Nigeria aka Naija has a place called the Niger Delta. And they have a group there called the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). Nice name, especially considering what they are trying to do. And no it’s not a political party. This group, it is believed, started life as unorganised youth who were armed by corrupt politicians and some members of the Nigerian security forces to help in rigging elections and stealing state resources such as oil. Now the tide has turned. The young men, after realising that beating up their parents and siblings for the coins thrown at them by the politicians was not in their best interest came together to fight for themselves and their people against these same greedy politicians and their unwholesome alliance with foreign companies which had been brought in to help loot the Delta.
MEND represents a lot youth in present day Africa who are disappointed by corrupt, lying and thieving politicians and raped by irresponsible foreign investors who are in cahoots with our uncaring leadership. All these foreign firms care about is the bottom line and for the politicians, it’s the 10% kickback they get in their bank accounts at the end of the month or at the signing of every contract.
For me, what is happening in Niger Delta should tell those investing in Africa that you cannot go on getting fat deals with our corrupt leaders and not expect a backlash. A time would come when we’ll be asking questions. And you better have the right answers.
Africa has a lot of natural resources yet we are the poorest continent plagued by hunger, disease, wars and several forms of terrorism- it’s fashionable to call some rebels and the others as governments.
The Delta is one of the richest regions of Nigeria and its people should be walking on streets paved with gold. But those streets are among the most polluted you can find anywhere and the noxious gases thrown in the air on a daily basis has rendered the place a no-flying-zone for birds, like the kind the United States gave Saddam Hussein’s airforce before his neck was broken. And the government has turned a blind eye to what the oil companies were doing to the environment and the people they are supposed to represent. Their own kinsmen. These people should be stinking rich, instead they are stinking poor. The kind of pollution happening in the Delta would never be accepted by Western governments if it happened on their own soil. Yet here are Western companies, this time in Africa, polluting the land and making this land of greenery and beauty look like scenes from a horror movie.
So the youth of the place, having been disappointed by leadership, took matters into their own hands. They blew up a few oil pipelines, mounted raids on a few oil rigs and captured a couple of oyibo aka white men for ransom. Even though their methods have been rough, it’s gotten their government sitting up and talking. Or they’ve had enough phone calls from the big shots in these oil companies complaining about how difficult life is becoming for them.
Over here in Ghana or any African country, the story is not different. Indeed when Angola discovered oil, a lot of people thought that their problems were coming to an end. Instead only a few people at the top have gotten fatter and the people at the bottom have gotten thinner. Little did they know that such natural resources are yet to change the lives of those of us living on this continent.
When you look at the trading receipts of some African countries in terms of exports of the main commodities you are amazed at how the money seems to vanish once it hits the treasury.
So, back home, we just discovered oil. And I have a lot of doubts that this oil money would make any considerable difference to life here. Currently, you can find us in the top ten of most of the commodities traded on the international market- gold, cocoa, timber… just name it. We are blessed with tonnes of bauxite, clay, diamonds, and so forth but these things have not had much impact on life here. The oil is just making the politicians smile the more. Maybe its time we all joined the politicians. Or formed our own MENDS.
So its that simple- mix corporate irresponsibility and greedy politicians, its groups like MEND that you get.
Tags: Africa, greed, MEND, niger delta, nigeria, oil, resources
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