Nigeria's removal of Shell hailed
An oil rig in Nigeria
Protests have led to cuts in oil production in Nigeria

Shell's removal from the controversial oil fields in Nigeria's Ogoniland has been welcomed by the son of executed anti-pollution activist Ken Saro-Wiwa.

Ken Saro-Wiwa Junior, a spokesman for Nigeria's president, told the BBC it was a sign that the government was listening to the Ogoni people.

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'adua said earlier that another company would replace Shell by the end of 2008.

Shell pulled out of Ogoniland in 1993 following community protests.

The campaign against environmental degradation and poverty led to Ken Saro-Wiwa's execution in 1995 after a hasty trial under Nigeria's military rulers.

In protest, the European Union imposed sanctions until 1998 and the Commonwealth suspended Nigeria's membership for three years.

The protests later spread to the rest of the oil-producing Niger Delta, with oil installations attacked, pipelines blown up and oil workers kidnapped.

'Win-win solution'

Mr Saro-Wiwa Junior said Shell's removal from Ogoniland would send a signal to the rest of the volatile region that dialogue was the way forward.

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"The federal government is willing to listen," he said.

He said that environmental concerns were now being addressed through talks, pointing out that his his father had campaigned on a non-violent platform.

But Mr Saro-Wiwa stressed that it was not the end of the struggle.

"Victory will be when we have sustainable development not just in Ogoniland," but in the whole of Nigeria, he said.

He added that a "win-win solution" should now be found for all the parties involved.

No notification

On Wednesday, President Yar'adua said Shell would be replaced by another company by the end of the year.

Shell suspended its operations in Ogoniland in 1993, leaving large quantities of oil and gas still in the ground.

The government in Abuja says that nobody was benefiting from the current stalemate and it will choose a company acceptable to the Ogoni people.

With oil prices this high, the government is clearly tired of the stand-off, the BBC's Alex Last in Nigeria says.

Shell says it has received no formal notification of any government decision concerning its interest in the area.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7437247.stm

Negotiations may continue behind closed doors, our correspondent adds.

Even dem chinese dey treat us like mugun.
[img]http://api.ning.com/files/CEtmN8PMywPQcZsDBfZBEemNqTFOdl5iITbrGJV2xITa4wnqvZjDBrW2lQhFDdpQ*diNvXGi2Q2Ic2xvHoruxg2HYLa2XD2E/ChinaInAfrica.bmp[/img]

na chinese them go give de oil field for ogoni, long live people republic of china.

I'm glad there's some resolution in this impasse, but Yar'Adua is setting a very dangerous precedent

Now every community knows all they have to do is make oil exploration and production very challenging, maintain an impasse and hold oil companies to ransom. You'll probably see this kind of thing happening repeatedly.

Another valid worry is obvious; this will definitely embolden MEND and other millitant groups in their quest to achieve their objectives through violence.

For those clamouring for Shell, Mobil and CHevron to leave, let's not end up with the CHinese. The thousands of ND youths that lost their jobs when Wilbros pulled out should be a sobering thought.

Hmn. I think, I'll just watch as events unfolds.

Let's be careful what we pray for, because we might get it.

Sure Shell, and other western oil companies have a long history of treating us bad, but is there a guarantee that those replacing them(China) would be any better?

@naijaking, did shell forcefully step on the people or did the people allow themselves to be stepped on? Please can we at least take some responsibility? The way i see this news is that its either the Nigerian government has some plan to start taking care of the interest of its citizens or it just removed shell because of all the noise. How would things change if Nigeria keeps on assuming the slave and servant position? Shell is not completely to blame, what about the ex governors who are now wealthy beyond reason considering the state at which they left the people? That is why this whole militancy continues to be nothing but a farce to me. They don't know where these ex leaders who robbed them live? But it is innocent citizens they choose to bother? Shell was allowed to do what they did, the government has the power to remove shell but cannot make them "behave"? Does that make sense? What is done is done but what is being done to make sure things are different next time? We have to start treating ourselves better, we all know the saying "Respect yourself, "

How could you be happy about this? do you know how many people would lose there jobs over this especially those with kids in the US to support. Let's watch as unemployment rises and the only source of revenue dry up.

I think they should replace shell with BP an hope for the best.

Sky Blue:

@naijaking, did shell forcefully step on the people or did the people allow themselves to be stepped on? Please can we at least take some responsibility? The way i see this news is that its either the Nigerian government has some plan to start taking care of the interest of its citizens or it just removed shell because of all the noise. How would things change if Nigeria keeps on assuming the slave and servant position? Shell is not completely to blame, what about the ex governors who are now wealthy beyond reason considering the state at which they left the people? That is why this whole militancy continues to be nothing but a farce to me. They don't know where these ex leaders who robbed them live? But it is innocent citizens they choose to bother? Shell was allowed to do what they did, the government has the power to remove shell but cannot make them "behave"? Does that make sense? What is done is done but what is being done to make sure things are different next time? We have to start treating ourselves better, we all know the saying "Respect yourself, "

and,  did anyone else see this?? Nigerian President Umaru Yar'adua said earlier that another company would replace Shell by the end of 2008. Was Ken Saro Wiwa fighting to have SHELL in particular removed or was he fighting for more for his people in general?? What difference does removing shell and replacing it with another company do ?? Why do some comments in here seem this is about anti-western sentiments and not really about the welfare of these people?? Did Ken Saro Wiwa fight and die for to be free of SHELL

about de chinese stuff i was just joking,i just hope mr umoru knows what he is doin.

and, did anyone else see this?? Nigerian President Umaru Yar'adua said earlier that another company would replace Shell by the end of 2008. Was Ken Saro Wiwa fighting to have SHELL in particular removed or was he fighting for more for his people in general?? What difference does removing shell and replacing it with another company do ?? Why do some comments in here seem this is about anti-western sentiments and not really about the welfare of these people?? Did Ken Saro Wiwa fight and die for to be free of SHELL

A new company will now go in and operate under our terms and not their terms.

MallamMusa:


A new company will now go in and operate under our terms and not their terms.

Well, Shell came in "under our terms" in the beginning. Are we currently enjoying the terms of our constitution as Nigerians?? What is the guarantee we have that this will not turn out the same way for these people Is replacing Shell the solution these people need Was the problem really with Shell or the government??

Well, Shell came in "under our terms" in the beginning. Are we currently enjoying the terms of our constitution as Nigerians?? What is the guarantee we have that this will not turn out the same way for these people Is replacing Shell the solution these people need Was the problem really with Shell or the government??

That was during the military rule. We'll be more careful this time . One foreign engineer per 15 Nigerian engineers and half of the 15 local engineers must come from Niger Delta otherwise no way.

What is the current ratio

what a real shame. Genuine leaders with a spine deal with problems not abdicate their responsibilities like Yaradontknowwhatimdoing.

Sky Blue:

@naijaking, did shell forcefully step on the people or did the people allow themselves to be stepped on? Please can we at least take some responsibility? The way i see this news is that its either the Nigerian government has some plan to start taking care of the interest of its citizens or it just removed shell because of all the noise. How would things change if Nigeria keeps on assuming the slave and servant position? Shell is not completely to blame, what about the ex governors who are now wealthy beyond reason considering the state at which they left the people? That is why this whole militancy continues to be nothing but a farce to me. They don't know where these ex leaders who robbed them live? But it is innocent citizens they choose to bother? Shell was allowed to do what they did, the government has the power to remove shell but cannot make them "behave"? Does that make sense? What is done is done but what is being done to make sure things are different next time? We have to start treating ourselves better, we all know the saying "Respect yourself, "

For the sake of divergence, the problem of oil companies in the Niger Delta is a combination of both govermental failure and ruthless foreign companies' objective of maximizing profit at all cost.

For a start, the Nigerian goverment policy about oil production and oil production areas is evil, and a continuation of the winner-takes-all attitude of the north against the south since after the civil war--- many southerns either don't know it, or simply won't agree.

Secondly, foreign companies like Shell made a habit of bribing the leaders of the people instead of real and open development of the areas. I have personally seen an oil polluted creek in the Cross Rivers, near JamesTown in the 1980s. Instead of spending good money to clean up the area, the company simply bribed a few chiefs who helped them suppress disention from the people whose fishing ponds, farm land and drinking water have been devastated. I cannot imagine Exxon paying and bribing the Alaskan governor or senetor to shut up about the Valdes oil spill, but it seemed ok to do it in Nigeria.

Remember, the new companies, Chinese, Indian, or Russian would be worse, because they would operate from the play books of the predecessors.

What is the current ratio

20 expartriate TECHNICIANS governing one qualified Nigerian engineer. The worst of it all is the lone or two indiginous engineers are not from ND. they are either ibo or yoruba. You now ask yourself how that can be when only two core ibo states are Niger delta, don't tell me delta and rivers but they are not core ibo states so why should states like Bayelsa etc that produce the highest oil wells in nigeria lack indiginous expatriates? Ijaws have been marginalised enough.

Shell leave wetin?? Dem dey kampke. na so dem dey leave oil blocks?? Wait make push come to shove na then we go know whats up.

MallamMusa:


20 expartriate TECHNICIANS governing one qualified Nigerian engineer. The worst of it all is the lone or two indiginous engineers are not from ND. they are either ibo or yoruba. You now ask yourself how that can be when only two core ibo states are Niger delta, don't tell me delta and rivers but they are not core ibo states so why should states like Bayelsa etc that produce the highest oil wells in nigeria lack indiginous expatriates? Ijaws have been marginalised enough.

While I don't agree that the precarious condition of the Nigerdelta is cause by Igbo and Yoruba engineers, hiring only engineers from Ijaw areas will not solve the problem. It's a white wash. If the resources are controlled by the landowner, you will see that he would look for the best engineer no matter where they come from.

texazzpete:

I'm glad there's some resolution in this impasse, but Yar'Adua is setting a very dangerous precedent

Now every community knows all they have to do is make oil exploration and production very challenging, maintain an impasse and hold oil companies to ransom. You'll probably see this kind of thing happening repeatedly.

Another valid worry is obvious; this will definitely embolden MEND and other millitant groups in their quest to achieve their objectives through violence.

For those clamouring for Shell, Mobil and CHevron to leave, let's not end up with the CHinese. The thousands of ND youths that lost their jobs when Wilbros pulled out should be a sobering thought.

I disagree - The Ogonis have been a model of peaceful resistance, they have never embraced arms and kidnapping or the rest, they have simply kicked out the oil company who did not have their best interests at heart and protected themselves from further exploitation.

The Ogonis do not want Shell, so why should the company be foisted on them? 15 years later still no resolution? I think more than enough time has passed. I do not think it sets a precedent though, except a positive one - if Shell can be kicked out, then no one is exempt or out of reach - clean up your act or get kicked out.

Willbros pulled out because of instability, I don't see how the Chinese coming in adds to that, they will likely employ the same people with the on-the-ground knowledge to carry on. If we can get a better deal from the Chinese with infrastructure projects thrown in, by all means we should go into those deals. The oil from Nigeria is too valuable for much of a vacuum to occur, other producers will move in swiftly to fill their spots if they leave.

However, proper documentation of the move should be done, the disengagement of Shell can be modeled after the release of the marginal fields back to the government. Let this be a lesson to the oil companies - you CANNOT continue to pollute the land and alienate the people while you go on like there is no problem. Community interests are important and should be properly incorporated into any project.

The Chinese have no problems building schools and repairing infrastructure to get your ouil - that is what we need and they will do it to get the oil, I do not think they will be worse than the Shells of this world

While I don't agree that the precarious condition of the Nigerdelta is cause by Igbo and Yoruba engineers, hiring only engineers from Ijaw areas will not solve the problem. It's a white wash. If the resources are controlled by the landowner, you will see that he would look for the best engineer no matter where they come from.

We are tired of hiring the 'best' engineers. Ijaws should be left alone to manage what is rightfully theirs. We have so many trained Ijaw engineers that are still applicants even after 5 yrs of graduation when their ibo and yoruba classmates whose tribes control communication,IT and the banking industry take over the only thing that is due to them. I think it's better we use indiginous companies to take care of our oil.

MallamMusa:


We are tired of hiring the 'best' engineers. Ijaws should be left alone to manage what is rightfully theirs. We have so many trained Ijaw engineers that are still applicants even after 5 years of graduation when their ibo and yoruba classmates whose tribes control communication,IT and the banking industry take over the only thing that is due to them. I think it's better we use indiginous companies to take care of our oil.

Listen to yourself man. . . , . total failure awaits the day this idea will be allowed in the gadamned country.

Listen to yourself man. . . , . total failure awaits the day this idea will be allowed in the gadamned country.

massa mentality at work. You want shell and co to enslave us but will rather die than allow indiginous companies do the same. Indiginous companies will not flood Nigeria with foreign workers. i also know the chinese will bring a ship load of their countrymen to work in nigerDelta but we are waiting for them.

@mallammusa

We are tired of hiring the 'best' engineers. Ijaws should be left alone to manage what is rightfully theirs.  We have so many trained Ijaw engineers that are still applicants even after 5 years of graduation when their ibo and yoruba classmates whose tribes control communication,IT and the banking industry take over the only thing that is due to them. I think it's better we use indiginous companies to take care of our oil.

@mallammusa
Its official, you are probably the most ignorant person in the world. You cannot compare education in Western Nigeria to anywhere in the country. The reason is because of Awolowo's universal primary education (UPE) scheme after independence, they gave money to the igbos and the hausas to implement it but they both embezzled it, you can see it everywhere, here in yanki or even in jand, most Nigerian students are yorubas, of all the flagship or at least most recognizable universities in Nigeria three are in the western region UNILAG, OAU, and UI. The southern region has, ehm let's see DELSU and that is one of the reasons why you have more yorubas in the oil industry, IT,  banking, and telecommunications, remember, he who has the best educational system always comes out on top.

Now back to what you said, there is tribalism in the oil sector, every ethnic group does it, its just that there is more yorubas in the industry so other ethnic groups don't have the chance to do it to them. Also, concerning managing your resources, i really don't want to comment on that because it would be like trying to explain the Black-Scholes formulae to someone in kindargaten. All i have to say is that if you have the money, try to come to yanki and get a degree in Petroleum in some good and affordable university like Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University, or University of Oklahoma and you would see how horrible your statement is. I would just live it at that.

MallamMusa:


massa mentality at work. You want shell and co to enslave us but will rather die than allow indiginous companies do the same. Indiginous companies will not flood Nigeria with foreign workers. i also know the chinese will bring a ship load of their countrymen to work in nigerDelta but we are waiting for them.

You sure have refused to listen to yourself.

As much as i support the patronization of indigenous goods and services, i don't see how this will help in the oil sector.
It will be a total chaos as most of the expatriate technicians are far better than 98% of the so-called Nigerian engineers. Don't even talk about the administration which will win awards for bribery of community leaders and the government overbearing influences.

I suggest they step in gradually and well equipped physically and mentally. Right now, they are not fit for that task.

davidif:

@mallammusa
@mallammusa
Its official, you are probably the most ignorant person in the world. You cannot compare education in Western Nigeria to anywhere in the country. The reason is because of Awolowo's universal primary education (UPE) scheme after independence, they gave money to the igbos and the hausas to implement it but they both embezzled it, you can see it everywhere, here in yanki or even in jand, most Nigerian students are yorubas, of all the flagship or at least most recognizable universities in Nigeria three are in the western region UNILAG, OAU, and UI. The southern region has, ehm let's see DELSU

Now back to what you said, there is tribalism in the oil sector, every ethnic group does it, its just that there is more yorubas in the industry so other ethnic groups don't have the chance to do it to them.

What are talking about? Are you ok?

@mallammusa
Its official, you are probably the most ignorant person in the world. You cannot compare education in Western Nigeria to anywhere in the country. The reason is because of Awolowo's universal primary education (UPE) scheme after independence, they gave money to the igbos and the hausas to implement it but they both embezzled it, you can see it everywhere, here in yanki or even in jand, most Nigerian students are yorubas, of all the flagship or at least most recognizable universities in Nigeria three are in the western region UNILAG, OAU, and UI. The southern region has, ehm let's see DELSU

Now back to what you said, there is tribalism in the oil sector, every ethnic group does it, its just that there is more yorubas in the industry so other ethnic groups don't have the chance to do it to them. 

who is this village goat? Awolowo gave who money or did he usurp the ibo peoples money and gave them 20 pounds each? You wonder why ibos hate him so much? The man was worse that Hitler and its only the yorubas that sing praises for him because he gave them money stolen from the ibos.  Even the hausas that were the major ibo rivals never did a thing like that to them. Do you think your yoruba would have been able to rise again like the ibos  if Namdi azikiwe did the same  thing to them?Who gave hausas money? when? You need to stay in school please and stick to your history teacher.

You sure have refused to listen to yourself.

As much as i support the patronization of indigenous goods and services, i don't see how this will help in the oil sector.
It will be a total chaos as most of the expatriate technicians are far better than 98% of the so-called Nigerian engineers. Don't even talk about the administration which will win awards for bribery of community leaders and the government overbearing influences.

I suggest they step in gradually and well equipped physically and mentally. Right now, they are not fit for that task.

I dont expect you to agree with me as long as your ibo people or yoruba people are not at loss here. My folks are really feeling this shit and it's time for change. If we have competent indiginous companies, why can't we use them?

@mallammusa
Who said Awolowo gave money to the Ibo's? The british govt did it but they gave it to all three regions, only Awo spent ours well so be quiet and simply acknowledge that you're ignorant on the matter.

@mallammusa
Who said Awolowo gave money to the Ibo's? The british govt did it but they gave it to all three regions, only Awo spent ours well so be quiet and simply acknowledge that you're ignorant on the matter.

which British after Biafran war? ask your father, awolowo froze every ibo mans account and gave them 20 pounds each. Your father cannot deny it, i may not be ibo but that was evil and it's better you accept it's evil so we can move on. Germans accepted what they did to jews was bad, white Americans accepted that slavery was evil, yorubas should at least accept that obafemi awolowo was worse that Hitler and Mussolini combined. Ask any ibo person, hausa person or niger deltan about Awolowo?. mugun.

MallamMusa:

I don't expect you to agree with me as long as your ibo people or yoruba people are not at loss here. My folks are really feeling this shit and it's time for change. If we have competent indiginous companies, why can't we use them?

Of course i partly feel your pains as some of my relatives and friends are Niger-Deltans.
My point is that amateurs should not be allowed to go near the oil sector in the absence of competent indigenous companies. It will simply be disastrous. One will wake one day and find out that half the eastern region has burnt down.

Leave that davidif of a guy. I'm still trying to figure out the point he's trying to make.