When Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua on Wednesday August 12, she will discuss what JINN thinks are some of the most important and interconnected issues facing the country today: electoral integrity, corruption and the Niger Delta. We hope she sends a strong message that reform in all three areas is necessary for Nigeria to continue functioning as a State and to continue as a key U.S. ally.

Nigeria is known for its fraudulent elections and politicians who employ armed thugs to ensure votes are cast in their favor. The Nigerian government faces a crisis of credibility that has the potential to become volatile, if members of minority communities and residents of the politically disenfranchised economic engine of the Delta continue to feel that they do not have any real power or say in their own governance. In fact, the armed insurgency that gained world attention by disrupting oil operations in the Delta has its roots in the gangs armed by political candidates. Electoral integrity and the ability for all citizens of Nigeria’s democracy to participate meaningfully should be high on Secretary Clinton’s agenda.

Legendary for its high levels of corruption, Nigeria must institute real reform. For those living in the Niger Delta, corruption means that the majority live in poverty while the approximately $700 billion in oil revenues earned over the last fifty years was split between the Nigerian government and the oil companies, with which the government partners. Although the Nigerian government claims to send a small percentage of its oil revenues to the communities where it is extracted, and although oil companies claim to provide local community benefits, the majority of those living in the Delta’s oil producing communities live on less than $1 per day and have seen their living standards decline over the years. Secretary Clinton must insist that the Nigerian government institute measures to ensure greater transparency and accountability, which are critical to ensuring that the country’s revenues benefit the many and don’t just line the pockets of a few. Ultimately, U.S. businesses will also find it easier to operate in a less corrupt environment.

The Niger Delta and its oil resources fuel the Nigerian treasury, which depends upon oil for 80% of government revenue. The oil of the Delta is important to both countries. In 2006 more then 40% of Nigeria’s oil was exported to the U.S. and it represented 15% of the U.S. supply. However, a political militancy has reduced Nigerian output for the last few years. Output has been even more dramatically reduced since May of this year when militants began blowing up oil installations in reprisal for an ongoing series of attacks by the Nigerian military claiming to be rooting out militants, but destroyed local villages and displaced, killed and injured innocent civilians who still cannot return home. The political militancy of the last five years arose after 45 years of peaceful protest by villagers yielded no major improvements for local communities whose quality of life was decimated. When Secretary Clinton meets with President Yar’Adua it is imperative to U.S. economic and energy security, to the stability of Nigeria and to the lives of those who live in the Delta that she urge President Umaru Yar’Adua to:

• Withdraw the Nigerian military forces from the Niger Delta and institute an official ceasefire;
• Initiate third party monitored diplomatic talks that include all stakeholders;
• Allow free and unfettered access to all parts of the Delta by journalists, humanitarian aid groups and human rights organizations;
• Make real investments in the development of the Niger Delta and rebuild villages destroyed by the recent military attacks.

Electoral integrity, transparency and accountability and addressing the root cause of the troubles in the Niger Delta are interconnected issues that we applaud the Obama administration for publicly stating are on its agenda. JINN hopes that in her discussions regarding the Niger Delta that Secretary Clinton recognizes the imperative of seeking long term solutions that will meet the real needs of villagers in oil producing communities while once again increasing production output and oil revenues.

Niger Delta Standoff

by Kia Mistilis

Reprinted from Foreign Policy in Focus: Editor: John Feffer and Jen Doak

Behind fighter-planes and gunboats, Nigerian forces launched a full-scale offensive in the Niger Delta on May 13, displacing 30,000 people and sparking a humanitarian crisis. Thousands of civilians fleeing destroyed villages are now trapped between armed resistance groups and the Nigerian military. These civilians are hiding in the bush without food, water, or medical supplies, let alone Internet access to alert the world of their plight, as Iranians are doing via Twitter.

Suanu Bere speaking at a Shell rally in San Francisco. Credit: Jan Stürmann

Against the backdrop of a world energy crisis, the media are reporting the region’s growing instability, mostly in terms of its effect on global oil supply and prices. For the 12 million people living in the Niger Delta, however, the struggle is about their survival.

Read the rest of this entry »

Nigeria: Petroleum, Pollution and Poverty in the Niger Delta

On Tuesday June 30,  Amnesty International released a major report detailing the the pollution and environmental damage caused by the oil companies while the Nigerian government continues to favor the oil companies and not the people of the Niger Delta. 

“Oil companies have been exploiting Nigeria’s weak regulatory system for too long,” said Audrey Gaughran of Amnesty International. “They do not adequately prevent environmental damage and they frequently fail to properly address the devastating impact that their bad practice has on people’s lives.”

This 143-page report covers explains how decades of neglect, human rights abuses and environmental damage has contributed to the current crisis in the Niger Delta.

Read the  Summary and Full Report

Proxies representing Nigeria, Ecuador, the Philippines, Burma, Iraq, Richmond and Kazakhstan return from speaking to Chevron's Shareholders - AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

JINN is a member of the diverse coalition of organizations and individuals  who wrote and released The True Cost of Chevron: An Alternative Annual Report on May 26  in time for Chevron’s shareholder meeting on May 27.  Several members of the coalition presented the report to shareholders, the board of directors and Chevron’s CEO David O’ Reilly inside the shareholder meeting.  O’ Reilly responded by saying the report belonged in the trash can and that he was personally insulted by the statements made by the proxies who represented Chevron affected communities around the world.  Read the Full Press Release from the Coalition

Our ally from the Niger Delta, human rights activist, Tunde Okorodudu was able to speak inside the shareholder meeting. He said:  “David O’ Reilly showed nothing but disrespect to all those who traveled from around the world to address the shareholder meeting, Chevron has done nothing but enable the culture of violence that now permeates my region.”

A subvertisement ad campaign, designed by Underground Ads accompanied the release of the report.

"Chevron refuses to clean up its mess in Nigeria." Ads designed by Underground Ads

Below is the announcement for the report and website with full information. Read the report and spread the word!  TrueCostofChevron.com

The True Cost of Chevron An Alternative Annual Report May 2009
Amazon Watch · CorpWatch · Crude Accountability · Environmental Rights Action EarthRights International · Filipino-American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity · Global Exchange Justice in Nigeria Now · Mpalabanda · Rainforest Action Network · Richmond Progressive Alliance Trustees for Alaska · US Labor Against the War · West County Toxics Coalition
Think you know Chevron? Think again.Chevron’s 2008 annual report is a glossy celebration of the company’s most profitable year in its history. What Chevron’s annual report does not tell its shareholders is the true cost paid for those financial returns, or the global movement gaining voice and strength against Chevron’s abuses. Thus, we, the communities and our allies who bear the consequences of Chevron’s oil and natural gas production, refineries, depots, pipelines, exploration, offshore drilling rigs, coal fields, chemical plants, political control, consumer abuse, false promises, and much more, have prepared an Alternative Annual Report for Chevron. The True Cost of Chevron: An Alternative Annual Report is a one-stop-shop for activists, policy makers, journalists, investors, analysts, and communities in struggle.It is the most comprehensive exposé of Chevron’s operations – and the communities in struggle against them – ever compiled. It includes reports from Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, the Gulf Coast, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Utah, Washington, D.C, and Wyoming; internationally across Angola, Burma, Canada, Chad, Cameroon, Ecuador, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, and the Philippines. Antonia Juhasz is the lead author and editor of the report, which includes the writings of sixteen additional authors from across the U.S. and around the world and the contributions of dozens of organizations. The 44-page report is available to download at TrueCostofChevron.com – a visually stunning website using our ChevWrong “Inhumane Energy” ads that reveal the hypocrisy of Chevron’s human energy ad campaign. The report and the ads can be downloaded for free from the website, which also provides links to the organizations involved in the True Cost of Chevron campaign and more. Photo LEFT: Fire burning at Chevron Pascagoula, MS refinery, photograph by Christy Pritchett ran August 17, 2007. Courtesy of the Press-Register 2007 © All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Nigerians and their Allies demand Respect for Human Rights, Increased Investment in Local Community Development

Tunde Okorodudu speaking outside the Chevron Shareholder meeting

May 27,2009 – San Ramon, CA, Chevron’s annual shareholder meeting today became a referendum on the company’s global operating practices, with hundreds rallying outside the meeting against the oil giant’s environmental and human rights record, and representatives of Chevron affected communities inside the meeting speaking directly to the company’s senior executives, board of directors and key shareholders. Present were representatives or allies from communities in Nigeria, Burma, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Iraq, Canada, the Philippines and Richmond, California.

Inside the meeting Tunde Okorodudu, a pro-democracy activist and former Senatorial candidate for Delta South, in the Niger Delta of Nigeria pronounced powerfully, “what is bad for my people is also bad for business. Communities where Chevron extracts oil have made it known to the company for many years that they were suffering as a result of Chevron’s operations. When villagers ask for jobs, environmental remediation for pollution the company caused, electricity, investment in education and healthcare and environmental audits and mitigations, Chevron responded with minimal investments in community projects that have not dented the community needs.”

“Chevron has known for years that an insurgency was building among frustrated residents of the Niger Delta as a result of the lack of development and environmental harms caused by oil development,” said Okorodudu.  “And now, the company’s practices in the Niger Delta have contributed to harm their bottom line, with the attack yesterday of a major oil pipeline in Abiteyeye, which the Wall Street Journal reports reduced Chevron’s output by 100,000 barrels per day.” The company’s 10k report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in February 2009 states that its Nigeria oil production for 2008 was 154,000 barrels per day. This means that the current instability has reduced the company’s production by almost two thirds.

Laura Livoti, founder of Justice in Nigeria Now said “Chevron has a responsibility to its shareholders. In order to ensure security and stability for its operations the company must step up and promote development and adequate living standards in the communities from which they are making their profits.”

In addition, Okorodudu addressed the current humanitarian crisis in the Delta stemming from the Nigerian military’s attacks in Delta and Rivers State which have uprooted and displaced villagers, with reports of civilian deaths and starvation as a result. Okorodudu declared “the company must end its relationship with the notoriously brutal Nigerian military. As a 40% partner with the Nigerian government it must bear some responsibility for the destructive actions by the military and its brutal and notorious Joint Task Force (JTF)”.

Outside the meeting protestors carried colorful placards parodying Chevron’s Human Energy advertisements with beautiful photos of a Nigerian villager that read “I will give my baby contaminated water: Chevron refuses to clean up its mess in Nigeria” and  another  with a photo of a Nigerian boy reading ”I will continue fishing even though the fish are gone: Chevron pollutes fresh water in Nigeria.”

The coalition of groups and Chevron affected communities yesterday released an alternative annual report and a series of parody ads that address the company’s worldwide issues. The entire report and advertisement series can be found at www.TrueCostofChevron.com

May 21 – We Resist! Benefit Party

A Night of Art and Musical Resistance to Support the True Cost of Chevron Campaign 111 Minna Gallery  (111 Minna St.  San Francisco) – Map 9pm – 2am

May 27 Chevron’s Shareholder Meeting

I Will Protest the Chevron Shareholder Meeting.  Will You Join Us?

Rally at their Headquarters in San Ramon, CA on the morning of Wednesday May 27 7am to 10:30pm