The Success of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta

Having spent my entire life living in Canada, I have had little direct experience with the continent of Africa (besides various friendships, and my use of products whose manufacture involved it’s exploitation). Like many people living in bubbles of privilege, most of what I learned about African nations is fantastic – not in the sense of something being good, but in that it is extreme. Whether images of grossly-undernourished children, communities ravaged by AIDS, civil wars, or misinterpretations from the movie Lion King or National Geographic magazines, Africa, as diverse as it is, has always been presented to me as so distant as if to be in another world. It is this distance that I blame for many people’s inability to perceive African revolutionary movements as having anything to do with us.

Many people know something about the exploitive nature of the oil industry in Nigeria, if only about the execution of activist Ken Saro-Wiwa. Decades of corrupted governments, exploitative oil companies, paramilitary squads, and the neglect of the international community has left Nigeria, and particularly the oil-rich region known as the Niger Delta, in miserable condition. In the world’s eight largest producer of oil, almost 90% of the oil wealth goes to the central government. The pollution is intense, most people’s living conditions are in squalor, and yet resistance is stronger than most places in the world. After long being either ignored or persecuted by government (sound familiar?), militant responses are on the rise, with extraordinary success.

Despite frequent international news headlines throughout 2006, very few people in North America have taken notice of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), despite being, arguably, the most active revolutionary organization in the world. While there are many groups in Nigeria agitating against the government and the oil companies, the most feared and effective of all these groups is MEND.

MEND’s driving objective is “the liberation of the Niger Delta from the clutches of the oil companies and the Nigerian government.” They have become highly sophisticated and organized, having acquired an arsenal of weapons and speedboats, while communicating their actions and demands to international media outlets via email. Coming on the scene in December of 2005, MEND’s first action was the destruction of an oil pipeline in the Delta. Since then, MEND’s actions have included sabotaging oil pipelines, bombing oil tanker trucks, exploding bombs in company compounds and in front of government offices, destroying gunboats, killing dozens of soldiers and military officials, and kidnapping foreign oil workers in exchange for money and releases of prisoners. MEND’s message is simple: "There can be no peace, security and stability and business-as-usual for the Nigerian state and the oil companies unless there is justice, fairness and balanced development in the Niger Delta."

Due to the actions of MEND, the government has announced that Nigeria lost more than $4 billion in revenue last year as a result of incessant attacks. Shell’s director in Nigeria, Basil Omiyi, said that the country witnessed a production loss of $1 billion US a month throughout 2006. The government reported that on average, production of 872,000 barrels of oil a day has been shut down. There have even been numerous times when a force majeure (which indemnifies a company from lawsuits for not meeting contractual obligations as a result of an event, such as sabotage to a pipeline, that is beyond its control) has had to be called.

At least 37 Nigerian soldiers and dozens of Nigerian oil workers were killed by MEND and other militants last year, while more than 60 foreigners, mostly oil workers, were kidnapped. All of the hostages, with the exception of four who have been held since early December, and one who has killed by Nigerian soldiers who tried to rescue him, have been released in good health following the meeting of their demands. Hostages are fed rice, spaghetti, pasta, and even chocolate, and often develop friendly relationships with their captors.

As one would expect, thousands of soldiers and special police units have been deployed to curb the growing militancy, but remain unable to control the myriad waterways in the Niger Delta, and always end up being out-maneuvered and out-gunned by local militias. Further adding to their success is that the group enjoys considerable local support, and authorities have great difficulty pinpointing exactly who is a member.

“one of the most potent and active revolutionary movements on earth…”

MEND has expressed that they have no interest in working with any level of government. On December 7, 2006, MEND stated,

“Our continued successes against the Nigerian military gives us cause to upgrade our list of demands which is now as follows;

· The release of Alamieseigha, Asari and all prisoners of Niger Delta origin held by the Nigerian government on account of our fight for justice in the Delta.
· Payment of compensation by Shell and other companies to all communities affected at one time or the other by spillages resulting from their substandard work practices in the Delta.
· Complete forfeiture by the Nigerian government of its interests in the oil industry to communities in the Delta.
· Payment of reparation to the entire Niger Delta for 50 years of robbery and enslavement by the oil companies and the Nigerian government.”

In short, they are not content with reform – they want nothing less than revolution.

Felix Tuodolor, founding president of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), an organization that protects the rights of the ethnic majority Ijaw people in the Niger Delta, has said that while he regrets the hostage taking, crimes and killings in the region,

"Let me say that the government of the day has contributed a lot to the different ways being employed by Ijaw youths to pursue justice. As Ijaw youths, we listed our demands and said we were willing to dialogue and negotiate with the government. We wrote so many letters calling for this. We even confronted Mr. President in Rivers State on June 12, 1999. We told him we want to dialogue on the way forward. But he refused and walked out on us at that meeting. Our livelihood is being threatened and destroyed on a daily basis by the oil companies. What do you say we should do?"

Adding to that, one of MEND’s spokespeople, Jomo Gbomo, said, “We have the capacity to be as ruthless and as callous as attacks witnessed in Iraq. How can you explain a situation where we account for all Nigeria’s wealth and we live without electricity in shacks made of cardboard and straw? How can you explain my people drinking from salty creeks in which they bath and defecate?”

In a separate press release from early January 2007, Cynthia White, a spokesperson for another local militia organization called the Joint Revolutionary Council, said,

"Let us herein inform the good people of the world that in the past year, the attitude and actions of those who lord over the Nigerian state today has resulted in creation and continued build up of one of the most potent and active revolutionary movements on earth. The lack of jobs and opportunities and resultant high poverty level, combined with socio-economic decay and environmental degradation, have joined forces with the wickedness and insincerity of the government of the Nigerian state to facilitate an unprecedented build up of young men and women whose only goal is to strengthen a revolution against the imperial arrogance of the dubious Nigerian state. These young men and women believed that they deserve a better life in view of existing realities. They are ready to lay down their lives so that our future generation can earn it.”

“our continued successes…”

One of the more interesting hostage situations has involved the kidnapping of four workers for the Italian oil giant, Agip. The men, three Italian and one Lebanese, have been held on the specific demand that the Nigerian government release a local Ijaw leader named Mujahid Dokubu-Asari. Dokubu-Asari led the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force, which took up arms in 2004. Dokubo-Asari suspended armed struggle later that year after world oil prices soared and President Olusegun Obasanjo granted his group amnesty, but he was then arrested late last year after saying in an interview that he would continue to fight for local autonomy. He has been charged with treason. During a recent court appearance, Dokubo-Asari said that even though he does not know those involved with MEND, “If it’s the decision of Ijaw people to go back to armed struggle, I’m in total support.”

In early January, MEND let the world know that they had intercepted an attempt by Agip to bribe militants to release the four hostages. MEND's statement read, "Yesterday, January 2, 2007 we discovered an outrageous attempt by Agip to arrange the escape of the prisoners in our custody. The oil firm… paid 70 million naira (approximately $640,000 Canadian) to those supposed to be guarding the hostages, for the hostages to be guided to a point where a boat was to be stationed to take them out of the creeks. Needless to say, the money has been confiscated and will be put to better use. They are advised to put these monies into projects in communities in the Delta as this will have a more positive effect on those fighting against oil companies in the Niger Delta.”

The most recent attack as of this writing occurred on January 10, when militants kidnapped nine South Koreans and one Nigerian worker from Daewoo Construction and Engineering, who were laying gas pipelines. Dynamite-wielding militants exchanged fire with guards just before dawn, escaping without injury. This came less than a week after five Chinese telecommunications workers were seized in another area. And these took place during the same week where armed militants in seven speedboats attacked a Nigerian military boat, kidnapping one officer.

All of this came less than two weeks after MEND informed media outlets via email that on December 23, it “planted explosives in two cars in locations of strategic importance in the Niger Delta and would detonate them shortly.” One of these locations was a government office. On Friday of that same week a water pipeline to an oil refinery was sabotaged, and this came five days after MEND set off two car bombs at Shell compounds, prompting the company to evacuate hundreds of staff from three separate compounds.

In an email message, Jomo Gbomo stated that, “Today Monday, December 18 2006, operatives of MEND planted three car bombs in locations strategic to the oil industry in the Niger delta. The operative in one location reported a concentration of civilians at his location and that bombing was aborted at the very last minute to prevent loss of innocent lives. Both bombs were triggered by cell phone and were a cocktail of military and commercial explosives. Again we warn all those with dealings with oil companies in the Delta to steer well clear of all facilities of these companies.

“We have previously warned all Nigerian workers at the Agip terminal to vacate that facility. This warning will not be repeated. Attacks against oil industry targets will increase, be carried out without warning and with extreme ruthlessness. We are impervious to the unfolding political drama in Nigeria and still have as our goal, resource control for the Niger Delta. Until this and every single one of our demands is met, the Nigerian government and oil industry will persistently bear the brunt of our rage.”

Earlier, on October 26, an American and a Briton were seized from an offshore vessel owned by Norwegian firm Petroleum Geo-Services, and were freed after five days. An entire community in the area claimed responsibility for the kidnappings, saying that they wanted compensation payments for previous oil spills as well as jobs and development projects. Earlier in October, about 70 militants attacked a convoy of boats supplying Shell oilfields, killing at least three soldiers, and abducting 25 Shell workers. They also stole a barge of diesel fuel, and released the workers within days.

This has only been a recap of the actions carried out in the last three months; similar actions have occurred all throughout the past year by MEND and other organizations.

“in our quest for freedom…”

In North America, many people argue against more militant direct actions for fear that they will bring a disproportionate amount of police repression upon innocent members of activist communities. While nowhere near the extent one would expect, this does happen in Nigeria. There have been occasions where the military will descend upon villages that are near sites of kidnappings, where they have beaten people, burned homes, and threatened further reprisals.

Despite this, MEND spokesperson Jomo Gbomo said that the Nigerian government cannot achieve a military victory in the Niger Delta against his rebel movement.

“We grieve for every life lost by the Nigerian military, in our quest for freedom. Nigerian military personnel stationed at the Agip terminal are hereby commended for displaying exemplary wisdom in the face of our attack (on December 7 2006). They fled without firing a single shot. Military personnel securing installations across the Delta are advised to take a cue from these sensible compatriots of theirs. We have no desire to take the lives of our brothers but will not hesitate to remove all who stand in our path. The Nigerian military is engaged in an unjust war and its soldiers are risking their lives for the sake of criminals who run Nigeria.”

While most large oil exploiters are still doing business in Nigeria, some smaller companies have closed shop. One such company is Willbros Inc., “An independent contractor serving the oil, gas and power industries, providing engineering and construction… to industry and government entities worldwide.” After more than 30 years in Nigeria, company chairman Mike Curran said that the situation had gone beyond “acceptable risk levels.” In February 2006, nine of Willbros' employees were kidnapped by rebels, and were released the next month. Another company, German construction firm Bilfinger Berger, also left Nigeria that same month. Like Willbros, some of their employees were taken hostage.

The actions of MEND have attracted the attention of security analysts around the world, most notably John Robb, who runs the counter-terrorism website Global Guerillas (http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com). He writes, “The media-savvy guerrilla group's emergence as a market-mover points to a mounting problem for the U.S. and other big oil consumers: maintaining energy security in an era of scarce oil resources and ever-longer supply lines. With today's tight oil markets, even small disruptions – or the threat of them – can jolt the world economy, leading to higher costs of gasoline, airline tickets and other goods for consumers everywhere. Now even Mr. Gbomo's small group, armed with little more than machine guns and an email account, has realized that it, too, can use oil as a weapon on the global stage.”

Robb has also provided some interesting analysis to the effectiveness of MEND.

“These attacks are substantially more sophisticated than previous efforts which were typically either riot/protests or bunkering gone awry. These new attacks include:
· Swarm-based maneuver. The guerrillas are using speed boats in the Niger Delta's swamps to quickly attack targets in succession. Multiple, highly maneuverable units have kept the government and Shell's defensive systems off-balance defending the sprawling network.
· Radically improved firepower and combat training. This new capability has allowed the guerrillas to overpower a combination of Shell's western-trained private military guards and elite Nigerian units in several engagements.
· Effective use of system disruption. Targets have been accurately selected to completely shut down production and delay/halt repairs. This is a systematic operation. Additionally, the guerrillas are making effective use of Shell's hostages to coerce both the government and the company.”

Interestingly, no media outlets ever talk about the meeting of their demands. They may mention the release of hostages, but never mention that the hostages were released only because the government of Nigeria and other affected countries conceded to some of MEND’s demands. Even searches of African-based news sites reveal little details besides the payment of money. While the US is so stubborn with pride that they refuse to negotiate with ‘terrorists,’ the governments in Nigeria recognize that they have no other choice. They are, in fact, very diplomatic about it. When foreign workers are kidnapped, the government of that country will deploy special negotiating teams to work to have the hostages freed.

In light of all this, on top of being a successful revolutionary organization, it could be argued that MEND may be the most successful environmental organization of the year. Of course, they would not identify as such and are after far more than an end to the exploitation of the natural world. But in this respect, MEND has done far more than any other organization in the world to stop the emission of pollutants that contribute to human health and climate change.

Consider this: in the late 1990s, oil production in the North Slope of Alaska averaged around 1 million barrels a day. That is 25% more than MEND has stopped from being produced in Nigeria. Two major studies in the late 1990s, one by the Department of Environmental Conservation and the other by the National Academy of Sciences, have found that oil production in the North Slope results in, each year, between 41,000 and 70,000 tons of nitrogen oxide, 780 to 1,334 tons of sulfur dioxide, and 3,223 to 5,400 tons of particulate matter. All these do not include any pollution from mobile sources, like trucks and drilling rigs. One study found that emissions from fuel burned by machinery led to 7.3 million tons of carbon dioxide, while another estimated 40 million tons. This is not to mention that typical oil drilling results in hundreds of spills a year, and the infrastructure fragments habitat and drastically upsets ecosystems.

In comparison, the city of San Francisco emits about 9.7 million tons of carbon dioxide, almost 23,800 tons of nitrogen oxides and 540 tons of sulfur dioxides annually, according to city and federal data. So MEND has stopped more than the amount of pollution produced by a city of almost 800,000 people. On top of that, their actions have stolen billions of dollars of profit from the largest oil companies in the world. They have proven that when dealing with large networks of interconnected infrastructure, it is possible to employ guerrilla tactics (quick random strikes followed by immediate retreat) to not only stop exploitation in the local area, but affect the entire world’s economy.

Who knows where things will go from here. Nigeria faces an election in 2007, and MEND may strike harder in advance of it. If they become too successful, the US military may move in to blanket the area in bombs. Or perhaps more groups of concerned people will unite around the world to inflict damage to the global economy in ways relevant to their locale. If anything though, MEND has proven, along with the guerrillas in Iraq and the youth of Paris’ suburbs, that no matter what kind of money or weapons one is up against, large organized armies simply cannot defeat small groups of anonymous people who strike at night.

"You don't get to choose how you're going to die, or when, you can only decide how you're going to live."
- Joan Baez

"The first duty of the revolutionary is to get away with it."
- Abbie Hoffman