The Avant
The Avant Garde
Garde
  • Latest news
  • World
  • Africa
  • Americas
  • Asia Pacific
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Weather
No Result
View All Result
  • Latest news
  • World
  • Africa
  • Americas
  • Asia Pacific
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Weather
No Result
View All Result
The Avant Garde
No Result
View All Result
Home Africa

The Fisherwomen, Chevron and the Leaking Pipe

The Avant Garde by The Avant Garde
July 25, 2021
in Africa
0
The Fisherwomen, Chevron and the Leaking Pipe

GBARAMATU, Nigeria — When the tide rose under the rickety wooden house-on-stilts of Onitsha Joseph, a fisherwoman who lives above the twisting rivers of the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria, it brought a slick of crude oil.

Before long, she saw dead fish floating on oil inches thick, and fishing — her livelihood — became impossible. The fumes were so strong at one point that Ms. Joseph fainted. She was rushed to the hospital on a speedboat.

Related Posts

The Troubles of Kenya’s China-Funded Train

In the Kenyan Election, a Fierce Battle to Lead an African Powerhouse

Al-Zawahri’s Death Puts the Focus Back on Al Qaeda

At first, she had no idea where it was coming from. Then, out with some other fisherwomen one day in February, she said they spotted something bubbling up to the river’s surface. Ms. Joseph steered her oil-blackened canoe closer.

Far below her snaked a pipe. The American oil giant Chevron laid that pipe 46 years before, according to many neighbors of Ms. Joseph who were there at the time, and now, they said, it was leaking.

So began a battle between Chevron and hundreds of fisherwomen in the Niger Delta. Chevron denies that oil was spilling from its pipes. But the women insisted that this was just another instance of oil companies refusing to take responsibility, and decided to take the fight to the oil company’s doors.

“You want to kill us with your oil,” Ms. Joseph said, growing emotional. “We’ll come to you so you can kill us yourselves. In person.”

Oil companies like Chevron, Shell and Eni have made billions in profits in the vast Niger Delta region in the last decades. But now some are pulling out — and they are leaving utter ruin in their wake, according to government monitors and environmental and human rights organizations. The delicate ecosystem of the Niger Delta, once teeming with plant and animal life, is today one of the most polluted places on the planet.

It is the women, who do most of the fishing in the creeks and marshes in this part of the Niger Delta, who are trying to call the oil companies to account.

When they found the ominous bubbling, the fisherwomen alerted local leaders, who informed Chevron’s Nigerian subsidiary. At first, Chevron ignored them, the local leaders said, and oil continued to flow through the line.

Soon, black oil stained the roots of the mangroves — saltwater-loving trees that act as nurseries for fish and shellfish.

The fisherwomen decided it was time to occupy Chevron.

Hundreds of women from 18 communities, including Ms. Joseph, arrived at three Chevron facilities on March 26. There were new mothers with babies on their backs, and great-grandmothers in their 80s. In this riverine world, some zoomed in on speedboats. Others paddled to fortresslike flow stations on hand-carved canoes.

They climbed up Chevron’s ladders.

They scaled Chevron’s wire fences, dropping down on the other side.

They shook palm fronds and banged plastic bottles, singing protest songs.

Then they settled in to wait.

They vowed to occupy the facilities until Chevron did a proper investigation into the spill’s cause.

Years of living with oil pollution made them resolute. Nigerian government agencies have counted tens of thousands of oil spills from many sources in the Niger Delta in the past 15 years — though data on spills varies widely. Tens of millions of barrels were spilled since production started in the 1950s, a 2011 study said — quadruple the volume spilled in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster.

For years, the women had felt cheated by Chevron, the dominant oil company in their immediate area. Their villages were poor. Houses of zinc and wood barely kept out the elements. Bathrooms were flimsy shacks over the river.

By contrast, the Chevron facilities they were occupying were like small cities. They even produced electricity, though they didn’t share it.

“From here to Chevron, it’s less than two miles. If they weren’t wicked, they’d have brought electricity here,” said Akasaere Mila, an 82-year-old community elder in Kokodiagbene, a village near the spill site. “Chevron’s a very rich company, but they’re very wicked to us.”

Once, Mrs. Mila visited Chevron’s office in Warri, a city several hours away by boat. It is a low, unremarkable office block — but to Mrs. Mila, it seemed the height of luxury.

“It’s a very fantastic building, with air conditioning, light 24 hours a day,” she said. “Water comes out of the faucet. You don’t have to go out to buy food, they have it right there. And they’re getting the money for that from this place.”

A Protest With Results

This wasn’t the first time a mass-scale all-women protest had shut down company infrastructure and caused a commotion.

In 2017, over 100 miles southeast of Gbaramatu, across a vast tangle of mangroves and rivers, the women of Belema protested against Shell. After years of underdevelopment and unemployment, they wanted Shell to hand over its oil field to a local businessman, Tein Jack-Rich.

They occupied Shell facilities for nearly two years. It worked. Mr. Jack-Rich’s company, Belemaoil, took over operations and maintenance from Shell.

The women there did not get rich. But before Covid-19, Mr. Jack-Rich employed over 1,000 local people, awarded scholarships and built roads and wells, said Anabs Sara-Igbe, a prominent chief, asserting that the investment in the community “far exceeds what we have seen from Shell and Chevron throughout all the years they’ve operated.”

Those years may be drawing to a close.

The world is moving on from fossil fuels. After decades of extraction, major oil companies are gradually leaving the Niger Delta altogether or going offshore — but, environmentalists said, often without decommissioning their aging infrastructure, which is done to restore the environment and prevent pollutants from leaching.

“They are moving out and leaving all the mess behind,” said Celestine AkpoBari, a prominent environmentalist. “They are happy to sell the liability to whoever wants to buy, and run away.”

The fisherwomen didn’t want Chevron out. They could barely imagine life without Chevron. The company extracts oil in partnership with Nigeria’s federal government, which is heavily dependent on oil revenue. The government and the oil companies were seen as almost synonymous — sometimes benevolent, sometimes malevolent — doling out crumbs of the national cake, or not. But not something that could be gotten rid of.

The women just wanted the company to stop the pipe from leaking, to investigate — which could lead to compensation — and some sacks of cassava or rice to tide them over until they could fish again.

At night at Chevron’s flow stations, the fisherwomen slept on hard metal walkways, plagued by mosquitoes. Occasionally, they paddled home to change clothes. Their lives were on pause.

Their impact was plain, though. Chevron says it shut off the flow of oil to its pipes in the area. The leak stopped, the women said.

After about 10 days, local male leaders asked them to leave. They said officials at Chevron had promised an investigation as soon as the women got out.

Their hopes raised, they got back on their boats, and left.

Ms. Joseph went back to her house-on-stilts, where the camp’s toddlers played in crude-slicked mud. She tried to clean her sticky nets.

Mostly, she sat on her deck, waiting for Chevron staff to arrive for the promised investigation.

But nobody came.

Fumes seeped up through her floor. Helicopters buzzed over her head. She presumed they were Chevron’s. Every night, two local men were posted to stand guard on her decks, watching over the suspected site of the spill, in the distance. They were there because community members feared that Chevron would secretly repair the pipe, or worse, commission militants to blow it up so they could claim vandals or oil thieves had caused the spill. Environmental advocates say that oil companies are often accused of this in the region.

An Elusive Investigation

Ms. Joseph had no idea why the investigation was taking so long. But she heard of alarming things happening. First, all the members of a particular ethnic group, the Itsekiris, were thrown out of several villages down the creek.

Then, reports came that an Itsekiri village had been attacked, and a man killed. Villagers said the attackers were men from Ms. Joseph’s ethnic group, the Ijaws.

There had long been conflict between the Itsekiris and the Ijaws, some of it caused by British colonialists’ divide-and-rule tactics. But now they seemed to be heading for all-out war — and the catalyst was the elusive “joint investigation visit” into the spill — a process that is often problematic, with oil firms having undue influence on the outcome, but is the first step toward determining compensation.

Joint investigations are supposed to be conducted by the company, state regulators and community representatives. The question was, which communities?

The Itsekiris wanted to be part of the investigation. The Ijaws thought the Itsekiris were trying to use the investigation to lay claim to their lands. They refused to let the Itsekiris take part.

At the biggest annual festival in Gbaramatu, women danced and genuflected before the king. On the sidelines, an Ijaw youth leader, Godswill Doubra, said of the Itsekiris, “If we want to kill, we can kill dozens.”

Two days later, in his quiet city home, Gabriel Yomere, an Itsekiri leader, threatened the Ijaws: “We are not going to rest on our oar and allow them to be slaughtering our people.”

The conflict was impeding the joint investigation and with it, the prospect of compensation. Both sides said that ultimately, others stood to gain from the dispute.

“Who benefits if the Ijaws and Itsekiris are in crisis and killing each other?” asked Godspower Benekama, the spokesman for Gbaramatu. “It’s Chevron.”

“When we have destroyed ourselves, they will come in and eat,” he said.

Both Chevron and Chevron Nigeria Limited, the firm’s local subsidiary, refused an interview. But a spokesman for Chevron said in a statement that no joint investigation visit had been done because of these community “disagreements.” Aerial surveillance it carried out showed that no spill had come from its facilities, it added. “So far, there has not been any indication that the oil sheen emanated from C.N.L.’s assets,” the statement read.

Women from the protest drifted back to their nets in mid-April. Their catches were pitiful.

“Before, I’d have fish up to here,” said Idukedoumeme Koko, her long net pulled halfway out of the water. She wrung it out. “Look at that black oil.”

“This is not enough to feed us,” said Deborah Emiko, looking at the day’s catch in her basket, worth about 50 cents.

They began to talk about returning to protest.

Ms. Joseph looked at the oil in the creases of her hands. She looked at the bags she once filled with crayfish to send to her children. They’d been empty for months. Compensation seemed a distant prospect. Some women bought frozen fish shipped in from Russia and the U.S. to eat, but she couldn’t afford that. Oil or no oil, she would have to go fishing.

“I’m hungry,” she said. “I want to try.”

Picking up her paddle, woolen hat slightly askew, she loaded stained nets into her canoe and headed out into the river.

Ben Ezeamalu and Enaibo Asiaye contributed reporting.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest News

Entertainment

Kevin Smith Says “It’s An Incredibly Bad Look To Cancel The Latina Batgirl Movie” After Warner Bros. Discovery Axed DC Film

August 10, 2022
Entertainment

Kevin Smith Says “It’s An Incredibly Bad Look To Cancel The Latina Batgirl Movie” After Warner Bros. Discovery Axed DC Film

August 10, 2022
Entertainment

Kevin Smith Says “It’s An Incredibly Bad Look To Cancel The Latina Batgirl Movie” After Warner Bros. Discovery Axed DC Film

August 10, 2022
Entertainment

Kevin Smith Says “It’s An Incredibly Bad Look To Cancel The Latina Batgirl Movie” After Warner Bros. Discovery Axed DC Film

August 10, 2022
Entertainment

Kevin Smith Says “It’s An Incredibly Bad Look To Cancel The Latina Batgirl Movie” After Warner Bros. Discovery Axed DC Film

August 10, 2022

World

London’s Trellick Tower and a Development Debate

London’s Trellick Tower and a Development Debate

by The Avant Garde
August 9, 2022
0

<p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0"...

Israel and Militants in Gaza Agree to Cease-Fire

Israel and Militants in Gaza Agree to Cease-Fire

by The Avant Garde
August 8, 2022
0

The truce appeared to end a three-day conflict in Gaza that barely altered the status quo in Israel and the...

The Troubles of Kenya’s China-Funded Train

The Troubles of Kenya’s China-Funded Train

by The Avant Garde
August 8, 2022
0

Five years after its launch, the railway has become associated with debt, dysfunction and criminal inquiries, and it is now...

Ukraine and Russia Trade Blame After Rockets Hit Near Nuclear Site

Ukraine and Russia Trade Blame After Rockets Hit Near Nuclear Site

by The Avant Garde
August 8, 2022
0

A strike landed near spent-fuel storage at the Zaporizhzhia power plant, which Russian forces have held since March. Moscow blamed...

Archie Battersbee, Gravely Ill 12-Year-Old, Dies After Removal of Life Support

Archie Battersbee, Gravely Ill 12-Year-Old, Dies After Removal of Life Support

by The Avant Garde
August 7, 2022
0

<p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0"...

The Avant Garde

Get the latest stories, including breaking news on a regional and national level

Archives

  • Copyright
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact us

No Result
View All Result
  • Latest news
  • World
  • Africa
  • Americas
  • Asia Pacific
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Weather

© 2022 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT