In Tuesday’s episode of Watching the Hawks on RT TV, journalist Caleb Maupin discussed the recent attacks on oil installations in Nigeria and what it means for the poverty-stricken nation.
To give some background about Big Oil exploitation of Nigeria, the hosts begin talking about the wealth of the nation. They point out that the country has a vast number of resources but an estimated 70 percent of the people are still living in poverty. Maupin says that Big Oil companies extract the rich oil supply from the Niger delta region. This is the wealthiest region in terms of raw resources, but it has the poorest inhabitants.
The people living in this region are afraid of Shell’s private security force that protects refineries, as well as corrupt cops and politicians.
The journalist states that the region is constantly dealing with environmental hazards such as oil spills and oil fires. The pollution caused by these environmental disasters limit the life expectancy of Black people and keep them in poverty.
However, native Nigerians are fighting back. They are mounting attacks and blowing up oil pipelines. Maupin says that 23 pipelines are offline because of the attacks.
