Nigerian women pressure oil companies to promise changes.

• Author: Runyan, Curtis
• Position: Environmental Intelligence

On July 8, more than 150 Nigerian women laid siege to the Escravos oil terminal, which is operated by U.S.-based ChevronTexaco, demanding that the corporation provide the surrounding communities with jobs, electricity, environmental protections, and other social services. The non-violent protests shut down the facility and blocked access for 11 days, preventing 1,000 workers from leaving. The protest set off a month-long series of occupations by Nigerian women at four other ChevronTexaco oil operations across the Niger Delta.

"We have nothing to show for the pollution of our rivers and creeks, destruction of our forests and mangroves, and the noise, and the gas flaring," said Josephine Ogoba, a protest leader. As the world's sixth largest exporter of oil, Nigeria earns $20 billion annually in oil revenue. But little of that money makes its way back to the polluted delta communities where the oil is extracted. In the past, this inequity has led to numerous clashes...