Statistics
Poverty Inspite of Federal Reserves
The Nigerian government has taken in an estimated $300 billion in oil revenue since the 1970s. Yet Nigerians remain among the poorest people in the world. The United Nations ranks Nigeria’s quality of health, education and standard of living among the lowest 22 countries in the world.
Poverty and Disparity of Wealth
According to the World Bank, around 80% of Nigeria's oil revenue accrues to just 1% of the population. More than 70% of Nigerians live in extreme poverty on less than $1 a day, making it one of the poorest countries in the world.
Poverty Compared to Other OPEC Countries
Nigerians are only expected to live to their 43rd birthday. Those living in other oil exporting countries like Saudi Arabia and Indonesia are expected to live at least 23 to 28 years longer.
Poverty and Corruption
Oil from the Niger Delta region contributed 80% of the total oil revenues received by the government from 2000 to 2004.
The commission in charge of development for the Niger Delta region claims to have received less than a fifth of the $1 billion per year they were supposed to receive from the Nigerian Federal Government.
Corruption
According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, Nigeria ranks among the 9 most corrupt countries in the world.
Health
1 out of 5 Nigerian children die before the age of 5, which is one of the worst child mortality rates in the world.Yet in 2003, the Nigerian government spent only 3.2% of its total federal spend on health. Only 5 other countries in the world spent this much or less according to the World Health Report.
Education and Government Spending
In 2003, only 44% of Nigerian school-age children were enrolled in primary school, a 46% drop from 1982. In around this same timeframe, the Nigerian government’s spending on education fell 40%, from 1.7% of GDP to 0.7%.
1 in 3 Nigerians over the age of 15 cannot read or write. Most Sub-Saharan countries spend 6 times more on education as a percent of their GDP than Nigeria.
HIV/AIDS and Prostitution in the Delta
Nigeria has an estimated 3 million people living with HIV, the third largest in the world. The Niger Delta has some of the highest rates in the country. A United Nations report from the Niger Delta asserts that the prostitution of young women from poor villages into the wealthier oil regions has raised the incidence of AIDS in the delta. The highest rates in this region are among women and girls, especially those 15-24 years old.
Gas Flaring and Global Warming
More gas is flared in Nigeria than anywhere else in the world, and flaring in the country has contributed more greenhouse gas emissions than all other sources in sub-Saharan Africa combined, according to the World Bank.
Gas Flaring and Respiritory Disieses
The UNDP/World Bank reported in 2004 that close to 2.5 billion cubic feet of gas is flared in Nigeria every day, amounting to about 70 million tons of carbon dioxide. Gas flaring releases poisonous chemicals and carcinogens responsible for respiratory problems, asthma, and chronic bronchitis. These are killer diseases in Nigeria, where malnourished children are up to 12 times more likely to die from these diseases than are well-nourished children.
Gas Flaring and Cancer
Gas flaring releases carcinogens linked to leukemia and other blood-related diseases.In South Africa’s Durban, the location of South Africa’s largest crude oil refinery, studies have shown 4 times greater instances of respiratory disease and 24 times the incidence of leukemia. A study done by Climate Justice estimates that exposure to benzene from gas flaring would result in 8 new cases of cancer yearly in Bayelsa State alone.
Oil Spills and Mangrove Destruction
In more than 6,000 recorded oil spills, more than 100 million gallons of oil have been spilled into the fields and waters of the Niger Delta and the Gulf of Guinea since 1976. Oil spills pollute the land and water, destroying the plants, fish hatcheries, and animals of the Niger Delta mangrove ecosystem. An estimated 5-10% of Nigerian mangrove ecosystems have been wiped out either by settlement or oil. The rainforest which previously occupied some 7,400 sq. km. of land has disappeared as well.
Oil Spills and Poverty
In 2004 alone, about 42,000 gallons of oil were spilled in the 9 states that make up the Niger Delta. In agricultural communities, often a year's supply of food can be destroyed by only a minor leak, debilitating the farmers and their families who depend on the land for their livelihood. In Akwa Ibom State, where ExxonMobil operates, there are between 30-60 spills each year. Most of these spills go unreported.
Oil Spills and Legal Disempowerment
Less than 50% of oil spills are cleaned and less than 25% are remediated by the oil companies. Existing laws prescribe that cases against oil companies can only be heard in Federal Courts, which are out of the reach of most rural inhabitants.
Pipeline Disasters
At least 1685 people have been killed in 7 major pipeline explosions and oil fires since 1998.
Oil Spills and Corporate Negligence
Corrosive pipes are responsible for at least half of the spills that have occurred in the Niger Delta. Most of the 3,000 miles of aboveground pipelines crisscrossing the Delta are as old as 20-25 years, although their estimated life span is only about 15 years.
Corporate Profitability
The average production cost per barrel for onshore fuel in Nigeria is 50% cheaper than the worldwide average, making Nigerian locations some of the most profitable oil fields beyond the Persian Gulf. Exxon Mobil and Shell are Nigeria’s two largest oil operating companies. In 2006, Exxon Mobil set the world record by posting profits of $33 billion dollars for 2005. Shell set a new British record with 23 billion in profit that same year.
Oil and Drinking Water
Drinking water is frequently polluted with chemicals and carcinogens by oil spills. A sheen of oil is visible in many localized bodies of water in the Niger Delta.
In April 1997, local samples of drinking water were analyzed in the U.S, showing 680 times more hydrocarbons than the allowable levels set by the European Union.
In the Niger Delta’s urban communities, less than 50% of the people have access to safe drinking water. In the Delta’s rural communities, that number drops to less than 25%.
Diminishing Agriculture
A World Bank report in the 1950s indicated that the Niger Delta had tremendous agricultural potential – enough to produce crops for itself and for export. But now, with a rapidly declining agricultural industry, Nigeria must import many of the crops it used to export, such as groundnuts, palm oil and cocoa.
In 1990, Nigeria had 43% of its population working in agriculture. The World Bank projects that number will fall to 25% in 2010.
Nigeria’s economy is heavily dependant on oil - it accounts for 95 percent of government foreign revenues.
Youth Unemployment
In the Niger Delta, 40% of the region’s young adults between 15 and 24 years old are unemployed, twice Nigeria’s national average.
Oil Bunkering by Corrupt Government Oficials
Oil companies claim that between 160,000 to 200,000 barrels per day, worth about US$8 million, are being stolen due to illegal oil bunkering. It’s thought that bunkering money is used by corrupt government officials to purchase weapons to force elections.
According to Shell Nigeria, illegal theft of oil increased by 5 times leading up to the 2003 elections. At the same time, there was a flood of weapons into the region.
Bunkering and Militant Weapons
It is thought that millions of dollars worth of oil are being stolen everyday by militants to purchase weapons.
ECOWAS has estimated that 8 million illicit weapons are in the Niger Delta region. These include AK-47s, Beretta pistols and rocket-propelled grenades.
“We take the oil. It's on our land. We take it and use it the way we want to, and there's nothing the Nigerian state can do about it. The oil belongs to our people, and we have every right to take it. We sell it.” - Dokubo-Asari
Militant Size
Dokubo-Asari, leader of the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force, claimed to have more than 10,000 militants ready to fight at the time of his arrest in September 2005.
Arms Proliferation
Shell stated that it had in the past imported side arms on behalf of the Nigerian police force, for use by the “supernumerary police” who guard the company's facilities against general crime.
Court papers filed in Lagos in July 1995 and reported in the British press in February 1996 revealed that Shell had, as late as February 1995, been negotiating for the purchase of weapons for the Nigerian police. The weapons on order were Beretta semi-automatic rifles and pump-action shotguns.
Violence
Militant attacks have cut production by at least 20%, costing the major oil companies and Nigeria hundreds of millions of dollars.
According to a 2003 international consultancy study financed by Royal Dutch Shell, violence in the Delta claimed an average of 1,000 lives each year.
For more statistics on the Niger Delta see: