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Pipeline Blast in Lagos Kills 100 |
Americans need to pay more attention to Nigeria, for the simple reason that events happening in Africa's most populous country and largest oil producer (unless instability snatches that status away) have global significance.
Yesterday, a blast near Lagos, the largest city in the country, occurred when a bulldozer punctured a pipeline. Here's the context:
The disaster was the latest in a series of pipeline explosions or blazes caused by damage or theft which have killed more than 1,200 people since 2000 in Nigeria, the world's eighth largest oil exporter and Africa's top producer.
[snip]
A network of oil and fuel pipelines criss-crosses parts of Nigeria and explosions and fires that kill many are frequent.
In the creeks of the Niger Delta, the country's main oil producing zone, the pipelines are also the target of sabotage attacks by local militants seeking greater control over oil revenues and more development for their impoverished region.
Previous accidental pipeline blasts in Nigeria have been caused by vandals who drilled holes in the feeder lines, used to distribute mainly imported fuel, in order to steal petrol for sale on the black market.
Despite the country's oil wealth, most Nigerians live on less than $2 per day and many are prepared to take huge risks to obtain free fuel.
Reuters has a timeline of similar disasters.
From what I can see, the US doesn't even have the rudimentary elements of a coherent policy for dealing with these problems. Why should we, some would say. Well, aside from the glaringly obvious strategic and energy interests Nigeria represents, we should consider that our neglect of the world's problem spots has come back to haunt us again and again. A sane administration would have a more nuanced understanding of economic and political issues in Nigeria, beyond platitudes about democracy and freedom.
After all the hoopla about Obama and/or Carter sponsoring negotiations with MEND, maybe we should be thinking more along those lines. Clearly Nigeria's status quo results in death and suffering for many of its people, and disrupted oil supplies for much of the rest of the world. Let's be proactive, whether that means new programs of development that reach more of these disenfranchised populations, sterner rhetoric regarding Nigeria's flawed elections, or direct involvement of US representatives in helping to broker solutions to political conflicts (if we're invited).


