Nigerian farmer: Shell says we'll soon smile in the Niger Delta

Radio Netherlands

18 May 2011

Nigerian farmer: Shell says we'll soon smile in the Niger Delta

It is his very first visit to the Netherlands, home of the company that he says has destroyed his family’s investments: “Our fish ponds, our bakery, our land.” He wants them back.

The green parks, the urban infrastructure, trains that arrive on time: Eric Dooh is impressed at what he’s seen in the Hague, where he’s just attended Royal Dutch Shell plc’s Annual General Meeting . He says he came to inform the company’s shareholders about the ongoing level of devastation caused by oil spills in Goi, his community in the Niger delta.

“Since 2003, we don’t produce fish anymore, there’s not a single fish in the water. The source of drinking water is oil. When we cook, our food smells like kerosene. We grow cassava and yam: if you cook them, you get a taste of crude.” He asked when Shell would use part of its benefits to clean up the water and the land.

Smiling very soon

Shell’s response was consistent. CEO Peter Voser said that sabotage and theft accounts for more than 80% of the volume of oil spilt in 2010, amounting to around 100,000 barrels a day. When asked when if it has a timetable to clean up the spills or end gas flaring, the company responds that it is committed to do so, but that this depends on the Nigerian government’s willingness to invest and on limited access to sites because of violence by militant groups.