Do you remember Eric Dooh in our first post The Heir from Nigeria? He had inherited a fish farm, a bakery, a school and acres of farmland from his father. But in the end of last century the whole area was polluted by oil production and thousands and thousands of barrels of oil were spread out in the whole Niger Delta. Eric lost everything. When Shell did a so-called cleaning of Eric’s land, they handed him two boxes of Omo, washing detergent, telling he could spread it over his fish ponds. In this video Eric Dooh tells how has life has been completely changed.
Tag: Nigeria
A Fisherman without Fish
Bestman Nakura does what fishermen do. He goes fishing every day. Except; in the river and the waters where he used to catch massive amounts of fish, nowadays he hardly gets anything. He still keeps trying because he needs to feed his family. Bestman has a wife and two kids. The whole family along with all other families in the Niger delta in Nigeria are victims of a thriving oil industry. Thriving that is for the big money and the corporate world, as well as corrupt authorities. Over the last decades the oil industry has destroyed and polluted the Niger delta with unfathomable amounts of oil spill. The result: Dead waters – and no fish left for fishermen like Bestman. In the video Bestman Nakura tells his own story.
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A Self-made Man
Abdullah Muhamed lost the ability to walk when he was seven. But he didn’t give in. Instead he pursued his own business career and today he is a self-made man on his way up. Abdullah represents a shining story in all its sadness, particularly since so many people like Abdullah is struggling to survive in Nigeria.
For the whole story about Abdullah Muhamed, please look up the blog I run together with my friend and colleague Øystein Mikalsen: Untold Stories.
shell for Shell
Two women try to make a livelihood by catching oil polluted shells in the Niger delta. That is all they can offer their starving children. The two women and all the rest of the people living in this area has lost basically all their natural environment they used to harvest and make a living of due to oil spill caused by Shell – the Dutch oil giant.
For the complete story and more pictures, please look up Untold Stories.
Mandela Mania
Nigerians pay respect to “Madiba” their own way. His name is on everyone’s lips and his face on every newspaper front page and every tv-screen. We have talked to Kenneth Emyenghemoe about the great South African leader while he waits for his car to be washed at Mandela Car Wash.
For the whole story and more picture, look up Untold Stories.
Yesterday’s News?
Some stories never make it to the news – no matter how sad and serious they are. Who cares when big money run over the lives of small people? Or even kill them. Nigeria is a place where the suffering of the people hardly makes the news.
For the full story I have done with my colleague Øystein Mikalsen, look up Untold Stories.
The Heir
My first story from Nigeria, done together with my colleague Øystein Mikalsen, is from Goi in southern part of the country. Goi is one of the villages that have paid the highest price for the country’s oil drilling. In 2004 a massive oil-leakage upstream from Goi forced the villagers to move out. Still today everything is contaminated. People have been deprived of the livelyhood. Crude oil is the blessing of the elite, and the curse of the ordinary man and woman in Nigeria.
For the full story and more pictures, go to our blog Untold Stories.
In Flow with Otto 