up to the government to manage these 'kidnappers' because there is not much that others can do to help.

"Pipeliner" is correct. The kidnappings are downplayed because of the involvement of Nigerian "Godfathers", and politicians in arranging the kidnappings and ransom and release. The big secret is the "ransom account" funded by big oil and the Nigerian Federal gov't. This slush fund served as source of money to criminals and politicians, while U.S., U.K., and other European, mostly blue collar workers, suffered at the hands of brutes. A blind eye was turned to the victims and most of them were admonished and/or threatened to remain silent about their ordeal. I have even heard of the kidnappers threatening the victims families in their home countries if any publication of their ordeal was released. To this day, not one kidnapper has faced justice. As a matter of fact they were all offered amnesty by the Nigerian Federal Gov't. with a monthly stipend supplied to buy their silence. It goes to show the willingness of big oil and the U.S. gov't./other gov'ts. to allow the abuse of their citizens to keep the oil flowing.

A new government won't work. They are all currupt animals!
What is worse is that there was a big deal about the pirates in Somiala. No body hears about all of the kidnappings in Nigeria!

Corruption never helped anyone.
Hopefully a new Nigerian government will find a resolution and not follow the same path as the previous government before.
Maybe they can have an outside country review their government's decisions.
Shell is a major influence in this situation, and maybe if they would just speak up to the govenrment, something can be worked out.
The civilians can boycott Shell.
Maybe MEND and the government can work together to create stability in the country?

MoonLoon

Thank you for the comment!
It didn't have anything to do with Wilbros. A wing off of MEND is the ones that captured us.
They wanted ransom, but if anyone would ask them they would say it wasn't for money it was for the cause.
This group stayed hopped up from daylight till they passed out. There was no dissaplen in the camp. There was times that a village leader had to come to the camp to calm them down. Some were civil and the others were animals!
It sounds like you have been over there too?
I will never go back to the continent of hell again! AND! People wonder why they act like they do in the states. It comes from the Mother Land!!! Bread into them !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello "Pipeliner", I am sorry to hear of your kidnapping. Was it related to James Ibori's attempt to force Wilbros to sell it's asset's to his company, Ascot? Most of the comments posted here are naive beyond belief. Corruption rules this country. Local content dictates hiring policy and gives the powerful a license to steal. Nigerians, as a rule, have no concern for the environment or long term planning , unless they can make a buck out of it. Nigerian businessmen do not suffer the burden of honesty or integrity. Kidnapping of ex-pats is not a political statement. It is a form of revenue generation, shared by the powerful in Nigeria. My condolences for your suffering while in capitivity. I completely understand the threat of malaria, daily beatings, bad food, bad water and insults and threats, by a bunch of drug laden morons, one step removed from cannibalism, if that. The powerful brutalise the weak. It is the African way.

It is about time something has been said about this situation to let the people in the U S know what is going on in the Niger Delta !
The Government does get way over half of the revenues of the oil. The government is very corrupt !
As far as the oil companies they can't get in to fix oil leaks without being shot at or taken hostage ! The pirates and militants have taken over and bust in to the pipelines steal oil and sell it on the black market. That is how they have gotten all of the weapons and boats. I am not taking up for the oil companies. They have done their damage too ! But they do employ Nigerian workers.
I was working over there when this story was filmed. The vessel I was working on offshore at the time was shot up and we were boarded by militants. As foreign expat workers myself and others were taken hostage and held for over three weeks deep in the jungle. So I know first hand how things are over there!
Nigeria is probably one of the most corrupt countries in the world ! Some of the people over there are just down right animals !!!

Sexy post (Down)

This video has revealed much about the current situation in Nigeria. It is horrible the way that these people are living and suffering through life. Typical of the rest of the world to not really care as long as they are living a fine life themselves. Only a handful even care and of that a few who are trying to do something about this situation. However, what can you really do? To help this country, you will need money in abundance, which frankly, not many people have. Those that have the money will probably be hiding it for fear of having to use it. Shell and other gas companies are using these countries for their oil reserves, relentlessly and disregarding all civilization as long as they get money in their pocket. I think it is a despicable thing to do and the economy of Nigeria is decreasing rapidly, while the civilians are killing, stealing, and committing other felonies just to survive in their home villages. The situation here is going to worsen continuously and no one is helping, disregarding the fact that sooner or later, Nigeria will be destroyed, and in turn, our oil reserves. Oil is not an unlimited resource, and it will eventually run out. Then we have a few devastated countries because of our chase for oil and no more oil. Exploiting Nigeria in this manner will not help anyone in the long run. Sure we have some oil to use for a while, but what happens when it runs out? Nigerians are killing and kidnapping back and forth and although their country is the one producing the oil, they see no returns to their economy and communities. Throughout the video, you see projects that are in the construction stage although it has been years since it was started. The citizens are creating their own land, expanding over the water with GARBAGE. Garbage. They have bags of garbage piled onto each other to expand their territory and their washroom is literally a hole in the floor. The living conditions are harsh and unrelenting, and most of the nation is poverty stricken. More attention should be given to these countries for if not, karma will see that Nigeria's suffering is paid in full.

When I was watching this for the first time, I was devastated about the events that are happening right now, while I sit at home, completely unaware of it. As I was reading the comments that other made, I found out that I was not the only one. It is sad to see the people in Nigeria having to live like that with no way out. I tried to think if there was any other time I might have heard about these events, but they do not get talked as much as something drastic, like Haiti. While it is for a great surprise to see how many people are helping out with that event, I cannot help but wonder whether the only thing that can get people to do something is a huge accident like an earthquake or a flood. We speak about ourselves as we have better society and resources to live in, so why don’t we do more to help out the ones that need our help instead of exploiting them?

It is heart wrenching to see the people of Nigeria living on top of waste, while the power of their country prospers at their expense. It is no shock that the Nigerian people want to rebel. They're angry; they're angry that their lands are dripping with oil and they can't touch it, they're angry that their food supply is tainted; water is muddied all at the expense of oil. I completely agree with msimpson, their government, or even the companies that manufacture this oil should give something back to the people. When someone takes and takes they will want something in return, and when they don't, they take matters in their own hands. To stop the corruption and promote human life they most definitely have to get rid of their government. They are gouging the country of its resources and have no care for human life. The American companies that have ties with Nigeria should take it upon themselves to promote humanity and stop exploiting their workers. In my opinion humanity is far more important than profit gained by the oil they slave over.

It is no uncommon that locals in Africa suffer when ever something of value is found within their land. Most of the time the locals do not even see a dime of the revenue produced by their natural recources. In this case, the locals are again suffering which stimulates these kidnappings. The only way to stop this will be to get rid of any corruption in the government and use the money that to imrpove the local infrastructure.

Blog: Mr. Kemp - International Business

Here we see how corruption by the government can destroy the unity of the country.We can see the active role in which a large sum of money is controlled by corruption, leaving citizens angry, which in turn leads to chaos and violence. Even foreigners have come to get oil, this leads devastating affects for the environment such as polluted water which in turn affects the citizens who use the water to cook/bathe and drink. I believe the people taking the oil should be responsible to help the citizens. It's immoral to take something from people and not give anything back in return. The least they can do is help the area financially ( also not giving money to the government, because obviously that leads to nowhere). They can give the people jobs to help stimulate the economy and in turn will lead to better living conditions and hope for the future generations. Instead the people from Nigeria are suffering from the greed of the giant oil companies who only care about their own needs and will do anything to get a profit. I think both the Americans and the Nigerian government are at fault for the suffering of the people in Nigeria, due to their greed over oil and money.

The Nigerian citizens are unhappy because the country produced over 400 billion dollars of oil, but the citizens never saw any improvement in the country. This is why there are Nigerian citizens rebelling against the government. The Nigerian government is obviously corrupted and needs to be ran by someone or a party that is not greedy and actually will look after the country and its people. Improvement needs to be made in the Nigerian government!

Once again, we see a tragedy spawned by government corruption and unethical corporational behaviour. Seeing this video really leads me to questioning how is it that some people can deem the value of money so much more important than the value of human lives. As many big oil-companies, such as Shell, are making profit in the huge demand for oil in the market right now, the living standard in Nigeria (and probably many other African countries) is declining drastically as unemployment rate and crime rate go up. Is it really worth it making money, on the expense of environmental degradation and human living conditions? It is both ridiculous and ironic to see that in a society, where having oil reserves supposably means wealth and high standard of living, Nigeria, despite being a large oil-producing country, has its citizens suffer in chaos and poverty everyday.
Before we start pointing fingers as to who is the blame for the current state of Nigeria (whether it is the Nigerian government or the American oil corporations), I think the media should raise more awareness on the issue. Prior to this, I was completely unaware of the happenings on the other side of the globe, living in my own comfort zone of oil fueled cars and oil heated home. After watching this, I realized something must be done, since I believe it is very difficult to help Nigeria with the the interventions from the atrocious Nigerian government, any help that could be done should be done locally. It would be a good idea to boycott Shell, and start attaining oil from other oil providers, such as Esso or Petro-Canada, which hopefully get their oil from more ethical means!

The drilling of oil in Africa makes pollutes the environment and harms the people who live there. As humans, we shouldn't just take what we need such as oil and leave the mess around, we need to clean it up or not cause any harm at all. The scenes shown were disgusting and this is due to human ignorance and carelessness. The lives of locals are affected because we want something from them that fuels are cars and homes. This isn't fair and something must be done.

@Linden, your post makes no sense, sorrio! Nigeria is a country of 150 million Africans, of various tribal groups, with 250 different languages, or dialects. Nigeria is ruled by very educated men or women, most whom have lived and studied in London, and graduated at top levels, from the best schools that the U.K. can offer. The NNPC (Nigerian Oil Company) owns all of the oil in Nigeria! THey grant concessions to non-indigenous, or local, oil firms based on the contracted investment into Nigeria. It is foolish to assume that Nigerians are incapable of managing the substantial assets of their own country. Educated Nigerians are World Class in negotiating skills and business judgement, in my opinion!

As we see years of oil exploitation has left Nigeria in a wreck. Years of corruption and poverty has left an island that should be able to attack many tourist fighting for globalization survival. Nigeria need to sell there own oil and not allow company like shell exploit them

Are all those big oil companies foreign? Like Shell? This country relies on the support of the revenue made in the oil industry but the corrupted government takes advantage of its own people and embezzles those money. Since the government relies on its oil industry, which is indirectly relying on those large oil companies, do those oil companies have the ability to change the chaos in the country since they are so powerful? A company's decision can greatly alter the country's destiny. Maybe the media can expose the pollution that is going on in the region to the public and using the forces of peopl from other countries to compel those companies to change.

The governments in Africa are always corrupt either they need to do something about it or some other country will step in and protect the rights of the African people.
Environmental activists need to step in too because not only are oil spills a hazard to the surrounding but it is also hazardous to the endangered wild life in Africa. As many people already know Africa is the leading country with a vast diversity of animals and we need to try and preserve them to the best of our ability.
On an end note I don't think war is the answer to our solutions, the rebels should try harder towards peaceful negotiations.

Wow, i got a lot of response from you guys and i am very happy. But i have to say this, we can blog all we want and bitch (soryy to use the hard word) all we want and it will not do anything. Action produces reaction. I am a Nigerian, and its sad seeing corruption destroying and wiping us out of existence, the leaders dont give a damn! in nigeria, it is "me and my family alone" forget the next man. When i look at america history, i am proud and at the same time jealous when people like Harvey milk (who broke the gay right barrier), MLK jr, who changed the course of history (who without doing what he did i am not going to be responding to you), Ghandi, Mary slessor and so on.. People who died for their neighbors. Please look up Saro wiwa who started doing something but got killed. We should not stop the great works of him NIGERIANS! he started we ought and have to finished it. All men are created equal for those of you who are nigerians, we can do this, we can help the generation that are coming up, Schools should not be on strike while people have billions of dollars in their pocket. the children ar the freaking future for crying out loud and how can they lead when schools are on strike? We hae to stand together, the whole world was created the same time so why are se still hungry in Africa? America have thesame land as Africa does, so why are we still waiting for aide? are we not smart enough to actually do agriculture?i m not even talking about going to space or moon yet, i m talking about agriculture. Please Please , i am begging, "A LIFE THAT IS WORTH LIVING IS A LIFE THAT IS LIVED FOR OTHERS"....einstein.

I think the conditions these people live inhas rewinded time into a prmitively naturistic state of life and living to they ways of tribal communities and culturebecause of the damage the oil companies have produced to their living and the added corruption eliminating a chance for solution or resolving,

A problems to be dealt with in Nigeria thanks to corruption. Not just the suppressed peopleof Nigeria but also the environmental problems.

this is just sad, yet typical- power exercised in the most corrupt way

This video is eye-opening and just goes to show that oil doesn't mean economic prosperity in all countries. If Alberta experiences economic advantages and a high level of living due to the oil production,so should other places around the world. It is unfair that the environmental conditions and living conditions are horrible and just unacceptable. Something must be done.

Someone needs to do something about Nigeria's corrupt government!

i think shell should take some sort of responsibility for whats going on in Nigeria. Its not fair that they just came in, took oil and left with no fair warning - leaving the country in this type of condition.

Yet another example of Western capitalists taking advantage of the poor in order to further themselves.

It's sad how the government has all this money and is doing nothing with it..the infrastruture of the place still looks horrible and it makes you wonder where all the money made from the oil is going..

Well, James Ibori has gotten a London court order to limit media coverage of the claims against him of money laundering this week. Check out Sahara Reporters. Additionally he has paid off, "This Day" newspaper by buying an illegally acquired piece of land in Lekki Peninsula, as a bribe to the publisher. Additional monies have been allocated to purchase favorable reports from various Nigerian reporters while the London reporters hands are tied due to the court order. Zion City has a much bigger problem than the Oil Companies. Corruption on a massive scale has now bismirched the banking and business industry of Nigeria, as a result of Ibori and his cronies getting unsecured loans from banking buddies and practically driving the nation into bankruptcy. "Zion", chooses to blame foreign companies for the domestic ill's of a corrupt nation. How convenient! We are not talking about chump change here. This is $100's of millions and he can buy off almost anyone.

ok, i just say this and i started crying. As a Nigerian, it hurts to see my country go down in smokes why i am here i the US. I dont even know waht to write! i cant express what is in my heart out in writing, but i believe change is coming and it will start with us, the Nigerians. "you give a man a fish you only fed him for a day and then he will sell his brother to get the second fish", so please , big oil companies, STOP! i am on my knees begging you guys. LET US LEARN FOR OURSELVES! LET US BE ABLE TO CONVERT OUR CRUDE OIL FOR OUR OWN USE, PLEASE STOP GIV GIVING THE FUCKING LEASDERS A BLANCK CHECK KNOWING DAMN WELL THEY ARE NOT GOING TO USE IT FOR ANYTHING. NIGERIANS STOP ! LETS THINK FOR OURSELVES, WHY CAN T WE BE SHELL OR EXON, LETS FOUCS ON OUR OWN EDUCATION AND BREED A NEW ERA OF EDUCATED SOCIETY. STOP BUYING HUMMER AND BUILDING BIG HOUSES, LIFE IS MORE THAN THAT, OUR CHILDREN ARE PAYING THE FUCKING PRICE!!! JUST STOPPPPPP!!!! HOW CAN SCHOOLS BE ON STRIKE WHEN A GOVERNOR HAS A PRIVATE JET???/ FOR WHAT? I WILL DO MY PART BUT I WILL NEED HELP

Mariana has the makings of a good leader. It's nice to know people like her still care about the truth.

The people there "village militant groups" have the right notion to demand basic utilities of their gov't however they blame third party companies for the corruption of their own gov't.

Instead they should put the sole weight of their cause on the people they "elected" to be incharge. Where their countries money comes from is not what is being disputed here so I don't feel that they used a proper angle. I mean if their sole export was anything else there would still be corruption. It's not oil. They were ignorant to everything that was going on til the gov't came in and seized THEIR land.

Ignorance is costly people.

We shouldn't let the same thing occur here in the US so pay close attention to your politician and always I mean ALWAYS be aware of what's going on in your own back yard.

This is superb reporting . I am floored by such courage . Inspiring . This , is what I wanted to know about as soon as I heard about the pipeline bombings on the BBC some time ago . Greed has ruined so much . Few are immune to manipulation . This is so important to keep in mind . Every bit of the truth we can get , is valuable , and must be considered with care .

Congratulations for supporting the criminals that are destroying the local people's environment for the powerful governor's benefit! Is this women naive enought to think that she was not a pawn for the wealthy politicians??? Try presenting a true piece of journalism, instead of the tripe, supported by the Nigerian elite!

why did she refer to the tang-top as a wife beater? LOL 21:55

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/07/27/nigeria.violence.deaths/index.html

looks as if the war has begun...

Amazing and the west is alright with this allowing their companies to destroy and pollute these people's lands. Unfucking real how ignorant White Business People are.

Great piece Maria! thanks for highlighting a relentless problem in "Naija". Quick note though, your translator is not doing an accurate job. Also for those who inquired, when a Nigerian tugs at their ear while talking he/she is trying to emphasize the importance of what they are saying by compelling his/her audience to listen closely.

WOW! hahahaha . . .This is an amazing piece!

I love current and their journalists.

Very Good!
As always the Vanguard crew has done another amazing job!
I have told everyone I know about this show, and I am a very big fan.
I live in Alberta, Canada in a very large oil producing area, and I can't imagine not getting anything from the oil companies, so I can understand where these "rebels" are coming from. No Other Option

Does anyone no why the guy kept tugging on his ear while talking? When I first saw it I was like why does this guy keep pulling on his ear.

This is one of the best segments I have seen Current produce. Good job. I would hope that more work like this would be done with people of color reporting as well.

This is really f*cked up. The oil companies and the government just want the whole country to fail. Period.

Ms. van Zeller has done an excellent job of portraying the problems in the Niger Delta. It was once an entirely unique area, much like the rain forests; but from the beginning, the pollution from oil spills destroyed the Nigerians way of life.

It is no wonder that the people have been driven to violence after 50 years of empty promises.

I was asked a year ago to provide a solution to cleaning up land and water there; we have the capability, but there is no money to be had to take care of this. Black market sales of oil stolen by punching holes in pipelines lying on the ground is making the problem worse, as the holes continue to ozze crude.

Crude oil is actually a great form of fertilizer, but in the amounts that have been spilled, it will take years to clean up the land and water sufficiently to even take advantage of that.

I hope that the results of Ms. van Zeller's report will help spur Royal Dutch Shell, the Nigerian government and the people of the world to action to restore this once beautiful part of our world.

This is what got me hooked to Current. My TV stays on channel 107. Thanks and nice job on the documentary.

Thanks so much for making this series. I hope that you continue to follow what happens in Nigeria and bring it to the world's attention.

You are so brave and courageous for going into such an unstable area. This is a fascinating, heart-breaking story and you are an inspiration to us all for covering it.

it sucks, but its nothing compared to abacha who stole over 5 billion dollars. things are getting better especially from coming from the military dictatorship. rome was not build in a day, so we expect corruption to face out, as the old guys die off.

Wow.

Quite the thought-provoking piece. Really intense stuff.

Great work. I'm interested to see the rest of the series.

amazing story...... once again oil is the cause of many of the worlds ills

The corruption statistic at 5:50 is staggering. It sort of makes your chest hurt.