Earlier this year, I was assigned to research a major MNC (Multi-National Corporation). I chose to research Royal Dutch Shell because of its vast oil empire throughout the world and connection to even our own town. But as I dug deeper into that “empire”, I found some starling controversies. There are many allegations, mostly from Amnesty International, that the giant oil company had neglected its pipelines in Nigeria, causing leakage in the Niger River Delta and wreaking havoc on the environment. In the 1990’s, Amnesty International brought their evidence to a Dutch court, but only 1 out of 5 cases found Shell guilty. Now, there is breaking news about more controversy in the Niger Delta. This time, it is directly tied to the population of Nigeria. In the 1990’s, many Nigerian citizens began protesting their government and Shell for polluting the environment and their farms. Shell, who Amnesty International has revealed to have been in collusion with the Nigerian government, requested military aid to stop protests threatening their oil operations. The government acted swiftly and mercilessly, killing at least 80 people with guns and grenades, and burning 600 homes. In the following years, Shell continuously requested military aid, which came in the form of death, rape, torture, and destruction. Amnesty, which made the claim that the leaders of Shell knew full well what was going on, is currently compiling a case to file against Shell, which of course has denied interaction and collusion with the Nigerian government. If these allegations are false, I think it is terrible, as by accusing innocent people of murder, rape, and torture is to destroy their lives. But if they happen to be true, then they would come as no surprise. Understanding Shell’s prior negligence and exploitation of the region, having the local military suppress protesters to protect their interests seems entirely realistic. The heartless killing and destruction of property would be a necessary evil in order to protect the more important oil reserves in the country. And while Amnesty is now revealing connections, it looked as though Shell didn’t have direct involvement at the time; rather it appeared to be a local military crushing an internal movement. I think Shell should be punished if they are found guilty and am hoping that reparations can be made to help the poor people of the Niger River Delta, whose lives are forever damaged by the evil use of force prompted by Shell.
