See this presentation on CNN. When we think of the Niger-Delta region and the movements we should remember that the region is one of the most environmentally degraded areas in the world, that this degradation happened in the recent past, and that it is still ongoing. We should not lose sight of that when we condemn the movements. Don’t get me wrong, this is not to show my support for the kidnapping of oil workers and their families, it is to provoke you to think about how life might be living under the conditions. Empathy has a serious role to play in understanding, and so proffering solutions to, the situation in Niger-Delta region.
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Oil is not responsible for the chaos photographed by Ed Kashi. It is caused by the people in power using oil to keep them in power while allowing them to look after personal and tribal self-interests rather than the general interests of their own country and countrymen. Look to Norway for an example of an oil exporting country that “got it right”. The USA was an exporter of oil during WWII. Energy and materials from the USA were key in a victorious end to that conflict. If it wasn’t oil, it would be coal or uranium or some low-technology form of energy that would be “the problem”. The root cause is people – too many people. Control population growth and resources (energy, clean water, clean air) have a chance to be sustainable rather than exhausted.
Oil is not responsible for the chaos photographed by Ed Kashi. It is caused by the people in power using oil to keep them in power while allowing them to look after personal and tribal self-interests rather than the general interests of their own country and countrymen. Look to Norway for an example of an oil exporting country that “got it right”. The USA was an exporter of oil during WWII. Energy and materials from the USA were key in a victorious end to that conflict. If it wasn’t oil, it would be coal or uranium or some low-technology form of energy that would be “the problem”. The root cause is people – too many people. Control population growth and resources (energy, clean water, clean air) have a chance to be sustainable rather than exhausted.
Dear J. Zagar,
Thanks for your comment. You got it right when you pointed out that a few people use oil money for personal wealth accumulation. There are a lot of theoretical works on the reasons for the success of a country like Norway but I will not go into that here.
I think you might have been quite a bit simplistic when you attributed the root cause to lack of population control. Could you please elaborate on that if you have the time? I might not have fully understood you.
Loomnie.
Dear J. Zagar,
Thanks for your comment. You got it right when you pointed out that a few people use oil money for personal wealth accumulation. There are a lot of theoretical works on the reasons for the success of a country like Norway but I will not go into that here.
I think you might have been quite a bit simplistic when you attributed the root cause to lack of population control. Could you please elaborate on that if you have the time? I might not have fully understood you.
Loomnie.