17 



ria's minority people, the Ogoni. Their desire for freedom from pol- 

 lution is something we all seek. 



First, some background on Nigeria. It is one of the most populous 

 countries in Africa with a population of approximately 100 million. 

 One in every four Africans is Nigerian and the population there is 

 set to double in the next 25 years, while the country continues to 

 deplete its natural resources. Nigeria is one of the world's largest 

 exporters of oil, producing some two million barrels of oil each day, 

 bringing about ten billion a year to military leaders and accounting 

 for 97 percent of export revenues. Half of that total is pumped by 

 the oil company Shell, making the company, by far, the dominant 

 economic force in Nigeria. Yet Nigeria remains one of the poorest 

 countries, suffering from frequent paralyzing gas shortages. 



In June 1993, General Ibrahim Babangida annulled Nigeria's 

 democratic Presidential election. Five months later. General Sani 

 Abacha seized power, abolished all democratic institutions, shut 

 down newspapers and jailed most of the opposition, including the 

 winner of the 1993 Presidential election, Moshood Abiola. Ms. 

 Kudirat Abiola, her husband's most vocal supporter, was assas- 

 sinated last month; many believe in yet another attempt to silence 

 an outspoken military critic. 



The tragedy that occurred on November 10, 1995, however, 

 stunned the world. In the Nigerian city of Port Harcourt, writer 

 and environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa was hanged by the Nigerian 

 military. The military tribunal found Saro-Wiwa guilty of inciting 

 a riot in which four people were killed, even though he was miles 

 away in another town. Amnesty International's Human Rights 

 Watch, the Sierra Club and many other human rights and environ- 

 mental organizations declared the trial a sham, responding that 

 Saro-Wiwa had been convicted on trumped-up charges. 



Of the 19 prosecution witnesses called, two of the most damaging 

 would later admit to having been bribed by the military govern- 

 ment. Within hours of the execution, the Nigerian military had de- 

 ployed some 4,000 troops throughout Ogoniland, beating anyone 

 caught mourning in public. School headmasters were arrested as a 

 warning not to discuss Saro-Wiwa in the classroom. Pastors were 

 arrested because they prayed for Ken Saro-Wiwa. 



Ken Saro-Wiwa was the president of the movement for the sur- 

 vival of the Ogoni people, or MOSOP, a volunteer-based democratic 

 organization governed not unlike the Sierra Club. MOSOP was or- 

 ganized as a response to the environmental devastation which has 

 occurred in Ogoni as a result of 38 years of oil exploitation. Ogoni 

 demands include an end to the pollution, primarily by the oil spills 

 and gas flares of Royal Dutch Shell. The Ogoni are also demanding 

 a share of the oil revenues from their land. 



Since 1958, Royal Dutch Shell has extracted some $30 billion 

 worth of oil from the lands of the Ogoni people. While royalties of 

 these sales fill the coffers of the Nigerian military, the rich farm- 

 land of Ogoni has been laid waste by oil spills and the venting of 

 toxic gases. Meanwhile, the Ogoni lack running water, electricity, 

 adequate schools or health care. 



In Nigeria, there are few or no requirements to conduct environ- 

 mental impact studies, recycle oil waste or lay subterranean oil 

 pipes instead of cheaper above-ground pipes. Waste oil is hap- 



